easy way to print half-size in V11.5?

[Roman]

We're on OS 10.3 and most of our drawings are formatted for Arch D pages. In v10.5, we'd open a file, go to page setup, and set it to 45% and then send it our laser printer for a 11x17 print. After that, we could reset to 100% and be back in Arch D without a problem.

I tried the same method in v11.5 but the page size did not change. So then I went into Set Print Area, where I chose the size there. It seems liek Page Setup in the File Menus has no effect on the layout. The problem is this. If you're printing out a file with 10 sheet layers, you'd have to change every single layer to tabloid if you wanted half-size. Any better way to do this?

[DDDesign]

Sheets have their own specific page set-ups - as you've discovered. However, in MacOS you can print to pdf - and the pdf page will follow what the overall document settings are. Then, print from Preview - if you wish you can make further modifications to your page set-up. I think that this is all still relevant for 10.3 (I'm on 10.4)

[Roman]

Sending to PDF and then printing is an even more complicated step. I'd like to see an option for setting up pages @ XX% and then send to size XX with one button. People print half size all the time.

There should be presets that fit the drawing to a desired scale:

Print to letter

Print to tabloid

etc.

[Roman]

I still cant get a drawing that formatted for an ArchD to print out @ 45% on a tabloid. I set the print area to tabloid and then in page setup choose 45% scale...and nothing. The drawing remains 100%. The Page Setup in the File menu has no effect on the page size now! What's going on?

In V10.5 you could easily set print sizes via Page Setup for half size printing.

[PeterT]

I think changing the print area ignores the OS scaling feature, but VectorWorks has its own scaling.

In Page Setup leave the Scaling set to 100%, but now in the "Settings" pulldown, choose "VectorWorks 11.5.1". If you set the scaling here, it seems to change even if you have changed the print area.

But why are you changing the print area anyway? Don't you still want to print the whole sheet, just on smaller paper?

Can't you leave the Print Area set to "One Page", but in the Page Setup dialog, choose the paper size you want, and the scaling you need to fit it on that paper size?

When we print half size, we do it all in the Page Setup. No need to change the print area.

[Roman]

Ok, thanks Peter. I didn't realize Page Setup had a submenu for Vectorworks scaling. In V10.5 you did it directly in the OS scaling box.

Printing worked fine...it's just such a hassle to swith between full size and half size. I wish I could save these presets and tell Vectorworks:

Print -> tabloid@laser (scaled 45%)

or

Print ->ArchD@plotter (scaled 100%)

I suppose this could be an OS X issue as well, but I think Vectorworks could do it.

[PeterT]

Since sheet layers save the Page Setup, you could always create two sheet layers for each sheet, one with one page setup one with the other, but you would have twice as many layers in your file.

I don't think there is any way to save the printer choice though. Mac OS X defaults to the last printer used or to a specific printer of your choice (you choose this in System Preferences/Print & Fax). But it will default to that same printer each time you print.

There is no way to save a particular printer choice with a specific sheet or file.