Setting options and configuring page setup for new layouts - AutoCAD Tutorial

- One of the ways that you can create documentation of a 3D model is to view it from different vantage points, through viewports. Viewports live in paper space, so we need to create a layout that will hold these viewports first. To start in that process, let's alter some of the program options. Type "op," Enter, for Options. Click on the Display tab, and check "Display Layout and Model tabs" if it's not already selected. We also want to show the Page Setup Manager for new layouts, and we don't want to create a viewport automatically when we go into the layout, so deselect the last option. OK, now we see Layout1 appear down here. It's blank. Click the tab, and the Page Setup Manager automatically appears. Create a new page setup. And I like to name these with the paper size that I intend on using. In this project, we will use 24x36-inch paper. And you should do that even if you're using metric units. The process is identical no matter which system of units you're using, but just so that everyone can stay on the same page, choose 24x36. OK, and then up here, you're going to select a plotter driver. In this project, we will create electronic output rather than printing to an actual device on paper. So let's choose DWG To PDF. The paper size needs to be selected here as "Arch D 36.00 x 24.00", the width measurement comes first. We want to plot the layout at a scale of 1:1, so there's no scaling, what you see is what you get. We need to also select a plot style table from this list. Select monochrome so that all the lines appear black. Choose "Display plot styles" so that that information is shown in the layout. Click OK, and you might think you can click Close, but wait a minute. Go back up here and double-click the new page setup to set it current. And then click Close. So there's our page setup. What we see is a representation of that sheet of paper, virtual as it is. And we also see a dashed line representing the printable area within that sheet. And this really is kind of a throwback to printing on physical paper, and we don't really need this limitation. I'd like to show you how to expand that plot area so that you can put drawings on the whole sheet, without having it cut off some of your information. Right-click on Layout1, and go back to the Page Setup Manager. Select 24x36 page setup and click Modify, and now we're back in this big dialog box. Click Properties to open up a custom dialog box that belongs to that plot driver. Go to Custom Paper Sizes. Add a new one. Use an existing paper size from the list. And we're gonna select "Arch D 36.00 x 24.00". Next, this is the size, that's correct. Next, and here's where you select the printable area. I'm going to select 0 in each one of these directions. Next, and then here I'm going to say... "Our paper size". Next, Finish. OK. OK. And we're presented with a question. "The page setup you just edited is referenced "by additional layouts in the current drawing." Namely, this one. "Would you like to update all layouts "that reference this page setup with these edits?" Yes. Close, and actually, nothing changed. Why is that? Well, we didn't select our new paper size in the page setup, let's go back one last time. Page Setup Manager. Modify. And right here, under "Paper size", we have to select... "Our paper size", near the top of the list. OK, Yes, Close. And now we don't see that dashed line anymore. And that means that we can put drawings on this entire sheet, and the whole thing will be output.