Overview

By now, you ve printed (or plotted) a drawing in Model Space. You understand, then, the complexity of the mathematics involved

How large is the area to plot?

How large is the paper?

At what scale will I want to plot?

and a host of other questions that must be answered. And then you have to consider stuff like text and dimensions plotted size and drawing scale factor. AGHH!

Does it have to be that difficult!?

The answer is a resounding, NO! ( Now I tell you! )

We begin this section of our text by simplifying these tasks with a remarkable tool called Paper Space.

When it comes to drawing display and arrangement, there exist two distinct groups of CAD operators those who ve used Paper Space and would never use anything else, and those who (generally for lack of training) haven t used Paper Space.

This lesson will familiarize you (painlessly) to the wonders of Paper Space and Viewports so that you may join the ranks of enlightened operators! To keep it simple, we ll remain in the two-dimensional world throughout this lesson. However, you ll continue to discover the benefits of these tools even as you explore the third dimension in our next text 3D AutoCAD 2004/5: One Step at a Time .

Let s begin by answering the basic questions.

22.1 Understanding the Terminology

WHAT IS A VIEWPORT?

My New American Dictionary defines a port as a...