• Q: How do I save my path settings?
• A: After making the changes in Options/Paths and saying OK, do a File/Save to CADVANCE.INI.

• Q:  How do I generate a PDF file from CADVANCE?
• A:  You need to print to a PDF driver, such as the Acrobat Distiller driver or the Acrobat PDF Writer.  Often, you will obtain best results if it is your Default printer driver. Thus, we recommend you go into Windows Start > Settings > Printers, or Start > PrintersAndFaxes, then set your driver to be the Default driver.  Then, start CADVANCE, open your drawing, then click File/Print.  Do not check the "Print to file" box.  Note:  for heavy graphics, the Acrobat Distiller is recommended.

• Q:  CADVANCE does not load the page size that has been setup for a plotter when I switch to that plotter. 
• A:  This function has been eliminated by Microsoft.   They have changed their Common Print setup Dialog box so when you change printer it remembers the page size and orientation for the default printer; they suggest to change the default printer before launching CADVANCE.

• Q:  When using a HPGL\2 driver (v1.4) the landscape mode is grayed out in the printer setup dialog box.
• A:  This is similar to the above problem, but it is an old driver, and have not received information from Microsoft or HP

• Q:  The latest drivers from HP do not seen to work, GPF and crashes have been reported.
• A:  The problem has not been verified, but the following drivers have worked:
  •     For RTL output to HP Design Jet : HP HPGL\2 & RTL driver 
    Ver 2.1,2.2,2.3 HP Design Jet Driver v2.5
  • For strictly HPGL\2 output to file then HP HPGL\2 driver 1.4

• Q: How do I plot to a file?
• A: First, make sure that Plot Logging is enabled in your Cadvance.ini.  Go to 'Options/Miscellaneous' and select the 'Switches' tab.  Check the box for 'Plot Logging' and then 'Save to INI'.  Then when you are ready to Print, check the 'Print to File' box and Print.

• Q: Can I read PLT files?

• A: PLT files (File / Open / .plt) are only supported in File/Open if the PLT files were created using the old HPGL plotter driver. The PLT file may be sent to your plotter instead. 

• Q: Why doesn't the TrueType text print when I send a .PLT file to someone?

• A: This is most likely because the same plotter driver is not being used by both parties.  To determine the plotter driver, print a Test Page or click on the "About" button (located in the Printer's properties).  If you need plotter drivers, there are some available on our Downloads page, or try www.hp.com or www.winline.com.  If both parties have the same plotter driver and TrueType still does not print, please send us the drawing with any .PLT or .PRN files you've created, and indicate which driver you are both using.

• Q:  I am unable to print in Landscape format in CADVANCE LiTe 2000.
• A: This problem was resolved in Service Pack 1.  Please download and install the latest release which is Service Pack 2.   ALL the latest Service Packs contain all previous Service Packs, so it is not necessary to download and install previous versions.

• Q: CADVANCE LiTe 2000 will not let me print to a page size other than 8 1/2" by 11". 
• A: This problem is resolved in the first update.  Please download and install the current CADVANCE LiTe 2000 Service Pack available on our downloads page.  

• Q:  "My plot file is huge." or "My plot file is getting miscellaneous lines running through it when sent to a printer." or "My plot file is missing parts of the drawing." 
• A:  First, make sure you are using the proper driver.  If you are printing to an HP Design Jet 300,400,500,600,700 or 1000 series printer and use CADVANCE 2000, we recommend that you use a version 2.3, 2.5, 4.0, 4.2, or 4.22 driver.  Do not use the version 4.4 driver because it is not compatible with CADVANCE 2000.
  
  If this does not work, we recommend using this Alternate Method to Print to File.  Create a printer with printer port settings set to "File".   Then when you wish to “PRINT TO FILE” you select that printer and do not select the "Print to File" check box.

• Q:  Some parts of the drawing are not printing out. 
• A:  Try increasing your PlotArcGen or PlotArcMin values in Options/Miscellaneous/Values (ALT, O, M, tab to 'Values') in your Cadvance.INI file. Larger values for PlotArcGen will draw arcs with less precision and thus will require less memory. Larger values for PlotArcMin will limit the necessity to handle small arcs at print time.

• Q:  My plot file becomes huge which my server cannot handle.
• A: Some users have complained, and we have verified, that there is a problem with plot files for HP inkjet plotters becoming too large for practical usage.  We have determined that the culprit is very small arcs usually within symbols.  For some reason the driver cannot handle these arcs.

