Printing Orientation Issue

[bruceb1952]

The issue:
-Drawing Preferences -Printing -Page *Orientation is Landscape *Paper is ANSI A *Paper width:8.5(grayed out) * Paper height:11(grayed out)
-Application Preferences -Printing-Page *Page Orientation is Landscape *Paper Size is ANSI A *Paper width:8.5(grayed out) * Paper height:11(grayed out)
Shouldn't the width and height dimensions change when choosing between "Portrait" and "Landscape" orientation?
The problem shows up when File/Print and the Orientation is still Portrait.
Thanks for your attention.
Bruce

[Husky]

Application Preferences is responsible for NEW drawings.
Drawing Preferences is responsible for the ACTUAL drawing.
If you change the orientation (or anything else) in the actual drawing then it is normal to have different settings compared to the Application Preferences.

[CVH]

Shouldn't the width and height dimensions change when choosing between "Portrait" and "Landscape" orientation?

Some applications do that, QCAD not, it is an ANSI A Paper, 8.5 wide by 11 high in Portrait or Landscape.

The Print preview mode should use the page settings of the Drawing Preferences.
But the setting of a Layout Block may supersede.

The Application Preferences similar as the Drawing Preferences are the defaults when creating a new drawing.

Regards,
CVH

[bruceb1952]

I appreciate and understand the difference between behaviors of Application Preferences and Drawing Preferences. Both were identical at start of drawing.
Initially I only had the Model Space and Print Preview showed the printout to be in landscape orientation. But the actual print was 'preset' to Portrait.
Even after creating a Layout Block and a Viewport in that "Paper Space" with the orientation set as Landscape, when proceeding to Print, the Orientation was preset to Portrait.
It seems that if I want to print in Landscape, I will always have to explicitly change the Orientation on the Print to Landscape. UGH!
Unless any additional options for me to try, Thanks for your replies!
Bruce

[CVH]

I can not replicate this.

App.Prefs. >> Landscape
Close all drawings
Exit QCAD
Start QCAD >> New file based on App.Prefs.
Print Preview >> Landscape
...
App.Prefs. >> Portait
Close the new empty drawing, saving not required
Exit QCAD
Start QCAD >> New file based on App.Prefs.
Print Preview >> Portait
...
App.Prefs. >> Landscape
...
..
.
And so on.

Print Preview mode is always configured as in Drawing Preferences.
Just the same when opening several files stored in mixed Page orientation.


I created several Layouts Blocks with a mixed Page orientation.
If I swap to a Layout Block then the Print Preview mode is always configured as per Layout.


What is your OS and QCAD version?
Please read the forum rules in red above.

Regards,
CVH

[bruceb1952]

CVH,
The issue has boiled down to the act of actually PRINTing. I agree that all Print Preview renditions accurately reflect the orientation of the Application & Drawing settings. It's just that when actually performing the "Print" function, the orientation is still/always Portrait even when Application and Drawing settings are Landscape.
OS: Win11 ver:23H2
QCAD Pro: 3-29
Bruce

[bruceb1952]

Just wondering if anything new on the Print orientation issue.

[CVH]

If the preview is in Portrait then it should print in Portrait.
The same for Landscape ... WYSIWYG

Just guessing, are your printer driver settings forced to Portrait?
What about the output to PDF?

Questions:
Do you use the 'Print...' and/or the 'Export to PDF...' buttons on the Options Toolbar when in page preview mode?
Or do you use Ctrl-P when previewing or after closing the preview mode?
A lot of that information is missing.

Attach an example file and describe in detail every step you make to send that to a printer.

... even when (Application and) Drawing settings are Landscape

Application settings are defaults for new drawing files created with QCAD, printing preferences are always per drawing.
Also per drawing for new files and that may indeed be a copy of the application defaults until you change some settings for the drawing.
Per definition the application settings will thus never apply when it comes to printing a document ...

Please also specify your QCAD version and OS as per above forum rules in red.

Regards,
CVH

[bruceb1952]

CVH, Please also specify your QCAD version and OS as per above forum rules in red.
per your request..
My Feb 19 3:25pm posting has:
OS: Win11 ver:23H2
QCAD Pro: 3-29

I concur that Drawing Prefences should/would override Application Preferences.

Here are my 'test conditions'..

