What is it with Rhino and basic things like printing ?
I have already posted sevral print issues with Rhino 6 to whihc I have had some response, but still no cure to some of them. Now I have YET another to post.
I have a model with 9 layout pages showing a set of patent drawings. Layouts 1-6 are set as “landscape” (in the tab settings for the layout), Layout 7 is set at “portrait” (in the tab settings for the layout) and layouts 8-9 are set as “landscape”. All is well on the screen… however when I print the print window only offers landscape OR portrait…and guess what ? when I print out al the layout except layout 7 print ok (ie: landscape) but layout 7 prints a cut off “portrait” format on a “landscape” page.
It seems once gain that the main print page overides all that is set in the individual layouts which really is quite nonsensical. there is NO point having the choice on each layout if the main print menu overides it anyway. When ‘O’ when will McNeel sort out the basics, instead of adding ever more complex features. As ever printing in Rhino is the nightmare it always has been, and I simply cannot understand the logic behind the way Rhino behaves in this respect.
Hi
I think you would get better traction on your issues if you posted them differently.
For a case like this, I would not use the forum.
I would send as simple a file as possible with specific instructions to follow so we can duplicate the problem, identify it, and fix it.
A general rant with no specific repeatable example provided is easy to ignore.
I see you’re in the UK so McNeel Europe (Barcelona), will probably be your best help.
Hi John, it’s quite easy to duplicate this issue. Just make a layout in landscape and one layout in portrait and try to print both in one pdf. You’ll see that one of the pages is cut off. There is no way for mixed landscape and portrait pages.
Since Rhino printing starts with a single sheet size, the only work-around I can think of is to print the sheets of one size and orientation together, and the others as separate print jobs. Then aggregate them together in some other tool after the fact.
In all my years as a drafter, I don’t recall anytime a plan set used different sheet sizes in the same package. Sure there were 1/2 size submittal sets but never different sizes in the deliverables.
Hi John,
I think it is good that there are some rants about printing and layout in Rhino from time to time. As a professional user it is impossible to afford the time needed going from model to drawing. It is not a single bug or issue of one person. All the geometry and GH greatness in Rhino is diminished if you need drawing output. Our office gave up a long time ago and we export to other software for documentation (from dimension lines to print). I suggest McNeel take the printing layout issues more seriously.
My five cent and sorry for joining in the to the ranting.
Best,
Silvan
Software development is all about compromise, making effective use of limited resources, and dealing with getting yelled at.
Everyone has different priorities and very limited ability to understand another user’s pain.
We try to juggle all this (and more), and attempt to do the most efficient development that will help the most users. This is certainly not a fixed target.
We all suck at it.
I hope we suck a little less than other developers.
Well, John I think we all realize that McNeel has more issues than developers and so has developed the present preemptive multitasking system to work on the issues. Trouble is, to us the task switching seems Windows 3 vintage and the priority assignments unfathomable.
We apparently accept this in principle for two reasons:
We don’t want to pay $2000 / month for the software.
It’s also too expensive to fly to Seattle with our pitchforks, muskets and baskets of tar and feathers to aid in the priority setting.
So ranting is about the only recourse for your “value conscious” (cheap) customers. Occasionally you (McNeel) miss the boat so badly and treat us with so much apparent disdain that the troops become downright nasty.
For me the most frustrating aspect of the whole mess is that so many of your features are apparently developed by people with no common-sense ability to imagine how they should be designed to be conveniently useful. It frequently seems that your folks take on a feature design project that is perhaps a bit challenging and become quite proud of themselves that they can get it to work at all but they don’t want to risk screwing it up by providing (under the 80/20 rule) the 80% of the work it takes to finish the last 20% of the job which would make the feature a surprise and delight for your customers to use.
It’s been this way for over 2 decades now and it seems to work for you. If the whining gets too loud and long you just point to the competition as an alternative.
Just for fun I just set up two layouts in AutoCad one an A3 landscape and the next one A4 protrait and printed the to a PDF… Guess what ??? they printed fine and at the right size and orientation as set by the layout properties. i.e they were not overidden by the main printer settings which seems to be the issue with Rhino.
Anyway JB it was NOT different “size” layouts but different orientation of A4 layouts that did not work.
I have to say I am relieved to get the replies, as I thought I was going nuts with Rhino printing, but it seems others are having the similar issues.
As Gijs pointed out you dont need a file to test this. Just set up two layouts with portrait and landscape layouts on any model and it will do the same. I still cannot understand the logic in giving users a portrait/lanscape option in the layout properties menu, that then gets totally overridden by the main print prview menu… makes no sense to me at all.
On one of my previous print issues :
I still have had no solution regarding why Rhino cannot print “complete” A3 layouts to A4 paper when the main print preview menu is set to “scaled to fit”. It seems from this that the overridng main print preview menu does not apply to page “scaling to fit” different paper sizes ? Has anyone else experienced this ??
I love Rhino, just want it to get better. I hope no offense was taken.