fitting drawing to paper space civil 3d

Lost in Paper Infinite (The Sequel)

30 Sep, 1996

By: Lynn Allen

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Last calendar month, nosotros covered some basics of Paper Infinite. I hope you've been dutifully applying this information in your drawing procedures and at present experience comfortable with these concepts. This month, we'll review the nuts and proceed into some of the more complicated aspects of Paper Space. Our goal is to be able to annotate and plot our drawings at a scale of 1:1-WYSIWYG: What you run into is what you get. We are trying to brand our daily lives with AutoCAD easier. We likewise desire to be able to have ane drawing with multiple scale factors and be able to plot multiple viewpoints of our three-dimensional drawings.

Let's footstep through the process and so far:

1. You lot are in Model Space-because tilemode is prepare to 1. Create your model at a 1:1 scale. Practise not place any dimensions or text on your drawing.
2. At present, yous're fix to enter the Paper World by setting tilemode to 0. Yous tin can also enter the Newspaper World past double clicking on the Tile button on the Status bar (Release 13 for Windows only). You will know you're in the Paper World because the UCSICON in the lower-left-manus corner of your drawing screen at present resembles a triangle. Set your limits to equal the size of the newspaper yous'll exist plotting on. Insert a title cake if desired.
3. Create a viewport layer and make it current. Now, we'll go get the model and place it on the paper. This process is washed with the MVIEW control. Option the ii opposite corners of a window y'all'd similar your model to fit into on your paper. Put a couple of viewports of your model in your drawing, and then we have something to work with.

Should you choose to piece of work within the viewports on your model (while in the Paper Globe), you tin key in MS (for Model Space). You tin too click on the Paper Space button on the status line (Windows R12 or R13 only). This action will not change the value of tilemode, but it will make one of the viewports active (or electric current). You lot tin can movement from viewport to viewport past picking within the desired viewport. You tin likewise use <Ctrl+V> to modify the active viewport. Discover that, as you Pan and Zoom, you're just modifying the brandish inside the agile viewport. If yous cardinal in PS to return to Paper Infinite and Zoom, you lot'll see yous're zooming relative to the entire sail of paper.

Golden dominion: Those things you lot create in Paper space can just be edited within Newspaper Space. Those things y'all create in Model Space can only be edited within Model Space.

Now, nosotros're set up to swoop deeper into the world of Paper Space. Y'all should take at least two viewports of your model on your screen. Brand one of the viewports active by keying in MS (or clicking on the status line).

Scale Factors
What calibration cistron are our models using? We created them at i:one, total scale, but who knows what they are set to now? We must be able to control the scale factors of these models with the viewports, which is done by using the XP option within the trusty ZOOM control-non exactly a logical assumption. XP stands for "Times Paper Space." The next part gets a little confusing.

What would you like your scale factor to be within this viewport? One-quarter inch equals one pes? Or did yous create something really pocket-sized that you'd like to make larger with a scale gene of two:1? Let'due south get-go with the simple architectural scale factor of i/iv"=one'.

If y'all were drafting on a piece of paper, the calibration factor of 1/4"=1' would mean that you were scaling everything downwards to fit on your paper. In fact, yous'd be dividing all the real earth measurements by 48. Where did I get 48? Simple: 1/4=12 is the ratio. So accept four, multiply information technology by 12, and you get 48; you stop upward with ane/48. 1/2"=1' gives you 1/24, 1"=one' gives y'all one/12, and so on.

To scale objects upwardly: 2:1 is equal to 1 divided by ii yielding .v, 4:1 is equal to 1 divided past 4 yielding .25, and and then on.

Table 1 Calibration Factors
3 inches = one foot	ZOOM 1/4 XP
3/4 inch = ane foot	ZOOM 1/16 XP
one/2 inch = i foot	ZOOM one/24 XP
three/8 inch = 1 foot	ZOOM 1/32 XP
1/iv inch = 1 foot	ZOOM 1/48 XP
1/8 inch = 1 pes	ZOOM 1/96 XP
2 inches = 1 foot	ZOOM .5XP
4 inches = one foot	ZOOM .25XP
one inch = ane foot	ZOOM 1/100 XP

If you want the calibration cistron within one of your viewports to exist 1/4"=1', enter the ZOOM command inside the desired viewport so enter i/48XP. This control will split up your full-calibration model past 48 within the viewport. Yous tin can easily make another viewport active and set the scale factor to something different by entering the ZOOM command and setting a different XP value. After setting the appropriate ZOOM scale factor, use the PAN command in the viewport to position the model properly inside the viewport. Meet how piece of cake it is to have multiple calibration factors per drawing when you lot employ Paper Space? A chart for some basic calibration factors is shown in Table 1.

Call up, we're simply taking the full-calibration model and scaling it downwards to fit on the paper.

