______________________________________________________________________ | | | Hewlett-Packard Company | | AutoCAD(TM) Release 12 Driver for HP Plotters | | (ADI Version 4.2) | | | | | | R E F E R E N C E G U I D E | | | | | | (Filename on driver disk: HP_R12.DOC) | | Document edition 4.0 (April 1994) | | Supports software revision 2.1 | | | |______________________________________________________________________| ------------------------------------------------------------------------ COPYRIGHT NOTICE Copyright (C)1993, 1994, Hewlett-Packard Co. License is granted for the use of this software and documentation exclusively for use with Hewlett-Packard plotters and printers on a no-cost, sharing basis. You may distribute and copy this software for use with Hewlett-Packard products as long as it remains a completely unaltered package and is not sold for profit. These materials are provided with no warranty, either express or implied, including but not limited to any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose regarding these materials, and are made available on an "as-is" basis. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ TRADEMARK ACKNOWLEDGMENTS o AutoCAD(TM) is a U.S. trademark of Autodesk, Inc. o MS-DOS(R) is a U.S. registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation. o HP-GL/2 is a trademark of Hewlett-Packard Company. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Hewlett-Packard Company Barcelona Division Avda. Graells, 501 08190 Sant Cugat del VallŠs Barcelona Spain ------------------------------------------------------------------------ PRINTING THIS DOCUMENT It is not recommended to try and read this document online, as it is very long. To print it, follow the instructions below. The examples apply if you accepted the default pathnames when you installed the driver software, and assume that you have a printer connected directly to your PC. 1. Get to the DOS prompt. (E.g. quit AutoCAD) C:> 2. Go to the directory where you installed the driver. CD \ACAD\DRV\HPGL2 3. List all the files ending .DOC DIR *.DOC 4. Check that the filename HP_R12.DOC is displayed. 5. Print the file. PRINT HP_R12.DOC ________________________________________________________________________ C O N T E N T S ________________________________________________________________________ 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................... 5 What is the AutoCAD Release 12 Driver for HP Plotters? ........... 5 Languages ........................................................ 5 Using this document .............................................. 6 2 INSTALLING AND CONFIGURING THE DRIVER ............................ 7 Task 1: Installing the driver software .......................... 7 Editing ACAD.ADS ........................................ 7 Editing environment variables ........................... 7 Editing ACAD.MNU (optional) ............................. 8 Task 2: Configuring the software ................................ 9 Overview ................................................ 9 Step 1: Select a plotter in HPCONFIG .................... 10 Step 2: Add the plotter in CONFIG ....................... 11 Step 3: Test the plotter configuration in PLOT .......... 13 Step 4: (Optional) Customize your configuration in HPCONFIG ................................... 14 Creating and testing a customized configuration . 14 Creating different configurations for the same plotter .................................. 15 Creating different configurations for different plotters ............................ 15 Restoring the previous configuration ............ 15 Task 3: Configuring the plotter ................................. 17 General points .......................................... 17 HP DesignJet, DesignJet 600 and 650C plotters ........... 17 HP DesignJet 200 plotters ............................... 18 HP PaintJet XL300 plotters in HP-GL/2 mode .............. 20 HP DraftPro Plus plotters ............................... 20 HP DraftMaster series plotters .......................... 20 HP 7600 Electrostatic plotters .......................... 21 HP LaserJet III and IV printers in HP-GL/2 mode ......... 21 Task 4: Configuring for rendered plots (optional / inkjet only) . 22 Step 1: Configure AutoCAD to use HPRENDER ............... 22 Step 2: Configure and plot with HPRENDER ................ 23 Plotting a mixed rendered and non-rendered drawing (HPMPLOT) ............................................. 24 3 DAY-TO-DAY PLOTTING ............................................. 26 Plotting a normal (non-rendered) drawing ........................ 26 Plotting a rendered drawing ..................................... 26 Deciding whether to configure the software or the plotter ....... 27 4 TROUBLESHOOTING .................................................. 28 Error messages, in alphabetical sequence ......................... 28 "Out of environment space" ..................................... 28 "Plotter is not ready ..." ..................................... 29 "Rendering area falls outside the page size ..." (in HPRENDER) . 29 "Specified area ... is too large for loaded paper ..." ......... 29 "Unable to detect if smooth shading is disabled ..." (in HPRENDER or HPMPLOT) ..................................... 29 "Unable to plot correctly ..." (in HPMPLOT) .................... 30 "Unable to open file ..." ...................................... 30 If the command HPCONFIG or HPRENDER or HPMPLOT does not work ..... 30 If you have overwritten a configuration (.CFG) file by mistake ... 30 If the "Select Device" box is empty (in HPMPLOT) ................. 31 If HPRENDER or HPMPLOT renders the drawing on the screen instead of on the plotter .............................................. 31 If a rendered plot is not the size you specified in HPRENDER ..... 31 If the plot is clipped ........................................... 32 If the orientation of the plot is wrong .......................... 32 If the orientation of a smooth-rendered plot is wrong ............ 33 If the entire plot is in one quadrant of the plotting area ....... 33 If the output is distorted or unintelligible ..................... 33 If pen settings (e.g. line widths) seem to have no effect ........ 34 If HPCONFIG settings generally seem to have no effect ............ 34 5 REFERENCE ........................................................ 35 HPCONFIG field-by-field .......................................... 35 HP Plotter Configuration ....................................... 35 Pens ........................................................... 37 Halftoning ..................................................... 39 Annotations .................................................... 40 Media Options .................................................. 41 Advanced Media Options ......................................... 42 Plotter Status (HP DesignJet 200 only) ......................... 43 Plotting to file ................................................. 44 Plotting on Novell networks ...................................... 46 Color palette .................................................... 47 Driver files ..................................................... 48 Editing configuration (.CFG) files ............................... 50 Raster pattern file definition ................................... 51 Where to find more information ................................... 54 --- 5 --- ________________________________________________________________________ (1) I N T R O D U C T I O N ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ WHAT IS THE AUTOCAD RELEASE 12 DRIVER FOR HP PLOTTERS? ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This driver is for AutoCAD Release 12 users, enabling them to produce successful plots from their CAD drawings on the HP plotters and printers listed below. References in this guide to "your plotter" mean any device from this list, including the HP LaserJet III and IV printers. o It is an ADI (AutoDesk Device Interface) driver. o It is for use with protected-mode DOS 386 AutoCAD Release 12. o It uses the HP-GL/2 and HP RTL graphics languages. It supports: o Inkjet plotters: HP DesignJet series plotters HP PaintJet XL300 plotters in HP-GL/2 mode o Pen plotters: HP DraftMaster series plotters HP DraftPro Plus plotters o Laser printers: HP LaserJet III printers in HP-GL/2 mode HP LaserJet IV printers in HP-GL/2 mode ------------------------------------------------------------------------ LANGUAGES ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The driver's interface and online documentation are available in five languages: o English o French o Italian o German o Spanish All five are on the same disk. --- 6 -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ USING THIS DOCUMENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------ In order to ensure a successful installation of the driver, go through all the steps in chapter 2. The rest of the document is for reference only. o Chapter 3 offers some reminders for day-to-day plotting. o Chapter 4, Troubleshooting, offers some solutions to possible problems. o In your day-to-day use of AutoCAD, you will probably use the HPCONFIG dialog boxes quite often, and so there is a field-by-field explanation in chapter 4. o The very last section of this manual explains where to get more information. --- 7 --- ________________________________________________________________________ (2) I N S T A L L I N G & C O N F I G U R I N G T H E D R I V E R ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ TASK 1: INSTALLING THE DRIVER SOFTWARE ________________________________________________________________________ You have already done this, as this file (HP_R12.DOC) is made available as part of the installation routine. However, when installing the software, you may have chosen not to let the installation routine automatically edit a number of files, preferring to do so yourself. Here are details of those files that must be edited. Use an ASCII editor (e.g. EDIT in DOS 5.0) rather than a word processor. