When a drawing is done, it needs to get out of the screen and onto paper (or into a PDF). Cadelo’s plot system handles both, with real paper sizes and plot styles.
Plotting
Press Ctrl+P or run PLOT to open the plot dialog.
- Choose a printer — a real printer (if your browser can reach one) or Export to PDF.
- Pick the paper size — A4, A3, Letter, Legal, and more from the supported paper-size list.
- Choose what to plot:
- Display — what’s on screen right now
- Extents — everything in the drawing
- Window — a rectangle you pick on screen
- Set the scale — fit to page, or a real scale (1:100, 1:50…).
- Plot — the print job goes to the printer, or the PDF downloads.
Paper sizes
The plot dialog lists the standard ISO (A-series) and ANSI (Letter/Ledger) sizes. The page size also comes from the layout’s plot settings when you print from paper space — see below.
Paper space & layouts
Model space is where you draw at 1:1. Paper space is where you compose the sheet: title block, borders, and viewports that show model content at a chosen scale.
- Layout tabs — each drawing can have unlimited layout tabs (Model, Layout1, Layout2…). Switch with the tabs above the canvas.
- Viewports — on a layout, create a viewport (
VPORTS, or the Layout ribbon) that looks into model space. Double-click inside a viewport to edit the model in place (MSPACE); double-click outside to return to the sheet. - Print from a layout to get exactly what the sheet shows, at paper scale.
Line weights & plot styles
Real CAD drawings control line weight per layer or per color. Cadelo’s
Plot Style Editor (Manage tab, or PLOTSTYLE) maps colors/objects to:
- Line weight (0.05 mm hairline up to 2 mm heavy)
- Color (monochrome or color output)
- Linetype and screening (fade percentage)
Use a monochrome plot style for clean black-and-white engineering prints, or keep colors for presentations.
PDF export
The same plot dialog with Export to PDF selected produces a vector PDF — crisp at any zoom, small file size, and ready to email, submit, or archive. For a simple raster copy, use File → Export → PNG instead.
What’s next?
- 3D modeling — go beyond flat drawings
- Saving & exporting — every output format
Next: Continue reading →