Print.Works User Guide for SolidWorks (March 2014) Copyright 2014 AMC Bridge LLC. All rights reserved.
Contents Welcome to the Print.Works Plug-in 3 Requirements and Installation 4 Navigating the User Interface 6 Scenario group box 8 Print Range 9 Printer Settings 12 Page Enumeration (Pagination) Settings 13 More Settings 15 Print Preview 17 Close Print.Works tab 19 Printing a Drawing Using Print.Works (Example) 20 About Print.Works 24 Registration 25 Uninstallation 27 2
Welcome to the Print.Works Plug-in Print.Works is a plug-in application that extends the printing capabilities of SolidWorks. It enables users to print drawings of any scale regardless of paper size. This add-in allows you to split drawings meant for large sheet formats into sections that can be printed on smaller sheets. It also helps to combine multiple drawings for printing on large paper sizes or roll-fed printers. In addition, its interactive graphics enables users to adjust drawing parameters before printing. Print.Works is a great solution for environmentally conscious and cost-effective businesses as it helps significantly reduce paper consumption. 3
Requirements and Installation Before you can use the Print.Works, your computer must have SolidWorks 2011 (or later versions) installed. Procedure: 1. Locate Print.Works_1_2_x64(x32).msi and double-click to start the installation. 2. Click Next to proceed. 4
3. Click Change to choose the folder in which you want to install the add-in. The default folder is C:\Program Files\AMC Bridge LLC\Print.Works\. Then click Next to proceed. 4. Click Install to start the installation. 5
Navigating the User Interface To start working with the plug-in click on the Print.Works tab on the task panel. 6
The Print.Works tab appears. It consists of: 1. Print button prints selected document; 2. Print Preview button opens Print Preview dialog box; 3. Show More Information on Print.Works button opens About dialog box; 4. Close button closes Print.Works tab; 5. Scenario group box displays settings of chosen scenario; 6. Print Range group box enables user to select document to print; 7. Printer Settings group box enables user to change print settings and sheet orientation; 8. Page Enumeration group box enables user to add page numbering; 9. More Settings button opens More Settings dialog box. 7
Scenario Group Box The Scenario enables you to save current print settings for future use. At first use, the Scenario drop down list contains only the Default item (which can't be removed). To add a new scenario, set the needed parameters (Print Range, Printer Settings, Page Enumeration and More Settings) and click Save Current Scenario. The Save Scenario dialog box appears. Enter the name of the scenario and click. The saved scenario will be available after closing SolidWorks or shutting down the computer. Scenario. To delete a scenario, select it from the Scenario drop down list and click Delete Current 8
Print Range The Print Range function enables you to select the document to print. When you select Current Sheet, the current sheet of the open document prints. When you select Current document, all existing sheets of the open document print. The Files radio button enables you to print several drawings at one time: 1. Click on the PLUS sign (Add Existing Drawing document button). The Open dialog box appears. Choose a SolidWorks document (extension *.slddrw,*.drw.) to add it to printing. 9
2. Click Open. The selected drawing appears in the Files list. 10
3. To remove a document from Files select it and click [ -- ] (Remove selected drawing document from list button). 11
Printer Settings Change print settings using the Printer Settings block. The Printer box contains a list of the print devices available on a system. Select the one you need. The Print Quality box enables you to select two values of print quality: Quality Print and Quick Print (Recommend). Use the Orientation buttons to select Landscape or Portrait paper orientation. 12
Page Enumeration (Pagination) Settings Paginate printed pages using the Page Enumeration function. To paginate drawings, click the checkbox to the left of Page Enumeration. Set the numbering position using the Position box (Top Right, Top Left, Bottom Right, or Bottom Left). Change font size using the Font Size function. 13
Set the starting page number using the Start page number function. Behind Area checkbox puts page number on the layer which is under the drawing's layer. 14
More Settings This command opens the Page Setup dialog, which enables you to change the Margins and Orientation (Portrait or Landscape) of a sheet. The Size drop down list includes all available items, selected by printing device. When you select an item from the Size drop down list, the preview picture at the top of the dialog box changes to match the chosen item. If the selected item is smaller than the drawing sheet size you can use Print Preview to 15
select the drawing elements to be printed (for more details please see Print Preview chapter). If the selected item is bigger than the drawing sheet size you can print several documents on one sheet. 16
Print Preview Preview the printed sheet in using the Print Preview function. Click Print Preview on the Print.Works tab. The dialog box appears. 1. Zoom Out/ Zoom In zooms in/out of drawing; 2. Zoom to Fit - sizes preview picture to fit the window; 3. Previous Page navigates to previous page; 4. Next Page - navigates to next page; 5. Print Current Page starts printing currently opened page; 17
6. Print starts printing all pages. You can choose which parts of the drawing to print. Click on the parts of drawing that you do not want to print. These parts will appear painted over. In the status bar the inscription Disable page to print appears. 18
Close Print.Works Tab This command closes the Print.Works tab and removes it from the list of tabs. To retrieve the Print.Works tab on the task pane click Tools/Print.Works. 19
Printing a Drawing Using Print.Works (Example) This example demonstrates how to use Print.Works. It contains detailed instructions on how to print several drawing documents (A4 format) on one sheet of A2 format paper. 1. Run SolidWorks 2. Open Print.Works tab 3. Choose a printer from the Printer drop down list in Printer Settings. 20
4. Select Files. 5. Press [+] to add an existing drawing document. 21
6. Add two drawings of A4 format by selecting from the list of available files. 7. Press More Settings. 8. Select A2 from the Size drop down list. 9. Press OK in the More Settings dialog box. 10. Press Print Preview to make sure that the drawings are positioned correctly. 22
11. Press Print. You now have an A2 drawing that includes two A4 drawings from the files printed. 23
About Print.Works This command opens the Print.Works plug-in About dialog box, which contains information about the Print.Works version and a link to the website. 24
Print.Works Registration After you have used Print.Works for 15 days, every time you launch SolidWorks a request for registration will appear. If you click Cancel the Print.Works plug-in will continue to work, but the request for registration appears every time you launch SolidWorks until you register. This should read: You have used this product for more than 15 days. Please register. Click OK to start registration. The Print.Works Registration dialog box appears. Enter your Name and E-mail. The Company field is optional. Click OK to register or click Cancel if you do not want to register now. If you currently don t use Print.Works you can cancel the appearance of the 25
Registration dialog box each time you launch SolidWorks. Select Tools/Add-Ins from the menu bar. Uncheck the Active Add-ins checkbox near Print.Works inscription. Next time you launch SolidWorks, the Registration dialog box will not appear. 26
Uninstallation To uninstall the application open the Control Panel. In the category Programs choose Uninstall a program. In the list of programs choose Print.Works. Click Uninstall. 27
Thank you for using Print.Works. Please share with us what you liked or didn t like about our application. Your input is extremely valuable to us as we continue to develop new applications and refine existing ones. If you have any questions about our application please contact the AMC Bridge Support Team via e-mail: support@amcbridge.com. Thank you in advance for your feedback. 28