Choosing the destination of your image

You can choose to send an image directly to a printer, or you can save the image in a file.

Related Topics
Printed image formats
Hard-copy image quality
Controlling the destination and appearance of printed images

Context:

If you send the image directly to a printer, you can select the Windows printer that you want to use. If you are on another platform or if there are no printer drivers on your Windows system, Abaqus/CAE selects the PostScript format, and you can specify the print command. Additional options allow you to choose the number of copies, paper size, orientation, margins, image quality, and whether or not to include the date and SIMULIA logo.

If you choose to save the image in a file, you must provide a file name and select one of the following file formats:

PNG

Select PNG if you want to incorporate the saved image in a separate document; for example, an HTML file for display on the World Wide Web. Additional options for this format allow you to specify the size of the image. For more information, see Customizing the image saved in TIFF, PNG, or SVG files.

SVG

Select SVG if you want to incorporate the saved image in a separate document; for example, an HTML file for display on the World Wide Web. Additional options for this format allow you to specify the size of the image. For more information, see Customizing the image saved in TIFF, PNG, or SVG files.

TIFF

Select TIFF if you want to incorporate the saved image in a separate document; for example, a word processing file. Additional options for this format allow you to specify the size of the image. For more information, see Customizing the image saved in TIFF, PNG, or SVG files.

PostScript

Select PostScript (PS) if you want the saved image to be identical to the image that Abaqus/CAE would print to a PostScript printer. Additional options for this format allow you to choose the paper size, orientation, margins, and resolution of your image, and whether or not to include the date and SIMULIA logo. For more information, see Customizing the image sent to a PostScript printer or file.

Encapsulated PostScript

Select Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) if you want to incorporate the saved image in a separate document; for example, a word processing file. Additional options for this format allow you to specify the size and resolution of the image. For more information, see Customizing the image saved in an Encapsulated PostScript file.

  1. From the main menu bar, select FilePrint.

    Tip: You can also click in the File toolbar.

    The Print dialog box appears.

  2. From the Destination buttons in the Settings field, select one of the following:

    Printer

    Choose Printer to send your image to a printer. On Windows systems you can select from a list of installed printers, similar to other Windows programs. On other systems, or on Windows systems that do not have a printer driver installed, you can type a print command in the Print command text field. This command should be the same command that you would use at your workstation to print a PostScript file. Do not include a file name in the print command; Abaqus/CAE automatically appends the file name to your command. See your systems administrator for details on the valid commands at your site.

    Whether you select a printer or enter a print command, click the arrows in the Copies field to set the desired number of copies to print, or type the number of copies you want into the text field. You can print up to 100 copies. If desired, click Page Setup and the Printer Properties button (for Windows printers) or the Postscript Format Options button (for systems using a print command) to specify the page size, printed image quality, and other options.

    File

    Choose File to send your image to a file. There are two ways to supply the file name:

    File name

    Type the name in the File name text field. You can type any characters that are legal Windows or Linux file names; for example, on a Windows system:

    • stressfield.png
    • ..\..\nozzle\presentation\injector_mesh
    • ~\pump\actuator\strainpattern.eps

    If you do not type a file extension, Abaqus/CAE will append an extension (.png, .svg, .tif, .ps, or .eps) to the file name.

    Select

    Use the Select button to supply a file name using the standard file browser. For more information on file selection, see Using file selection dialog boxes.

  3. If you selected to print the image to a file, click the arrow next to the Format field to select a PNG, SVG, TIFF, PostScript (PS), or Encapsulated PostScript (EPS) format file. If desired, click the respective options button to specify additional options.

  4. When you have finished with the Print dialog box, click OK to generate the desired output.

    Abaqus/CAE generates the output and closes the Print dialog box. Your settings in the Print dialog box are saved for the duration of the session.