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Re: page size / sheet size image centering
That's a feature of the PDF printer driver which every PDF printer driver should have. To create a correct PDF file you must be able to set the paper size and other properties like you would in LibreOffice or Word before printing. I'm very sure you can find a good PDF driver for every Operating System (if not already present by default).
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Re: page size / sheet size image centering
As far as I know every OS have a default PDF printer. The problem it is limited at maximum Letter or A4 depending of locale settings when you don't have any printer connected. Adding a printer to OS the PDF printer will have the maximum sizes of the new printer connected. Usually every programs use the printers offered by the OS. Don't have their own (LibreOffice, MSOffice, ACAD, GIMP, etc). What I succeed by installing this driver was the ability to print on a very large paper sizes even if I don't have any printer connected. For same available sizes (huge) I've never seen such monsters of printers. Until yesterday I was resigned to the possibilities but I've say "What if?" and I've done.
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Re: page size / sheet size image centering
Uhm, the main purpose of PDF is to have a predefined format independent of the printer. The only thing required is that a PDF created for A4 is printed on A4 otherwise it scales, what printer doesn't matter although you still can print it on other paper formats. In LibreOffice I can set any paper size I want for a document and when I export to PDF that paper size is used for the pdf. I don't need to have a printer installed at all.
When you select PDF as your printer you should be able to set any size you want because that 'printer' can handle any size.
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Re: page size / sheet size image centering
@keet sorry to say, that makes sense, but doesn't work that way accessing .pdf or default printer driver. at least not with the included default drivers on the mac side or sweet home side. and i can't load drivers that would provide those choices because i don't have the printers hooked up to the computer. that is mac's fault I presume.
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Re: page size / sheet size image centering
When you install a PDF driver you actually install a printer, although not a physical one. A physical printer is limited to what sizes it can print and what the firmware allows for other options like scaling and setting margins. A PDF printer doesn't have those limitations so it fully depends on what is programmed in the PDF driver. You just have to find the right one for you.
When you select the PDF printer from whatever software you use, it acts like any normal printer so it should also show the options you need.
This means that in the preferences of Sweet Home 3D you can alternatively choose to select a printer (the PDF one you installed) instead of using the option "Print to PDF".
Remember: it's like like you attached a normal physical printer so keep thinking about that when you use the PDF printer. It just doesn't print to paper but to a PDF file.
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Re: page size / sheet size image centering
This means that in the preferences of Sweet Home 3D you can alternatively choose to select a printer (the PDF one you installed) instead of using the option "Print to PDF".
Very interesting.
The following is a Win10 story with CutePDF installed.
I:
in SH3D drew a wall of 10 metre length in SH3D Page setup (Ctrl+Shift+P) - format size A0 (i.e. 841 mm x 1,189 mm) was not available so I simply chose size A4, scale 1/10. in SH3D Print (Ctrl+P) I changed from the pre-selected hardware printer to CutePDF then selected "properties" followed by Advanced" and selected ISO A0 from the drop down list.
Having printed this I think I was expecting to open the created pdf in Firefox as a single page - but it appeared across 10 pages (which I now assume were 10 number A4).
I subsequently selected SH3D Page setup (Ctrl+Shift+P) again (still Scale 1/10) and this time ISO A0 was available having pressed the Page Format radio button (I also changed all margin settings to 0mm/Landscape).
I then chose "Print to PDF" from the SH3D File menu.
This time, on viewing the created file within Firefox (with "Actual size" or "Automatic zoom" or any other Firefox zoom setting selected) a single page is viewable.
To be sure,
am I correct to imagine that if I sent this pdf to someone with an A0 physical printer that (assuming they printed as "actual size") a 1 metre physical ruler laid along the wall would have the same size as the wall on paper?
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Re: page size / sheet size image centering
Having printed this I think I was expecting to open the created pdf in Firefox as a single page - but it appeared across 10 pages (which I now assume were 10 number A4).
Probably because the printer Firefox was set to had A4 as the default.
am I correct to imagine that if I sent this pdf to someone with an A0 physical printer that (assuming they printed as "actual size") a 1 metre physical ruler laid along the wall would have the same size as the wall on paper?
Assuming the PDF printer didn't scale a little while creating the PDF because of margins this should be correct. But I suspect a little scaling was done to fit within the margins. The same for the physical printer, it most likely can't print to the paper edge so a minimum margin is needed. It will be close though.
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Re: page size / sheet size image centering
Probably because the printer Firefox was set to had A4 as the default.
Apparently not.
I repeated as follows:
in SH3D Page setup (Ctrl+Shift+P) - format size A0 (i.e. 841 mm x 1,189 mm) was not available so I simply chose size A4, scale 1/10. in SH3D Print (Ctrl+P) I changed from the pre-selected hardware printer to kept CutePDF then selected "properties" followed by Advanced" and selected ISO A0 from the drop down list and printed.
Then, prior to opening the file in Firefox, I set the Firefox destination printer as "CutePDF Writer" and paper size to "ISO A0" - when opened the wall still appeared across multiple pages.
It therefore seems key (in Windows 10 at least) that A0 is selected in the first SH3D Page setup step.
Assuming the PDF printer didn't scale a little while creating the PDF because of margins this should be correct. But I suspect a little scaling was done to fit within the margins. The same for the physical printer, it most likely can't print to the paper edge so a minimum margin is needed. It will be close though.
Appreciate this Keet - printing in SH3D no longer seems like a problem
