Hi.

I have been unable to get this to work and cant see what I'm doing wrong. When I setup an A1 layout and try to print to a pdf creator it just wont centre on the page correctly. The only way I've been able to get it nearly right is by selecting extents rather than layout and then choosing fit to page. This means the scale is fractionally out (1.0=0.08) and yet if I select a 1:1 scale it throws the whole thing off the page. Also when in paper space should the sheet area be displayed in a different colour from the background as it is in autocad? If so, mine isnt.

Can someone please point me in the right direction.... I need to earn some money and I cant without the PDF's !!!! Help

hi surfdj,

By default, the background color for paperspace is white (I guess this is to simulate the plot of the draft). We change it to black. If you're working in color, I'd recommend leaving it to white (or your paper color)

The way I've set up my 8.5x14 and 8.5x11 sheets, required drawing rectangles at the appropriate dimensions, then creating an inner rectangle so that the page has the 1.25 inch margins that are standard for most consumer printers. In this manner, I am able to print extents with consistent results, as the sheet already extends to the paper size, so printing extents is the same as printing the size sheet I want. Obviously, you got to tell your printer what sheet size to use (or your pdf creator, respectively).

I *think* if you were printing your draft at 1:1 scale, then indeed it should throw the drawing off the page because you're now looking at only an 8.5" x 11" area of the drawing. Basically a space the size of your foot. But that's because your paperspace is probably at actual size. We insert our sheets at .1 scale at plot the draft at 1:1. If I insert the same sheet at actual size, I have to plot the draft at 1:10 and then it plots the page correctly.

Most of our sheets are drawn at 20 scale, where 1" = 20'. One of the first steps in our drafting process is selecting the sheet scale.

Hope this helps you out! Remember, create your sheets with the 1 1/4" margins, this is a standard margin for most documents.

Also,

We print 24"x36" drafts. In iCad's print dialogue window, when I select Adobe PDF as my printer, the A1 size printout is...well...not that size. Oversize A1...well...much closer (24.6"x35.4")...but still not really that size.

I'm no print finishing expert. There are enough different paper sizes in the world to make a grown man's head spin, and (in my experience), each printer has the potential to handle them differently (except of course good old 8.5"x11"). The PDF printer is no exception here.

So....what exactly is the finished size you're trying to obtain? I'm going to assume, at this point, that you don't actually print your drafts, just electronically deliver them?