Printing a PDF via CUTE ... where did it go?

bigradio
bigradio
edited October 2023 in 2D Drafting
I have been trying to transition from acad2002 to bCAD for a little over a year. Been able to use a customized 12 button mouse and a 48 key programmable keyboard to mimic the 12 x 12 digitizer I have been using in aCAD since 1987. While playing with the plotting functions of bCAD I found that, unlike aCAD2002, when I used CUTE PDF creator to plot a dwg I had no option to direct where it would end up ..... the product merely vanished. Where did it go and why couldn't I direct on a case by case event where I wanted it to go?

Comments

  • Anthony Apostolaros
    Anthony Apostolaros
    "Print As PDF" is a really good PDF printer that comes with Bricscad. You don't have to install it. Just pick it from the pull-down list of printers in Page Setup. When I give the "Preview" command, it creates a PDF file and opens it instantly. The PDF file is the print preview. If I just close it, the file is discarded. If I want to save it to disk, I have to do a Save As.

    I don't have CutePDF. When printing to PDF from other apps (other than Bricscad), I use PDF24, which always asks me where I want the PDF file saved. Bricscad has a variable called PlotOutputPath. Maybe CutePDF uses that?
  • Tom Foster
    Tom Foster
    I used to use Cute, before Brics introduced PrintAsPDF. The latter is far superior. What we're waiting for now is for it to become a PrintToJPG, TIF and the other formats, with top notch professional adjustability, which is dumbed-down in all the alternatives AFAIK.
  • Anthony Apostolaros
    Anthony Apostolaros
    Tom, what about Export to SVG or BMP? The PictureExportScale variable is supposed to let you export BMP's at higher resolution. For me in v17 there seems to be a limit to that. Maybe newer versions do better? And maybe they have more graphics file formats for the Export command?

    There are settings for SVG export too, but I don't have any other apps that can open SVG's, so I don't know how well that works.
  • bigradio
    bigradio
    Excellent comments! I will try "Print as PDF". Sounds like it will work like a charm.
  • ALANH
    ALANH
    edited October 2023
    If you have well organised layout title blocks use something like this. Print a A1 sheet to a A3 pdf. Note supplied pdfname for name and destination.

    (COMMAND "-PLOT" "Y" "" "Print as PDF"
    "Iso A3 (420.00 x 297.00 MM)" "m" "LANDSCAPE" "N" "W" "-6,-6" "807,560" "1=2" "C"
    "y" "Default.ctb" "Y" "n" "n" "n" pdfName "N" "y"
    )
  • Lyubov Osina
    Lyubov Osina
    Maybe this depends on CutePDF version? I have a CutePDF Writer v3.2, it opens Save dialog during printing. But as it was mentioned here, "Print As PDF" is a good alternative, also you can use Publish to PDF within BricsCAD.