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ EDITING ACAD.ADS The ADS application is required to support this driver. Editing ACAD.ADS tells AutoCAD to load it automatically. ACAD.ADS is usually in the \ACAD subdirectory. Add HPMPLOT.EXP to the list, with its full pathname. For example: ACADAPP C:\ACAD\DRV\HPGL2\HPMPLOT.EXP If your installation has limited RAM, an alternative is to edit the file ACADR12.LSP. This is usually in the \ACAD\SUPPORT subdirectory. Add HPMPLOT, HPCONFIG and HPRENDER to the autoxload function. For example: (AUTOXLOAD "C:\ACAD\DRV\HP\HPMPLOT" '("HPMPLOT" "HPCONFIG" "HPRENDER")) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ EDITING ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES You need to modify the SET ACADDRV and SET RHPADI statements which set these two environment variables. 1. Find the SET ACADDRV statement. It will be either in the the batch file that starts AutoCAD (default ACADR12.BAT) or in AUTOEXEC.BAT in the root directory of the boot drive. It must occur only once. 2. Modify the SET ACADDRV statement so that it includes the path containing the HP-GL/2 drivers which you have just installed. The pathnames are separated by semi-colons. For example: SET ACADDRV=C:\ACAD\DRV;C:\ACAD\DRV\HPGL2 --- 8 --- 3. If there is a SET RHPADI statement in the same file, edit it so that the argument is the RHPRTL.EXP filename and pathname. If not, add a new SET RHPADI statement. For example: SET RHPADI=C:\ACAD\DRV\HPGL2\RHPRTL.EXP ------------------------------------------------------------------------ EDITING ACAD.MNU (Optional) The driver installation made available three new AutoCAD commands: o HPCONFIG o HPRENDER o HPMPLOT You can add these to the options available in AutoCAD's pull-down menus by editing your AutoCAD menu file (by default, ACAD.MNU). For details, of see the AutoCAD Customization Manual for Release 12. The following example adds all three new commands to the File pull-down menu in ACAD.MNU. (New lines are marked "Add.") Menu Code Existing/Add --------------------------------------------------------- ***POP1 Existing [File] Existing [New...]^C^C_new Existing [Open...]^C^C_open Existing [Save...]^C^C_qsave Existing [Save As...]^C^C_saveas Existing [Recover...]^C^C_recover Existing [--] Existing [Plot...]^C^C_plot Existing . . . [Applications...]^c^cappload Existing [--] Add [Configure HP Plotter]^c^chpconfig; Add [Render to Hardcopy]^c^chprender; Add [Merge Render with Plot]^c^chpmplot; Add [--] Existing [About AutoCAD...]^C^C Existing . . . (balance of pull-down menu 1 not shown) You may also want to modify AutoCAD's PLOT command to first run HPCONFIG in order to edit the comment field in the Annotations dialog box. For example: [Plot...]^C^Chpconfig;_plot; Modify --- 9 --- ________________________________________________________________________ TASK 2: CONFIGURING THE SOFTWARE ________________________________________________________________________ NOTE: The commands CONFIG and HPCONFIG, explained in this task, are not commands at the DOS prompt, but commands, or menu options, within AutoCAD. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ OVERVIEW ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CONFIG AND HPCONFIG The terminology in AutoCAD's CONFIG menus assumes that you are adding, configuring or deleting "plotters". But what you have received from HP is a single driver which gives you access to many plotter models, as well as to the HP LaserJet III and IV printers. For the purposes of the list of available "plotters" in AutoCAD's CONFIG menu, we have called this driver: !! HP-GL/2 ADI 4.2 v2.1 by Hewlett-Packard For each supported plotter model, the driver software contains a file with an extension .CFG, for example DPROPLUS.CFG for the HP DraftPro Plus plotter. This contains the default configuration for sending plots from AutoCAD Release 12 to that plotter. You can select these .CFG files in the first dialog box of the HPCONFIG command, which is available to you as a command in AutoCAD. You will find a detailed explanation of all the dialog boxes in the HPCONFIG command in "HPCONFIG field-by-field" in section 5. In order to plot a drawing using any of these configurations, you must not only select them or create them in HPCONFIG but also add them in CONFIG. So CONFIG is used twice - to add the driver in the first place, and then to add each plotter configuration - although CONFIG calls them both "plotters". --- 10 --- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ STEP 1: SELECT A PLOTTER IN HPCONFIG ------------------------------------------------------------------------ If you have several HP plotter models, just select one of them at this stage. 1. Start AutoCAD. 2. At the command line, enter: HPCONFIG 3. In the HP Plotter Configuration dialog box which appears, scroll through the list of configuration files until you find the one for your plotter model. E.g. For the HP DraftPro Plus plotter, select DPROPLUS.CFG When you click on a .CFG file, that plotter's full name appears in the Plotter field at the top of the dialog box. 4. At this stage, don't customize anything else in HPCONFIG (its features are explained in "HPCONFIG field-by-field" in section 5). Just click on: OK 5. In the "Save Attributes File Name" dialog box, click on: OK --- 11 --- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ STEP 2: ADD THE PLOTTER IN CONFIG ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. At the command line, enter: CONFIG 2. From the Configuration Menu, select: 5. Configure plotter 3. From the Plotter Configuration Menu, select: 1. Add a plotter 4. From the list of available "plotters" (they are actually drivers), select : !! HP-GL/2 ADI 4.2 v2.1 by Hewlett-Packard 5. At the question "Is your plotter connected to a serial or parallel port?", enter: S (for serial) or P (for parallel) If in doubt, refer to the setup instructions in your plotter documentation and to your PC manual. 6. (For HP DesignJet 200 plotters only) At the prompt "Please specify if your DesignJet 200 is connected directly to your PC or to a network", enter: 1 (for a direct connection) or 2 (for a network connection) If your DesignJet 200 is connected directly, you will be able to see the plotter status information in HPCONFIG at plot time. See under "HPCONFIG field-by-field" in section 5. IMPORTANT. If, later on, you physically change your connection type, you must run CONFIG again to update it. 7. At the prompt "Enter the port name", enter: e.g. COM1 for a serial port e.g. LPT1 for a parallel port If in doubt, refer to your PC manual. 8. AutoCAD then displays the default configuration for the driver. You can customize this later, and so at the question "Do you want to change anything?", enter: N --- 12 --- 9. At the prompt "Enter a description for this plotter", whatever you enter will become available as a plotter when you subsequently use PLOT or CONFIG. So enter, for example: HP DesignJet 200 on LPT2, or HP DesignJet 650C on LPT1, or HP DraftPro Plus for mechanical drawing, or Plotter in the drawing office etc. Do NOT leave the description blank. 10. To exit CONFIG, saving your changes: At the Plotter Configuration Menu, press At the Configuration Menu, press At the prompt "Keep configuration changes?", press --- 13 --- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ STEP 3: TEST THE PLOTTER CONFIGURATION IN PLOT ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Make sure that media is loaded in your plotter. 2. Open a simple drawing in AutoCAD. There are many .DWG files to choose from in /SAMPLE. 3. At the command line, enter: PLOT 4. In the Plot Configuration dialog box, click on Device and Default Selection. 5. In the dialog box which appears, select the plotter you just added in CONFIG. 6. Click on: OK 7. In the Plot Configuration dialog box, check that: o the "Paper Size" matches your loaded media, and o the scale (under "Rotation and Origin") is what you want. 8. Click on: OK The drawing should be plotted on your plotter using the default .CFG file you selected in HPCONFIG. IF NO PLOT APPEARS AT ALL, then there is a problem with the interface between plotter and PC - either the cable connection itself or the interface settings. To check either, refer to the setup instructions in your plotter's documentation. Did you select the correct interface port in CONFIG (in Step 2 above)? IF THE CONTENT, SCALE OR POSITION OF THE PLOT IS NOT AS YOU EXPECTED, then you can customize the configuration - see Step 4 next. --- 14 --- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ STEP 4 (OPTIONAL): CUSTOMIZE YOUR CONFIGURATION IN HPCONFIG ------------------------------------------------------------------------ What you did in Steps 1 through 3 was to make available to AutoCAD the default configuration for the HP plotter model you selected. For example: o DPROPLUS.CFG for an HP DraftPro Plus plotter o DJET600.CFG for an HP DesignJet 600 plotter o etc. