Printing Issues
Three days ago I installed the latest build of BCAD (10.4.7). The same drawing that previously printed fine now would print rotated (both on a plotter and to a PDF). To make my deadline I had to uninstall the new version, re-install the old version and print the drawings. This is the second time in a few months I have had to go through this time consuming process. I would like to comment on the larger issue and provide some context for the programmers. We have a small group of Planners and LA's that work together. Some use BCAD, some use ACAD. We also use A LOT of other software such as: VectorWorks, CorelDraw, Illustrator, Piranesi, SketchUp, Photoshop, Acrobat, Bluebeam, WiseImage and others. We have two Canon plotters (iPF700 and iPF500). We print maps and plans at a very large size for use in public meetings. Printing issues (especially rotated plots) have become a fairly common problem in both BricsCAD and AutoCAD in the last couple of years. We virtually NEVER have these issues with any of the other software I have listed here. I am not a programmer, but obviously these CAD programs handle printing differently than everyone else. My major source of irritation is the fact that printing occurs at the very end of the workflow process. You have work hard, the day is over, and you want to be able to hit the print button, grab the plot and hand it off for delivery or emailing. The last thing you want to do is to play around with plot settings to get a correct (useable) print. In other words, printing has to be rock solid and dependable. All that being said, I really do prefer BricsCAD. In my opinion it is far superior to AutoCAD. I would urge you to stop trying to emulate a faulty printing system, examine how other graphic programs approach this and come up with a better, more dependable printing system.
Comments
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I totally agree.
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Dear John,
only some words on these problems ... of course, we are also not happy to cause
this kind of trouble ...But there is another *major* point to respect - printing is not only used by users,
sitting on their machine; many of all that works done in printing area were caused
by API compatibility problems.Printing is also available via programming APIs ... thus, used by lot of applications,
in VB/VBA/ARX/Lisp etc. ... and in the past there were a number of incompatibilites
in Bricscad APIs, which caused all those applications to fail under Bricscad - and users
usually have no chance to adopt then :-(For users using both Acad and Bricscad, the slightly different settings were also a permanent
source of pain :-(For these both reasons, we were and still are forced to provide API (and end user)
compatibility mainly with Acad ...Only to provide some better view into background ...
Many greetings
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Torsten,
I'm sure from a programming standpoint I have greatly under estimated the problem. However, programmers need to recognize the consumer's experience. It may be quite difficult to correct some of these issues. Do I understand them? No. Do I care about them? No. I have a very singular goal, I need to have reliable software to complete my work. It is really no different than buying a car. You simply want transportation that is reliable. When you turn the key, it HAS to start. If a particular brand of car is unreliable, you will buy another brand. This REALLY is a major problem for users. I can say that [with the exception of our beloved Windows] I spend more time "baby sitting" CAD software than any other software. Over the course of a year, this becomes a huge waste of time.
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QUOTE:
"I need to have reliable software to complete my work. It is really no different than buying a car. You simply want transportation that is reliable. When you turn the key, it HAS to start."
Thank you John!
From an end user's point of view I agree 100%. (I am also a programmer, and concerning the API's, I think, the fault tolerance level is more forgiving because you have to expect that your code will not work perfect on the 1st try.) For the end user the fault tolerance level is very low.
Windows is frustrating enough. For Bricscad users it is more important that it works 100% reliably and efficient than the question of how similar the interface is to ACAD. And especially frustrating is of course if in a new release something does not work anymore that worked in the previous one.
Regards, Stephan
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I wonder if the other cad programs (similar to Brics) deal with this also? DoubleCad, Ares, ZWcad, Progecad and etc. have their glitches too but is printing one of them?
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I could not be any more frustrated with printing in Bricscad!! I set up my sheets 24x 36 landscape setup. I set all the settings in The cad program to match and the program looks like it is right. Now when I print out to the plotter a cannon 85001 the drawing is rotated. I had i t working once, then I had to change paper and the month it took me to make it print right is gone. And I have to start over. It would be nice to be able to print the way it looks like it should. I know that we have no access to support and documentation so I am tempted to head back to Auto cad!
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What's a Cannon 85001? a quick Google search didn't turn up anything. Is this the documentation you are missing? Also, Why don't you have access to support? If there is a problem, submit it. Just an idea, once you hit a sweet spot with the settings, take a screen shot, or jot down the detailed plot configuration. I did this even with Acad.
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What's a Cannon 85001? a quick Google search didn't turn up anything. Is this the documentation you are missing? Also, Why don't you have access to support? If there is a problem, submit it. Just an idea, once you hit a sweet spot with the settings, take a screen shot, or jot down the detailed plot configuration. I did this even with Acad.
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