Plot

The File > Plot command brings up the Plot 2D Document dialog box.

Note: The following descriptions are based on the Windows interface.

Plotter drivers shipped with ARCHICAD all use the HPGL vector-graphic language. We refer to any printing device that supports HPGL as a ‘plotter’. GRAPHISOFT provides dedicated plotter drivers for most plotters; for printing, you must use printer drivers provided by the vendor.

Note: Many current large-format output devices come with printer drivers which make the device function as a system printer. If the device is also HPGL compatible, you can use the dedicated plotter drivers provided by GRAPHISOFT.

Plotter Setup

When outputting documents to a plotter, you first need to set up the plotter for ARCHICAD. The communication with the plotter device is ensured by specific plotter drivers stored in the PlotWare folder located by default in the same directory as ARCHICAD.

Choose File > Plot Setup to open the Plot Setup dialog box.

Note: The ReadMe file also contains extensive information on issues related to plotting, such as recommendations on the choice of drivers and cables, and network plotting.

When first using a plotter with ARCHICAD, you need to connect to it by clicking the Setup button in the Connection area.

You can only plot graphic data from ARCHICAD. If a text window is in front, both the Plot Setup and Plot commands appear in gray in the File menu.

Plot versus Print

Some of the basic differences with printing:

You cannot define a plot range; the entire contents of the active window will be plotted. From a Layout Window, you can choose to plot the Layouts selected in the Navigator.

You can choose a color for the lines of the window grid, if you wish to plot it from a 2D window.

Elements in a Trace view cannot be plotted.

You may prefer Plotting to Printing in these cases:

Spool Folder: You can output a print/plot job into a file in both Printing and Plotting. However, if you need to collect your output jobs into a spool folder, use the Plotting function. Set the location of the Spool Folder in the Plot Setup dialog box.

Grayscale Output Color: When Plotting, you have the option to select the color choice of the output: Color, Grayscale and Black and White are the available options. The Print dialog box lets you mark the Black and White checkbox if you prefer Black/White to color. (You can, however, also achieve grayscale output when printing: use grayscale Pen Sets for Model Views, or set grayscale display for Drawings placed on Layouts.)

Speed: Plotting is generally faster than Printing, so if you have a high-volume output job, you should consider Plotting.

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