So we have to produce these arcs using the CADVANCE arc generator.  In order to do this there are two values in the CADVANCE.INI file or Options/miscellaneous/value screen that must be manipulated.

Plotter Arc Generation - If you are having problems increase this value.  The default value of 0 will try to use the Microsoft driver to generate arcs whose size is larger than Plot Arc Minimum.  If the value is from 1 to 10 then CADVANCE will generate all arcs using lines (this does not change the definition of the arc in CADVANCE only the way it is drawn).  The lower the number, the better the arc will look.  The number is actually the number of tenths of degrees between points (this was changed in CADVANCE 99 from whole degrees to tenths of degrees).  On the other hand, the higher the number the smaller will be the plot file.

Plotter Arc Minimum - If you are having problems also increase this value.  The default value of 0 will cause all arcs and circles whose diameter is greater than 3 pixels to be drawn.  A value greater than zero will cause all arcs and circles whose diameter is less than the value +3 to be eliminated from the picture.

• Q:  Why is my plot file so huge?
• A:  It is likely that you need to set Plotter Arc Generation = 10, or you need to use a different plotter driver.

• Q:  Can CADVANCE plot stamp my drawing?
• A:  A plot stamp can be created as follows:
  • Go to Options/Drawing and enter your information
  • On your keyboard, hold down [ALT] as you hit [PrintScreen]
  • Edit/Paste into the drawing (it will paste the bitmap)
  • Resize the bitmap using Edit/Scale

  If you have AE Tools, then use AE Stamp to stamp your drawing.  AE Stamp will create a plot stamp, then starts the CADVANCE File/Print command.

  ex. of plot stamp:

  Project Folder:
  C:\Cadvance 2000\samples
  Drawing:   SPWAREH1
  Plot Date:  11-15-2000
  Plot Time:  15:39:18

• Q:  Some of my drawings do not show a Preview.  Why?
• A:  If the drawing was created in v7 or earlier, it cannot generate a Preview since those versions were not equipped with a Preview function.  If your drawing was created in v8 or later, you must have your Cadvance.ini set to SavePreview=1 (which is the default setting) so that when you save the drawing you've created, it would also save the preview.  

• Q: When I go to print, what are the different options under "Save Configuration to INI file?
• A: 
  • DEFAULT: Saves line weight, margin and scale settings under a section called "Default" in the Cadvance.ini file.
  • CURRENT PRINTER: Saves line weight, margins, scale, pen color and pen weight settings directly to the Cadvance.ini file.
  • PRINTER INI: Saves line weight, margins, scale, pen color and pen weight settings for the Current Printer in a (designated) printer INI file in a designated folder (subdirectory) and adds a "reference pointer" (to the printer INI file) in the Cadvance.ini file.  For example, you may choose this option and save to a file you can call CV2.INI.  CADVANCE will save these settings in CV2.INI and will save "CV2.INI" in you Cadvance.ini, under the name of "Current Printer".

  There is no operational difference between choosing CURRENT PRINTER and PRINTER INI.  The same setting information is saved  - it's just a mater of where that information is saved.

  Regardless of the option selected, when a printer that has been saved to an INI file is set up, the saved settings are displayed.  Changes to the settings must be saved  in order to be displayed the next time the printer is setup.

  During a session, the Current Printer and printer settings remain current until it is changed by setting up a new printer or by changing the settings.  The Scale setting changes according to the file loaded at the time the Print Command is selected.

  The size of the Cadvance.ini file is significantly increased, however, when directly saving the printer settings using the CURRENT PRINTER option (especially if multiple printers are "configured").  For that reason, some users may wish to use the PRINTER INI option.

• Q: When I try to print my title block drawing to a network printer, I get the following error messages:

"Start Doc 1722 Status 1"
"Start page Error 6 Status 1"
"End page Error 81 Status 1"

• A: You may lack system resources (shut down other programs and clean out your TEMP folder), or modify the Timeout settings on your printer driver.  This can be done in Windows, by clicking Windows Start > Settings > Printers, or Windows Start > PrintersAndFaxes, then right-click on your printer driver and click "Properties".  Then increase or decrease the Timeout settings, whichever works.

• Q: I inserted an Excel file (or Word document, BMP or JPG) into CADVANCE.  It will not print, or will not print properly.  What should I do?

• A: First make sure you are using a printer driver that will print raster images.  There are some printers (such as some versions of the HP DesignJet 600 plotter driver) which do not print raster images.

  Second, check whether the inserted file is an Ole2 object and if it has been scaled in CADVANCE.  This may be causing the problem.  Ole2 objects are very complex, and when scaled it develops problems with its own boundaries.  

