From: newman@Think.COM (Don Newman)
Newsgroups: alt.cad.autocad
Subject: Re: How to print directly AUTOCAD draw via the spooler (Unix) ?
Date: 28 Jan 1993 16:28:02 GMT
Organization: Thinking Machines Corporation, Cambridge MA, USA
Distribution: world
NNTP-Posting-Host: liszt.think.com

In article <1993Jan28.012649.22672@news.dfrf.nasa.gov>, binkley@dfrf.nasa.gov (Rob -Not from Bloom County- Binkley, EIT) writes:
|> Jari Hiltunen (jjhi@vipunen.hut.fi) wrote:
|> : In article <rouyn.727718884@tdsb-s> rouyn@mais.hydro.qc.ca (Usagers Rouyn) writes:
|> : >Hi, i'm using Autocad R12
|> : >on a SUN SYSTEM (670 MP), and my users are on IPX Sparc stations.
|> : >How can i send the ploting to the spooler of my unix system ?
|> : >I want that my draw beeing printed on the QMS 810 of my lan.
|> : 
|> : Read what the AutoCAD Installation Guide says about ACADPLCMD.
|> : 
|> 
|> OK...I know about the ACADPLCMD.  It works great...NOT!
|> In AutoCAD r12 you can configure (about) 29 printer/plotter
|> configurations.  OK...so I am on a moderate network which
|> includes a few dozen Macs (using ACAD), PCs (using the
|> Novell-aware (ha!) ACAD), and 2 dozen Sun Sparcstations
|> (using ACAD).  Everyone is networked together via a
|> Novell 3.11 server w/NFS.
|> 
|> I have access via the network to:
|> 	8 DIFFERENT Postscript printers (A size)
|> 	2 DIFFERENT Postscript printers (B size)
|> 	2 DIFFERENT HPGL Plotters (D size)
|> 	2 DIFFERENT HPGL Plotters (B size)
|> 	2 DIFFERENT Calcomp Drawingmasters (D size)
|> 	1 Calcomp Electrostatic Plotter (E size)
|> 	6 HP LaserJets (series 2, 3, 4) (A size)
|> 	1 Seiko Color Thermal Printer (Color Postscript) (A size)
|> 
|> So, each user (6 Hard core draftsmen and 30 ocassional users) prints/plots
|> to a variety of output devices.  How am I to configure AutoCAD to select among
|> each of these devices and plot to it?  I DON'T KNOW!  You can store the
|> (29?) configurations, but you can't tell it HOW TO OUTPUT TO THAT DEVICE!
|> I shouldn't have to select something outside of AutoCAD to print.  I shouldn't
|> have to do anything but select among the available printers configured
|> in that copy of AutoCAD from WITHIN AutoCAD.  Am i missing something?
|> 
|> Oh, by the way.  How come the Network copy of AutoCAD for the PC doesn't
|> know about NOVELL print queues?
|> 
|> 
|> -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|> | Robert L. Binkley, EIT    | INTERNET: binkley@xavier.dfrf.nasa.gov        |
|> | NASA Dryden FRF           |  ADDRESS: 130.134.144.2                       |
|> | PO Box 273  MS: B4840A    |    -or-                                       |
|> | Edwards, CA  93523-5000   |           binkley@xrt.dfrf.nasa.gov           |
|> | fone: 805-258-3776        |           130.134.128.86                      |
|> |  fax: 805-258-2792        |                                               |
|> |---------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|> |  barf  [ba:rf]  2.  "He suggested using FORTRAN, and everybody barfed."   |
|> |                                                                           |
|> |    - From The Shogakukan DICTIONARY OF NEW ENGLISH (Second edition)       |
|> -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
We also had this problem and were able to solve it through the ACADPLCMD environment variable and by writing two shell scripts.  Now when we plot, a shelltool window appears with a menu of available plotters.  The user selects the desired plotter and the file is sent to this plotter by the lpr command.

To use this approach, first set the ACADPLCMD environment variable as follows:

setenv ACADPLCMD "/usr/acad12/support/multiplot %s"

Adjust the pathname if the pathname of your ACAD support directory is different. You'll probably want to have this line in your .cshrc file so it get set automatically.

Next add the following two script files (multiplot and multiplot1) to your support support directory.


		MULTIPLOT

#!/bin/csh
shelltool -I "/usr/acad12/support/multiplot1 $1 ; exit" -Ws 400 300


		MULTIPLOT1

#!/bin/csh
clear
/bin/echo
/bin/echo		"Select desired printer/plotter"
/bin/echo
/bin/echo	" 1. hp4 -- HP pen plotter"
/bin/echo	" 2. lw4 -- Postscript laser printer"
/bin/echo
/bin/echo	"    default <1>:"
/bin/echo
set ans = $<

if $ans == '' then
  lpr -Php4 -r $1
if $ans == '1' then
  lpr -Php4 -r $1
if $ans == '2' then
  lpr -Plw4 -r $1
endif

Again, adjust the pathname and the plotter names to your needs.  

Finally, set the name of AutoCAD's default plot file name to "autospool."  To do this type "config" at the ACAD command prompt.  Select 7. Configure operating parameters.  Then select 3. Default plot file name.  Finally, enter autospool as the name of the default plot file.

This method has worked pretty well for us, but I hope that Autodesk fixes this serious problem for us network users in the next release.

Don Newman
Thinking Machines Corp.
Cambridge, MA
newman@think.com
 
Newsgroups: alt.cad.autocad