Plot style tables

The Plot Style Table Editor displays the plot styles contained in the specified plot style table.

Opening the Plot Style Table editor

Do one of the following:

  • Click the Edit Plot Style button on the Print or Pagesetup dialog box.
  • Choose Plot Style Manager... in the File menu, then double-click a CTB or STB file.
  • In a Windows Explorer window, double-click a CTB or STB file.

The Plot Style Table Editor includes the following tabs:

  • The General tab
  • The Form View tab
  • The Lineweights tab
  • The General tab

The General tab lists general information about the plot style table.

Name Description
Plot style table file name Displays the name of the plot style table file you are editing.
Description Displays a description you want to include about the plot style table.
File info Displays information about path, number of plot styles and the version number of the Plot Style Table Editor.
Note: A color-dependent plot style table always contains 255 plot styles.
Apply global scale factor to non-ISO linetypes Specifies whether or not you want to scale all non-ISO linetypes in the plot styles of entities controlled by the plot style table.
Scale factor Specifies the factor by which to scale non-ISO linetypes and fill patterns.

The Form View tab lists the plot styles contained in the plot style table and their settings. Plot styles are style overrides for your drawings that occur during plotting.

The first plot style in a Named Plot Style table is NORMAL and represents an entity's default properties (no plot style applied). You cannot modify or delete the NORMAL style.

Property Description
Plot styles Displays the names of plot styles contained in the selected plot style table.
  • Always contains 255 styles (1 for each color).
  • They are tied to entity color.
  • You cannot add nor delete a plot style.
  • You cannot rename a plot style.

Named plot style table (STB):

  • Contains one or more plot styles.
  • You can add or remove plot styles, except for the Normal style, which cannot be deleted.
  • Plot styles can be renamed, except for the Normal style, which cannot be renamed.
Description Description for the selected plot style.
Color Specifies the plotted color for an entity.

The default setting for plot style color is Use Object Color.

If you assign a plot style color, the color overrides the entity's color in the plot output.

Dither Depending on the capabilities of your plotter, dithering approximates the colors with dot patterns. When this option is not active, the colors are mapped to the nearest color, resulting in a smaller range of colors when plotting.

Dithering is available only when you select the object’s color or assign a plot style color.

By default, this option is active. Setting it to Off has no effect in BricsCAD.

Grayscale Depending on the capabilities of your plotter, converts the colors to grayscale in the plot output.
Pen # Specifies a pen to use when plotting entities that use this plot style.

You can select a pen number from 1 to 32.

Virtual pen # Specifies a virtual pen number between 1 and 255.

Choose Automatic to specify that BricsCAD should make the virtual pen assignment from the BricsCAD Color Index.

The virtual pen setting in a plot style is used only by non-pen plotters and only if they are configured for virtual pens (select 255 Virtual Pens under Color Depth under Vector Graphics on the Settings tab in the Plotter Configuration Editor).

Screening Specifies the color intensity of the plot on the paper.

The valid range is 0 through 100.

If you select 100 the drawing will plotted with its full color intensity. In order for screening to work, the Dithering option must be active.

Linetype Displays a list with an example and a description of each linetype.

The default setting for plot style linetype is Use Object Linetype.

The selected linetype overrides the entity's linetype in the plot output.

Adaptive Adjusts the scale of the linetype to complete the linetype pattern.

You can activate this property if a complete linetype pattern is more important than a correct linetype scaling.

Lineweight Displays a sample of the lineweight as well as its numeric value.

You can modify an existing lineweight if the one you need is not available.

The default setting for plot style lineweight is Use Object Lineweight.

The selected lineweight overrides the entity's lineweight in the plot output.

Line end style Displays a list of several end styles for the lines.

By default, the option Use Object End Style is selected.

If you select a line end style, the object's line end style will be overridden in the plot output.

Line join style Displays a list of several join styles for the lines.

By default, the option Use Object Join Style is selected.

If you select a line join style, the object's line join style will be overridden in the plot output.

Fill style Displays a list of several fill styles.

By default, the option Use Object Fill Style is selected.

If you select a fill style, the object's fill style will be overridden in the plot output.

Note: Entities which are created in true color are always plotted using their own object properties (color, lineweight, ...).

The Lineweights tab lists the available lineweights.

Lineweights with a tick are used in the Lineweight field on the Form View tab.

To edit a lineweight, select the lineweight in the list, then click the Edit button.

Assigning a plot style table

In BricsCAD, you can assign plot style tables to model space and to each of the layouts in a drawing. By assigning different plot style tables to each layout in your drawing, you can control how entities in the layout are plotted. The plot style table affects both model space and paper space entities. To plot the drawing without applying plot style properties, choose None (use Default) from the list of plot style tables.

In STB-type drawings, each entity in the drawing either is assigned a plot style explicitly or By Layer.

Plot style tables are used only if the Plot with plot styles plot option on the Print dialog box is ticked. When you turn off plot style tables, entities print according to their own properties.

Assigning a plot style table

  1. Open the Print or Page Setup dialog box.
  2. Select a Plot style table from the list box in the Plot Style Table (pen assignments) section.
  3. Click the OK button.