UPC3 - AutoCAD

Course 4
Model and paper spaces. Plotting drawings.

these notes are available for download at

http://cemsig.ceft.utt.ro/astratan/didactic/upc3-en

Overview
Two working environments:
model space
paper space

Model space: the

environment where the
model is created
Paper space: a layout
environment used to
prepare the drawing for
plotting
Two ways to prepare
drawings for plotting:
in model space
in paper space

Model space (single-view) drawings

The drawing, dimensions, and annotations created
entirely in model space
The method is simple but has several limitations:
Is suitable for 2D drawings only
It does not support multiple views and viewview-dependent layer
settings
Scaling the annotation and title block requires computation

Geometric objects are drafted at full scale (1:1)

Dimensions and annotations drafted at a scale that will
appear at the correct size when the drawing is plotted

Model space (single-view) drawings: process

Determine the unit of measurement for the drawing
(Drawing Units - DU),
DU), e.g. mm, m, km.
km. Drawing units are
those used to create the drawing in Model Space.
Draw at full scale (1:1) in model space.
Calculate and set the scale for drawing elements:
elements:
dimensions, annotations, and blocks.
Create the annotation and dimensions, and insert the
blocks in model space.
Plot the drawing at the predetermined plotting scale.
scale.
Units used to represent the drawing on plotted paper are
called Plot Units (PU). For the metric settings, Plot Units
are always mm.
mm.

Scales
Drawing scale DS is a ratio of corresponding lengths of
an object and its representation on the drawing. It is a
dimensionless number represented as 1:n. Drawing scale
controls how much the real dimensions of an object shall
be reduced (or magnified) for object to fit on a drawing
sheet.
Plot scale PS (in AutoCAD) is the ratio relating the size of
the plotted object to the size of the object in Model Space.
Space.
If the Plot Units and Drawing Units are identical
(PU=DU=mm), the plot scale is equal to the drawing scale
(PS=DS).
Drawing elements scale ES is a ratio relating the size of
drawing element (e.g. text height) in the AutoCAD model
to the size of plotted element. It is the reverse of plot
scale.

Drawing elements requiring scaling

Text. Set the text height as you create text or by setting a
fixed text height in the text style (STYLE).
Dimensions. Set the dimension scale in a dimension style
(DIMSTYLE).
Linetypes.
Linetypes. Set the scale for noncontinuous linetypes with
the LTSCALE system variable.
Hatch patterns. Set the scale for hatch patterns in the
Boundary Hatch and Fill dialog box (BHATCH).
Blocks. Specify the insertion scale for blocks as you
insert them

Scaling model space drawings: an example

A drawing was created using cm as drawing units:
DU=cm (1cm = 10mm). The AutoCAD drawing is to be
plotted using metric settings: PU=mm. The drawing is to
be represented on paper at a scale of 1:20 (DS=1:20).
Drawing Scale Factor DSF=1:20=0.05
Plot Scale Factor:
PSF = DSF

DU
1 1 cm
1 10 mm
1
=

=
= 0.5
PU
20 1 mm
20 1 mm
2

It may be more intuitive to compute PSF as follows:

1 mm
1 mm
1
PSF =
=
=
= 0.5
20 mm
2 cm
2
Drawing Elements Scale Factor ESF =1/PSF=1/0.5=2. To
create a text that would appear of height 2.5 mm when
plotted, draw a text of height 2.5*2=5 in Model Space.

Paper space
Model space:
Environment where the model is created (2D or 3D)
1:1 scale

Paper space (layouts):

Environment where the drawing is prepared for plotting

Units are millimeters or inches
Views of the model at different scales and orientations (viewports
(viewports))
Annotations, dimensions, title blocks inserted in paper units (mm)
(mm)

Layout process
Create the model on the Model tab.
Switch to the layout tab.
Specify layout page settings such as plotting device,
paper size, plot area, plot scale, and drawing orientation.
Insert a title block into the layout.
Create a new layer to be used for layout viewports.
viewports.
Create layout viewports and position them.
Set the orientation, scale, and layer visibility of the view
in each layout viewport.
viewport.
Add dimensions and annotations in the layout as needed.
Turn off the layer containing the layout viewports.
viewports.
Plot your layout at the 1:1 scale.

Create the model on the Model tab

Switch to layout view

Specify layout page settings

Insert a title block into the layout

Create layout viewports and position them

Turn off the viewport layer and plot layout

Creating layout tabs (paper space)

By default, a new drawing starts with two layout tabs,
named Layout1 and Layout2
New layout tabs can be created using one of the following
methods:
Add a new layout tab with no settings and then specify the
settings in the Page Setup Manager.
Use the Create Layout wizard to create the layout tab and specify
specify
settings.
Copy a layout tab and its settings from the current drawing file.
file.
Import a layout tab from an existing drawing template (DWT) file
or drawing (DWG) file.

