Sheet Layer help

[Mark Taylor]

I'm trying to understand the complexities of the sheet layers.

What I would like to do is:

- 1. Choose the paper size and orientation.

- 2. Snap the coordinate system to the paper, directly or otherwise.

- 3. Draw the sheet layer graphics onto the paper outline.

- 4. Add viewports.

- 5. Print.

It does not seem to work quite like this. I cannot align the coordinate system with the paper except by zooming in and eyeballing it. Also, the Vectorworks print area outputs as the actual paper edge shifting my sheet graphics into the non printable area and shifting everything out of alignment.

Am I missing the simple philosophy of this?

[Miguel Barrera]

1. Choose paper size and orientation with "Page Setup"

2. Choose grid lines properties with "Document Setup"

3. The gray outline is the printer limits and not the sheet size. Draw a rectangle with the overall paper dimensions and center. You will see the non-printable border created between the printing area and the sheet size.

I cannot align the coordinate system with the paper except by zooming in and eyeballing it

I do not understand what are you trying to do with this? Design layer or sheet layer coordinate system?

[Mark Taylor]

Let me try to be a little clearer. For example:

"Edit Sheet Layers"

- Origin x = -5.5, y = -4.25 (origin should be at the upper left corner of a 8.5 x 11 sheet of paper in a landscape position)

"Page Setup"

- "Pages" 1 for horizontal and vertical

- "One Printer Page" for printable area

- The width and height of the printable area is correct for my printer

Now an interesting thing happens. The origin is not at the upper left corner of the sheet. It is shifted about .04" x and .004" y, and consequently the actual print is not acceptable.

However if I go into my printer settings and set the print area to borderless then the resulting origin is precisely where it should be on the sheet layer and the print looks good.

Why is there a printable area block that has so much power? I wouldn't mind a graphic representation of the area, but it seems to affect things it shouldn't. Am I missing some powerful uses for this?

Thanks

[Drewinatl]

Hello,

I am trying to find out if I can print to different size paper without rescaling my whole sheet. my default is 24x36 but my boss wants 11x17 prints to do corrections so the scale doesn't need to be right. Right now I am printing to a PDF and then printing from there. Is there an easier way? My friend has autocad and has what looks like sheet layers that are set up for the different sizes. I am using VW 2008 and not drawing with viewports.

thanks

Drew

[CipesDesign]

Drew, for me PDF's are the easiest way to do this. Perhaps others have other solutions...

[Pat Stanford]

If your printer driver offers scaling, then that is probably the easiest place to make the change.

If your printer driver does not offer scaling, then on the Mac there is a setting under Page Setup:Printer Setup. If you pull down the Settings dialog there is a Vectorworks option that allows you to set a scale factor.

There is probably something similar on Win, but I don't know what it is.

[Mark Taylor]

After all this time, I still really don't know what I'm doing when it comes to printing out drawings. It is a very different philosophy than TurboCAD and I don't see it yet.

Would you all be willing to post a short bullet point list of the process starting from the drawing to printing a nice view on existing paper with standard sheet information? And then, what is the appropriate process for having many different drawings using the same sheet size?

Thanks!

[Kizza]

Are you printing directly from the sheet layer or exporting to pdf?

[Mark Taylor]

Well, for starters, I would like to print various views of a project so the crew can begin to see how it will look.

[BiztroBill]

Here's what I do:

? In Tools>Organization, create a sheet layer for each of your sheets. You probably already have this.

? In the Organization dialog box, select all of your sheet layers and click the Edit button at the bottom.

? You get an Edit Sheet Layer dialog box. Click the Page Setup button at the bottom.

? In the Page Setup dialog box, you might need to check the 'Choose size unavailable' box and select the sheet size you want. Then click the Printer Setup button, choose your printer, sheet size, and 'OK. This will configure all of your sheet sizes.

? Close all of those boxes and your sheet layers should be ready to print.

? If you are configured to Show Page Boundary then you can see where your drawing fits on the sheet. If I read your question correctly, it sounds like you print on pre-printed sheets that already have border and title block. Right?

[Kizza]

Would you all be willing to post a short bullet point list of the process starting from the drawing to printing a nice view on existing paper with standard sheet information? And then, what is the appropriate process for having many different drawings using the same sheet size?

Thanks!

1) Create your drawing on your design layer

2) View>Create Viewport & place on sheet layer. (You can also draw an object and with it selected create the viewport)

3) Control your desired layer/class visibility settings in the sheet layer viewport via the object info pallete

4) To create additional views you can duplicate the first viewport on the sheet layer and change the view orientation.

