From the course: MicroStation: Plotting in V8i

Using CAD data in the PDF - MicroStation Tutorial

From the course: MicroStation: Plotting in V8i

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Using CAD data in the PDF

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- [Instructor] In this exercise, we will investigate how to use and control CAD data sent to the printed PDF. Open the file for chapter three, Using CAD Data in a PDF. A PDF can include searchable text, real world measurements, levels, bookmarks, links, and even geographic information. First, let's print to a PDF using the default out-of-the-box PDF settings. Open the print dialog and select the magnifier for the printer and paper sizes. Select the pdf.pltcfg print driver configuration file. Since this is an out-of-the-box configuration file, there are a few steps we need to perform before we can print to a PDF. First, use the place fence command and select the green dashed element for the fence location. Next, change the paper side to ANSI D. Then pick the Maximize button. This should be enough to update the preview window and automatically set the scale to 50. Here's a tip. If you can't select the green dashed boundary element, verify that the locate is enabled for the border reference file. To make this exercise easier to demonstrate, I also want to change the PDF to automatically open when created. Using the print dialog, select the pull-down menu File, Edit Printer Driver Configuration. Select the Base Properties tab and change the Automatic Open Plot File After Creating setting to true. Save the file and close this dialog. Whenever a change is made to a print configuration file, the file must be reloaded to reflect the changes. Select the magnifier and select pdf.pltcfg. Select the Print button to create the new PDF. Now by default, the PDF will open automatically and we can review the PDF contents more easily. Depending on what PDF program you are using, the layers display may not be turned on by default. To check if you have this capability, right-click on the page thumbnail icon and turn on the Layers option. This will give you a layers icon located below the page thumbnail icon. If you select the layers icon, you can see that the drawing levels were not created by default. To change this, we need to modify the PDF configuration file again. Using MicroStation's print dialog, select the pull-down menu File, Edit Printer Driver Configuration. Expand the Driver Properties panel and change the Enable Optional Content to on. Save the file and close this dialog. Select the magnifier and reload the PDF configuration file. Select the Print button and create a new PDF. Now using your PDF reader, select the layers icon. Notice that the layers are now available to manipulate. If I expand the References, Terrain.dgn, Levels, I can turn the contours on and off in the PDF by selecting the open eye icon for each level. You can also measure distances in the PDF if your PDF software provides those tools. For this demonstration, I am using Acrobat Reader DC. First, zoom in on the upper building in the PDF. Here's a tip. Zoom in or out quickly using the Control plus mouse wheel. Once you are zoomed in on a PDF, you can double-click on the mouse wheel to open the overview pane. This makes it easier to move around on a large paper size. Using the panel, on the right of the PDF reader, I will select more tools and pick on the measure tools. This opens the measure bar at the top of the view window. Select the measuring tool and verify that the endpoint snap is selected and the distance measure is selected. Before you snap to your PDF elements, right-click and set the scale ratio to one inch equals 50 feet and set the distance unit to feet. Now you can snap to the bottom edge of the building. You can also use the measure area tool to measure any area on the PDF. Don't forget to change your units and scale ratio whenever measuring inside of a PDF. Now let's take a look at how you can control your printing environment automatically using print configurations.

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