2004

Table Of Contents

Overview of Plotting | 609

Plot Styles

A plot style controls how an object or layer is plotted by determining plotted

properties such as lineweight, color, and fill style. Plot style tables collect

groups of plot styles. The Plot Style Manager is a window that shows all the

plot style tables available in AutoCAD.

There are two plot style types: color-dependent and named. A drawing can

only use one type of plot style table. You can convert a plot style table from

one type to the other. You can also change the type of plot style table a

drawing uses once it has been set.

For color-dependent plot style tables, an object’s color determines how it is

plotted. These plot style table files have .ctb extensions. You cannot assign

color-dependent plot styles directly to objects. Instead, to control how an

object is plotted, you change its color. For example, all objects assigned the

color red in a drawing plot the same way.

Named plot style tables use plot styles that are assigned directly to objects and

layers. These plot style table files have .stb extensions. Using them enables

each object in a drawing to be plotted differently, independent of its color.

Plot Stamps

A plot stamp is a line of text that is added to the margin of your plot. Turn

this option on to add specified plot stamp information—including drawing

name, layout name, date and time, and so on—to a drawing that is plotted

to any device. You can choose to record the plot stamp information to a log

file instead of plotting it, or in addition to plotting it.

Note A drawing file or drawing template file that was created with an educa-

tional version of AutoCAD will always plot with the following plot stamp: PRO-

DUCED BY AN AUTODESK EDUCATIONAL PRODUCT. Blocks and xrefs created

with an educational version and used in a commercial version will also result in

the educational plot stamp being plotted.