Plot /print

• Set up or change the plotter/ printer (plotter type, paper format,...)
• Click on centre and press <F6> to gain an overview.
• Adjust the following settings:
  • adjust portrait or landscape
  • adjust plot scale with enlargement
  • activate automatic wrap
  • position the plot frame with align /centre and/ or via dragging
  • position the frame text

• click on start output (plot image is generated internally)

change output device

The selected output device is displayed in the menu on the left . The extensions mean:

The measurements of the active format are displayed in millimetres under plot format. You can adjust be other plot formats of your output device via change output device .

The plot frame on your screen corresponds with the printable area of your output device. The content of the plot frame is printed. Press the <F6>-key The <F6> key makes the plot frame and the plot image visible on screen.

Selection of portrait or landscape

Clicking portrait or landscape toggles between portrait and landscape.

The plot scale is adjusted by entering the scale factor under enlargement. The pattern will be output reduced/ enlarged exactly by this factor. The scale factors mean the following:

Adjust to scale 1:2 by entering 0.5 into the field below enlargement enlargement and press the <F6> key. You will notice that the plot frame now covers a greater area of the pattern. Switch also between portrait or landscape .

The adapt scale option adjusts the scale automatically so that the whole screen content fits optimally into the plot frame. Use this option only for scaled printouts and sketches as it alters the scale!

The scale can also be adjusted in the dialogue File plot , which is opened via change output device .

Positioning the plot frame ensues either by dragging (cursor on plot frame, press left mouse button and move mouse) or via clicking on the menu functions align or centre .

align always positions the pattern at the lower left edge of the frame, optimised for plot output. centre positions the plot frame centred over the plot image. Use align align for full-scale plots and centre centre for scaled output in A4.

A special feature of the pattern output function in Grafis is the automatic wrap. It allows for quick output of full size patterns to small scale printers by dividing the pattern into partial pictures which can be joined subsequently.

The automatic wrap is useful for output of full size patterns to devices with small format, i.e. A4 printers. A raster is superimposed onto the pattern (Picture 1) and each field is output separately. The partial pictures can then be joined together frame by frame. The raster is generated or eliminated by clicking horizontal wrap or vertical wrap . automatic wrap adjusts the number of raster so that the complete pattern lies within the raster. The last position of the plot frame is noted in the .mdl when saving. When the style is reopened, the plot frame is at the last output position. If none of the parts that have been output last are on the screen, the plot frame is automatically centred.

A standard annotation at the plot frame can be output with the picture for easy identification of the plot, especially on partial pictures when using automatic wrap . It contains collection and style name, part number and field co-ordinates (Picture 2). By clicking on frame text , the text is positioned at the left, right, upper or lower edge of the plot frame or it is not visible.

Clicking on change output device opens a dialogue with further plot options. Activating plot with frame outputs the frame on the plot. This option should be active for output with wrap.

Detailed information on the Settings and Print options dialogues as well as details on how to set up plotters/ printers with or without Windows driver can be found in the appendix under Plotter/ printer setup.

Output to file is required if your plots

• are to be output onto a plotter not directly attached to your computer and not accessible via a network or
• are to be transferred into a text or drawing software as HPGL files.

Plot to file is only possible for printer/plotters without windows driver. If the target for the plot device in the menu at the top is not yet displayed as 'to File:', open the Plot file dialogue via change output device ,select the plotter, activate the Edit button, set the option connected to: to FILE and accept these settings. To generate HPGL data select the HPGL-2 plotter.

If output to file is active, the control information is saved in one or more files (for automatic wrap). After initiating start output you are requested to enter a file name.

Grafis is not required for output of plot files to a plotter inland or abroad. It is important that the control information was generated especially for this plotter. For example, plot files generated with the ‘Algotex (to FILE)’ setting can only be read by an Algotex plotter.

To transfer the file to the plotter click on StartRun … in the input boxOpen: enter:

copy C:\test.plt com2:

c:\test.plt must be the complete path to the plot file including the name of the plot file. com2: must be the port to which the plotter is connected.

The copy command cannot be used for output to USB ports.

The Graifs plot manager can be used for output to a plotter with USB interface, see Plot manager.

Grafis supports the Windows clipboard for processing patterns in other Windows applications. The function Copy (clipboard) in the Edit pull-down menu copies the visible contents of the Grafis screen to the clipboard. The contents of the clipboard can be inserted into other Windows applications such as Word, Paint or Excel to create further fabric about the style or teaching fabric for example.

Grade a basic block in 5 sizes, centre with <F6> and copy the graded nest to the clipboard via Edit → Copy (clipboard). Now start a different Windows application (e.g. Paint) and insert the contents of the clipboard into this application. Process the graded nest by changing the line col-our, fill in the shapes or add annotation for example.