Expert: Bob - 12/11/2007

Question
QUESTION: Can you explain to me the concept for these problem:
how I can print A0 dwg file on several A4 papers?

ANSWER: Hi -- I think you mean you have created your layouts for A0 sheets, but you want to chop them up into many pieces and print on A4 paper. Or maybe you dont have layouts -- the drawing file should be at a scale of one to one ALWAYS Only layouts have scale.
Normally, one would just print at a smaller scale when using smaller paper.

To print many sheets at the scale used on a large sheet, I suggest you draw a grid in Model Space, showing how you would tile A4 sheets, then either
1-- print using WINDOW option from Model space OR
2-- create enough layouts so there is one for each rectangle in your grid.

HOWEVER, the resulting pages must be taped together, which is very difficult to do well.  Normally, those without a large plotter plot to a PLT file and email that to someone with a large plotter.

Does this help?

BOB

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Yes, thank you, but I don't understand why it is not as in Microsoft Office: Visio, for example: when you print a large paper size drawing on A4 printer ''printing engine'' do all: several A4 papers are printed instead of one large page. I am electro engineer, need to draw 2D drawings, power stations, high voltage lines, etc... on bmp (scaned geography, first need to combine 40-50 jpg raster images in one layer, join  all maps (500:1) in one ). ACAD is faster, need less resources, logic of MS Visio is nearing to ''hand draw'', using and making symbols, stencils, etc... Acad 2008 with dynamic blocks is OK, but ploting, printing, scaling, ''what you want on paper'' is simply using Visio. What do you thik about ACAD vs Visio? Thank you! Rasa

Answer
Sorry, I cant compare an office program to a drafting program which is normally plotted on a large machine.

I think what you are missing is that there is no normal need to print the way you describe for AutoCAD users.  You either have a special case of a drawing that has sections which make sense printed separately, or you have one huge drawing and one small printer --- I dont know.

AutoCAD drawings are meant to be printed to a scale,just as if they were drawn on a drafting table-- and as I said, it is a nightmare to tape the sheets together, and so forth, and the scale would no longer be accurate.

Good Luck!

BOB