Dimensioning
And so, you've set up your viewports to the proper scale cistron. Now, how do we go most dimensioning our model? Should we do it in Paper Infinite or Model Space? Nosotros'll be in the Paper Earth (tilemode is off), but nosotros'll dimension inside the floating viewports (Model Infinite).

While in Paper Infinite, Zoom up on the viewport you will be dimensioning. Switch over to Model Infinite, and arrive the agile viewport. Create and set a layer specifically for the dimensions you will be placing inside this viewport. To ensure that we get properly scaled dimensions, nosotros'll select the Scale to Paper Space selection within the DDIM dialog box (Release 13). If you're in Release 12, select Use Paper Space Scaling inside whatsoever of the dialog boxes accessed by DDIM. Backside the scenes, we're actually setting the dimension variable dimscale to 0. Set all the other dimension variables to the actual settings you lot want the dimensions to have (WYSIWYG). If you want the text to be 3/viii-inch high, y'all should set the dimension text to that superlative.

Here's the tricky office: when you dimension, AutoCAD will look at the calibration factor set within the viewport and utilise that value to summate the outcome of the size of the last dimension. It does this calculation automatically, to ensure that you go the text, dimension lines, extension lines, and then on exactly the size yous want without any extra hassle. AutoCAD does all the calculations for you. Y'all but demand to ready this up once and information technology works for all viewports.

Should y'all choose to dimension another viewport, you merely switch to some other viewport, create and set another layer for these new dimensions, and dimension away. AutoCAD will reevaluate the scale gene for this new viewport.

You may have noticed that the dimensions from the commencement viewport are showing up in the second viewport. This situation may not exist desirable, which brings us to the next topic: the ability to control layer visibility from viewport to viewport.

Viewport Layer Control
One of the most impressive benefits of using Newspaper Space is the ability to control layer visibility per viewport. For example, you might accept the DIM1 layer visible in one viewport simply not in another. This feature is very important to the success of Newspaper Space. You can't practise that with the standard tiled viewports of the Model World.

Paper Space has its very own LAYER command chosen VPLAYER (ViewPort Layer). VPLAYER allows y'all to freeze or thaw individual layers per viewport. We'll start off with this control-prompt driven command and and then migrate to DDLMODES, the Layer dialog box.

You must have tilemode set to 0 to enter the VPLAYER command. If a layer is already universally frozen (LAYER command), you lot cannot use VPLAYER to affect its visibility. The standard LAYER command always wins. VPLAYER tin be found in the Data pull-down menu under Viewport Layer Controls (Release 13). If y'all are in Model Space when you lot execute this command, VPLAYER will automatically switch to Paper Space when needed. When the command is completed, yous volition exist returned to Model Space. The VPLAYER command permits the use of wildcards as well (* and ?). It's frequently faster to enter the VPLAYER control and use wildcards than information technology is to manually select a grouping of layers in the layer dialog box. Y'all'll come across many Newspaper Spacers using this command on a regular footing, even though it'southward command-prompt driven because of its extra capabilities.

Command: vplayer

?/Freeze/Thaw/Reset/Newfrz/Vpvisdflt:

1. The ? option provides a listing of the frozen layers in the selected viewport.
2. The Freeze option is used to specify the layers y'all want to freeze. The following iii suboptions will announced when you use Freeze: All freezes the specified layer(s) in all viewports, Select freezes the specified layer(southward) in the viewports you lot select, and Current freezes the specified layer(s) in the current viewport only.
3. The Thaw pick thaws the specified layers in the selected viewports. When you utilise Thaw, the same three suboptions listed for Freeze will display.
4. The Reset option resets the layers dorsum to the default frozen or thawed land (see VPVISDFLT). You can reset the layers in the Current viewport, All the viewports, or Selected viewports.
5. The Newfrz (New Freeze) option is used to create new layers that are frozen in all viewports. Why would you desire to do that? When you have multiple floating viewports in your drawing, you ofttimes need to create a new layer that is visible in only one viewport. Apply the Newfrz option to create this new layer, which will be frozen in all the viewports. And so, go to the desired viewport and thaw that new layer. This process is much easier than creating the layer and so freezing it in all of the other viewports. I know information technology seems like a roundabout style of achieving something, but it works!
6. The VPVISDFLT (Viewport Visibility Default) selection is the concluding. If this option doesn't intimidate you, null in AutoCAD volition! Earlier explaining this option, let me prepare upward an advisable scenario (considering I'm sure your head is swimming by now).

Newspaper Space is an ideal method of creating detail sheets. Let's say you accept many dissimilar drawings that contain your details. You just desire to get those details and bring them all together into ane final sheet. Starting time a new cartoon, and go immediately to Paper Space. Gear up your paper (tilemode is off) and create your first MVIEW. The showtime item will go here. Enter the viewport (MS), execute the XREF command, and attach the commencement particular drawing.