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CREATING AND TESTING A CUSTOMIZED CONFIGURATION 1. At the command line, enter: HPCONFIG 2. In the HP Plotter Configuration dialog box, the name of current default configuration is displayed at the top. If you want to base your customized configuration on a different one, scroll through the list of configuration files until you find the one you want, and then click on it. 3. From this same dialog box, you have access to all the configuration features of HPCONFIG. They are all explained in detail in "HPCONFIG field-by-field" in section 5. Change whatever is appropriate. For example, if you want to change the pen settings and fill attributes so that they are suitable for plans of building exteriors, click on Pens and make the necessary changes. Notice that a Help button is available in each dialog box. 4. When you have finished your changes, click on: OK 5. The next dialog box asks you to name the .CFG file for your new configuration: e.g. EXTERIOR (maximum 8 characters) (don't include the .CFG extension) 6. Now add this plotter configuration in CONFIG, as explained in Step 2 above. Notice that the default .CFG file is the one you have just created. At the prompt "Enter a description for this plotter", enter something suitable for your customized configuration: e.g. Configuration for exteriors 7. To exit CONFIG, saving your changes: At the Plotter Configuration Menu, press At the Configuration Menu, press At the prompt "Keep configuration changes?", press --- 15 --- 8. Test your new configuration by plotting a drawing, as explained in Step 3 above. In the Device and Default Selection dialog box, select the configuration you just added in CONFIG. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CREATING DIFFERENT CONFIGURATIONS FOR THE SAME PLOTTER Using the procedure explained above, you can create any number of different configurations for the same plotter - for example, one for exteriors, one for interiors; one for drafts, one for final copies; one for landscape plots, one for portrait plots; etc. Remember: o Always save the configuration with a unique .CFG filename when exiting HPCONFIG. o Always add the new configuration in CONFIG, as though it were a different plotter. o Always choose a suitable description in CONFIG so that you will be able to select the configuration at plot time: ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CREATING DIFFERENT CONFIGURATIONS FOR DIFFERENT PLOTTERS The principle is the same as creating different configurations for the same plotter. In this case, though, ensure that you start from the correct default HPCONFIG (.CFG) file for each plotter: o DJET200.CFG for an HP DesignJet 200 plotter o DNJ650C.CFG for an HP DesignJet 650C plotter o DPROPLUS.CFG for an HP DraftPro Plus plotter o etc. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ RESTORING THE PREVIOUS CONFIGURATION The previous version of a .CFG file is always available as a .BAK file. So, if you overwrite an HPCONFIG configuration by mistake, just rename the .BAK file to a .CFG file in DOS, and it will become available in HPCONFIG. For example, imagine you created a customized configuration and called it TEST.CFG, and then changed something and saved the change by mistake. To recover the old version: 1. Exit from AutoCAD to DOS. 2. Enter: CD\ACADR12\DRV\HPGL2 REN TEST.BAK TEST1.CFG 3. Restart AutoCAD. 4. Enter HPCONFIG. --- 16 --- 5. Among the configuration files would be: TEST.CFG (the changed configuration) TEST1.CFG (the original configuration) --- 17 --- ________________________________________________________________________ TASK 3: CONFIGURING THE PLOTTER ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ GENERAL POINTS ------------------------------------------------------------------------ o As a general rule, any feature switched ON on the plotter overrides any equivalent setting in AutoCAD. For example, in inkjet plotters, if Merge (or Merge Control) is set to ON, then this overrides whatever is set in AutoCAD via HPCONFIG's Pens dialog box. o The plotting area available (media size minus margins) varies with the plotter, because the margins vary. For a specification of margins and plotting areas, see each plotter's User's Guide, or the notes below. The information given here is a reminder of some important items that are specific to some plotter models and relevant to users of AutoCAD Release 12. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ HP DESIGNJET, DESIGNJET 600 AND 650C PLOTTERS o For best performance, choose a parallel interface. Serial is also available. o To check or reconfigure any of the following, use the Pen Settings menu on the plotter's front panel: - Rotate - Mirror - Merge - Pen settings: width, density (shade) IMPORTANT: If you want AutoCAD's pen settings to be used, the setting in the plotter's Pen Settings / Palette menu must be "software"; otherwise, the settings on the plotter's front panel will be used. o With the Model B of the HP DesignJet 650C (product numbers C2858B or C2859B), you can experiment with the appearance of color vector plots by switching between the two "halftoning" options. For details, see under "HPCONFIG Field-by-Field" in Section 5. o You can produce long-axis plots with an HP DesignJet, DesignJet 600 or 650C plotter. o The HP DesignJet, DesignJet 600 and 650C plotters have an optional expanded mode (Expanded in Page Format / Margins). You can use this only for roll media. --- 18 --- o Recommended plotting areas. The table below lists the correct plotting areas you should set in AutoCAD Release 12 for standard media sizes. Set these as USER sizes in the "Size..." dialog box, accessible from the "Plot Configuration" dialog box. Using these sizes will ensure optimal media savings when you use the plotter's nesting feature. If standard sizes are not required, set Page Format / Size to Inked Area for best results. The plotter's front panel menu will tell you the maximum x and y values for the sheet that is currently loaded in the plotter. This information is recorded in the Utilities / Statistics menu of the plotter's front panel. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ HP DESIGNJET 200 PLOTTERS o For best performance, choose a parallel interface. Serial is also available. o To check or reconfigure any of the following, use the plotter's setup sheet: - Serial interface settings: baud rate, parity - Graphics language (default "HP-GL (7586B), HP-GL/2" is OK) - Rotate - Mirror - Merge - Pen settings: width, density IMPORTANT: If you want AutoCAD's pen settings to be used, the setting on the plotter's setup sheet must be "from software"; otherwise, the settings on the setup sheet will be used. o Recommended plotting areas. The table below lists the correct plotting areas you should set in AutoCAD Release 12 for standard media sizes. Set these as USER sizes in the "Size..." dialog box, accessible from the "Plot Configuration" dialog box. --- 19 --- PLOTTING AREAS FOR HP DESIGNJET SERIES PLOTTERS ____________________________________________________________ | MEDIA SIZE | PLOTTTING AREA | | AND ORIENTATION OF MEDIA | AND ORIENTATION OF DRAWING | | | For landscape drawings: | | | width x height | | | For portrait drawings: | | * = not HP DesignJet 200 | height x width | |_____________________________|______________________________| | | | | | | inches | millimeters | | | | | | ANSI A portrait | 9.7 x 8.1 | 245 x 205 | | landscape | 7.2 x 10.6 | 182 x 269 | | | | | | B portrait | 15.7 x 10.6 | 397 x 269 | | landscape | 9.7 x 16.6 | 245 x 421 | | | | | | C portrait | 20.7 x 16.6 | 524 x 421 | | landscape | 15.7 x 20.6 | 398 x 549 | | | | | | D portrait | 32.7 x 21.6 | 829 x 548 | | landscape | 20.7 x 33.6 | 525 x 854 | | roll(*) | 64.0 x 23.6 | 1625 x 599 | | | | | | E portrait | 42.7 x 33.6 | 1084 x 854 | | roll(*) | 64.0 x 35.6 | 1625 x 904 | |_____________________________|_______________|______________| | | | | | Architectural A portrait | 10.7 x 8.6 | 271 x 219 | | landscape | 7.7 x 11.6 | 195 x 295 | | | | | | B portrait | 16.7 x 11.6 | 423 x 295 | | landscape | 10.7 x 17.6 | 271 x 447 | | | | | | C portrait | 22.7 x 17.6 | 576 x 447 | | landscape | 16.7 x 23.6 | 423 x 600 | | | | | | D portrait | 34.7 x 23.6 | 880 x 600 | | landscape | 22.7 x 35.6 | 576 x 904 | | | | | | E1 portrait | 40.7 x 29.6 | 1033 x 752 | | | | | | E portrait | 46.7 x 35.6 | 1185 x 904 | |_____________________________|_______________|______________| | | | | | ISO A4 portrait | 10.3 x 7.9 | 263 x 200 | | landscape | 6.9 x 11.3 | 176 x 287 | | | | | | A3 portrait | 15.2 x 11.3 | 386 x 287 | | landscape | 10.3 x 16.1 | 263 x 410 | | | | | | A2 portrait | 22.0 x 16.1 | 560 x 410 | | landscape | 15.2 x 23.0 | 386 x 584 | | | | | | A1 portrait | 31.8 x 23.0 | 807 x 584 | | landscape | 22.0 x 32.7 | 560 x 831 | | | | | | A0 portrait | 45.5 x 32.7 | 1155 x 831 | ____________________________________________________________ --- 20 --- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ HP PAINTJET XL300 PLOTTERS IN HP-GL/2 MODE o The HP PaintJet XL300 must be allowed to finish a plot before starting another plot with a parallel cable. If you try to plot a second drawing before the plotter finishes a plot, the HP PaintJet XL300 will reset itself, clear its memory and terminate the original plot. o To configure the HP PaintJet XL300 as a serial device, the switches should all be set to the DOWN position. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ HP DRAFTPRO PLUS PLOTTERS o For best performance, choose a parallel interface. Serial is also available. o The HP DraftPro Plus plotter has an optional expanded mode (Page Format / Expand) which allows plotting in the pinch wheel area, and therefore increases the plotting area. Lines drawn in this area are subject to smearing when the wheels pass over wet ink. o You cannot render drawings on the HP DraftPro Plus plotter. