Plot

How to Print and Manage Plot Styles in LusoCAD

This article explains step by step how to print drawings in LusoCAD and correctly configure the plotting options, including adjusting scale and page orientation. It also shows how to create and manage plotting styles to personalise the presentation of your projects.

In this article, we'll explain how to print your drawing once you've finished it, using the plot command. To print, you can select plot from the file menu, use the Control P shortcut or type plot in the command line. When the plot command is activated, a window will appear where you can configure the print settings.

In the printer/plotter section, select the name that corresponds to the plotting method, for example: DWG to PDF. Then choose the paper size. LusoCAD offers several standard sizes. The plotting area determines which part of the drawing will be printed. You can choose between display, extents, limits, view and window. The window option is the most convenient, as it allows you to choose what appears on the printout by selecting two corners. After choosing window, check the centre of the plotting box to ensure that your drawing is centred on the page.

Plot Settings

In the plot scale section, you can change the scale factor of the drawing in relation to a unit, such as millimetres. In this example video, we selected "fit to paper" so that the drawing adapts to the size of the sheet. The plot shading option mainly affects 3D drawings, so we left the default setting for most 2D work. The quality option offers various levels, from draft (the lowest quality) to maximum (the highest quality). You can also include or exclude elements such as background, line thicknesses, transparency and plotting styles.

A very important setting is the orientation of the drawing. If your design is wider, choose landscape. To preview how the printout will look, click on preview to see an accurate image. When you're happy with the preview, select plot to save the file. Once saved, a text report will be available. The final PDF will demonstrate the quality and detail of your work.

Next, let's focus on plotting styles, also called pen assignments. When you open the plot command, you'll notice a plot styles drop-down menu. This menu allows you to select, open or create plot styles. Start by analysing the current plot style and then click on new to create a new one. You can use a PCP file or create one from scratch. For demonstration purposes, let's create one from scratch.

Click on the plot style editor to see all the available colours. You can modify any colour to assign new line thicknesses, line types or fills. In this example, make all the colours the same and adjust the line thickness to highlight the differences between plotting styles. To select all the colours, click on the first one, hold down the Shift key and click on the last one. Change the colour by selecting use object colour and update the line thickness. Save and close to apply the changes. Preview the plot to see the new style in action; the line thickness and red colour are now visible.

Plot Styles

To manage plotting styles, open the styles folder by typing Styles Manager in the command line. You can add new PCP files to this folder, making them available in the plot table style settings.

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LusoCAD TRIAL Version

Spanish version:

475 MB

English version:

475 MB

LusoCAD More Info

LusoCAD TRIAL Version

LusoCAD

Below is a table comparing the main functionalities available in LusoCAD 2025 and AutoCAD.® 2025.

LusoCAD vs AutoCAD®

LusoCAD 2025

AutoCAD®2025

StdProPlusLTFull
32-bit / 64-bit Support
.dwg/.dxf for AutoCAD® version 2.5 to latest
.pat,.shx,.lin and etc
Password Protection
File Recover and Audit
Purge
Etransmit
Sheet Set Manager
CAD Standard .dwsX
DWF Underlay
PDF Underlay
DGN Import and Underlay
DWG Convert
Import to WMF, SAT, 3DSPartiallyPartially
Export to DWG, DWF, DWFX, WMF, SAT, STL, EPS, DXX, BMP, EMFPartiallyPartially
Plot and Publish to PDF
Publish to DWF 2D & 3D
IFC Import/Export and EditXXX
RVT Import and EditXXX
Single-document Mode
Digital Signature
Batch Digital Signing Tool
Reset Settings to Default.
Mark UpXXX
STEP/IGES FilesXX
DWGUNITS

LusoCAD 2025

AutoCAD®2025

StdProPlusLTFull
Quick Properties
Block Palette XXX
Dark Theme
Hidden Message Settings
WorkSpace command
CUI Menus and Toolbars X
CUI Import & Export
Drag and Drop Customisation XX
Visual Menu Customisation
Ribbon/Classic
Properties Palettes
Design Centre/Tool Palette/Xref Palette
Command Line
Clean Screen
Dynamic Input and Auto Complete
Clickable Command Line Options XXX
File Tab
Floating Windows XXX

LusoCAD 2025

AutoCAD®2025

StdProPlusLTFull
Navigation Cube
3D Mouse Device Adaption
Lasso Selection
SELECTIONCYCLING
Right-Click + Drag Method
Selection Preview
Selection Effect Customisation XXX
Quick Select
Select Similar
Multifunctional Grips
OSnap
Grid and Snap
Polar & OTrack
Group
Distance from Endpoint and Divide Segments XX
ADDSELECTED Command
Multiple command

LusoCAD 2025

AutoCAD®2025

StdProPlusLTFull
Quick Measure by Hovering Rapid Distance Rapid Distance Rapid Distance
DIMCENTER Command PartiallyPartially
Reassociate Dimension
DIMTOFFSET XX
Standard Dimensions
Associative Dimension
Dimension Break
Quick Dimension
Qleader
Dynamic Dimensions
Multileaders
Voice Annotation XX

LusoCAD 2025

AutoCAD®2025

StdProPlusLTFull
Mtext
Text
Multi-language Character Set
In-place Text Editor
Mtext Superscript and Subscripts
Support .shx and .ttf font
Spelling
Fields
Text Align / Text Match Text AlignText Align
Change Text X X
Mtext Editor
Text Incremental Copy X X
Text on lineX X
Statistics SummationX X
Check spelling in Mtext
Revcloud
Wipeout X X
Automatic Text Numbering