If yous create another viewport for your next detail, you lot'll see that your starting time particular inconveniently displays in your second viewport besides. What to do? You lot could enter the VPLAYER control and use the Freeze pick to freeze all the layers in the new viewport. But y'all would end up freezing layers in all subsequent viewports as well. The VPVISDFLT pick comes into play at this betoken. Before creating your second viewport, yous tin can tell AutoCAD that you want to freeze all those layers from the beginning detail in all new viewports. Because external references assign the drawing name as a prefix to the layer names, it is piece of cake to use wildcards to control this layer visibility.

You tin use VPVISDFLT to Freeze or Thaw layers in new viewports. If you accidentally put the cart before the horse by creating the viewport first and then realizing you demand to change the VPVISDFLT, it's not a problem. Yous can use the Reset selection to update whatever existing viewports.

Have I lost yous yet? As I mentioned in my previous article, Newspaper Infinite is difficult to explain. But when the lightbulb goes on, you'll realize how simple and logical Paper Space actually is. You'll wonder how you survived without it, and you lot'll insist on showing your newfound expertise to your coworkers.

Let's look at DDLMODES. Though somewhat more limited than VPLAYER, you might find this visual control easier than VPLAYER. Before entering DDLMODES, exist sure to enter Model Space and set your current viewport to the one you desire to modify. DDLMODES only affects the electric current viewport, as shown in Figure 1.

CurVP
Located on the right-hand side of the Layer dialog box, CurVP controls the visibility of layers within the current viewport. Thw volition thaw the highlighted layers, Frz will freeze them. When a layer is frozen in the current viewport, a C appears next to the selected layer in the Layer dialog box. Afterwards hitting the last OK, AutoCAD volition regenerate all the viewports and update the cartoon to reflect the changes.

NewVP
As well located on the right-hand side of the Layer dialog box, NewVP controls the visibility of layers in all new viewports. When selected, an Northward will announced next to the selected layer. This option is similar to the Vpvisdflt selection in VPLAYER.

Miscellaneous Notes
If you have multiple floating viewports inside Newspaper Space, regenerations can get painful because AutoCAD insists on regenerating every single viewport. If you don't need to use a viewport for awhile, by all ways, turn the viewport off (MVIEW command). Though AutoCAD tin can display an unlimited number of viewports, your operating system determines the number of viewports that tin can be agile at whatever given fourth dimension. The MAXACTVP arrangement variable internally controls the maximum number of agile viewports AutoCAD volition enable at any given fourth dimension. The default value is 16, only a lower setting could improve your operation because inactive viewports are not regenerated.

If you program to apply xrefs in Paper Space, be sure to turn visretain to 1. This setting volition ensure that your Layer settings (which you've so advisedly set up up) are saved with your drawing.

When you plot multiple viewports, by default, AutoCAD will not remove hidden lines. To remove subconscious lines within viewports, y'all will demand to use the MVIEW control (Hideplot selection) to select the desired viewports (meet last month's column).

Crucial for the Release 12 users is the psltscale variable. When fix to a value of 1, AutoCAD uses the calibration factor within the viewport to command the linetype scaling. This setting permits different magnifications while displaying identical linetypes.

And then, now that y'all've set up your viewports, you might want the box to disappear around the edges of the viewport. Make certain y'all are in Newspaper Space, then freeze the layer on which you've placed the viewports. You'll find yourself with a finished drawing with multiple scale factors and views. When you create your final plot, the calibration factor is 1:i. It couldn't exist easier.

Now, permit me step through the entire procedure i last time.

The 10 Steps of Paper Space

1. Tilemode is prepare to 1. You are in the Model World. Create your model at a i:1 scale gene.
2. Go to the Paper world. Tilemode is fix to 0. Prepare your limits, units, grid, snap, and then on for the actual newspaper to which you plan on plotting. Insert a edge if desired.
3. Create and prepare a layer for your viewports. Be sure to use this layer for viewports simply considering y'all'll exist freezing this layer when yous brand your last plot.
4. Use the MVIEW command to bring in your model.
5. Enter MS, and calibration your model using the ZOOM XP option. Pan your drawing around if necessary to position it properly inside the viewport.
6. Dimension the model. Exist sure to prepare the dimensioning calibration cistron to Scale to Paper Space (or set up dimscale to 0). If you take multiple viewports, use a dissimilar dimensioning layer for each viewport.
7. While in Paper Space, annotate your cartoon. Fix the text height to the actual size you lot desire the final text to plot.
8. Use the MVIEW command to select any viewports in which y'all want AutoCAD to perform a hidden line removal (3D users only).
9. Freeze the viewport layer.
10. Plot at a scale factor of 1:1.

Though this overview of Paper Space is fairly comprehensive, in that location are still many minor subtleties you will discover over time. I hope the lightbulb went on for at to the lowest degree some of yous. Practice and patience are essential to Newspaper Infinite survival. Expert luck!

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