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ HP DRAFTMASTER SERIES PLOTTERS o For interface options (serial and HP-IB parallel are both available), see the plotter's Setup Guide. o The HP Draftmaster plotters have an optional expanded mode (Page Format / Expand) which allows plotting in the pinch wheel area, and therefore increases the plotting area. Lines drawn in this area are subject to smearing when the wheels pass over wet ink. o You can produce long-axis plots with an HP DraftMaster plotter. The plotter's User's Guide explains how to ensure that the registration marks for frame-to-frame alignment are detected. o You cannot render drawings on the HP Draftmaster series plotters. --- 21 --- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ HP 7600 ELECTROSTATIC PLOTTERS o A plot on a smaller sheet than the default size for the 7600 will be centered in the middle of the page. For example, an A-size plot on a 240E will be centered about 17 inches from the edge of the paper. If you need to force an A-, B- or C-size drawing to the edge of the page, simply make use of a user page size that is set to the full height of the paper. For example, if you want an A-size plot along the X-axis, at the prompt "Enter the Size or Width,Height (in Inches):", enter the paper size as 10.5,35.18 for an E-size plotter, not the 10.5,8.0 as given for the A-size sheet. o The HP7600 Series Models 250, 255, and 355 provide a front-panel control to nest smaller-size plots to save paper. Refer to the HP 7600 Series User's Guide for details on this paper-saving and time-saving feature. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ HP LASERJET III AND IV PRINTERS IN HP-GL/2 MODE o Serial Interface. For serial interfaces on the LaserJet III, only 9600 baud / no parity, or 19200 baud / no parity, are available. o Memory. HP LaserJet III printers must have a minimum of 2MB of total memory to work with this driver. o Page Protection. The factory default setting for Page Protection is OFF. For some plots, this may cause only a portion of your drawing to be plotted and the error message "Printer Overrun" to be displayed. To avoid this problem, set Page Protection to "Letter/A4". Before doing so, check with your LaserJet User's Guide for advice on memory upgrades. o Legal Paper Size. If you want to plot a drawing longer than the 10.5 inches of letter-size paper, you will have to install your legal-size paper tray and set Page Protection to "LEGAL". If you don't have a legal-size tray, you can manually feed the legal-size sheets into the printer. You must set your printer for manual feed before you send the plot. A good time to do this is when AutoCAD tells you to "Position paper in plotter." If you do use manual feed, the HP LaserJet III will display what size paper to feed it. See the LaserJet III User's Guide for details of how to set up the printer for manual feed. Getting full-size plots on legal-size paper will also require more memory. --- 22 --- ________________________________________________________________________ TASK 4: CONFIGURING FOR RENDERED PLOTS (optional / inkjet plotters only) ________________________________________________________________________ To render a plot is to apply variable shading to surfaces in order to give a three-dimensional appearance to the drawing. AutoCAD Release 12 includes its own rendering routine, AVE RENDER (= AutoCAD commands RCONFIG and RENDER). However, we strongly recommend that, rather than AVE RENDER, you use the rendering routine HPRENDER supplied as part of this driver, because: o HPRENDER's features are geared specifically to HP plotters. o HPRENDER lets you specify the page size (unlike AVE RENDER). ------------------------------------------------------------------------ STEP 1: CONFIGURE AUTOCAD TO USE HPRENDER ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. At the AutoCAD command line, enter: RCONFIG 2. Press to see the Configuration Menu. (If you see a message stating that no rendering device is yet configured, this means that RCONFIG itself is not configured. Press to see the Configuration Menu and choose "Configure rendering device". Otherwise ...) 3. In the Configuration Menu, choose: "Configure hard copy rendering device" 4. From the list of devices, choose: "P386 AutoDesk Device Interface rendering driver" 5. The name of your current HPCONFIG (.CFG) file is displayed. Answer the questions with reference to your own plotter. For help on the port connection questions, refer to Task 2, Step 2 above. 6. Back in the Configuration Menu, choose: "Exit to drawing editor" --- 23 --- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ STEP 2: CONFIGURE AND PLOT WITH HPRENDER ------------------------------------------------------------------------ HPRENDER both configures the render attributes and sends the rendered drawing to the plotter. The rendered version of the drawing is not displayed on screen. 1. At the AutoCAD command line, enter: HPRENDER 2. In the Render Configuration dialog box, first check that the .CFG file displayed at the top is the same as the current one displayed in RCONFIG. If they are not the same, the rendering won't work. To change the current .CFG file, use HPCONFIG. 3. Set the render attributes: Render Type Smooth = smooth ON (slower, but smoother surfaces) Facet = smooth OFF (faster, but less smooth surfaces) Media Size Click on either inches or millimeters and then specify the width and height of the media to be used in the plotter for rendered output. The size you specify here is also used as the default in HPMPLOT. Position of Rendered Plot on Media Specify the bottom left and top right corners (1st and 2nd respectively) of the image to be rendered. The units are as under Page Size, and the X and Y co-ordinates are with reference to the bottom left corner of the page. Render to File To send the rendered output to a file rather than to the plotter, select Render to File and specify the filename in the window that appears. If Render to File is already selected, then to change the filename, click on Filename. CAUTION: The file could be as large as 20 MB, especially with a large page size. 4. To send the rendered drawing to the plotter (or to a file), click on OK. NOTE. If you are using the AutoCAD command SCENE to define the scene to be rendered, make sure that it refers to the CURRENT view - otherwise the orientation of your rendered drawing may not be correct. --- 24 --- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ PLOTTING A MIXED RENDERED AND NON-RENDERED DRAWING (HPMPLOT) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ HPRENDER renders the current viewport or the model space view that you see on screen. If you want to plot a drawing with one viewport rendered and the others not, use HPMPLOT instead. (..MPLOT stands for mixed plot.) Before using HPMPLOT, you must already have used RCONFIG to configure AutoCAD for rendering, as explained above in Step 1 of this task. 1. At the AutoCAD command line, enter: HPMPLOT 2. In the Mixed Plot Configuration dialog box, first check that the plotter displayed at the top is the same as the one whose .CFG file is current in RCONFIG. If they are not the same, the rendering won't work. To change the current plotter, click on Device and Default Selection. The list of plotters that appears is as specified in the CONFIG command. 3. Change the mixed plot parameters as required, including the selection of the viewport to be rendered: Media Size Click on either inches or millimeters and then specify the width and height of the media to be used in the plotter. The default is as specified in HPRENDER. What to Plot Choose whether the area to be plotted is: o Display: as displayed on screen. o Extents: as defined by the extents of the drawing. o Limits: as defined by the LIMITS variable. Hide Lines Select this if you don't want hidden lines to be plotted. Render Type Smooth = smooth ON (slower, but smoother surfaces) Facet = smooth OFF (faster, but less smooth surfaces) --- 25 --- To File To send the output to a file rather than to the plotter, select To File and specify the filename in the window that appears. If To File is already selected, then to change the filename, click on Filename. CAUTION: The file could be as large as 20 MB, especially with a large media size. Scale If you want the drawing to be plotted to the same scale as specified in the drawing, leave this as 1 to 1. To plot to a enlarged scale, make the Plotted Units greater than the Drawing Units; vice versa for a reduced scale. If you want the drawing to be scaled to fit the media size specified above, choose Plot to Fit. Viewport to Render Click on Select and then select the relevant viewport in AutoCAD. 4. To send the drawing to the plotter (or to a file), click on OK. --- 26 --- ________________________________________________________________________ (3) D A Y - T O - D A Y P L O T T I N G ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ PLOTTING A NORMAL (NON-RENDERED) DRAWING ------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Enter the PLOT command to get to AutoCAD's Plot Configuration dialog box. 2. The plotter configuration currently selected is the one shown in the Device and Default Information box. If you want to change it, click on Device and Default Selection. 3. If you are using a non-standard media size, click on "Size ..." to specify the plotting area as a USER SIZE. plotting area = media size - margins For margins, refer to your plotter documentation. 4. We recommend that, if you are in any doubt about what will be physically plotted, you select a full preview in the Plot Preview box. