CompuServe Messages

Charles – AutoCAD initializes the COM port when it plots, then re-initializes it when it returns to the Drawing Editor — allowing you to use the same port for plotter and digitizer. The CalComp driver uses 9600, E,7,1 and XON/XOFF handshaking. If you want to use other parameters for the serial port, then you might slide around the configuration issue by employing R11 spooling to copy a plot file to the COM port outside of AutoCAD, something like this: First set the plot environment variable to use the COPY command to send the plot file to the port: SET ACADPLCMD=COPY /B %s COM2: (use %%s in a batch file) Then re-configure AutoCAD's operating parameters. Set the default plot file (3) to AUTOSPOOL. Make sure the spooler directory (4) exists — the default is \SPFILES\ — or change it to a directory that does exist. Then just plot to file, AUTOSPOOL. Note, however, that the sequence above does not delete the plot file after the plot is copied to the port; so, you should delete the plot files routinely. Or, you can use a batch file to execute both COPY and DELETE automatically. For example, make a batch file, SPOOLER.BAT: COPY /B %1 COM2: DELETE %1 Before running AutoCAD set the plotter environment variable: SET ACADPLCMD=SPOOLER %s Then plot to file, AUTOSPOOL … Of course, this procedure assumes that you can dump the file to the plotter without communication software (XON/XOFF).