Hi Rick, 4 things to observe: 1) In some situations, the setting of the PDF995 as the default printer is not enough. You may not get access to changing the Postscript Custom Page Size, so when making that change also change the Default Document size to your desired individual page size. 2) Some plotters cannot print without a gap between pages (some HP models as an example). 3) When VCF creates separate pages, there is a bug that trims out about 3 pixel horizontal content from page to page, so when printed adjacent (continuous output) then any box or image that spans into both the left and right pages has these 3 pixel widths lost, making problem with missing parts of characters or in the image. This appears to occur also for boxes that are produced as two or more horizontal sheets. (not an issue in your case. 4) Explore the advanced section of http://tmg.reigelridge.com/Robin.htm <http://tmg.reigelridge.com/Robin.htm>to get rid of excessive gaps in charts. Lastly - have you thought about displaying such a long chart? Invariably finding a display space is difficult. Most charts over about 6m very quickly get torn. I hope that this helps, Robin On 9/10/2015 4:20 AM, Rick Van Dusen via wrote: > I've made two attempts to start a new thread with this but it never > posts (also doesn't send me an error message). Trying again as a reply > in this thread. > ============================================= > ----------- > This is all I've worked out so far; there has been one test print > actually to paper, done in Europe and reported to be successful, but we > didn't actually print the "presentation" charts we had intended, because > it proved to be quite expensive--one chart alone ran over 50 meters! (We > used the .PDFs projected from the laptop. We have some learning to do > with VCF so to be able to shrink the waste-space out of these charts.) > > Any SKS who brings this to actual paper, please give feedback. (Once we > make this work dependably, maybe somebody will post the finished > instructions on a Website.) > > ----------- > 1. Using TMG v9.05 on Windows 7. > > 2. I installed and am using CutePDF, which works as a printer driver. > > 3. In v7.04, v8.08, and v9.05, I found the following step is needed: > > Before going into VCF, I opened, in Windows, the Printers Control Panel, > and did the following (otherwise, the printer settings in VCF wouldn't > "take"): > > a. Set CutePDF as default printer. > > b. CutePDF Writer Printer Properties > General tab > Preferences: > 1) Layout=Portrait > 2) Advanced (button) > CutePDF Writer Advanced Options: > 3) In Paper/Output, set Paper Size=PostScript Custom Page, Edit custom > page size (button) > PostScript Custom Page Size Definition > i. Width=5080 mm (maximum) (200 inches) > ii. Height=1200 mm (plotter we're accessing takes 1.2 m paper > roll--47.244 inches) or to the width of the plotter available to you > (check with service provider). > iii. Paper Feed Direction=Short Edge First > iv. Paper Type=Roll Feed > v. Offsets=0 > 4) "Okay" your way out of these dialogs. > > 4. Now in TMG, Report > Descendant Box Chart to create the VCF chart. > > a. Under VCF's File > Page Setup, set Page Size to PostScript Custom > Page Size. It might appear to be set this way, but you must press OK > here for it to "take". (You'll see cut lines disappear from chart.) > > 5. VCF will create the chart. Pages will appear to be 1.2 m high and > 5080 mm wide. However, though page breaks will appear in VCF (and in > Adobe Reader), I believe the plotter will print continuously. (I > believe, though, the resulting strip of paper will be a multiple of 200 > inches; the plotter operator might need to stop the printing at the end > of the content. I don't know about this part.) > > a. I don't think it matters, but in later tries I set: > File > Print Cut Marks=off. > > 6. File>Print. (Warning: This might take quite some time; don't worry > that it didn't work.) > > 7. After "proofreading" the .PDF, you can put this file on a memory > stick and take it to your "office services" place. > > Don't forget: When you're finished, go back into Windows printer > settings and set your printer back to the desired default. > > Rick Van Dusen > > > > > On 9/28/2015 8:04 AM, Rick Van Dusen wrote: >> I've done some work with printing to a .pdf file with the settings for a >> plotter. My cousin had one test print made. We haven't done enough work >> with this to get the bugs out, but we do know it can be made to work. >> You then take your .pdf file to a printing place with a plotter. >> >> I've been meaning to post this with some details; I'll try to do that >> within the next day or so. >> >> Rick Van Dusen > The TMG archive is found here: http://archiver.rootsweb.ancestry.com/th/index/TMG/ > Instructions on how to subscribe to TMG: http://lists.rootsweb.ancestry.com/index/other/Software/TMG.html > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to TMG-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message -- Robin Lamacraft, Adelaide, Australia

Thanks, Robin. 1) Note that I did not use the PDF printer option within TMG/VCF, but used CutePDF. I found that with both PDFCreator and CutePDF, if I tried to set to that printer from within VCF, the settings would not "take". (The settings dialogs would look right, but the results would not. Generally, it would print to the PDF but with Letter paper instead of the plotter-friendly settings.) It was necessary, as I explained, to make the settings in Windows first, then create the chart, then make the settings again in VCF. (I switched from PDFCreator because I couldn't get it to reach the 200-inch/5m length. I don't recall what was involved in that; that was in 2012.) 2, 3) Good points. I don't know first-hand anything about these issues; I didn't see the actual test printout, but I was told it worked okay. (I also don't know what kind of plotter it was.) I would much prefer to create a "one-page" print, but I'm not aware of any way to do that except to have the actual plotter installed on the machine and print directly from VCF. (We got hopelessly mired down with this in 2012.) 4, "Lastly") As I noted, I limited my "expertise" (lol) to the printing process. I've done nearly no work with VCF and have a LOT to learn about trimming the charts. Before I got him converted to TMG, my cousin had produced box charts in Excel (!?!?!?), and my meager efforts with VCF so far have gotten the results down to within TWICE the width of the Excel charts! As a result, we didn't use printed charts at the recent reunion; he showed the PDF charts projected from his computer. (Cost of the printing would have been outrageous, on top of the wall space issue.) The real advantage of printed charts at a reunion is that people can find themselves and their lines and can write corrections and additions. In three more years, maybe we'll be able to figure out VCF and get better results. In the meantime, at least we solved the printing problem. Rick Van Dusen On 10/8/2015 3:42 PM, robin lamacraft wrote: > Hi Rick, > > 4 things to observe: > 1) In some situations, the setting of the PDF995 as the default printer > is not enough. You may not get access to changing the Postscript Custom > Page Size, so when making that change also change the Default Document > size to your desired individual page size. > 2) Some plotters cannot print without a gap between pages (some HP > models as an example). > 3) When VCF creates separate pages, there is a bug that trims out about > 3 pixel horizontal content from page to page, so when printed adjacent > (continuous output) then any box or image that spans into both the left > and right pages has these 3 pixel widths lost, making problem with > missing parts of characters or in the image. This appears to occur also > for boxes that are produced as two or more horizontal sheets. (not an > issue in your case. > 4) Explore the advanced section of > <http://tmg.reigelridge.com/Robin.htm>http://tmg.reigelridge.com/Robin.htm > to get rid of excessive gaps in charts. > > Lastly - have you thought about displaying such a long chart? Invariably > finding a display space is difficult. Most charts over about 6m very > quickly get torn. > > I hope that this helps, > Robin