LAYOUT command
Options: [Copy/Delete/New/Template/Rename/
SAveas/Set/?]
SAveas/Set/?]

Copy: Copies a layout

Delete: Deletes a layout. The most current layout is the default
New: Creates a new layout tab. Up to 255 layouts can be created
in a single drawing
Template: Creates a new layout tab based on an existing layout in
a template (DWT) or drawing (DWG)
Rename: Renames a layout
SAveas:
SAveas:Saves a layout as a drawing template (DWT) file without
saving any unreferenced objects (blocks).
Set: Makes a layout current
?: Lists all the layouts defined in the drawing

Creating layout tabs (paper space)

New layout with no settings:
menu: Insert>Layout>New Layout
keyboard: LAYOUT
shortcut menu
(right click on a layout tab):
New Layout

Create Layout wizard

menu: Insert>Layout>
Layout Wizard
keyboard: LAYOUTWIZARD

Copy a layout tab

keyboard: LAYOUT
shortcut menu: Move or Copy

Working with layouts

Make current:
Click the layout that you want to make current
Use CTRL+PgUp and CTRL+PgDown
SET option of the LAYOUT command

Rename: LAYOUT command or shortcut menu

Delete: LAYOUT command or shortcut menu
Move: shortcut menu (Move or Copy)

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Create Layout Viewports

Viewports created in paper space are called floating
Command:
menu: View>Viewports
View>Viewports
keyboard: MVIEW

Procedure:
specify the two corners of the viewport or
enter one of the options:
[ON/OFF/Fit/Shadeplot/Lock/Object/Polygonal/Restore/2/3/4] <Fit>

Advice: Always use a separate layer for viewports.

viewports.
Freezing/turning off this layer hides the viewports,
viewports, but
not the objects inside.

MVIEW Options
ON/OFF: makes the selected viewport active/inactive.
Objects in inactive viewports are NOT displayed.
Fit: Creates one viewport that fills the layout to the edges
of the printable area.
Shadeplot:
/hidden/rendered (for
Shadeplot: as displayed/wireframe
displayed/wireframe/hidden/rendered
3D drawings)
Lock: Prevents the zoom scale factor in the selected
viewport from being changed when in model space
Object: Specifies a closed polyline, ellipse, spline,
spline, region,
or circle to convert into a viewport
Polygonal: Creates an irregularly shaped viewport using
specified points
Restore: Restores viewport configurations saved with the
VPORTS command
2/3/4: Divides the specified area into 2/3/4 viewports

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Modify Layout Viewports

Viewports may be modified
using grips
using copy/move

Switching Model/Paper Spaces and Viewports

Click the Model/Paper button in the status bar
MSPACE/PSPACE commands
If you are in paper space, doubledouble-click within a layout
viewport.
viewport. You are now in model space. The selected
layout viewport becomes the current viewport,
viewport, and you
can pan the view and change layer properties.
If you are in model space in a layout viewport,
viewport, doubledoubleclick outside the viewport.
viewport. You are now in paper space.
You can create and modify objects on the layout.
If you are in model space and want to switch to another
layout viewport,
viewport, click within another layout viewport,
viewport, or
press CTRL+R to cycle through the existing layout
viewports.
viewports.

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Controlling viewports
Set the scale of the each viewport relative to the paper
space:
ZOOM command with the XP option (e.g. 0.1XP or 1/10XP will
create a 1:10 zoom of the view)
Change the "Standard scale" or the "Custom scale" property of
the viewport using the Properties Pallete (DDMODIFY)

Viewport scales are computed identically to Plot Scales

(PS) for drawings plotted from within Model Space
Scaling/stretching the viewport does not change the
scale

Visibility in viewports
Visibility of different objects in different viewports may be
controlled by freezing/thawing layers in specific (current)
viewports
Procedure:
in a layout view switch to model space in one of the viewports
using layer property manager, freeze desired layers in the current
viewport

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Dimensions and annotations

Dimensions may be created in:
model space
pros: easier and more intuitively to modify when the model changes
changes
cons: different dimension styles needed for different view scales
scales

paper space
pros: need just one dimension style
cons: great care should be given to choosing the right OSNAP points
points
for creating truly associative dimensions

Annotations (advice):
model space: annotations related to the model (part names, view
scales, etc.)
paper space: annotations related to the drawing (drawing title
block, notes on the drawing, etc.)