5) To create sheets, I have one sheet created in my template file and I duplicate the sheet when required. (saves me having to place the title block each time)

Is this what you're after??

[Mark Taylor]

Hi Kizza,

Thank you for your response.

I think I am starting to get a better idea how to do this.

So, for clarification:

Would I would create a number of sheet layers based on one that I set up which has a consistant title block?

And then, would I use each of those as a somewhat static item such as "Overall Deck View" and place and juggle around various specific viewports?

[Mark Taylor]

I don't print on pre-printed sheets but have been trying to create my own borders and title blocks. How do you snap things based on the paper edge? The software seems to only snap to the print margin, which is not usually centered or of a consistent distance from the paper edge. I like knowing where that margin is, but I would much rather design to the paper edge which is what everyone will see.

I like your idea of selecting all the sheet layers that have common print needs and setting them all up at the same time. Great time saver.

Thanks!

[Jonathan Pickup]

Mark, the printer margin is set by the printer, if you try to snap your border to the page edge, parts will not print. if you are not using a printer, set up the page to have no margin.

[Mark Taylor]

Yes, I understand about the print area. What I would like to do is measure some distance in from the paper edge for a consistent look. As you know, print areas usually have a larger non-printable space on the trailing edge than on the leading edge. I'm not suggesting that I want to put printable items in the non-printable area. I just want to measure from the paper edge.

With that said, How can I reduce the margins to zero and still use a physical printer? That would allow me to snap to the paper edge.

Thanks,

[Benson Shaw]

This elaborates on Miguel Barrera's comments.

Easiest is to make a rectangle same dimension as paper size and center it over the sheet. Lock it if necessary.

The Page Setup offers some possibility, too:

If you know your print area dimension, you can snap to print boundary and offset drawing elements with the Move command a known distance from the paper edge.

A Vectorworks sheet layer can have any page size and print area. Create a custom size in the Sheet Layer print settings. Go all the way into Manage Custom Sizes in the nested dialogs.

You can set up a custom page with 0 border, ie print area same as page size. I don't know what your printer will accept.

Or make a custom sheet layer page with .25" borders all around. Many printers will handle that. (Or apply any border settings with easy to remember border dims that are commonly acceptable to printers). This way it is possible to snap to the printable boundary and offset as needed for particular distance from the page edge.

Remember to set the Pages to 1 Horiz, 1 Vert

-B

[Kizza]

Hi Kizza,

Would I would create a number of sheet layers based on one that I set up which has a consistant title block?

That's how I presently do it. I've also tried having a number of sheets in my template file named Site Plan, Floor Plan, Elevations etc but inevitably I'd be renaming or renumbering as i would create the drawing set. So I'm back to just one sheet layer in my template.

Hi Kizza,

And then, would I use each of those as a somewhat static item such as "Overall Deck View" and place and juggle around various specific viewports?

Yes, but bear in mind, if you have created your template file correctly and Automatic Drawing Coordination turned on your sheet numbering and sheet title should be two-way between the sheet and the navigation palette.

Have you created a custom title block yet?

[Mark Taylor]

What I have noticed about centering is that it centers to the snapable shapes, in this case the print area which is not in the middle of the paper.

I tried to follow your recommendations on setting zero margins for a custom sheet, but my setup is a little different. Ultimately, I had to choose borderless printing and that gave me the correct settings, so far... I'll run some tests and let you know. I don't use borderless printing too often, but I have noticed that there is some variability in the settings.

Thanks,

[Mark Taylor]

I am creating a title block based on the title block I used in TurboCAD. I'll let you know how it goes.

I haven't experienced the two-way nature of the sheet and navigation palette yet, or perhaps I don't understand what you mean. Is this about the automation of sheet numbering?

Thanks,

[Kizza]

This video may help you in creating your custom title block in VW.

Title Block Tech Tip

[Kizza]

This is a screenshot of my title block link-text-to-record settings - all seems to work fine.

[Mark Taylor]

Wow, thanks for all the help, Kizza!

I did finish my "title block" but it is not a real title block using the Vectorworks tools. I watched the video and, if nothing else, see the usefulness of the title block system. I will have to watch it and try some things to get a better feel for it.

Thanks again!

[Kizza]

Just in case you don't know:

In the above attachment, P_ values refer to "Project" data, such as client details and addresses that replicate across the drawing set. The S_ prefix refers to "Sheet" data which applies to the specific sheet such as sheet no, sheet scale etc.

The other benefit of using your own title block symbol (using linked text to records) is that you can control some of the drawing sheet data via a worksheet. (although I haven't got this sophisticated yet )

Edited December 12, 2013 by Kizza