QCAD Precondition of Settings:
Application Preferences
Defaults for New Drawings
Printing - Page
Page Orientation: Landscape
Paper
Paper Size: ANSI A (Letter)
Drawing Preferences
Printing
Page
Page Orientation: Landscape
Paper
Paper Size: ANSI A (Letter)

Precondition of Printing:
back_plate.dxf (QCAD Tutorial Example)

(1) TEST: To PDF
File
Print Preview
Toolbar ICON: Auto fit drawing to page
Toolbar ICON: Auto Center
Toolbar ICON: Landscape
Toolbar ICON: Export to PDF
open back_plate.PDF (Adobe Acrobat)
* Drawing is displayed in Landscape Orientation
- from Toolbar: Select Printer ICON
* Preview going to Printer is Landscape
- Print (to my laserjet)
* Drawing is printed Landscape


(2) TEST: To PRINTER
File
Print Preview
Toolbar ICON: Auto fit drawing to page
Toolbar ICON: Auto Center
Toolbar ICON: Landscape
Toolbar ICON: Print
QCAD - Print
Printer: (to my laserjet)
* Orientation
- Portrait !!THIS IS WHAT SHOULD BE LANDSCAPE!!
* No preview available
- Print button
* Drawing is printed Portrait

Regards,
Bruce

[Husky]

Meaning "No preview available" (below (2)? You are already in Qcad Preview! Is that a printer driver preview? I assume the printer Preferences of your Laserjet are set to Portrait. That would overide the Qcad settings.
What is about the Qcad Preview? Drawing properly placed on the page in Landscape?

Something else what I noticed during testing. You changed at the excample drawing the unit and page size. If you stick to the original settings (mm, A4 etc) do you have the same printer issue?

[CVH]

Bruce,
For test 2 I followed your QCAD sequence 0-4.
Where step 0 is File .. Print Preview (Ctrl+Shift+P)
Remark that if you want the Back_Plate covering whole the page and centered the sequence would be 0-3-1-4.
'Auto fit drawing to page' will also center the drawing art

What I get is shown below.
QCAD shows the print preview and I am about to send that to the selected printer with hitting the 'Print' button (5).

bruceb1952_Print.png (96.98 KiB) Viewed 952 times

The printer dialog does not shows a preview for the simple reason that noting is send to any device yet.
You are about to select the export device.

That might be different if you are actually going to print the content of an existing file, of something to show.
But that is directly with your printer driver dialog ...

Here I can access the printer preferences and there I also have finishing options: Portrait - Landscape - Optionally rotating by 180 degrees
With the former HP printer that I owned I could request a preview before actually printing.
My newer HP laser driver is not equipped with that.

I can access ... But I don't made any changes to any printer preference because it prints just fine from withing any application.

If I hit the 'Print' button (5) I get exactly what I see in the QCAD print preview.
The Back_Plate is printed in scale 2.11 on a page in Landscape, arranged somewhat left - high. (WYSIWYG)
(About 140 wide in scale 2.11 is about 295.4mm what is a good match with the paper size)

I then suspect that the additional steps between 'Toolbar ICON: Print' and 'Print button' customize the export.
What happens if you simply acknowledged for printing?

Regards,
CVH

[bruceb1952]

CVH,
Thanks for your attention to my issue. I have been unsuccessful inserting a screen shot after I select PRINT. I am not presented with the same print screen as your image, but rather a dialog bow titled "QCAD - Print" with 'Printer'; 'Orientation'; 'Copies'; 'Color mode'; 'Print to file'; 'Pages' items listed down the left side of the 'QCAD Print' display with "No preview available" where a print preview might be displayed; with "Print" "Cancel" buttons at the bottom of the "QCAD - Print" dialog box.
My inital thought of a simple explanation/solution to this issue is evaporating. The differences in behaviors and environments are over-shadowing the inital issue.

[Husky]

That doesn't sounds like the Qcad print dialog. That is assumingly your printer driver

Please attache a screenshot:
How?
https://qcad.org/rsforum/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=3760

[CVH]

Also:
To attach a screenshot you must first save that as an image file ...

Looked it up in code ... Print calls for a new QPrintDialog
If we look that up we are automatically re-routed to Qt6.6 and that print dialog has indeed a page format group:
https://doc.qt.io/qt-6/qprintdialog.html (Almost halfway on the page)
There is no print preview area shown ...
... If we read further: On Windows and macOS, the native print dialog is used, ...

Mine looks exactly like the Qt5 Printer dialog:
https://stackoverflow.com/questions/388 ... og-c-sharp
https://codeloop.org/qt5-gui-how-to-create-qprintdialog (Almost at the bottom of the page).

I already predict a native printing dialog issue with Win11 ...

Regards,
CVH

[bruceb1952]

Husky & CVH,
Much patience on both your parts... thanks for the pointer for attaching screen shot.
There are some opaque, moving parts to this issue. It wasn't obvious as to the Qt printing component, but I see the reference (Qt 5.13.2) in the Command Line box. It's good to have someone with inner working knowledge, CVH.
Not sure of Print Dialog Box origin; QCAD|Win11|HP driver environ, but it is different from yours, CVH. How much of this falls into the category of "it is what it is" vs. something that can be manipulated to accommodate, might be the direction of the answer.
For now, I will pay attention to the settings in the Print dialog box before sending to printer. I will 'watch' for any further info in regards.
Thanks,
Bruce

Screenshot 2024-03-11 123212-1.png (160.98 KiB) Viewed 822 times