Plotting: Page setup

Specifies the page setup for the current layout. You can
also create named page setups, modify existing ones, or
import page setups from other drawings.
Command:

menu: File>Page Setup Manager

keyboard: PAGESETUP
shortcut menu: Page Setup Manager
Manager

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Page Setup Manager

Page Setup Manager

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Page setup manager

Name: displays the name of the current page setup
Printer/Plotter: specifies a configured plotting device to
use when plotting layouts.
Name: lists the available AutoCAD plotter configurations (PC3
files) or system printers.
Properties: displays the Plotter Configuration Editor (PC3 editor),
editor),
in which you can view or modify the current plotter configuration,
configuration,
ports, device, and media settings.
Plotter: displays the plot device.
Where: displays the physical location of the plot device
Description: displays descriptive text about the output device.

Plot styles
Plot style is an object property, similar to linetype and
color. It controls an object's plotted properties.
Using plot styles gives you great flexibility because you
can set them to override other object properties or turn
off the override as needed.
Groups of plot styles are saved in either of two types of
plot style tables: colorcolor-dependent (CTB) or named (STB).
ColorColor-dependent plot style tables set style based on the color of
the object.
Named plot styles can be assigned to an object independent of
color.

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Plot Style Table Editor

Command:
menu: File>
Plot Style Manager
keyboard:
stylesmanager

ColorColor-dependent
plot style tables:
associates specific
properties of plotted
objects to the object
colour

Plot Style Table Editor

Color: the plotted color for an object. The default setting
for plot style color is Use Object Color. Use "black" as the
plotted color to obtain a black and white drawing.
Linetype:
Linetype: Displays a list with a sample and a description
of each linetype.
linetype. The default setting for plot style linetype
is Use Object Linetype.
Linetype.
Lineweight:
Lineweight: Displays a sample of the lineweight as well
as its numeric value. You can specify the numeric value
of each lineweight in millimeters.
Save As: saves the lot style table to a new name

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Page setup manager

Plot Style Table (Pen Assignments): Sets the plot style
table, edits the plot style table, or creates a new plot style
table.
Name: Displays the plot style table that is assigned to the current
current
Model tab or layout tab and provides a list of the currently
available plot style tables.
If you select New, the Add Plot Style Table wizard is displayed,
which you can use to create a new plot style table.
Edit: Displays the Plot Style Table Editor,
in which you can view or modify plot styles
for the currently assigned plot style table.

Page setup manager

Paper size and paper units:
nits:
Displays standard paper sizes that are available for the selected
plotting device.
Paper units can be mm or inches

Plot Area: Specifies the area of the drawing to be plotted.

Layout: Plots everything within the printable area of the paper
size.
Extents: Plots the portion of the current space of the drawing that
that
contains objects.
Display: Plots the view in the current viewport in the Model tab or
in the current paper space view in a layout tab.
View: Plots a view that was previously saved with the VIEW
command.
Window: Plots any portion of the drawing that you specify by two
corners (using the pointing device or entering coordinate values).
values).

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Page setup manager

Plot Offset: Specifies an offset of the plot area relative to
the lowerlower-left corner of the printable area
Center the Plot: Automatically calculates the X and Y offset values
values
to center the plot on the paper.
X: Specifies the plot origin in the X direction relative to the lowerlowerleft corner of the printable area.
Y: Specifies the plot origin in the Y direction relative to the lowerlowerleft corner of the printable area.

The printable area is displayed by a dashed border in a

layout. It is determined by the plotter and paper size
selected in Page Setup Manager.

Page setup manager

Plot Scale: Controls the relative size of drawing units to
plotted units.
If the Layout option is specified in Plot Area, actual size of the
the
layout is plotted.
Fit to Paper: Scales the plot to fit within the selected paper size
size
Scale: Defines the exact scale for the plot, relating plot units
(mm/inches) to drawing units.
Custom: Defines a useruser-defined scale.
Scale Lineweights:
Lineweights: Scales lineweights in proportion to the plot
scale. Lineweights normally specify the linewidth of plotted
objects and are plotted with the linewidth size regardless of the
plot scale.

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Page setup manager

Drawing Orientation: Specifies the orientation of the
drawing on the paper for plotters that support landscape
or portrait orientation.
You can change the drawing orientation to achieve a 00-,
9090-, 180180-, or 270270-degree plot rotation by selecting Portrait,
Landscape, or Plot UpsideUpside-Down.
The paper icon represents the media orientation of the
selected paper.
The letter icon represents the orientation of the drawing
on the page.

Plotting the drawing

Command:
menu: File>Plot
keyboard: PLOT
toolbar:

Similar to the Page Setup Manager

Additional features:
Preview:
Preview: Displays the drawing as it will appear when plotted on
paper
Page Setup: Use a previously defined page setup or add a new
one.
Save changes to Layout: Saves the current Plot dialog box
settings to the current layout.
Plot Stamp On: creates info stamp (date/time/etc
(date/time/etc)
Plot to File

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Plotting the drawing

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