PLOTTING MICROSTATION DRAWINGS - SLAC



MICROSTATION PLOTTING

Training guide

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By Olaf Muller

The Plot dialog box

All plotting functions can be performed from the Plot dialog box. Using the options in this box you can select a plotter and various settings that affect plotting. Additionally, you can preview the plot.

You can define the area to be plotted by placing a fence around the area of interest or setting up a view to display the required area. If a fence is present prior to opening the Plot dialog box, the fenced area is selected, by default, as the entity to be plotted.

To open the Plot dialog box

From the File menu, choose Print/Plot. Or press

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All options for adjusting plotting settings are contained in the menu bar at the top of this dialog box. Commonly used options also can be selected in the icon bar directly below the menu bar. The dialog box also provides information on the selected plotter driver, the Entity being plotted and the Pen Table being used (if any)

To display a plot preview

In the Plot dialog box’s icon bar, click on the Preview Refresh icon.

Or from the Plot dialog box’s File menu, choose Preview.

The Plot dialog box expands to display the preview image.

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You can shrink the preview box vertically until it disappears.

Choosing the area to plot

If a fence is present prior to opening the Plot dialog box, the fenced area is selected, by default, as the entity to be plotted. If there is no fence present, the contents of the lowest numbered displayed view are used.

If a fence is placed after opening the Plot dialog box, you can change the area that is to be plotted by selecting Entity from the Plot dialog box’s Entity menu and click on Fence.

Preparing to create a plot

Prior to plotting your design, you first have to choose the type of plotter. After selecting the plotter, you need to choose the page size and specify the layout of the plot on the selected page.

Plot drivers

MicroStation supplies drivers for most popular printers/plotters. One of these drivers “printer.plt” is specifically for use with a Windows Systems printer. Using the Windows Systems printer in MicroStation, does not provide the quality and flexibility required at SLAC. The Mechanical Design group at SLAC supplies and/or designs plot drivers for most common printers/plotters used at the SLAC Site. These drivers contain information on page size, line style, line width, plotter network location and other pertinent plotting information. To obtain a plot driver or have a plot driver customized, contact Olaf Muller at extension 2915.

See APPENDIX A for plot driver information.

Selecting a plot driver

In the Plot dialog box’s icon bar, click the Plotter Driver icon.

Or from the Plot dialog box’s Setup menu, choose Driver.

The Select Plotter Driver File dialog box opens.

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Select the new plotter driver.

Click OK and the Select Plotter Driver File dialog box closes.

Setting the page size and orientation

Most plotter drivers have a choice of page sizes. For example A, B, C, D and E.

The orientation of the plot also may be set to zero rotation or 90(.

To define the page setup for the plot

In the Plot dialog box’s icon bar, click the Page Setup icon.

Or from the Plot dialog box’s Setup menu, choose page.

The page Setup dialog box opens.

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From the Page Size option menu, select the desired page size.

Or in the Width and/or Height fields, key in the new values.

If required, turn on Rotate 90( to change the orientation of the page.

Click OK and the Page Setup box closes.

Plot Layout criteria

Prior to plotting your design, you can set the plot dimensions or scale to what is required. You can change the plot Width, Plot Height or Scale. These settings are interlocked to preserve the aspect ratio of the plot area. Changing one setting results in changes to the others. You cannot, however, set the plot Height, Width or Scale settings to a figure that would place part of the plot outside the area of the selected page.

In this section we will only discuss how to set the plot scale functions.

To set the exact scale of the plot

In the Plot dialog box’s icon bar, click the Plot Layout icon.

Or from the Plot dialog box’s Setup menu, choose Layout.

The Plot Layout dialog box opens. In its Page Layout section, the black rectangle represents the selected page for the chosen plotter. If a fence is the chosen plotting entity, a blue rectangle inside the selected page represents the plot area.

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In the Scale to Plotter Units field, key in the required MU:SU value.

Click OK and the Plot Layout dialog box closes.

To set the scale of the plot relative to the page

In the Plot dialog box’s icon bar, click the Plot Layout icon.

Or from the Plot dialog box’s Setup menu, choose Layout.

The Plot Layout dialog box opens. In its Page Layout section, the black rectangle represents the selected page for the chosen plotter. If a fence is the chosen plotting entity, a blue rectangle inside the selected page represents the plot area.

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In the scale % of normal field, key in the required value.

Click OK and the Plot Layout dialog box closes.

Submit the plot to the plotter

In the Plot dialog box’s icon bar, click the Plot icon to submit the plot to the plotter.

Or from the Plot dialog box’s File menu, choose Plot.

MicroStation Pen Tables

MicroStation pen tables lets you generate different outputs from a single design file or combination of design file and reference files. Output information can assume characteristics different from the original design file. The appearance of a design file can be altered selectively at the level of individual element characteristics. Also, the pen table lets you specify the plotting order of groups of elements, elements of specific color or line weight and elements of a specific type.

The pen table data is stored in a pen table file. The pen table consists of a series of sections that are tested against each element in the design file. When a match is found, the output options, such as line weight and color are applied to the element. The modified element then is converted into plot data, which in turn is plotted. At no time are the elements of the design or its reference files modified.

In this section only pen table functions that apply to the Facilities Design Department we will discuss.

If more information is desired, review the MicroStation online help or call Olaf Muller @ ext. 2915.

To load a Pen Table

From the Plot dialog box’s PenTable menu, choose Load.

The Select Pen Table File dialog box opens.

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Select the slac.tbl pen table.