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ PLOTTING A RENDERED DRAWING ------------------------------------------------------------------------ See above under Chapter 3, Task 4: o HPRENDER both configures and plots a rendered drawing. o HPMPLOT both configures and plots a mixed rendered and non-rendered drawing. --- 27 --- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DECIDING WHETHER TO CONFIGURE THE SOFTWARE OR THE PLOTTER ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Many of the features available in AutoCAD and in HPCONFIG are also available on the plotter - pen settings, number of copies, merge, etc. On the plotter, these may be available in the front-panel menus, in the setup sheet, or elsewhere, depending on the plotter model. To help you decide whether to set a parameter on the software or on the plotter, here are some considerations: o Do you understand which setting will take priority: software or plotter? It's not always the same answer. For advice, look up the feature either in this manual (chapter 2, step 3 and chapter 5, "HPCONFIG field-by-field") or in your plotter User's Guide. o If your plotter is on a network, or is used by several colleagues in any other way, do you want to affect just your plots or all their plots? If it's just yours, then you should configure the software. o Do you want to experiment with a plot while it is plotting, for example by changing the plot quality? This would be easier to set on the plotter. o Do you want to define a set of parameters for regular use in certain circumstances? For example, when plotting a drawing for a customer, you may always want final plot quality, scaled to fit, with specific pen settings. This would be easier to set on the software, by creating a special .CFG file. o How quickly do you want to make the change? It's likely to be quicker on the software. o How permanent do you want the changes to be? Temporary changes are likely to be easier to reset on the software. --- 28 --- ________________________________________________________________________ (4) T R O U B L E S H O O T I N G ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ERROR MESSAGES, IN ALPHABETICAL SEQUENCE ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "OUT OF ENVIRONMENT SPACE" It is not uncommon in AutoCAD installations to have a large number of environment variables set. This may result in the above error message. This message is usually seen when you boot your computer, or when executing a batch file that sets new variables. When you see this message, you need to increase the amount of memory reserved for environment variables on your system. To increase the amount of memory reserved for environment variables, you need to add or modify the SHELL command in your CONFIG.SYS file. The CONFIG.SYS file is located in the root directory of the boot drive, usually drive C. The CONFIG.SYS file may be modified with an ASCII editor. The following is a typical SHELL statement used to increase the environment size to 512 bytes: shell=c:\command.com /p /e:512 Environment memory may be conserved by setting environment variables to NULL when running DOS applications that do not need them. The most convenient method to NULL out environment variables is to add "SET envname=" statements to the end of batch files used to start applications. For example, here is a typical ACADR12.BAT file: 1. @echo off 2. cls 3. echo ... One moment please, loading AutoCAD Release 12... 4. set acad=c:\acad\support;c:\acad\fonts;c:\acad\ads 5. set acadcfg=c:\acad 6. set acaddrv=c:\acad\drv;c:\acad\drv\hpgl2 7. set rhpadi=c:\acad\drv\hpgl2\rhprtl.exp 8. c:\acad\acad %1 %2 9. set acad= 10. set acadcfg= 11. set acaddrv= 12. set rhpadi= 13. cls When AutoCAD is exited, lines 9 through 12 reclaim the environment space that was consumed by the commands on lines 4 through 7. --- 29 --- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "PLOTTER IS NOT READY ..." o Check the plotter's front panel. If it doesn't show that the plotter is ready (either by displaying "Ready" or, for plotters without a display, by the equivalent light being on), then investigate with the help of the plotter's documentation. o In the case of an HP DesignJet 200 only, you can check the plotter's status by using the "Plotter Status" dialog box in HPCONFIG. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "RENDERING AREA FALLS OUTSIDE THE PAGE SIZE ..." (IN HPRENDER) o In HPRENDER, reduce the size of the area specified by "Position of Rendered Plot on Media". Otherwise, the plot will be clipped. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "SPECIFIED AREA ... IS TOO LARGE FOR LOADED PAPER ..." This is a clip warning at plot time. You may see this message even if a full preview showed no problems, because the plotting areas for HP plotters are different than those assumed by AutoCAD for each standard media size. o You can specify the correct plotting areas - see "If the plot is clipped", later in this chapter. o If the area you are plotting contains space at the top and right of the image, continue plotting - there may be no clipping. o To skip clip warnings at plot time, choose the appropriate option in the Advanced Media Options dialog box in HPCONFIG. If you simply don't want any clipping - even if the size of the plot has to be automatically adjusted to the size of the loaded media - then click on "Don't clip. Adjust to media." ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "UNABLE TO DETECT IF SMOOTH SHADING IS DISABLED ..." (IN HPRENDER OR HPMPLOT) 1. At the AutoCAD command line, enter RPREF. 2. In the Rendering Preferences dialog box, select Smooth Shading. 3. Re-run your rendering routine (HPRENDER or HPMPLOT), this time ignoring the message. --- 30 --- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "UNABLE TO DO PLOT CORRECTLY ..." (IN HPMPLOT) o Check that the plotter displayed at the top of the HPMPLOT dialog box is the same as the one whose .CFG file is current in RCONFIG. Note that HPMPLOT refers to the list of plotters specified in the CONFIG command, while RCONFIG refers to a .CFG file. The two are matched in CONFIG. o Does the selected plotter support rendering? Pen plotters cannot render. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ "UNABLE TO OPEN FILE ..." o Check that the file exists by looking in both the current directory and the directory where the driver was installed (default ACADR12/DRV/HPGL2). How you look for the file depends on what type of file it is, but you could use DOS in all cases. o Check that, in the file CONFIG.SYS (usually in the root directory), the FILE and BUFFER statements contain values equal to or greater than 40. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ IF THE COMMAND HPCONFIG OR HPRENDER OR HPMPLOT DOES NOT WORK ------------------------------------------------------------------------ o These are commands in AutoCAD, not in DOS! o If they don't work in AutoCAD: - If you have successfully used them before, try quitting AutoCAD (after saving your work) and re-entering AutoCAD. - If they have never worked, there may be a line missing in the ACAD.ADS file, which would have been added automatically as part of the installation of the driver software if you replied "OK" to the relevant question. ACAD.ADS is normally in AutoCAD Release 12's program subdirectory. A line similar to the following should appear in this file: C:\ACAD\DRV\HPGL2\HPMPLOT.EXP If it is not there, add it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ IF YOU HAVE OVERWRITTEN A CONFIGURATION (.CFG) FILE BY MISTAKE ------------------------------------------------------------------------ o There is always a backup copy of the previous version of the .CFG files. See "Restoring old files" in chapter 2, task 2, step 4. --- 31 --- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ IF THE "SELECT DEVICE" BOX IS EMPTY (IN HPMPLOT / DEVICE AND DEFAULT SELECTION) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Either: o No plotter has been configured in CONFIG. See Task 2, Step 2. Or: o In CONFIG, no description was entered for the plotters being configured. Run CONFIG again and enter an appropriate description for each plotter. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ IF HPRENDER OR HPMPLOT RENDERS THE DRAWING ON THE SCREEN INSTEAD OF ON THE PLOTTER ------------------------------------------------------------------------ o The rendering driver is not correctly configured. At the AutoCAD command line, enter RCONFIG and reconfigure the rendering device. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ IF A RENDERED PLOT IS NOT THE SIZE YOU SPECIFIED IN HPRENDER ------------------------------------------------------------------------ o Check that the current configuration (.CFG) file quoted in RCONFIG is the same as the current one in HPRENDER. See Task 4, Steps 1 and 2 above. --- 32 --- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ IF THE PLOT IS CLIPPED ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This indicates a discrepancy between the actual plotting area on the loaded media and the plotting area as understood by your AutoCAD. o Check the actual plotting area for the media size you have loaded. Plotting area = media size - margins You can find all the relevant information in your plotter User's Guide or, for HP DesignJet series plotters, in chapter2 (task 3) of this document. o Check what AutoCAD understands to be the plotting area. This is shown in the Paper Size dialog box, accessible by entering PLOT and clicking on "Size ...". AutoCAD's assumed margins and areas are generally wrong for HP plotters. o Check that the graphic selected in the Media Options dialog box in HPCONFIG matches the orientation of the media loaded in your plotter. o Check all the selections in the Rotation and Origin dialog box accessible from the Plot Configuration dialog box (via PLOT). o Before retrying the plot, use Full Preview in the Plot Configuration dialog box. To ensure your plot is not clipped: o EITHER specify the plotting area as a USER SIZE in AutoCAD's Paper Size dialog box, o OR select "Scaled to Fit" in AutoCAD's Plot Configuration window and select "Don't clip. Adjust to loaded media" in HPCONFIG's Advanced Media Options dialog box. