In this dialog you start the actual export process. When exporting individual pages or an entire project in PDF format, only one file is created regardless of the selection.

Overview of the main dialog elements:

Source (page / 3D model):

This field displays the source of the export. For an entire project, this is the project name; for individual pages the full page names are displayed (including the page properties Functional assignment, Higher-level function, etc.). The entries can't be edited here.

Scheme:

Choose the scheme that you would like to use from the drop-down list. Or click [...] to edit an existing scheme or create a new one in the Settings: PDF export dialog.

PDF file:

Here you enter the file path and the name of the file to be created, or select this interactively using [...]. The initial default is the documentation directory DOC and the name of the selected project (...\<Project.edb>\DOC\<Project>.PDF).

You can use the Insert path variable popup menu item to branch to the dialog Select path variable where you can select one of the available path variables.

Export medium:

You use this group box to specify the export medium to which it is to be output:

• Storage medium: If this option is selected, the PDF file is output to a storage medium.
  Enter the storage location in the Output directory field. You can specify any drive and subdirectory as the target for the export.
  Click [...] to open the Select directory dialog and then navigate to the desired directory, or create a new one.
  You can use the Insert path variable popup menu item to branch to the dialog Select path variable where you can select one of the available path variables.
• E-Mail: If this option is selected, the PDF file is sent as an e-mail. When you call this function, the PDF file is compressed with the internal zip program and your installed e-mail editor is started.
  From the Split size drop-down list select the maximum size for an individual e-mail file. The possible values are 1 MB to 10 MB in 1 MB increments, or you can select "Unlimited". EPLAN automatically creates the number of e-mail files required to send the whole project. All individual mails in the group will have this text in the subject line: "<File name> n/m". "n" is the number of the individual e-mail file and "m" is the overall quantity of the files.

Output:

Use this group box to specify how the files are to be output:

• Color: Select this option if you want to output the PDF file in color. Then all the elements will be printed in colors corresponding to the "Color on white" color scheme.
• Black and white: Select this option if you want all the elements on the project pages (apart from image files) to be printed in black on a white background. Image files are always output in their original colors.
• Grayscale: Select this option if you want the PDF to be output in grayscale. Grayscales are calculated from the colors for the white color scheme.

Use print margins:

If this check box is selected, the print margins defined in the print settings are also used for PDF exports. As soon as a print margin has been set, a corresponding empty region is produced in the PDF pages. This produces a border when printing the pages from the Acrobat Reader.

From [Settings], you can navigate to the Settings: Print margins dialog, where you can view and edit the print settings relevant to PDF exports.

If the check box is deselected then the print margins are not taken into account. This means that a border for punching holes may possibly not exist when the pages generated from EPLAN are printed from the Acrobat Reader.

Output 3D model / Output pages with model views:

This setting is also of interest for you if the project to be printed has 3D models and / or pages with model views for these models.

The Output 3D model check box is displayed if the cursor is in the page navigator or on an open page in the graphical editor and you then start the PDF export.

• If the check box is activated and there is at least one model view on the selected or opened page, then in addition to the page all of the associated 3D models that are linked with the model views are available on the page. If you use this option, extra document pages containing the exported models are added at the end of the page list in the PDF file.
• If the check box is deactivated all of the selected pages are exported but not the additional 3D models.

The Output pages with model views check box is displayed if, e.g., the cursor is in the 3D view of an open 3D model or if an opened layout space is selected in the layout space navigator.

• Activate this check box if in addition to the selected 3D models/layout spaces all of the pages on which the associated model views of the selected 3D models/layout spaces are found.
• If the check box is deactivated all of the selected 3D models are exported but not the additional pages with model views.

Apply to entire project:

Select this check box if the current selection is to be extended to include the entire project. If you have selected one or more pages all of the project's pages are exported. If a 3D model has been selected, all of the project's models are output.

If this check box is deselected, then only the selected pages or 3D models are exported.

[Settings]:

Menu item	Meaning
Output languages	Opens the Settings: PDF output languages dialog where you specify the languages in which the PDF file should be output.
Output size	Opens the Settings: PDF output size dialog. Here you specify the paper format in which to output the project pages to be exported.
Print margins	Opens the Settings: Print margins dialog. This is where you define the relevant print settings, such as margins and position, for PDF exports.

See also

Tab Export (User, PDF Export)

Tab General (User, PDF Export)

Tab Device pages

Tabs Device properties / Part properties

Outputting Pages as PDF Files