  To determine if it is a scaled Ole2 object, do a Utility/Query/Object.  If you must bring in your object as an Ole2 object, to prevent having to scale it later it is suggested that you change the scale of the drawing to make sure it is brought in at the correct scale.  You can change your drawing scale in Options/Unit by going into the Drawing Scale box and changing the value.  After you insert the Ole2 object, make sure you change your drawing scale back to its original setting.

  If you do not need to bring your object into CADVANCE as an Ole2 object, it is suggested that you bring it in by opening the document, selecting what you want to copy, (Edit/Copy), then go into CADVANCE and do an Edit/Paste Special/Picture.  The 'Picture' object is an Auxiliary object but not an Ole2 object.  It is neither linked nor embedded, and does not have have same scaling problems as an Ole2 object.

• Q: Why is the root CADVANCE program directory prompted when I choose Print to File in CADVANCE 2000?  In previous versions, I could save the path in Options/Path/Workfile, or manually edit my Cadvance.Ini file.  And why does the Print to File window come up .prn instead of .plt?  
• A:  CADVANCE 2000 no longer uses "Workfiles" in Options / Path when printing to file.  Instead, it feeds the information to Windows, and Windows selects the root program directory.  If you've installed in C:\Program Files\CADVANCE 2000, Windows will pick C:\Program Files\CADVANCE 2000 as the default to create the plot file.  In V2000, the user must manually browse to the desired directory for the location for the file.  As for the extension of the plot file in “Print to File” window, CADVANCE 2000 uses the standard MS Windows printing file which is.prn.  You have three options:  (1) Change the *.prn to *.plt right there in the dialog box, (2) Change the *.prn to *.plt after the plot file has been created, (3) Send the *.prn file to Windows.  If your plotter doesn't accept *.prn files, then you need to follow choices 1 or 2.

   NOTE:  While the option above is still available with current technology, we recommend using an alternate method to Print to File.  Instead, create a printer with printer port settings set to "File".   Then when you wish to “PRINT TO FILE” you select that printer and do not select the "Print to File" check box.  

• Q:  When I click "Print to File" using CADVANCE 2000, the Print to File window always comes up with the file extension ".prn" instead of ".plt".  Why?  I need to send plot files to printer and graphics shops, and most of them use .plt.  And when I create a plotfile, it always brings up a dialog to create it in the same directory.  Why?
• A:  When CADVANCE prints to file, it just feeds the information to Windows.  As you'll notice, Windows always chooses the root program directory, so if you've installed CADVANCE in C:\Program Files\CADVANCE 2000, Windows will always pick this as the default place to create the plot file.

As to the nature of the *.prn display:  This is working as designed.  CADVANCE 2000 feeds the plotting information to Windows, and the standard MS Windows plotting file is now *.prn --- not *.plt.  You have three options:

1. Change the *.prn to *.plt right there in the dialog box.
2. Change the *.prn to *.plt after the plot file has been created.
3. Send the *.prn file to your printer (may not work for some plotters/printers).

• Q:  I am using CADVANCE 2000 on Windows NT.  When I print to file, I get a small dialog box which forces me to enter the entire path for my plot file.  What happened to the large dialog box which let me select my path?
• A: This problem is unique to Windows NT, and as yet do not know the reason why this is occurring.

• Q:  The first time printing to file creates a larger file than each subsequent print.
• A:  Try the Alternate Method to Print to File.  Create a printer with printer port settings set to "File".   Then when you wish to “PRINT TO FILE” you select that printer and do not select the "Print to File" check box.  If this does not resolve the problem, send the drawing to FIT for testing at support@fitinc.com.   (Please remember to zip your file before sending)

• Q:  When printing to file I get an error message saying "File name length must not exceed 31 characters".
• A:  Try the Alternate Method to Print to File.  It does not have a 31 character limit.  Create a printer with printer port settings set to "File".   Then when you wish to “PRINT TO FILE” you select that printer and do not select the "Print to File" check box.  

• Q:  Each time I try to plot, I get the error "A print job number must be included with the job name", even though there is a number in the box.
• A:  The Job Number field accepts only numerals and spaces.  It won't accept any other characters.  Check to see if you mistakenly typed an "o" instead of a "Zero", or another such discrepancy.  

• Q:  When I try to print, I get the message "Cannot create printer DC".  

• A:  The most likely reason for this problem is the LENGTH of the printer name or the printer path.  CADVANCE does not allow a printer path, including the backward slashes, of longer than 31 characters.  Shorten the name to no more than 31 characters.