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ IF THE ORIENTATION OF THE PLOT IS WRONG ------------------------------------------------------------------------ o The best way to ensure that your output appears in the required orientation (landscape or portrait) is to use HPCONFIG's "Media Options" dialog box. See chapter 5. o Before retrying the plot, use Full Preview in the Plot Configuration dialog box. o If you are using the AutoCAD command SCENE to define a scene to be rendered, make sure that SCENE refers to the CURRENT view. --- 33 --- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ IF THE ORIENTATION OF A SMOOTH-RENDERED PLOT IS WRONG ------------------------------------------------------------------------ o As for any wrong orientation, check the Media Options dialog box in HPCONFIG. o If you were using HPRENDER ... Check that the current configuration (.CFG) file quoted in RCONFIG is the same as the current one in HPRENDER. See Task 4, Steps 1 and 2 above. o If you were using HPMPLOT ... Check that the plotter displayed at the top of the HPMPLOT dialog box is the same as the one whose .CFG file is current in RCONFIG. Note that HPMPLOT refers to the list of plotters specified in the CONFIG command, while RCONFIG refers to a .CFG file. The two are matched in CONFIG. o If all the above seem correct, check that DOS's CONFIG.SYS file (usually in the root directory) contains the statements: FILES = 40 (or more) BUFFERS = 40 (or more) ------------------------------------------------------------------------ IF THE ENTIRE PLOT IS IN ONE QUADRANT OF THE CORRECT PLOTTING AREA ------------------------------------------------------------------------ o The plotter's graphics language should be configured as HP-GL/2. For an explanation of how to check or change the plotter's graphics language, see your plotter's Setup Guide or User's Guide. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ IF THE OUTPUT IS DISTORTED OR UNINTELLIGIBLE ------------------------------------------------------------------------ o If you are using a serial interface between the plotter and your computer, make sure the plotter's serial interface settings (baud rate and parity) match the current settings on AutoCAD. To check or change the plotter's settings, see your plotter's Setup Guide or User's Guide. --- 34 --- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ IF PEN SETTINGS (E.G. LINE WIDTHS) SEEM TO HAVE NO EFFECT ------------------------------------------------------------------------ o In some HP plotters, you need to specify whether the pen settings are to be taken from the software (in this case, from AutoCAD) or from a setting made on the plotter. For example, in the HP DesignJet 200, pen settings are part of the setup sheet. Make sure this setting is as you require, referring if necessary to the plotter's documentation. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ IF HPCONFIG SETTINGS GENERALLY SEEM TO HAVE NO EFFECT ------------------------------------------------------------------------ o Maybe the .CFG file, which you see in the HPCONFIG dialog boxes, is not being used at plot time. In order to apply a configuration, you must not only save it in HPCONFIG, but also add it in CONFIG and then ensure that it is the current configuration at plot time, by checking in the Plot Configuration dialog box. --- 35 --- ________________________________________________________________________ (5) R E F E R E N C E ________________________________________________________________________ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ HPCONFIG FIELD-BY-FIELD ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The information below is the same as in HPCONFIG's help screens. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ HP PLOTTER CONFIGURATION The information in this dialog box, and in the five others that you can access from here, relates to the plotter selected at the top. To change the plotter selected, scroll through the list of configuration files. When you click on one, that plotter's full name appears above. To add a customized plotter configuration, choose an existing configuration file as a default, make your changes and then click on OK. The next dialog box asks you to name your new file. -------------------------------------------------- Number of Copies Enter the number of copies you want from each AutoCAD Plot command. Print Quality Select a quality level, or accept the plotter's default. Higher quality output takes longer to plot. Not all options are available for all plotters. -------------------------------------------------- --- 36 --- To define pen attributes, select Pens ... To add annotations to the plot, select Annotations ... To define your drawing's orientation on the media, select Media Options ... To avoid clipped plots or clip warnings, choose Advanced Media Options ... To see the plotter's current media and I/O status, select Plotter status ... (not available for all plotters) --- 37 --- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ PENS This dialog box lets you define pen attributes for the pen numbers you specify. Most pen plotters have eight pens, numbered 1 through 8, which will be activated as the following pen numbers defined here: 1 through 8, 9 through 16, etc. Inkjet plotters have no physical pens, but attributes you define here will be assigned to "logical pens". To change the number of the pen you are defining, click on the arrows on the bar below the pen number, or enter the number in the box. To have your specification apply to all pens, click "Apply to all pens". -------------------------------------------------- Plot Merge Control (inkjet plotters only; applies to all pens) Select "Lines Overwrite" to make intersecting areas show only the last entity plotted. Select "Lines Merge" to make intersecting areas show all lines and fills. This setting will apply only if Merge is OFF on the plotter. If Merge is ON on the plotter, it overrides this setting. Halftoning ... (HP DesignJet 650C only) Click here to access the Halftoning dialog box. For an explanation of halftoning, see below. Line End Select the shape for line ends. Round ends are recommended for most AutoCAD plots. Line Join Select the shape for line joins. Round joins are recommended for most AutoCAD plots. Fill Select a fill pattern. It will apply to TRACEs, PLINEs, DONUTs and ELLIPSEs. Raster Pattern means the pattern whose filename is currently selected on the right. This setting will apply only if Pen Settings/Palette is set to "from software" on the plotter. --- 38 --- Spacing, Angle, Shade These specifications apply to the fill option currently selected above. Raster Patterns (inkjet plotters only) The files named on the right contain some pre- defined patterns which you can choose as your fill selection. To apply a raster pattern, first select Raster Pattern from the Fill options. The highlighted filename is the current one. To change it: o either click on another in the list displayed o or click on Change to select from files in a different directory. --- 39 --- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ HALFTONING (HP DesignJet 650C only) Halftoning refers to the appearance of vectors drawn by the plotter in all colors EXCEPT the seven "pure" colors: red, green, blue, cyan, magenta, yellow and black. THE MODEL A VERSION OF THE HP DESIGNJET 650C (product numbers C2858A and C2859A) implements only one halftoning option ("pattern") and there- fore users of those models have no use for this dialog box. THE MODEL B VERSION OF THE HP DESIGNJET 650C (product numbers C2858B and C2859B) implements by default "scatter" halftoning, and offers "pattern" halftoning as an option. You can experiment between the two, but scatter is likely to give better results in most circumstances. To see the current plotter default setting, use the plotter's front panel to find Pen Settings / Default Halftone. The factory default is scatter. -------------------------------------------------- BENEFITS OF SCATTER: o The texture of many colored areas is more consistent. o Small text printed in light colors is easier to read. CIRCUMSTANCES WHEN PATTERN MAY BE PREFERABLE: o With certain "clip-art" packages. o When an HP-GL/2 plot contains a very large number of different colors in one pass of the plotter's print cartridges. o When scatter creates jagged lines and less sharp edges. --- 40 --- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ANNOTATIONS This dialog box enables you to define text or crop marks to be plotted: o in addition to the drawing o by pen number 7 (default black 2.54 mm) o on all plots using this configuration file. Text annotation is plotted at the bottom of portrait-loaded media and at the left of landscape-loaded media. Crop marks are plotted at the corners of the plotting area. IMPORTANT: Annotations shift your plot by 12 mm (0.5 in), which is not included in the width and height specification in the PLOT command. -------------------------------------------------- Drawing File Select to include the drawing filename and pathname. Plot Date/Time Select to include the date and time the plot began. Driver Name Select to include the driver name, plotter model and configuration filename. Crop Marks Select to include crop marks at the corners of the plotting area. --- 41 --- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ MEDIA OPTIONS This dialog box lets you make sure that your drawing is plotted in the correct orientation on the media. 1) Identify which of the eight pictures matches your requirement. o Is your on-screen image: - landscape (width > height)? ... then left column - portrait (width < height)? ... then right column o Is the orientation of the media loaded in your plotter: - landscape? - portrait? o Where do you want the biggest margin? (Pen plotters only) o Where do you want the origin? 2) Click on the correct picture. 