Explaining Plot Style Tables in BricsCAD

Quick answer: A plot style table applies style overrides to entities during plotting, without changing them in the drawing itself. Color-dependent tables (CTB) tie styles to entity color, always containing 255 fixed styles that can’t be added, removed, or renamed. Named tables (STB) let you define, add, remove, and rename styles freely (except the Normal style, which is protected), and assign them to entities explicitly or By Layer.

Opening the Plot Style Table Editor

Click Edit Plot Style on the Print or Page Setup dialog, choose Plotstyle Manager… from File > Print and double-click a CTB or STB file, or double-click a CTB or STB file directly in File Explorer.

The General Tab

Lists overall information about the table:

• Plot style table file name and Description.
• File info: path, number of plot styles, and editor version. A color-dependent table always contains 255 plot styles, one per colour.
• Apply global scale factor to non-ISO linetypes: whether to scale non-ISO linetypes across every entity the table controls.
• Scale factor: the scaling factor for non-ISO linetypes and fill patterns.

The Form View Tab

Lists the actual styles and their settings. A named table’s first style, NORMAL, represents an entity’s default properties and can’t be modified or deleted.

• Plot styles: for a color-dependent table (CTB), always 255 styles tied to entity color, none addable, removable, or renameable. For a named table (STB), one or more styles, addable and removable (except Normal), and renameable (except Normal).
• Description: for the selected style.
• Color: the plotted color, defaulting to Use Current; assigning one overrides the entity’s own color in the output.
• Dither: approximates colors with dot patterns on capable plotters; off, colors map to the nearest available colour instead, narrowing the range. Works with either the object’s own color or an assigned plot style color. Active by default, though setting it off has no effect in BricsCAD.
• Grayscale: converts colors to grayscale in the output, plotter capability permitting.
• Physical Pen #: 1 to 32, for pen plotters.
• Virtual pen #: 1 to 255, or Automatic to use the BricsCAD Color Index; only relevant for non-pen plotters configured for virtual pens (255 Virtual Pens under Color Depth/Vector Graphics on the Plotter Configuration Editor’s Settings tab).
• Screening: colour intensity, 0 to 100 (100 is full intensity); requires Dither to be active.
• Linetype: defaults to Use entity linetype; a selected linetype overrides the entity’s own.
• Adaptive: adjusts linetype scale to complete the pattern fully, prioritizing a complete pattern over exact scaling.
• Lineweight: shows a sample and numeric value, modifiable if needed; defaults to Use entity lineweight, this is the mechanism behind the “Use object lineweight” setting covered on this hub’s lineweight page. A selected value overrides the entity’s own.
• Line end style, Line join style, Fill style: each defaults to using the entity’s own setting, overridable if you select one.

Worth confirming: entities created in true color always plot using their own object properties (color, lineweight, and so on), the same rule covered on this hub’s entity colour page.

The Lineweights Tab

Lists available lineweights; ticked ones are the ones available in the Form View tab’s Lineweight field. Select one and click Edit to modify it.

Assigning a Plot Style Table

Plot style tables can be assigned separately to model space and to each layout, affecting both model and paper space entities. Choose None (use Default) to plot without applying any plot style properties. In STB-type drawings, every entity is assigned a style either explicitly or By Layer.

Plot style tables only take effect if Plot with plot styles is ticked in the Print dialog, the same plot option covered on this hub’s general printing procedure page (it applies only to viewports using the 2D Wireframe or Wireframe visual style). With it off, entities print using their own properties instead.

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I rename or delete a plot style in a color-dependent (CTB) table? No, CTB tables always have exactly 255 fixed styles, tied to colour, that can’t be added, removed, or renamed. Named (STB) tables allow this, except for the protected Normal style.

Does a plot style’s lineweight setting always override the entity’s own? Only if you assign one specifically; the default is Use entity lineweight, which leaves the entity’s own lineweight in place.

Do plot style tables affect entities created with true color? No, true-color entities always plot using their own object properties regardless of the assigned plot style table.

What happens if I untick Plot with plot styles? Plot style tables stop applying entirely, and every entity prints according to its own properties instead.