AutoCAD: Setting up Paperspace with Plot Styles and Lineweights

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Drawing View without showing Plot Style

The best way to check lineweights and double check your drawing is to set up your paperspace to show your plot style on a white background. To view with plot style is easy and will take a minute. Unfortunately, you have to set it up on each page. I recommend you set it up when you start a drawing so you can just copy a page setting for each consecutive drawing you set up.

1. When your drawing sheet has a white background, the only way to show how your plot style will look in paperspace is to to the page setup manager. You can do this either by right clicking on the tab at the bottom with the page name and selecting page setup manager. Another option is to go to File and select page setup manager.

File > Page Setup Manager

Two options to open the Page Setup Manager (File > Page Setup Manager or right click page tab > Page Setup Manager)

2. In the Page Setup Manager window, the page will be automatically selected and hit modify. This is where you setup the page size and plot style. To see your plot style on the paper space tab, check the box next to display plot styles. If you can't see that part of the window, click on the left arrow to display. Once you complete the steps, click OK then Close.

Select page > Modify >  display plot styles

Show plot styles in paper space (show plot styles)

The drawing will then update itself with the plotstyle you selected and you will see your line weights. Objects on the defpoints layer will show up in black, but will disappear when you print so don't worry about it. Now your paperspace will look like this. Make sure the button at the bottom show line weights is selected.

Now the drawing shows your plot style (make sure show lineweights at bottom is clicked)

Now you can see your line weights without having to go to plot preview anymore and it should save you some time.

3. To set up your background color to white (if it isn't already), right click on the background and hit Options. Then click on the Display tab and then click the button that says colors.

Options > Display > Colors

Once in the color window, select sheet / layout then uniform background and finally select white.

sheet / layout > uniform background > white

Setting paperspace background as white (rightclick on paperspace background and select options)

Happy Drafting!


See AutoCAD Tips for more.