Print a selection of individual pages with one command

[Bob Bryce]

Could you look into the ability to allow the selection of pages to print like in most windows programs?  Currently,  you can print a single page by telling it to start at page 4 and end on page 4 (Start: 4  End: 4) or you can print a consecutive range of pages like page 1 through 4 (Start: 1  End: 4) only.    If you want to print pages 5,9,16,20,26,37, you need to do it one page at a time.  In most Windows print features, you can enter pages 5,9,16,20,26,37 and all of these pages will print.  You can even print individual pages and a range of pages with the single print command (5,9,16,20,26,37-41).   Instead of having to go to the print command, enter a single page, print it, go back into the print command, select the next single page, print it, and so on, a single command to print a selection of pages like in MS Windows would be much appreciated.

[WORKSTATIONS]

Yes, I have seen this print page selection issue as well.  My guess is that this is not your normal windows print driver at work, I think the program has its own driver and is not interpreting all the syntax as you suggest.  I use page 1, page 1,1, page 1-whatever.

My whole benchwork can be seen in about 9 sheets worse case so is not a big deal.  Remember to check out " do not print blank sheets or print only what is "slected", cuts down on waste.

[Tom Springer]

For me, PDFs work just fine, then one can print pages as one desires. Or reprint them if one wishes. I'm glad David added the support awhile back.  May take me a few additional keystrokes to print various pages, but it works, and I'd rather David worked on other new features.

[TrainzLuvr]

Right, must be nice when you have 9 pages and not 870...

To be honest, I never tried to print anything 1:1 from AnyRail, and today was the first time I attempted to do so. Clearly the print dialog could use some love and add those basic features available in the standard windows print dialog.

For one, I would like to see where each page is located in the preview window as a visual clue to select specific pages for printing. Then, being able to print page 12, 39, 54-63, 109. All at once, just like you would from normal windows applications. I'm sorry to say it, but it's 2018 and there's no excuse for lack of this rudimentary functionality.

Exporting to a PDF seems very painful - been waiting for the last 10 minutes to get my layout exported and there's still another 5-10 minutes left most likely. I can only hope it turns out ok. This should not be taking this long - I'm using a dual Xeon workstation here...is there some kind of a timer loop in AnyRail deliberately slowing things down to make it appear as if making a PDF is a big deal?

EDIT: Now that I have a PDF made, it is appalling trying to find a required segment that I want to print among the 960 pages in this document. It basically means I have to visualize the pages in my head, write down page numbers and keep my fingers crossed I matched it right. Seriously, WTF ?!? AnyRail should be doing this for me...

[Bob Bryce]

I always print 1:1.  I have an upper and a lower level to my layout and have over 600 pages total.  I do not tell the program to turn off blank pages because I want the same page numbers to show consistently every time no matter what levels are on or off.  I turn on Pages, set the printer to landscape 11x17, set the scale to 1:1 and I see every page and it's page number overlaying on the layouts.  I then select the pages I want to print for whatever I am working on at the time. 

It is easy when all the pages are in a numerical sequence or just printing 1 page, but if I need to print a row of vertically aligned pages, like 101, 201, 301, 401, 501, 601, 602, 603, I cannot do this with 1 print command.  I need to do it 6 times. I can do 601-603 in one command, but all the others are single print commands.

Sure would be nice to tell the printer to print pages 101, 201, 301, 401, 501, 601-603, in one print command.

[David]

Each page has its coordinates (row, column) printed at the bottom.

Also. you can switch on 'Pages' on the SHOW tab, and you'll see the pages indicated on your layout for the current printer settings with their page numbers.

If the PDF export takes a lot of time, you might have set the resolution too high.

[TrainzLuvr]

I'm sorry but I don't see it!

I turned Pages on in the Show tab, and it overlaid a matrix of page numbers on the screen AND also on the exported PDF?!
I believe "Pages" should only be a display feature, not included on every page of my exported PDF...

Next, the page numbers in my exported PDF do not match what AnyRail is showing me on the screen? If I look up where page 144 is and what it should contain, it does not match at all what's on the PDFs page 144.

Also, there are no coordinates on the bottom of the exported pages.

Lastly, where are the registration marks showing where to cut/align the pages? Clearly this should be included so that the margins can be removed and pages stitched together, it is common practice in the Print industry.

[David]

If you go to FILE/Print, you can switch on the markers and the date/time and name (including coordinates).
Here, you can also select the print scale, but the page size depends on your printer.

In the PDF export, you can set the page size yourself. So the results may be completely different. Also, in the PDF export, there are no coordinates per page.

[Bob Bryce]

I hope the main subject of my thread is not getting muddied up by all this PDF stuff.  I don't print in PDF, as AnyRail prints everything just fine.  It prints all the pages you want, in any scale, with or with out the align marks, with or without the page numbers, and they always are shown the exact same way when viewing with the Pages function, as long as the printer settings are the same.

The purpose of my thread was to get the ability to print a random collection of pages with one print command like Windows print commands can do.  My wish is for AnyRail to do this from within the AnyRail print function, and not get bogged down with other methods like trying to get the program to work with several variations of PDF files.  If other users wish to address printing PDF files, it would be less confusing if a new thread was started for that subject.

[TrainzLuvr]

I apologize, my intention was not to derail the topic.

[Bob Bryce]

Not a problem, it did not get that far.   

My fear was I have seen threads here that started out as one question and in a short period of time, responses to the main question were nowhere to be found and around 30 posts about things totally different were overtaking the original question or wish.  Sort of like originally asking what day it was and the responses turning into a discussion of all the items to put on a pizza.   

[Bob Bryce]

So David, any thoughts on this being a possibility?

[David]

Well, we've heaps of work to do, but perhaps we can sneak it in.

[Bob Bryce]