3) IMPORTANT. If the physical orientation of the media in your plotter is portrait, then at plot time you must enter a suitable USER size with width less than height. --- 42 --- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ADVANCED MEDIA OPTIONS This dialog box helps you avoid clipped plots. 1) Identify whether AutoCAD's "Scaled to fit" option (in the Plot Configuration window) is ON or OFF. 2) If it is OFF, decide whether you want to be warned on-screen that your plot will be clipped. Click on the appropriate box. If it is ON, AutoCAD's standard estimate of the plotting area may not be correct for your plotter. To scale to fit the real plotting area, choose "Don't clip. Adjust to media" (not operational with all plotters). If you don't choose this, you can decide whether you want to be warned on-screen that your plot will be clipped. Click on one of the three boxes. HPCONFIG cannot access all plotter models to see what size media is loaded. If it cannot access your plotter, it will use the standard plotting area for the media size identified in the Plot Configuration dialog box, as long as this is a standard media size. -------------------------------------------------- Plotter Margins For plotters with an expanded margin feature, click on either OFF or ON, to match the current setting on the plotter. --- 43 --- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ PLOTTER STATUS This dialog box shows the current status of the plotter - media loaded, lever/window raised, plotter ready/not ready, etc. -------------------------------------------------- 1) In the "Plotter connected to:" scroll bar, select the port to which the plotter is physically connected. IMPORTANT. Any change you make here does NOT change the interface settings in AutoCAD. If you want to change AutoCAD's settings, use CONFIG. 2) If you want to see the latest status, click on "Get Status". (The status is NOT monitored continuously.) -------------------------------------------------- Media loaded The dimensions of the media currently loaded in the plotter. Baud Rate, Parity The serial interface settings are ONLY FOR GETTING THE PLOTTER'S STATUS IN THIS DIALOG BOX. The initial settings are the defaults for this plotter. IMPORTANT: If you have several configuration (.CFG) files for the same plotter model, then changing these parameters here changes them for all those files. --- 44 --- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ PLOTTING TO FILE ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Plotting directly to devices in AutoCAD can be a time-consuming task. Plotting to File has the following functional and technical advantages: o Plot files may be re-plotted at a later date without the necessity of reprocessing the vectors. o Plot files may be sent to remote sites that do not have AutoCAD but have access to a plotter or plotting service. This allows them to create additional original plots. o Plot files of "final release" drawings may be archived for document control purposes. o Plot data can be saved to a file much faster than most plotters can accept the data, resulting in less time users must wait for AutoCAD to process plots. o An inexpensive PC may be used as a plot server. The plot server does NOT require: - an AutoCAD license or to have AutoCAD installed - a color monitor - a floating point (math) coprocessor - a digitizer or mouse o The plotter's availability to other users is increased. Once plot files are generated, they can be copied to the plotter from your PC or a plot server. You can plot the file using the same techniques used on AutoCAD networks, or simply select a filename and transfer the .PLT file with the DOS COPY command. If you want to plot to a file, ensure that you have sufficient disk space to store the plot file containing the HP-GL/2 plot commands. Note that the plot file sizes are generally larger than the corresponding AutoCAD drawing file. This is because AutoCAD can store complex geometry such as text and hatch patterns very efficiently in the drawing file, but must convert each "pen stroke" into a HP-GL/2 command simply to dot an "i". Once you have plotted a drawing to a file, you can send a plot file to the plotter by typing a DOS command. The following example is for a file named TEST and a plotter installed on parallel port number 2. (AutoCAD always adds the .PLT extension when creating the plot file, but you must specify it explicitly when using the DOS COPY command.) C:\DWG>copy /b test.plt lpt2: --- 45 --- The /b option is required so the printer or plotter will interpret the plot file as a binary rather than an ASCII text file. The second example will copy the TEST plot file to the first serial port. C:\DWG>copy /b test.plt com1: Before copying a file to the printer or plotter connected to a serial (com) port, you must first issue a DOS MODE command to match the port's communications parameters to the plotter connected to it. Example for PaintJet XL and LaserJet III printers, type: C:>mode com1:9600,n,8,1,p Example for HP DesignJet, HP7600, and HP DraftMaster plotters (note that this should agree with the communications parameters set by the user in the plotter and the driver): C:>mode com1:9600,e,7,1,p These commands may be included in a batch file used to send plot files to the plotter. --- 46 --- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ PLOTTING ON NOVELL NETWORKS ------------------------------------------------------------------------ AutoCAD users on a Novell network benefit in sharing a common set of drawing and support files. In addition, networked AutoCAD sites gain improved plotting throughput by sharing printing and plotting devices. To take advantage of sharing a plotter on a Novell network, you should take the following steps: 1. Configure AutoCAD to Plot to File. 2. Specify the file name to be AUTOSPOOL. 3. Create a \SPFILES directory on your hard disk. 4. Create a SPOOL.BAT file per the following example: @ECHO OFF NPRINT %1 J=DNJET600 In this example, DNJET600 is the print job name. Your network administrator will have set up the Novell server for the plotter by making a PRINTCON entry for J=DNJET600. 5. Set AutoCAD's ACADPLCMD environment variable to invoke SPOOL.BAT. This variable should be placed in the individual client's AUTOEXEC.BAT or AutoCAD start-up batch file. Include SPOOL.BAT's full path unless it is placed in the client's DOS path. SET ACADPLCMD=c:\acad\novell\spool %%s This allows AutoCAD 386 to create a temporary plot file in the \SPFILES directory. AutoCAD 386 will execute the command specified in the environment variable ACADPLCMD upon plot termination. Novell NPRINT command will queue the file contents into Novell Netware's print server queue. Then, AutoCAD will automatically delete the temporary file. +============================================================+ | I M P O R T A N T | +============================================================+ | | | Do NOT use the Novell CAPTURE command to map an LPT port | | to a print server. AutoCAD does NOT use the BIOS | | for plot output. Please refer to the AutoCAD Release 12 | | Installation and Performance Guide page 47 and page 81. | | | +============================================================+ --- 47 --- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ COLOR PALETTE ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The color palette on Hewlett-Packard HP-GL/2 raster plotters and printers approximates AutoCAD's color assignments. For example, red will plot red and blue will plot blue on a color device. Monochrome plotters map a grayscale palette to AutoCAD's colors. The easiest way to see the color map for a particular HP-GL/2 device is to plot AutoCAD's CHROMA.DWG provided as a sample file with Release 12. By default, pen table pen numbers 1 to 255 correspond to AutoCAD colors 1 to 255. Colors may be re-mapped to any pen. However, the pen table is reset to the default each time the driver is reconfigured. Changes to the pen map may be saved and labeled so that different pen tables may be recalled for later use. Gamma correction is done by default to create a closer match to the intended AutoCAD colors. You can disable gamma correction by manually inserting "GAMMA 0" into the current CFG file. --- 48 --- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DRIVER FILES ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The HP-GL/2 Driver Software Disk is shipped with both real mode and protected-mode drivers. The files installed for AutoCAD Release 12 are: Filename Description ------------- --------------------------------------------------------- HP_DRV.TXT File that lists instructions to complete driver configuration after the INSTALL program copies the driver files. HPMPLOT.CF Holds the name of the current CFG file to be used for AutoCAD plotter CONFIG. filename.CFG Driver configuration files. HPMPLOT.DCL HPMPLOT dialogue control file, which defines the dynamic dialogue box for the HPMPLOT command. HP_R12.DOC Reference Guide (this file). PLHPGL2.EXP Protected-mode HP-GL/2 driver for AutoCAD Release 12, ADI 4.2. HPMPLOT.EXP Protected-mode ADS program that controls merged vector and raster plots. RHPRTL.EXP Protected-mode HP-GL/2 driver for AutoCAD Release 12 AVE Render, ADI 4.2. HPMPLOT.HLP Help file for the HPMPLOT dialogue box. filename.RPF Raster Pattern Files that define fill patterns that can be used by this HP-GL/2 driver with raster plotters. HP_DRV.TXT File created by the INSTALL program listing steps required to complete driver installation. This file may be deleted after proper driver installation is completed. TESTPLOT.DWG AutoCAD test plot drawing that illustrates special features of this driver when used with TESTPLOT.CFG on a HP-GL/2 raster plotter. Note that the correct raster plotter must be selected with the HPCONFIG