  Ex: \\Print_Server\HPDesignJet650C_Copy2 is longer than 31 characters.  Rename the printer or create a new printer 31 characters or less.

  If you are printing to a network printer, you may need to create an LPT port by doing a Capture Printer Port in your printer driver settings.  Whether or not your printer has been set to "Capture Printer Port" will determine whether your printer name has backslashes \\.

• Q:  When I try to print a CADVANCE drawing, the lines and symbols appear, but no CAD or TT text appears.  Why is this?

• A:  Either your text is WHITE in color (which means when printed on white paper, it comes out blank) or you are using a non-text vector driver that does not allow for text printing.

• Q:  I want to be able to use my Title Block and Border (24x38) for my 1/8" scale drawings.  But when I try it, the title block always comes out at a greatly enlarged scale.  How do I keep the Title Block in the same scale as the drawing layout?

• A: Try using Paper Space.  Paste the title block onto the drawing, and make sure you use Paper Space.

• Q:  When I print, more often that not, the line weights in the printer dialog box are mysteriously all set to 0 -- even if I change the settings in the .ini file and save it.
• A:  You might be trying to set your print color weights to non-integer values.  CADVANCE only allows integer values.

• Q:  I am trying to set up plot logging; the plot.log file is not being saved in the directory I have specified in the Cadvance.ini file.
• A:  Make sure you’ve set PlotLogging=ON in your Cadvance.ini file  

• Q: In Windows 95, how do I make my desired plotter come up as the default each time I enter CADVANCE?
• A: If using Windows 95, go to the printers folder and right mouse click the desired device icon. Set it as the default."

• Q: I solved all my printing problems by changing the File/Print color from color to black on white. Do you know a way to save that change permanently?
• A: After changing to Black on White in Print Color Setup box, say OK. You will be back in the Printer Configuration box. Click on Current Printer and you will be asked if you want to save the current configuration to the cadvance.ini file. Say yes.

• Q: I want to know how to save my color setup so that the settings would automatically be set for each drawing called up.
• A: After changing the weights, click on 'Current Printer' in the File\Print dialog box. Note 'Default' option saves only the settings on the first screen such as margins, etc.

• Q: How can I increase the line weights of colors at printing?
• A: Go to File/Print/colors and assign weights to the colors.

• Q: I am using V6.5 and when I  input  96 as the value in 'By Value' box of the Printer Configuration dialog box, I gets an error message "Invalid Scale Value... Valid Scale size is ... "
• A: Go to File/Print and go to the Printer Configuration dialog box. Choose Window by clicking the round button next to it. Click the Select button. Draw a small rectangle with two clicks on the mouse. Back in the Printer Configuration box, choose Paper or Window and type in the desired value in the 'By Value.' Click on Select button again to select the print area.

• Q: I have installed V6.5 and the printing is off.
• A: Try entering EqualMargins=YES in the [System] section of the Cadvance.ini."

• Q: I am having problems centering my drawings.
• A: For your margins settings, enter a '0' and tab down. This allows the device to choose its own preferred margin settings. Also, you might try the 'Paper' option for selecting your Print Window. This very clearly shows you how the drawing will appear on the page.

• Q: After upgrading to Windows 95, I can't print.
• A: Get the latest Windows 95 driver for your device.

• Q: Can't print using an HP 650C Plotter, and are running Windows 95,98 or NT?
• A: Download the newest driver from the downloads page, or visit the HP web site.

• Q:  When I try to print in CADVANCE, nothing happens. Other programs seem to be printing just fine.

• A:  This is very likely a driver issue.  Make sure you have a printer or plotter driver that allows for vector plotting.

• Q:  Any idea what this error means?  I get it when I print certain files.  It is followed by a complete crash of CADVANCE.
                          

• A:  This is a Windows error indicating that your drawing’s TrueType text is too much for the printer’s memory to handle.  This may happen if you have many different TT fonts within the drawing you’re trying to print.  We recommend that you upgrade the memory of the printer.

• I am receiving the following errors when I plot or when I print to file.

Startdoc 1722 Status -1
Startpage Status -1
Endpage 87 Status -1

Q: What do these errors mean, and how do I fix it?

A:  The following suggestions have been reported to have solved the issue.

• Shut down other programs.

• Remove the Read-Only attribute on your TEMP folder.  Right click on your TEMP folder, click Properties and remove the attribute "Read Only".
• Clean out your TEMP folder.
• Restart your computer.

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