Expert: Bill DeShawn - 12/3/2008

Question
I can't get the PDF995 Plotting in AutoCAD to output PDFs that will display in Landscape mode by default on the screen.  Our output size is 11 x 17.
There are various settings that make it APPEAR correctly during Plot Preview when you are inside AutoCAD but every time the Plot instruction is issued and PDF995 creates a PDF file, it appears rotated 90 degrees.  I will be glad to provide screen snapshots and try any settings.

Answer
Greg:  Plotting to landscape works like this.  The printer driver which is ALWAYS set to PORTRAIT stays that way.  Oddly enough, the PC3 file you create for the printer is the same:  PORTRAIT.  In AutoCAD, the one and ONLY thing you tell to print LANDSCAPE is in the pagesetup or plot.  

Here's why:  LANDSCAPE means "rotate the plot 90 degrees".  So if you select landscape in the driver, and landscape in the plot, then you've just rotated the plot 90+90=180 degrees.  In other words, upside down.  It will appear as a portrait plot.

I use PDF995, and plot either portrait or landscape at will without any problem, so I know PDF995 works well.  That said, let me know if you have any further problems with this and I'll help you work through them.  

Screen snapshots are pretty handy.  AllExperts seems to have granted that ability to the questioners, but not to us volunteers.  So, if they let you, I'd like to see that you have selected PORTRAIT in the PRINTER DRIVER (in the control panel-printers folder) and in the PC3 file in the PLOTTERMANAGER.  LANDSCAPE to be selected ONLY in the PLOT or the PAGESETUP.

Keep in touch
Bill DeShawn
http://my.sterling.net/~bdeshawn