Printing Sets of Design Files

In order to print a set of models in one or more design files, the following steps are necessary to select the design files, and specifications for printing.

General procedure for printing a Set of models/design Files

1. Select the design files containing the models to print. See Selecting design files.


2. Select the specifications to control the printing. See Viewing and selecting specifications to control printing.


3. Print the files. See Printing the selected design files.

You can carry out all the above operations from the Batch Print dialog box.

Selecting design files

Your first step in batch printing is to select the design files that you wish to print. This can be done via the Add Files icon or by selecting Edit > Add Files in the Batch Print dialog box. Alternatively, you can use drag and drop to select files from Windows Explorer or from the Models dialog box of the open design file, or from that in another open session of MicroStation.

To select design files to print

1. From the File menu, choose Batch Print.
   The Batch Print dialog box opens.


2. In the Batch Print dialog box, click the Add Design Files icon.
   or
   From the dialog box´s Edit menu, choose Add Files.
   The Select Design Files to Add dialog box opens.


3. Navigate to the desired directory and select the names of the files you want to print.
   You can select multiple files by holding down the <Ctrl> key as you select the files and then proceed to step 4.
   Alternatively, you can double-click a file to send it to the Selected Files list box and then proceed to step 5.


4. Click Add.
   The filenames display in the Selected Files list box at the bottom.


5. Click Done.
   The Select Files to Add dialog box closes and the selected files are added to the Design Files to Print list box of the Batch Print dialog box.

Using drag and drop to select files from Windows Explorer

1. From the File menu, choose Batch Print.


2. Open Windows Explorer, and navigate to the required folder.


3. In windows Explorer, select one or more files as required.


4. Hold down the data button and drag the selected files to the Batch Print list box, releasing the button to drop the files.
   If you want the files to be dropped between two existing print tasks, position the pointer between them prior to dropping the new files.

Using drag and drop to select models for batch printing

1. From the File menu, choose Batch Print.


2. In either the active design file, or from a second session of MicroStation, open the Models dialog box.


3. In the Models dialog box, select the model(s) required to print.


4. Hold down the data button and drag the selected files to the Batch Print list box, releasing the button to drop the files.
   If you want the files to be dropped between two existing print tasks, position the pointer between them prior to dropping the new files.

Arranging the printing order

When Batch Print prints a job set, it prints the files in the order in which they appear in the list box. You can rearrange the order of the files in the list.

To rearrange the printing order

1. In the Batch Print dialog box, highlight the file(s) that you wish to move. To select multiple files, hold down the <Ctrl> key when selecting the files.


2. From the Batch Print dialog box´s Edit menu, choose:
   Move Files to Top — to move selected files to the top of the list.
   Move Files Up — to move selected files up one position.
   Move Files Down — to move selected files down one position.
   Move Files to Bottom — to move selected files to the bottom of the list.

Using drag and drop to rearrange the printing order

1. Check that tasks in the list box are sorted in ascending order on the # field.


2. Select the file(s) that you want to reposition in the list (use <Ctrl> data to select multiple files).


3. Hold down the data button and drag the selected file(s) to the required position, releasing the data button to complete the task.
   Each of the selected files is moved up or down the list by the same number of rows.

Viewing and selecting specifications to control printing

Specifications are used to control the Printer, Print Area, Layout, or Display.

To view or change the properties of a specification

1. In the Specifications Controlling Printing list box, select the specification type (Printer, Print Area, Layout, or Display).


2. Click the Specification Properties icon.
   or
   From the Specifications menu, choose Properties.
   The appropriate properties dialog box opens.


3. (Optional) Make any required changes to the settings.


4. Click OK.

To select a specification to control printing

1. In the Specifications Controlling Printing list box, select the specification type (Printer, Print Area, Layout or Display).


2. Click the Select Specification icon.
   or
   From the Specifications menu, choose Select.
   The Select Specification dialog box opens showing all existing specifications of the selected type.


3. Select the desired specification.


4. Click OK.
   The Select Specification dialog box closes and the new specification replaces the selected one in the Specifications Controlling Printing list box.

Batch Print automatically selects a specification of each print specification type. You can select a different print specification for each type.

Printing the selected models/design files

When you have selected the specifications for printing, you can print the selected models.

To print models

1. In the Files and Models to Print list box, select the files to be printed.
   If you are printing all the files in the list, skip to Step 2.


2. In the Batch Print dialog box, click the Print icon.
   or
   From the Batch Print dialog box´s File menu, choose Print.
   The Print Batch dialog box opens.


3. (Optional) To print all the files in the list, select the All button in the Print Range section.


4. (Optional) To setup a system printer, click the Set Up System Printer button and make any required changes. The Set Up System Printer button appears in the Print dialog box only if the active printer specification represents a native operating system printer.
   The Print Setup dialog box opens.


5. Click OK to accept the printer setup changes and return to the Print dialog box.


6. (Optional) Turn off Clear Log File Before Printing.
   By default, Batch Print creates a log file describing the processing that occurs during actual printing, including any errors that occurred. You can disable the creation of the log file and redirect the log messages to the screen by clearing the Filename field. You can also instruct Batch Print to append its logging messages to the end of an existing log file (by turning off Clear Log File Before Printing).


7. Click OK to start printing.
   A progress window opens showing the name and sequence number of the currently printing file. You can stop the job with a Reset.

Printing Errors

When Batch Print prints a set of design files, various specification-related errors may occur, including (but not limited to):

• The saved view, shape element or cell referenced by a print area specification may not exist.

• The shape element or cell referenced by a print area specification may be perpendicular to the reference view, so it appears as a line in the view.

• The print size, calculated from the print area and the scale or size, may exceed the size of the paper selected by the printer specification.

• The print origin specified by a layout specification, coupled with the print size calculated from the print area and the print scale, may shift part of the print area off the page.

When Batch Print detects an error, it stops processing the current print boundary in the current design file, but continues processing with the next print boundary or file.