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The Print command (File>Print) is used to print all or a portion of the layout.
When the Print command is selected a grid, which represents each printed page, is drawn on the layout. Pages can be selected or unselected for printing by placing the mouse over a grid section and clicking the left mouse button.
The Print dialog contains a number of control areas:
Whether tracks are printed with one or two lines (representing the center line and rails) depends on the Print Scale. If this value is smaller than or equal to twice the Two Rail Scale on the Display (Section 2.10.3) dialog then tracks are drawn with two lines. This corresponds to the way tracks are drawn on the main window, adjusted to account for the greater resolution of most printers. At 1:1 tracks are also drawn with a center line.
These values can be set directly or by dragging on the layout. Shift+Left+Drag
moves the grid and Shift+Right+Drag
rotates the grid. The Reset button resets the values to 0.
The Print button prints the selected pages and closes the Print dialog. It is not enabled until you have selected some pages to print.
The Setup button invokes the Printer Setup (Section 2.5.9) dialog.
The Select All button selects all pages for printing.
The Clear button unselects all selected pages, so no pages will be printed.
Suggested Uses:
Use the Snapshot button to set the scale and orientation for a one-page printout of the layout. Also set Engineering Data to add the Layout Title, Scale and other data for a summary.
Use Layers (Section 2.9.5) to control which tracks are visible (and printed). Put bench-work, scenery or different tracks levels in separate layers and hide the layers you are not working with.
To transfer the drawing to the layout without printing at 1:1, make the Snap Grid (Section 2.12.2) visible and orient it to match your room or layout table.
Check the Print Snap Grid toggle and use the printed grid to transfer measurements to your layout space. You may want to change the color (Section 2.10.1) of the Snap Grid to make it more visible on the printout.
When you print multiple pages you can check Ignore Page Margins so pages can be placed next to each other. The tracks will line up correctly without trimming or overlapping the pages. Note: depending on your printer there will be an unprintable margin around the edge of the page.
If you print at 1:1 for direct transfer to the sub-roadbed, check Print Roadbed Outline and set Width to show lines for making cuts.
If you make printouts in strips at different angles at 1:1 (to follow tracks around a curve), check Print Registration Marks to be able to align the separate strips.