LusoCAD 2025

AutoCAD®2025

StdProPlusLTFull
Auto Layer XX
Change to ByLayer (SETBYLAYER)
Layer Properties Manager
Layer States Manager
Layer Translator X
Layer Walk
Layer Previous
Layer Isolate
Layer Unisolate
Layer Lock
Layer Unlock
Layer Unlock All XX
Lock Other Layers XX
Layer Freeze
Freeze Other Layer XX
Thaw All Layers
Layer Off
Off Other Layer XX
Turn All Layers On
Layer Merge
Layer Delete
Layer Match
Viewport Layer

LusoCAD 2025

AutoCAD®2025

StdProPlusLTFull
Hatch objects from Tool Palettes
Gradient Hatches
Custom Patterns
Background and Colour for Hatch Patterns
Trim/Extend of/to Hatch Pattern Entities
Superhatch X
Transparency for Hatch
Trim/Extend/Hatch preview

LusoCAD 2025

AutoCAD®2025

StdProPlusLTFull
Raster Image Support (Clipping, Transparency, ...)
Support Kinds of Image Files (bmp, jpg, png, tga, tif, gif, pcx, ...)

LusoCAD 2025

AutoCAD®2025

StdProPlusLTFull
Lockup Command X X
Layout Merge
Synchronise Viewports
Breakpoint Check (CLOSELINE)XX
Fast Select (FASTSEL)
Change Base XX
Layer Draw Order XX
Stat, Blocks Number Count CommandCount Command
Area TableXX
Break Object XX
Block Break XX
Graphic Compare XX
Batch Purge XX
Layout by Path Array pathArray path
Line2pl XX
SptplXX
LusoCAD Tools XX
Plot tools XX
Drawing Compare DWG CompareDWG Compare
Delete Duplicate Objects (OVERKILL)
Drawing Lock XX
Block Replace

LusoCAD 2025

AutoCAD®2025

StdProPlusLTFull
Hardware Acceleration X X
Break at Point
Region X
Areasum XX
Draw and Modify Commands
Outline Objects XX
Align Tool / Arrange Tool XX
Real Time Pan & Zoom
SteeringWheels XXX
Magnifier XXX
Redraw and Regeneration
Layout and Paper Space
Non-rectangular viewports
Layout Viewport settings
Multilines and Multiline Styles X
Block create and insert
Redefine Block
Refedit
Dynamic Block Creat/ Insert/View Partially
Block Attribute Definition
Barcode & QRcode XX
Dynamic Block Editor (BEDIT) Partially
Table ToolsXX
Table
AutoXLSTableXX
Make Shape
Import Layout as Sheet
Viewport Scale
Attribute Increment XX
Define Layout Viewport from ModelSpace (M2LVPORT) XX
Security X
Free Scale XX
Hatch to Back
Reverse
Synchronise Attributes
Clip
Array Options
Symmetric Draw XX
Smart centrelines/center marks XXX
Invert Fillet XX
Offset Multiple
Helix
Cloud Storage
Design share XX
Shortcut Customisation (CUSTACC) XX
Match Properties Across Drawings
Hyperlink
Digitizer Integration
Scale List
Pline Boolean XX
Xref path repair XXX
Undo/Redo Preview
VPMAX/VPMIN
Table
Barcode & QR Code XX
Non-rectangular viewports
Block Attribute Definition
Dynamic Block Creat/ Insert/View/Edit Partially
Smart Blocks XXXX

LusoCAD 2025

AutoCAD®2025

StdProPlusLTFull
POLYSOLID XX
PLANESURF XX
SURFOFFSET XX
CONVTOMESH XX
CONVTOSOLID XX
CONVTOSURFACE XX
CONVTONURBS XX
Point Cloud X
3D Edition Grips XX
Section Plane XX
Flatshot XX
Solid editing XX
3D Surfaces X
ACIS Modelling & Editing XX
Camera XXXX
3D Orbit options X
Render XX
Visual Styles XX
Solprof / Solview / Soldraw XX

LusoCAD 2025

AutoCAD®2025

StdProPlusLTFull
CTB & STB Plot Style Files
Built-in Print Driver
Import & Editing of Page Setups
Publish
Hide and Shade Plot
Batch Print XX
Arrange Frame XX
Plot Styles Table Editor
3D Print Studio XXXX

LusoCAD 2025

AutoCAD®2025

StdProPlusLTFull
LISP Debugger X
LISP vl-, vlr-, vla- and vlax X
LISP Encryption X
(SDS/ADS) X
DCL / DCL engine / COM API X
Visual Basic for Applications X
VBA VBI projects support XDVB
.Net Framework X
GRX (LusoCAD Runtime eXtension) XARX
CUI Menu Support/Diesel Expressions
Diesel Expressions
MNU and MNS File Support
API (Toolbar & Menu Customisation) X
Entity Data EditorX
Action Recording and Action MacrosXXXX

LusoCAD 2025

AutoCAD®2025

StdProPlusLTFull
Subscription
Perpetual Licence XX
Stand-alone USB dongle XX
Network USB dongle XX
Stand-alone Licence
Network Licence XX