Why Does it Improperly List My AutoCAD Layouts?

 
Trying to determine if a user would like to print the modelspace of the paperspace while batch processing is no easy task.  For users that have strict standards setup it should be no problem because they typically put a titleblock in the paperspace and then we can easily tell that the layout should be plotted.  But for those of you who insist on following the old practice of putting your titleblock in modelspace and then using just a viewport in paperspace to show the paperspace view, there is no way for AcroPlot to determine if you want to print from the modelspace or from the paperspace.  In most cases we will assume that this is just one of the generic layouts that AutoCAD creates and we will not list it.
 
 

Our basic criteria for not listing a paperspace layout is:

 
  • If the drawing is R13 or older than there will be no paperspace layouts to list and the modelspace will be converted instead.
  • If the drawing is R15(2000) or newer and the programming call to return the paperwidth is 0.0 then we will not list it.  This means that the pagesetup has never been issues.  Even if you had never printed in AutoCAD there is typically a printer assigned to the layout if you had accessed it.
  • If there is only 1 modelspace viewport on the paperspace layout then we will assume that it is not a valid layout and will not list it.  If you do use your layouts this way then under the Setup > Change Setup Options you can check the "Always convert empty layouts" on the AutoCAD Tab to force it to list and covnert these.
 
 

Some things you can do to force it to list your layouts:

 
  • If you do use just a single modelspace viewport in paperspace then you can force it to list the layout.  Under the Setup > Change Setup Options you can check the "Always convert empty layouts" on the AutoCAD Tab to force it to list and convert these.
  • Add your titleblocks into the paperspace instead of the modelspace.  This is the way that AutoCAD is designed to work and the new Sheet Set Manager in 2005 basically required it to work properly.
  • You could also draw a rectangle around the outside of the viewport in paperspace and then place it an an unplottable layer or turn off it's visibility.