Learn how to create a new layout environment for a 22x34 layout space and adjust the parameters in a digital design template. This guide takes you through the step-by-step process of modifying the layout environment, choosing the printer format, adjusting paper size, setting up the title block, and incorporating the new changes into your existing work.
Key Insights
- The layout environment can be modified by accessing the Page Setup Manager. Here you can adjust parameters such as the printer format and paper size, in this case, the selection was 'ANSI D expanded 34x22'.
- The title block can be set to print using a standard plotting style table such as the VDCI Standard. This allows for consistency in the printing process across various projects.
- When changes are made to the layout environment or title block, these changes can be incorporated into existing work by reloading the XRef. This ensures that all current and future work will utilize the updated settings.
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If you look down here at the bottom of the screen, as is normal, you will see that in our template file, we have three tabs. There is the Model, Model Space Environment tab, and there are also two layout environments that we've created, the VDCI 8.5x11 and the VDCI 11x17. 8.5x11 is here, 11x17 is here.
I'd like to create a new layout environment for our 22x34 layout space. So I'm going to take my mouse, go on top of the VDCI 11x17, do a right button, and I will choose New Layout. You can see that it's created a new layout tab right here, so I will click on it.
Now, when it creates a new layout, it is typically an 8.5x11 sheet. It has the edges of the paper, which are in the dark, it's showing where the printer area is, which are the dashed lines, and it auto creates for you a viewport. I'm going to go back into paper space, and I will delete out this viewport.
So again, this happens by default. Now what I need to do is to start changing this layout environment. So I will go on the tab, do a right button, and I will go to the Page Setup Manager.
So I click with the left button, and it's asking me the layout about which I wish to work, and I'm choosing Layout 1, and I will go Modify. What I'd like to do first is to start changing some of the parameters about the drawing. So what I'm going to be doing first is choosing the printer, and the printer format that I will be using is the drawing to PDF format.
Then I need to choose my paper size. The paper size I'm going to be choosing will be an expanded 22x34. So it's going to be an ANSI D expanded, and I'd really recommend that you choose the 34x22.
It's the same as the 22x34, but it's just a different formatting thing. So I'm going to choose the 34x22. Again, there's expanded, there's non-expanded.
The difference is that when you choose the expanded format, the printing area will be larger. So I'm choosing ANSI Expanded D 34x22, and I'm just going to accept, plot the layout. I will also go on and choose my title block to be printing the VDCI Standard plotting style table.
So I've chosen Drawing to PDF. I've said choose the ANSI D Expanded 34x22. For right now, I'm saying plot area is the layout, and I'm going to choose my color table file, the VDCI Standard 01, and I'm going to go OK.
So you can see now, as soon as I did that, the size of the image got larger. I'm now going to close this interface, but what I'm going to do next is to rename the layout. So I'm going on top of the tab, doing a right button, and I will choose Rename, and I will just type in 22x34.
So again, what I've done is I've created a new drawing called Working 1, and the new drawing, Working 1, I've added in a new layout environment that I'm calling 22x34. I then went to the Layout Page Setup Manager, and I created a new environment for an image that's an Expanded ANSI D 34x22. So I have already created my drawing, which is my VDCI title block, and I've saved the file.
What I now want to do is to XRef this VDCI title block 22x34 format into my deliverable sheet file, or at least this Working 1 drawing that I'm going to be using to test drive my title block. So I'm going back over into my Working 1 drawing. Now, when we drew our rectangle in our VDCI title block 22x34, we put the bottom left corner at 00.
There is a unique 00 for model space environment and for paper space environment. If I were to draw a line from 00, you can see that 00 is down here at the corner of the printing area. So I'm going to back up, and I'm going to XRef attach my model file in.
So I'll go to the Insert tab. I will say Reference Attach. I'm going to go up to my CAD 301 folder, and I'm going to slide down and choose my VDCI TTLB 2234 file.
I will go Open. It says, where do I want to put it in? I'm going to put it in at 00 and go OK. So what you can see is that when I brought this in, it brought it in at the 00 of the layout environment.
But you can see how the image expands beyond the printable area. So what we need to do is we need to fix this. We fix this by going into the model file, our title block file, and making the change there.
But what I need to do is I need to figure out how much I can move this guy. Now, if I were, for example, to say draw a line from the end of this corner right here, you can see that it said Invalid Point. There was no endpoint found for this, which is true, because there is no border in this area.
So what I'm going to need to do is to zoom in very, very closely and essentially eyeball what's going to be happening. So I'm going to be zooming very, very much, and here's how I'm going to do it. I'm panning, and I'm going to roll my wheel.
Now, you can see that by having my crosshairs here and the image there, that when I roll, it is rolling relative to my position. So what I'm going to do is do my roll backing from as close as I possibly can, and so I'm pushing my wheel away from me. So I have zoomed like the eye follicles on a fly.
I mean, I've zoomed in very, very, very much. So what I'm going to do is I'm going to draw a line, and I'm going to put my crosshairs so that you can see that as I'm zooming in, I'm right on top of that corner where it goes from dark to white. So I'm drawing a line from that point, and I pick.
And now it's saying, where is the other corner? And I'm going to type in 0,0, Enter. And now it's saying, look at the command prompt. What's the next point? Enter to say I've done.
So again, what I've done is I've drawn a line from this point right here up to 0,0, which is the corner of the printable area. I'm now going to zoom extents by pushing on the wheel twice. So what we need to do is this.
We need to take this line segment and to put it on the clipboard, and then take that line segment into our title block file, and use it to reposition our title block entity itself. So here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to say Edit, Copy with Base Point.
The base point is going to be the end or the intersection of the title block up here. And it says Select Objects, and I will choose that line. So again, I put this entity on the clipboard by choosing this point right here as my base point for the clipboard.
And the reason I chose this line for going to the clipboard is because in my 22x34 title block file, I have this corner that's right here. So again, I went Edit, Copy with Base Point. The base point is the end or the intersection of the title block right here, and I will now select that line.
Now I can delete this line, so I can go Erase and delete this line. The line is still in the clipboard. I'm now going to go back to my VDCI title block, and I'm going to say Paste.
I can either go Edit, Paste, or I can go Control-V. You can see the little line segment being drawn right there. I'm going to say pop it in at the end of that.
Now what I want to do is I want to move the rectangle. So I will say Move the Rectangle, Enter to say I'm done, from the end right here to the end down here. So again, what I've done is I've moved my rectangle so that even though I'm maintaining a base point of 0,0, when I import the title block file into my sheet file, I can still say bring it in at 0,0, but it will be putting it down at those corners that I need to have.
I'm now going to say Erase Window, Enter to say I'm done, Control-S, Zoom Extends, Control-S again. I will now go back into my Working 1 drawing. You can see that I have an XRef.
Balloon Notification happened. Again, there's a notification there. Notification is also showing down there, and I will reload the XRef.
When I've reloaded the XRef, you can see that it is right at that corner, Zoom Extends, Zoom Realtime, and Save the File. You normally only have to do this specific operation one time. The layout environments are printer specific, and so normally in an office, you will choose either the 22x34, the 30x42, sometimes 24x36 as your sheet file sizes, and you set up the title block one time, you go through this specific operation, and after that, you don't have to worry about it again.
I'm going to save this file, and we're going to come back in a couple of minutes and start working on the actual title block itself. I know this is complicated, it's challenging, but you only have to do it one time when you're setting things up for your office. So I'll see you in a few minutes.