Extended Output Formats

The PLOT command controls the direct output of drawings to printers, PDF files, image files and Windows Enhanced Metafiles (EMF). Support for these output formats is itself important but also enables the production of higher quality graphical output including the use of TrueType text. The command used for each of the output types includes an options string to control the drawing process. Some options apply to all output types while others are specific to a particular type.

For these output forms the PLOT command takes the following alternative forms:

PLOT uuname [FILE] PRINT 'Options...' [papersize] [OVERWRITE]

PLOT uuname [FILE] PDF /filename 'Options...' [papersize] [OVERWRITE]

PLOT uuname [FILE] IMAGE /filename 'Options...' [papersize] [OVERWRITE]

PLOT uuname [FILE] METAFILE /filename 'Options...' [papersize] [OVERWRITE]

The Draft commands for the extended output types are an extension of the existing PLOT command and include the output type name and a configurable option string. The following are examples of the commands:

Example

The following options apply to specific output types:

• When printer output is used, a standard print form is displayed for the user to select a printer and set preferences.

• The specific options for printing cover: automatic adjustment of the drawing size to fit size and orientation of the paper with the REDUCETOFIT, EXPANDTOFIT and ROTATETOFIT options; special control of print form box for automatic drawing production in batch operation with the ONEDIALOG and NODIALOG options.

• Plotting a PDF file has the option to automatically launch the reader by selecting the VIEW option. The option NOVIEW is also available and is the default.

• The output of an image file is in one of the following standard formats: jpg, uncompressed tif, tif with LZW compression, tif-G4, png, bmp and gif. A tif image can contain a multiple pages.

• There are no specific options for the production of EMF file.

The following options apply to all of the output types:

• The COLOUR option defines how colour is to be handled when the drawing is output. The default setting in the options string would be 'COLOUR STANDARD', which will use the defined colours of the drawing unchanged.

  By setting the option to 'COLOUR BW' all of the colours are the set to black if the background is white and white if the background is white. This ensures that there is the best contrast in the output.

  The option 'COLOUR GRAYSCALE' converts all of the colours to an equivalent shade of gray.

  The option 'COLOUR COLOURPLUS' converts all gray, black and white colours to black if the background is white and white if the background is white. This adds contrast to the output drawing.

• The FRAME option draws a thin frame around the drawing using the specified colour number. An example of this in an options string is 'FRAME 3'.

• The BGCOL option sets the background colour to a specified colour number. The default background colour of all of these output types is white. An example of this in an options string is 'BGCOL 15'.

• The ISOCOLOURS and DICTCOLOURS options select alternative colour tables and are intended to be used in tty mode when the standard colour table in not available.

The following table summarizes all of the keywords and arguments that are valid in option strings. The command option strings are always specified in upper case and ‘/’ is used to indicate the minimum abbreviation of an option name: