Plotting in special formats

You can print your models and drawings from the think3 application to any device installed on your Microsoft® Windows system.

In addition to this, you can print to some special devices whose print options are controlled through the ".ini" files located in the "thinkdesign/files/printers" folder in the installation root directory. This document is intended to provide you with all the necessary information for using the special printing devices. It is composed of the following sections:

Overview on special printing devices

Printing to special format files enables you: The special device initialization files that come along with the think3 application are the following:
(All names mentioned above and in the following document are trademarks used for identification purposes only.)
The corresponding devices are displayed in the Name box of the Printer tab in the Print Setup dialog box, once you have selected the Print mode.



You can create your own special device initialization files, provided that you adhere to the following rules:

Structure of the initialization files

The following is one of the initialization files that you can find inside the "printers" subfolder (plot_bgl.ini). 
Use Gbplo=0
Name=BGL Plotter
Comment=
Type=Oce' Graphics G1964
Disp=BGL
Where=LPT1:
Resolution=
HWMargin=15,15
Formats
'A4 (29.7 x 21.0 cm)'   '297,210'
'A3 (42.0 x 29.7 cm)'   '420,297'
'A2 (59.4 x 42.0 cm)'   '594,420'
'A1 (84.1 x 59.4 cm)'   '841,594'
'A0 (118.9 x 84.1 cm)'  '1189,841'
endformats
Area SPECIAL
endarea
Area HIDE
endarea
You can edit the existing ".ini" files to change them as you need; you can also create your own ".ini" files (provided you call them "plot_....ini" in the "printers" subfolder). Most of the fields of the ".ini" files are displayed in the Print Setup dialog box opened by the (Properties) button in the Printer tab, when you choose the Print option.
Below, you will find a description of the fields of the ".ini" files and of how to edit them.
When your changes are applied

Please note that if you edit a ".ini" file while you have a think3 application session running, any changes you made will be reflected to the Print Setup dialog box only the next time you start the think3 application. In other words, you have to stop it and restart it to see your changes.
Use Gbplo=0|1 This instruction controls the way printing is performed:
0 Printing is performed using the think3 application's internal printing methods (default)
1 Printing is performed using GBPLO (GBPLO is a print program that is installed together with think3 applications and which can also be used separately (see GBPLO print program).

Name=name The conventional name assigned to the special format. The name typed in this field is displayed as the Name: in the Print Setup dialog box.
Comment=comment Any comment you like. It can be useful when you have defined two similar but not identical special printing devices, in order to distinguish which is which between the two. It is displayed as the Comment: in the Print Setup dialog box.
Type=type Conventional description of the device type. It is displayed as the Type: in the Print Setup dialog box.
Where=output device The name of the output device or of the file to which the plotting is to be directed. It is displayed as Where: in the Print Setup dialog box.
Resolution=nnn [dpi] The printing device resolution. You can express it in the following two different ways:
nnn dpi where nnn is the resolution value in dots per inch and the string dpi specifies "dots per inch"
nnn where nnn is the resolution value (notice that dpi is omitted) in points per millimeter.
If the resolution value is omitted, the default value corresponding to the device will be assumed. The resolution value is displayed as Resolution: in the Print Setup dialog box.

HWMargin=ho,ve In some devices, the printing area does not cover the full size of the sheet but is contained inside the sheet: there are some "hardware" margins that can be specified here.
  • The ho value is the horizontal margin applied to the right and to the left of the sheet
  • The ve value is the one applied to the top and to the bottom.
If the hardware margin values are omitted, the default values corresponding to the device will be assumed.
FOrmats
'format description' 'width,height'
...
endformats		 This section can be used to define the possible sheet sizes for your special device. You can define one format per line with the following syntax:
'format description' 'width,height'
where:
  • format description is any set of strings you like identifying the format (avoid using the ' character — single quotation mark — inside the set of strings)
  • width is the horizontal size of the format, in millimeters
  • height is the vertical size of the format, in millimeters
  • quotation marks are to be used to start and end both the format description and the width,height couple of values.
Area SPECIAL
 GBPLO's initialization file directive
...
end area

You can add to this section, one per line, any of GBPLO's initialization file directives appropriate for the specific device. The directives you add to the Area SPECIAL are displayed inside the Special Options frame of the Print Setup dialog box.

For example, in the case of the BGL format, you can manage the printing of large drawings so that the plotter effects printing in frames. To activate this printing mode, you will have to add the following directive:
FRA ON.

Such directives can be used wheteher Gbplo=0 or GBplo=1. For a complete list of the available directives, see GBPLO's initialization file directives.
Area HIDE
 GBPLO's initialization file directive
...
end area		 You can add to this section, as well as to the Area SPECIAL section, one per line, any of GBPLO's initialization file directives appropriate for the specific device. The directives you add to the Area HIDEare not displayed in the Print Setup dialog box. Such directives can be used wheteher Gbplo=0 or GBplo=1.

Creating your own initialization files

You may need to create your own ".ini" files to enable printing to some special device using customized printing parameters. Proceed as follows:
 
1 In the "thinkdesign\files\printers" folder, make a copy of one of the ".ini" files. Make sure you make the copy inside the said folder, otherwise the new file won't be recognized as a special printing device file.
   
2 Rename the copied file to "plot_string.ini", where string is a string identifying your printing device. Avoid using blanks inside string. Make sure you call the new file "plot_string.ini", otherwise it won't be recognized as a special printing device file.
   
3 Using any text editor program — for example, Microsoft® Word Pad —  edit the plot_string.ini file
   
4 Edit the ".ini" fields adhering to the rules described in "Structure of the initialization files".

The new device defined in the plot_string.ini file will be displayed in the Name box of the Printer tab in the Print setup dialog box, once you have selected the Print mode.

How special printing is performed

When you select one of the special peripherals listed in the Name selection box of the Printer tab in the Print Setup dialog box, your current model/drawing is printed to the output device or file you selected.