command. TESTPLOT.PCP AutoCAD plot configuration parameters file for TESTPLOT.DWG. --- 49 --- The following temporary files are created during driver installation and operation. Normally, they are erased when the process is complete. Files may not be properly deleted in the event of an improper program termination such as a power loss or system failure. Filename Description ------------- --------------------------------------------------------- HPMERGE.HP$ Temporary file created by HPMPLOT HPSMOOTH.HP$ Temporary file created by HPMPLOT HP_DRV1.HP$ Temporary file used by the INSTALL program HP_DRV2.HP$ Temporary file used by the INSTALL program If these files are present when you are not in AutoCAD, delete them by typing the following command: C:\ACAD\DRV\HPGL2>del *.hp$ --- 50 --- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ EDITING CONFIGURATION FILES ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The plotter configuration file may be manually modified with an ASCII editor. The relevant information is supplied in the files SAMPLE.CFG and SAMPLE.DOC, which you can find in the same directory as this file, by default \ACAD\DRV\HPGL2. The information is for advanced users and system administrators who may want to change these settings without entering AutoCAD, or who want to have another program read the current configuration. --- 51 --- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ RASTER PATTERN FILE DEFINITION ------------------------------------------------------------------------ HP-GL/2 raster plotter devices can substitute user-selected patterns in place of AutoCAD's solid fill entities. The following twelve fill patterns are shipped with this driver. Filename Description ------------------------------------------------------------- AI-LOGO.RPF Autodesk, Inc. logo pattern DOTFILL.RPF Random dot pattern GRID.RPF Grid pattern GRID-5.RPF Grid pattern with every 5th line bold HP-LOGO.RPF Hewlett-Packard logo pattern LINEAR.RPF Linear gradation pattern MISSTILE.RPF Mission tile pattern RADIAL.RPF Radial gradation pattern RIVRSTON.RPF River stone pattern SEDIMENT.RPF Sediment pattern SHINGLE.RPF Shingle pattern SWAMPGRS.RPF Swamp grass pattern ------------------------------------------------------------------------ USER-DEFINED RASTER PATTERN FILLS Raster Pattern Fills (RPFs) can be created with an ASCII editor by following the syntax listed in this section. The .RPF files provided can serve as examples. The following rules apply to defining raster pattern fills: o Comments may be entered in the beginning of the file preceded by one of the following characters when it is the first printable character on the line. Double slash // Semicolon ; Pound # o The first non-comment line must be a pair of numbers indicating the number of rows and columns in the pattern. Each number must be a power of 2 that is ò8 and ó64. Out of range numbers will be rounded to the next higher power of 2, up to 64. Valid ranges are 8, 16, 32, and 64. o Each pixel or dot in a raster RPF is either filled or not filled. Zero (0), a period (.), or a blank space means no fill. Any other character will produce a filled pixel. o Values will default to blank when there are fewer rows than indicated by the row number at the beginning of the definition. --- 52 --- o Values will default to blank when there are fewer values in a row than indicated by the number of columns in the definition header. The following page contains a sample RPF file that creates the HP logo. --- 53 --- // Hewlett-Packard Logo Fill Pattern Filename: hp-logo.rpf // Raster Dot Off (0) = "." or " " (space/ASCII 32), or "0" // Pixel On (1) = any other ASCII character 64 64 ............................................................... ............................................................... ............................................................... ..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX..XXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.. .XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX..XXXX..X.......XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. .XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX..XXXX.............XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. .XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX..XXXX...............XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. .XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX...XXXX................XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. .XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX....XXXX..................XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. .XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX....XXXX....................XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. .XXXXXXXXXXXXXX.....XXXX.....................XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. .XXXXXXXXXXXXX......XXXX......................XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. .XXXXXXXXXXXX.......XXXX.......................XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. .XXXXXXXXXXX........XXXX........................XXXXXXXXXXXXXX. .XXXXXXXXXX.........XXXX..........................XXXXXXXXXXXX. .XXXXXXXXXX........XXXX...........................XXXXXXXXXXXX. .XXXXXXXXXX........XXXX............................XXXXXXXXXXX. .XXXXXXXXX.........XXXX.............................XXXXXXXXXX. .XXXXXXXXX.........XXXXXXXXX.......XXXXXXXXXX........XXXXXXXXX. .XXXXXXXX..........XXXXXXXXXXX.....XXXXXXXXXXXX......XXXXXXXXX. .XXXXXXXX..........XXXXXXXXXXX.....XXXXXXXXXXXX.......XXXXXXXX. .XXXXXXXX.........XXXX....XXXX....XXXX....XXXX........XXXXXXXX. .XXXXXXX..........XXXX....XXXX....XXXX....XXXX........XXXXXXXX. .XXXXXXX..........XXXX....XXXX....XXXX....XXXX.........XXXXXXX. .XXXXXXX..........XXXX....XXXX....XXXX....XXXX.........XXXXXXX. .XXXXXXX..........XXXX....XXXX....XXXX....XXXX.........XXXXXXX. .XXXXXXX..........XXXX....XXXX....XXXX....XXXX.........XXXXXXX. .XXXXXX..........XXXX....XXXX....XXXX....XXXX...........XXXXXX. .XXXXXX..........XXXX....XXXX....XXXX....XXXX...........XXXXXX. .XXXXXX..........XXXX....XXXX....XXXX....XXXX...........XXXXXX. .XXXXXXX.........XXXX....XXXX....XXXX....XXXX..........XXXXXXX. .XXXXXXX.........XXXX....XXXX....XXXX....XXXX..........XXXXXXX. .XXXXXXX........XXXX....XXXX....XXXX....XXXX...........XXXXXXX. .XXXXXXX........XXXX....XXXX....XXXXXXXXXXXX...........XXXXXXX. .XXXXXXX........XXXX....XXXX....XXXXXXXXXXXX...........XXXXXXX. .XXXXXXXX.......XXXX....XXXX....XXXXXXXXXX............XXXXXXXX. .XXXXXXXX......................XXXX...................XXXXXXXX. .XXXXXXXX......................XXXX...................XXXXXXXX. .XXXXXXXXX.....................XXXX..................XXXXXXXXX. .XXXXXXXXXX....................XXXX.................XXXXXXXXXX. .XXXXXXXXXX...................XXXX..................XXXXXXXXXX. .XXXXXXXXXXX..................XXXX.................XXXXXXXXXXX. .XXXXXXXXXXXX.................XXXX................XXXXXXXXXXXX. .XXXXXXXXXXXXX................XXXX...............XXXXXXXXXXXXX. .XXXXXXXXXXXXXX...............XXXX..............XXXXXXXXXXXXXX. .XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.............XXXX.............XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. .XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX..........XXXX...........XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. .XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.......XXXX.........XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. .XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX....XXXX......XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. .XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX..XXXX..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX. ..XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.XXXX.XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX.. ............................................................... --- 54 --- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ WHERE TO FIND MORE INFORMATION ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ ONLINE HELP HPCONFIG, HPRENDER and HPMPLOT have online help. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DRIVER DOCUMENTS This document covers all the tasks related to the AutoCAD Release 12 Driver for HP Plotters. A subset of the basic tasks for the most common requirements is explained in the printed Step-by-Step Guide, which is supplied when the driver is shipped with an HP plotter. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ AUTOCAD DOCUMENTS o AutoCAD Release 12 DOS 386 Interface, Installation and Performance Guide. Section: - Protected-mode ADI Plotter Drivers o AutoCAD Reference Manual for Release 12. Sections: - Plot command - Limits command o AutoCAD Customization Manual for Release 12. Sections: - ACADDRV Environment Variable - Custom Menus ------------------------------------------------------------------------ PLOTTER INFORMATION Each of the HP plotters and printers supported by this plotter is supplied with its own documentation: User's Guide, Setup Guide etc. Relevant information to be found in these manuals includes: o interface specifications (e.g. default serial interface parameters) o other default hardware settings o supported media sizes o margins o plotting areas (media size minus margins) o plot control features such as rotate and mirror --- 55 --- ------------------------------------------------------------------------ GETTING MORE HELP If have a specific problem which you can't resolve by using any of this documentation, then contact either your authorized AutoCAD dealer or your HP Customer Support Center. ________________________________________________________________________ END OF REFERENCE GUIDE (HP_R12.DOC)