By John Flanagan
Working in Layouts
When you first enter a layout, you are in a mode called Paper Space by default. You can identify this mode by the Paper Space icon displayed in the lower left corner of the screen and Paper displayed in the Status Bar, as shown.
- Paper Space displays a graphic representation of the drawing sheet. A dashed boundary on the sheet represents the printable area (if a border is already inserted, it may hide the dashed boundary). The size of the layout reflects the actual sheet size specified in the layout settings. The model displays in one or more viewports in the layout. In the example above the model displays in two viewports at different scales
- When working in layouts, you can use any of the AutoCAD commands.
- If several layout tabs are available, you can hover the cursor over a tab to display a thumbnail view of the layout, as shown. Select a tab to make it active.
- If there are more layouts that cannot be accommodated in the Status Bar, a drop down (overspill) displays. When repositioning layout tabs, you can drag layouts into positions that are currently hidden in the overflow menu. As a layout is dragged to the edge of the displayed layout tab, either on the left or right, tabs automatically scroll to show hidden layouts. This enables you to drop a layout to any location even if it is hidden.