Knowledge detail

Layer properties Manager

Q: Why do some options of Layer Properties Manager seem to not work?

A: As shown by the figure below, the “Freeze in current viewpoint” and “Freeze new viewpoints” are dimmed out and seem to not work. This occurs when the drawing is in Model space; the options are available only in Paper space.

Ÿ Freeze in current viewport

freezes the selected layer in current layout viewport. You can freeze or thaw the layer in the current viewport of a layout without affecting visibility of the layer in other viewports. (Note that you must activate a viewport before freezing the layer: double-click the viewport to get into model mode.) Frozen layers are invisible and unable to regenerate or plot; you restore visibility through thawing the layer. This option is only available on layouts.

Ÿ Freeze in new viewports

freezes selected layers in newly-created viewports of layouts. This option is only available on layouts.

Knowledge detail

Entities missing from plots

Q: Why are some entities are missing in my plotted output?

A: If you find some entities missing from the printout, first check the Layer Properties Manager to see whether some layers have plot turned off.

 Note that objects on the DEFPOINTS layer will never be allowed to print, because this layer is by default a non-printing layer,because it is used to store information used by ZWCAD for dimensions.

A known problem is that some portions may go missing when drawings are printed to large paper sizes, such as A0 (metric) and E (imperial).

If this does not solve the problem, then it may be due to a problem with the drawing. Feel free to send the drawing to tech@zwcad.com for further investigation.

Figure: If the layer is not allowed to plot, then the objects on this layer are not be printed.

Knowledge detail

Insufficient memory when printing

Q: Why does the “Memory is not enough” error message appear when I print drawings? How can I fix it?

A: The problem may be due to the configuration of your hardware and software. Usually, printing requires large amounts of memory, especially when printing large, high-quality images. The error message typically appears on PCs with small amounts of memory (RAM). To avoid the problem, close programs that are not necessary. In addition, consider adding more RAM to the computer, or even to the printer, if it takes additional RAM.

Knowledge detail

Printing/plotting occurs slowly

Q: Why is the printing very slow?

A: Generally speaking, the printing/plotting function works well in ZWCAD. But the speed may be affected by factors like using the printer over the network, printing large images, or the configurations of the computer.
An alternative is to plot drawings as PLT files, and then plot them on another computer to a HPGL-compatible devices using Batch Plot function.

Knowledge detail

Rendered images

Q: How do I plot rendered entities as images?

A: Follow these steps to render drawings in plots:
    1. Use the Render command to shade-render the entities in your 3D drawings.
    2. From the View menu, choose Render, and then Preferences.
    3. In the Render Settings dialog box, choose the Rendering tab.
    4. You can save the rendered image as a JPG file by clicking the Save Last Image button.
    5. Finally, you can plot the image.

Knowledge detail

Plots with hidden lines removed

 Q: Does ZWCAD support hidden-line removal plots?

A: ZWCAD supports hidden-line removal in plots. To plot 3D drawings with hidden entities removed, you should turn on the Hidden Plot option in the Plot dialog box. 

Knowledge detail

About raster output

Q: How do I add more types of raster output?

A: ZWCAD supports many kinds of raster output, and you can add them through the Add-A-Plotter wizard. Additional raster formats may be available from the Internet; we have found that most of them work well with ZWCAD.

Knowledge detail

Use STB files for printing with ZWCAD

Q: How do I use STB files when printing with ZWCAD?

A: Plot tables come in two flavors. One is the traditional color-based plot table (CTB), the other is the newer style-based plot table (STB). A drawing file can use only one type of plot table, color-based or style-based.  At present, ZWCAD supports CTB files but not STB files.

Plot styles are property that can be assigned to objects and layers in STB-flavored drawing files. When set to ByLayer, objects inherit the plot style property from layers, just as they do with colors, linetypes, and lineweight.

(In AutoCAD, the PStylePolicy system variable specifies the plot style (STB or CTB) to be assigned to new drawings. The PStyleMode system variable reports the current drawing’s plot style: 1 indicates CTB, while 0 indicates STB. The ConvertPStyle command changes the type of plot style.) Since ZWCAD does not support STB, the commands mentioned in the above paragraph are not available for now. If you come across drawings that require STB files, you might be able to use the ConvertCTB command to change STB files to CTB files, and then open them in ZWCAD.

Knowledge detail

Customizing print styles

Q: How do I customize print styles?

A: You can modify Plot Style tables in ZWCAD. In the latest update to the program, you can modify many item of Style Properties as shown below, such as grayscale, linetype, and fill style.

 You can also save the changes by another CTB (color-based plot table) file name stored in your computer.