PlotterManager

Lists the names of printers supported by the the operating system.

(Ooptional) Describes the plotter configuration, and is displayed by tooltips.

Closes the dialog box and saves the changes.

Ignores the changes and closes the dialog box,

AutoSpool

Sends drawings to the spooler software, which records the plot file and then sends it to the printer.

The spooler software must be set up separately, although generally no longer necessary as the operating system usually includes spooling.

Plot to file

Plots drawings to PLT files. These plot files can be read by other software programs.

Plot to the following port

Plots drawings to the printer attached to the specified port.

Show all ports

Displays the names of all local and network ports on the current computer.

Browse Network

Opens the Browse Network window so that  you to locate printers attached to the network.

Configure Port

Opens the Configure Port dialog box to configure the selected port.

Media

Specifies settings for the media (paper).

Collating

Specifies how to collate pages:

• None - does not collate; drawings are printed normally
• Regular - prints layouts of each drawing together

This option is useful when printing multiple copies of drawings with multiple layouts.

Graphics

Specifies how the three types of graphics are handled by the printer:

Vector Graphics options:

• Color depth - specifies the number of colors to use
• Color - outputs the drawing in color.
• Monochrome - outputs the drawing in monochrome (black or shades or gray)
• Resolution - adjusts the resolution; a lower resolution is coarser, but prints more quickly
• Dithering - specifies the type of dithering, which simulates more colors at the cost of lower resolution

Raster Graphics options:

• Raster - adjusts how raster images are handled
• OLE - adjust how OLE objects are printed; ranges from None (does not print OLE entities, faster) to Best (prints OLE entities at highest quality)

• Trade-off - specifies how the program should handle drawings with very large raster images that take up much memory:
  
     Lower Resolution - prints images with lower resolution but full colors; suitable for photographs
     Balance - prints images with as many colors and as much resolution as possible
     Fewer Colors - prints images with fewer colors but full resolution; suitable for grayscale images

TrueType text options:

• TrueType as text - prints text as text; preferred when the printer holds the needed fonts.

• TrueType as graphics - prints text as graphics; preferred when drawings are printed to files.

Merge Control

Specifies how overlapping lines are merged:

• Lines Overwrite - specifies that entities with higher draw order overwrite other entities.
• Lines Merge - specifies that entities are blended to merge their colors; allows entities with lower draw order to be seen.

Custom Properties

Accesses the Custom Properties dialog box, which lists properties unique to the selected output device. The  content varies according the capabilities of the device.

Custom properties are not supported on the Linux platform.

Scale Calibration

Calibrates the plotter;displays the Calibrate Plotter wizard.

This option was necessary in the days of pen plotters, which could go out of alignment; today's inkjet and laser printers not to have the problem.

Save As

Displays the Save As dialog box to save settings as PC3 files.

1. Enter a file name.

2. Click Save.

PC3 is short for "plotter configuration version 3"; these files store parameters for specific plotters. You can have multiple PC3 files for each printer and output device.

Defaults

Resets all options to their default values; prompts you:

Do you want to set everything to defaults? - (type Y or N.)