Configuring Output Media (Output Job File)
To configure Print, PDF or File Generation Settings, right-click on your Output Medium and choose from either PDF Setup , Generated Files Setup or Printer Setup depending on your selection. You can also configure Printer Setup and Page Setup for output generators with a printer icon adjacent to their name as well as the Bill of Materials and Component Information.
PDF Setup
Running this command launches the Publish to PDF Settings dialog where you can configure a number of options for your PDF Setup. Access this command by selecting a PDF medium, right clicking and selecting PDF Setup from the pop up menu that appears.
Publish to PDF Settings allow you to configure your Output File Path, set your Zoom Levels, set Page Size and Orientation and Additional Bookmarks.
Note that the option, Generate a separate PDF file for each output works in conjunction with the [Name] field in your OutJob file. Check this field to create one PDF for each of the selected outputs and also to use the custom filename and custom folder, if specified.
Figure 1. Custom folders and filenames for your Documentation Outputs.
For example, if your output generators are set up as per Figure 15 and the Generate a separate PDF file for each output option is checked, your output would be generated as per Figure 16.
Figure 16. Resultant Custom folders and filenames for your Documentation Outputs.
For more information on PDF Setup, refer to the Publish to PDF document.
Generated Files Setup
Running this command launches the Generated Files Settings dialog. Access this command by selecting a File Generator, right clicking and selecting Generated Files Setup from the pop up menu that appears.
Figure 17. Generated Files Settings dialog where you can set the Output Folder and Output Options.
Output Folder
Use this field to specify the Output Folder and filename for your PDF. You can browse to locate your preferred Output Folder.
- Output Options
- Open generated outputs - enable the checkbox to open your outputs after generation
- Add generated files to project - enable this checkbox to add the generated files to your project. They will appear in the Projects panel under the Generated sub-folder.
- Timestamp folder - enable this option to create a Timestamp folder. The folder name is in the format Folder Name Date Time where the Folder Name is specified in the Output Folder field, Date and Time is in the same format as your System settings.
- Use separate folder for each output type - enable this option to create a separate folder for each output type selected. Folder names are: Pick Place Output, Gerber Output, NC Drill Output, Test Point Output, Netlists and Reports. If you have opted to create a Timestamp folder, separate folders will be created under the Timestamp folder.
- Use the Output Name as the file name instead of the default - enable this option to use details in the Name field in your OutJob file. You can specify a folder, filename and file extension in the format FOLDER\FILENAME.extension. This gives you greater control over the filename, file extension and location of your generated files.
Note: Output Name as the file name instead of the default is not supported for Verilog Netlists.
Printer Setup
Running this command provides access to the Printer Configuration dialog (Figure 18), here can you determine what is printed and to which printing device the print medium is sent. The printer configuration options defined are with respect to the active Output Job Configuration file only. Select a Print medium from the Output Media column and right click to access this command.
Figure 18. Configuration of print options.
Click the Properties button to open the standard Document Properties dialog for the selected printer (Figure 19). From this dialog you can define the paper source, layout and gain access to advanced property settings for the printer.
Figure 19. Accessing Advanced Options for the target print device.
Page Setup
Running this command will access a dialog for defining the page properties for the selected output generator. The dialog is the same in each case
- the header changing to reflect the purpose of the output generator. Figure 20, shows the dialog when accessed for Schematic Prints. Access this command by right clicking on your output generator or through File » Page Setup .
Figure 20. Schematic Print Properties
The Print button invokes the Printer Configuration dialog where you can define what is printed and to which printing device the medium is sent.
The Preview button shows the Print Previewer, with the document(s) loaded in accordance with the Data Source and page setup options you have defined. The Print Previewer allows you to view how the output will look when printed.
The Advanced button provides access to the Schematic Print Properties dialog, allowing you to configure the Output Generator in terms of printout(s).
All page setup properties defined for each print-based Output Generator are stored with the Output Job Configuration file.
Print Preview
Running this command will load the selected output generators for the Print medium into the Print Previewer (Figure 21). The Print Preview can be launched from the Page Setup dialog, from Tools menu or by right clicking on the Print medium in the Output Media column.
The source document will be loaded in accordance with the options you have defined in the Page Setup dialog.
Figure 21. Previewing a print-based document using the Print Preview.
The left hand region contains thumbnails of all pages contained within the document. Click on a thumbnail to jump to that page in the Previewer's main display area. The current page is denoted by a red border.
Figure 22. Using display controls to interrogate the intended print.
Buttons located at the bottom of the window allow you to manipulate the view, including the ability to zoom to a required level by entering a value in the % field and pressing Enter (Figure 22).
Figure 23. Right-click preview commands.
Various commands are provided in a right-click menu which can be accessed from anywhere within the Previewer.
These commands allow you to:
- Change the view of a page
- Access dialogs for page setup, printer setup and source document configuration
- Print the documentation
- Show features such as print region, page numbers, grid and margin
- Copy a page to the Windows clipboard or export the page as a Windows Metafile.
Navigation within the Previewer is achieved in a variety of ways:
- Use the horizontal and vertical scroll bars
- Use the available browse controls at the bottom of the window
The controls allow you to jump to the first, previous, next and last pages in the document respectively. Alternatively, you can enter the page number directly and press Enter
- Right-click, hold and drag within the main display area (especially useful when the current document page is zoomed).
Launch this command from the Page Setup dialog, the Tools menu or by right clicking on the Print medium in the Output Media column. This command is used to generate output from the currently selected Print medium. Printing from the Print Previewer will launch the Printer Configuration dialog.
After you have configured your Output Media, you are ready to Run your Output Media and see the results.