Understanding How to Print in BricsCAD
Quick answer: PLOT and PRINT plot drawings to printers and files through the Print dialog; -PLOT does the same via the Command line, intended for scripts; QPRINT prints immediately using the default plot configuration with no dialog; and PAGESETUP creates and edits page setups in the Drawing Explorer.
Platform Limitations on macOS and Linux
On macOS and Linux, printing to system printers isn’t possible; only the “Print As PDF.pc3” printer is available, generating a PDF you then send to a printer separately. PAGESETUP remains relevant on these platforms too.
Opening the Print Dialog
Any of: launch PRINT or PLOT, press Ctrl+P, choose Print… from the File menu, click Print… on the Output/PLOT ribbon panel (Drafting workspace), or right-click the Model tab or a Layout tab and choose Print.
The Standard Print Procedure
At minimum: choose a Layout tab or the Model tab, open the Print dialog, and select a Page Setup name. Everything after that is optional, used only if you want to override the selected page setup: printer/plotter configuration, plot style table, paper size, paper size unit, drawing orientation, plot offset, plot area, plot scale, plot options, shade plot mode (model space only), the print-to-file toggle, and number of copies. Preview the result, click Apply if you’re in a layout, then click Print.
All print settings and options save separately for the Model space and each Layout.
Choosing Paper Size and Unit
Choose a paper size from the dropdown; available sizes depend on the selected printer. Choose Inches or Millimeters for the paper unit; the paper size image reflects the plot area’s size, position, and orientation accordingly, and the Scale and Plot offset fields’ units change to match.
Choosing Paper Orientation
Portrait aligns the drawing or layout’s X-axis with the paper’s shortest edge; Landscape aligns it with the longest edge. If you’re in a layout, click Apply to update the display.
Defining the Plot Offset
Choose Center on page, or type values into the X and Y fields; the offset is calculated from the paper’s bottom left corner. Click Apply in a layout to update the display.
Defining the Plot Area
| Option | Result |
|---|---|
| View | Prints the portion shown in the current viewport or a saved view |
| Extents | Prints every entity in the drawing |
| Limits | Prints to the drawing’s defined limits (model space only) |
| Layout | Prints the current layout (paper space only) |
| Window | Prints a user-defined window, maintaining its aspect ratio; click Select print area and specify two corners in the drawing, or type X/Y coordinates directly |
Defining the Plot Scale
SCALELISTEDIT edits the list of available scales shown in the Print dialog, the same command that edits a paper space viewport’s Standard Scale property, covered on this hub’s annotative entities page.
Printing a paper space layout: the final plot scale is the product of the viewport’s own scale and the plot scale you set here. To keep control, specify each viewport’s width and height in drawing units, set each viewport’s scale to whatever you want in the final output, and let the plot scale express the relationship between paper units and drawing units:
| Paper unit | Drawing unit | Plot scale | Printed mm/inches = | Drawing unit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| mm | mm | 1:1 | 1 | 1 |
| mm | cm | 10:1 | 10 | 1 |
| mm | m | 1000:1 | 1000 | 1 |
| inches | inches | 1:1 | 1 | 1 |
| inches | feet | 12:1 | 12 | 1 |
Printing model space: the plot output’s scale equals the plot scale directly, provided your drawing unit matches the paper unit. Otherwise, multiply the plot scale by the relationship between paper unit and drawing unit. For example, to plot at 1/50 scale where 1 drawing unit equals 1 cm, the plot scale is 1/5; where 1 drawing unit equals 1 m, it’s 20/1 (or 1/0.05).
Setting Plot Options
| Option | Result |
|---|---|
| Plot object lineweights | Plots object lineweights, if Plot with plot styles is off |
| Plot with plot styles | Uses the assigned STB or CTB file’s settings; applies only to viewports using the 2D Wireframe or Wireframe visual style |
| Plot transparencies | Plots entities using their Transparency property |
| Plot paperspace last | Plots model space entities first, then paper space entities |
| Hide paperspace entities | Removes hidden lines from 3D entities in paper space (disabled when printing model space) |
| Plot stamp | Adds a header and/or footer; click Edit plot stamp to define it |
| Save changes to layout | Saves every change made in the Print dialog to the layout itself, toggling the Save changes to layout setting |
Setting the Shade Plot Mode
Defaults to “As displayed.” Click the list button to plot using a different visual style instead. This applies to model space printing only; a paper space viewport’s shade plot mode is set through that viewport’s own Shade Plot property instead.
Defining the Plot Stamp
- Click Edit plot stamp; the Plot stamp dialog opens.
- In the Header field, type text directly, choose a variable from the dropdown, type variable names manually, or leave it empty.
- Set the X and Y offset for the header.
- Do the same for the Footer field.
- Set the X and Y offset for the footer.
- Choose a font.
- Enter a font size.
- Set the unit to Millimeters or Inches.
- Click OK to save.
Available variables: $Name (the RegisteredOwner value from the Windows registry, requiring a manually added string key at Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Bricsys\RegisteredOwner), $Company (RegisteredOrganization, same registry key), $Date, $DateTime, and $DwgName (the drawing’s file name and path).
Header and footer text has three parts, left, centre, and right, separated by commas, centred by default. For example, $Name,$Company,$Date places your name on the left, company centred, and the date on the right. Type a space before a comma to leave that part empty and shift the text’s alignment, for example, $Company, , left-aligns the company name, while , ,$Company right-aligns it. Plot stamp settings save to the current user profile, editable directly in the Settings dialog under Program Options > Plot and Publish > Plot Stamp.
Specifying the Number of Copies
Type a value into the Number of copies field, or use the up and down arrow buttons.
Previewing the Plot Output
Click Preview in the Print or Page Setup dialog, choose Print Preview… from the File menu, or type preview and press Enter.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I print directly to a physical printer on macOS or Linux? No, only the “Print As PDF.pc3” option is available; generate a PDF and send it to your printer separately.
How do I calculate the correct plot scale for a paper space layout? Set each viewport’s width and height in drawing units and its own scale to your desired output scale, since the final plot scale is the product of the viewport scale and the plot scale you set in the Print dialog.
What’s the difference between Plot object lineweights and Plot with plot styles? Plot with plot styles uses the settings from an assigned STB or CTB file (only for 2D Wireframe or Wireframe viewports); Plot object lineweights instead plots the lineweights directly, and only takes effect when Plot with plot styles is off.
How do I add my name and company automatically to every printout? Use the $Name and $Company plot stamp variables, though these require a matching RegisteredOwner and RegisteredOrganization value added manually to the Windows registry first.