Click OK and the Select Pen Table File dialog box closes.

To apply pen table criteria to the drawing

From the Plot dialog box’s PenTable menu, choose Modify.

The Modify Pen Table dialog box opens.

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In the Sections Processing order box select ref and in the Element Criteria file: box, select the appropriate reference file. In this example select the reference file with ZA as logical file name.

To check on the Output Actions, click on the Output Actions tab and review settings. Settings are to be as shown below.

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Now select in the Sections Processing Order box the active_file and in the Element Criteria file: box, select also the active file.

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To check on the Output Actions, click on the Output Actions tab and review settings. Settings are to be as shown below.

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Click on the [pic] and do a Preview Refresh to see if Output Actions took effect.

You are now ready to plot this design file with a reference file plotting in gray scale.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

1) Why aren’t the reference file elements screened?

Make sure that the correct pen table is attached and check that the criteria in the pen table meets the criteria of the element(s) in the design file. An easy way to check if an element is being “picked up” by a particular section in a pen table, is to toggle the Master Control in the Output Actions to “Don’t Display Element”. Then preview your plot to see if the element appears. You do NOT need to save the pen table after making these type of modifications to see the effect of the changes.

2) Why are the line weights come out too heavy/light?

The plotter driver that you have loaded is probably intended for either much larger or smaller plots. Make sure you have the correct plotter driver file loaded.

3) What is an RGB value?

RGB is an acronym for Red, Green, Blue. Every color has a corresponding RGB value. An RGB value is a set of 3 numbers (R,G,B) defining the color’s red, green and blue content respectively. Full (100%) content is represented by the number, 255. No (0%) content is represented by the number, 0. For example, blue is defined by the RGB value of (0,0,255)…0% Red, 0% Green, 100% Blue.

4) Why aren’t the elements plotting out in the correct color?

An element’s plot color is first determined by the color (RGB value) defined in the design file’s attached color table. This can be overridden by the attached pen table. The pen definitions defined in the plotter driver file have the “final word”, so to speak. Check the output actions defined in the pen table and the pen definitions in the plotter driver file.

5) Why does the plotter scroll out paper before it begins to plot?

The left and/or bottom margins are large. Reduce the bottom and/or left plot margins.

APPENDIX A

Black and White Drivers

FILENAME Location DESCRIPTION

HP1050_B24_BW_FS.PLT BLDG 24 RM 101 HP 1050 Black and White Full Size.

HP1050_B24_BW_HS.PLT BLDG 24 RM 101 HP 1050 Black and White Halve Size.

HP1050_B24_BW_LONG.PLT BLDG 24 RM 101 HP 1050 Black and White Long Plot.

HP700_B24_BW_FS.PLT BLDG 24 RM 101 HP 700 Black and White Full Size.

HP700_B24_BW_HS.PLT BLDG 24 RM 101 HP 700 Black and White Halve Size.

HP700_B24_BW_LONG.PLT BLDG 24 RM 101 HP 700 Black and White Long Plot.

HP755_B44_BW_FS.PLT BLDG 44 HP 755 Black and White Full Size.

HP755_B44_BW_HS.PLT BLDG 44 HP 755 Black and White Halve Size.

HP755_B44_BW_LONG.PLT BLDG 44 HP 755 Black and White Long Plot.

HP1050_B214_BW_FS.PLT BLDG 214 HP 1050 Black and White Full Size.

HP1050_B214_BW_HS.PLT BLDG 214 HP 1050 Black and White Halve Size.

HP1050_B214_BW_LONG.PLT BLDG 214 HP 1050 Black and White Long Plot.

HP8000_LETTER_BW.PLT BLDG 24 RM 101 HP8000 Black and White 8.5x11

HP8000_TABLOID_BW.PLT BLDG 24 RM 101 HP8000 Black and White 11x17

Color Drivers

FILENAME Location DESCRIPTION

HP1050_B24_C_FS.PLT BLDG 24 RM 101 HP 1050 Color Full Size.

HP1050_B24_C_HS. PLT BLDG 24 RM 101 HP 1050 Color Halve Size.

HP1050_B24_C_LONG. PLT BLDG 24 RM 101 HP 1050 Color Long Plot.

HP1050_B214_C_FS.PLT BLDG 214 HP 1050 Color Full Size.

HP1050_B214_C_HS.PLT BLDG 214 HP 1050 Color Halve Size.

HP1050_B214_C_LONG.PLT BLDG 214 HP 1050 Color Long Plot.

HP755_B44_C_FS.PLT BLDG 44 HP 755 Color Full Size.

HP755_B44_C_HS.PLT BLDG 44 HP 755 Color Halve Size.

HP755_B44_C_LONG.PLT BLDG 44 HP 755 Color Long Plot.

Definitions

Full Size Drawing size C, D, E and F. Line width and line style are drawn at full width and length.

Halve Size Drawing size A, B, C and half F. Line width and line style are drawn at halve width and length.

Long Plot Drawing length of 72”, 96”, 180”, 240” and 300”. Line width and line style are drawn at full width and length.

Black & White Only black and shades of gray will be plotted. Every color will plot out black except for colors 100, 150,180,205 & 230. (See below)

Color RGB Value % Screen

Black 0, 0, 0 100

Dark Gray 100,100,100 60

Dk/Med Gray 150,150,150 40

Med Gray 180,180,180 30

Med/Lt Gray 205,205,205 20

Lt Gray 230,230,230 10

Color Elements will plot in the color defined by the pen table that is loaded.

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