For architects, engineers, and CAD professionals, printing drawings is a routine part of project delivery. While plotting a single drawing is usually straightforward, managing dozens of sheets across multiple layouts, drawing frames, and output requirements can become significantly more complicated.

CAD batch plotting helps simplify this process by allowing users to print multiple drawings through a coordinated workflow. However, efficient batch printing involves more than processing several drawings at once. Users also need reliable frame identification, flexible plot settings, accurate previews, and control over how the final output is organized.

Over the past three releases, GstarCAD has continued improving its Batch Plot functionality. GstarCAD 2025 introduced broader configuration options, GstarCAD 2026 enhanced frame preview, and GstarCAD 2027 brings new flexibility to batch printing with Plot by Page and Plot by Set.

Let’s take a closer look at how these improvements have evolved and what the latest update means for everyday CAD workflows.

GstarCAD 2025: Building a More Flexible Batch Plot Workflow

GstarCAD 2025 marked a substantial improvement to the Batch Plot experience, introducing enhancements across drawing frame identification, plotting configuration, file management, and output processing.

One important area was drawing frame detection. Engineering drawings are not always organized in the same way. Some projects use blocks to define drawing frames, while others rely on polylines, layers, or external references.

To accommodate these differences, GstarCAD 2025 expanded frame identification options, including support for Xrefs as a filtering basis. Additional selection and traversal settings also made it easier to locate drawing frames across Model Space and Layouts.

The update extended several familiar plotting controls into the batch printing workflow. Users could configure plotters, paper sizes, plot scales, plot styles, orientations, and copy quantities while managing output files and naming conventions more flexibly.

Another notable enhancement involved Plot Order. With nine available sorting methods, users could organize identified frames according to different directional sequences or their selection order.

For drawings containing multiple frames arranged across Model Space, this helps establish a predictable printing sequence without manually plotting each frame.

These improvements made GstarCAD 2025 Batch Plotting more adaptable to different drawing structures and project documentation requirements.

GstarCAD 2026: Making Frame Preview More Intuitive

After expanding batch plotting controls in 2025, GstarCAD 2026 focused on improving how users review drawing frames before printing.

When a CAD drawing contains numerous frames, identifying the correct output range is only part of the task. Users also need to confirm that each selected frame corresponds to the intended drawing content.

GstarCAD 2026 introduced sequential frame preview to make this verification process more convenient.

Within the Batch Plot workflow, clicking a frame record initiates its preview. Users can then press the Spacebar to move through subsequent frames, with the active frame highlighted in the drawing.

This allows users to inspect the selected frames in sequence instead of repeatedly locating them manually.

The improvement is particularly useful when working with large engineering drawings containing multiple sheets or detail views. It provides a more convenient way to review the batch before proceeding with output.

While the 2025 update expanded the available plotting controls, GstarCAD 2026 made the preparation process easier to review.

GstarCAD 2027: More Control with Plot by Page and Plot by Set

The latest enhancement in GstarCAD 2027 Batch Plotting focuses on a different stage of the workflow: how multiple copies of a drawing package are organized during printing.

GstarCAD 2027 introduces two output sequence options: Plot by Page and Plot by Set.

Although both options handle the same drawing content, they provide different ways to group pages and copies in the final output.

Plot by Page: Organizing Output by Individual Sheets

With Plot by Page, the printing sequence is organized around individual drawing pages.

Consider a typical engineering project containing three drawings—A, B, and C—with three copies of each drawing required.

In a page-based printing sequence, the three copies of Drawing A are produced together, followed by the copies of Drawing B and then Drawing C.

This approach is useful when multiple copies of the same drawing need to be grouped together.

For instance, a team preparing individual mechanical drawings for workshop use may prefer to keep identical sheets together rather than arrange them into several complete drawing packages.

By organizing output around individual pages, Plot by Page provides a practical option for workflows where drawings are handled or distributed separately.

Figure 1: Plot by Page in GstarCAD 2027

Plot by Set: Organizing Complete Drawing Packages

Plot by Set follows a different approach.

Instead of producing all copies of an individual page first, the printing sequence is organized around complete drawing sets.

Using the same three-drawing example, a set-based sequence would consist of Drawings A, B, and C as one complete package, followed by the same sequence for the remaining copies.

This approach can be more convenient when an entire drawing package needs to be distributed to multiple recipients.

An architectural project, for example, may require separate documentation packages for the design team, construction team, and project reviewers. Each recipient needs a complete set of drawings rather than multiple copies of individual sheets.

In this situation, Plot by Set allows the output sequence to better reflect how the documentation will eventually be distributed, potentially reducing the amount of manual sorting required after printing.

Figure 2: Plot by Set in GstarCAD 2027

How Is This Different from the Previous Plot Order Feature?

At first glance, the new options may seem similar to the Plot Order controls introduced in GstarCAD 2025. However, they address different aspects of batch printing.

The earlier Plot Order functionality determines the sequence in which identified drawing frames are arranged for plotting. This is particularly relevant when multiple frames are distributed across a drawing and need to follow a specific order.

The new Plot by Page and Plot by Set options address how multiple copies of those drawings are grouped during output.

The distinction is important because the order of drawing content and the grouping of repeated copies are two separate considerations.

A project may require its drawings to follow a particular sequence while also needing several complete copies of the resulting package. Having control over both aspects makes it easier to adapt batch printing to different documentation requirements.

Why Print Sequence Matters in Engineering Projects

For smaller jobs, the difference between printing by page and printing by set may seem minor. As drawing packages grow, however, output organization becomes increasingly important.

Consider an engineering project containing 50 drawings that must be printed in five complete sets. The total job involves 250 sheets.

With a page-based sequence, copies of the same drawing are grouped together. If the final requirement is to distribute five complete drawing packages, those pages would need to be reorganized into sets afterward.

A set-based sequence, by comparison, keeps the drawings for each package together in the intended order. Depending on the printing and document-handling workflow, this can make subsequent sorting and distribution more convenient.

On the other hand, page-based printing remains practical when individual drawings need to be reproduced in quantity.

Neither method is inherently better. The appropriate choice depends on how the printed drawings will be used.

For design teams, contractors, and engineering departments that regularly manage large drawing packages, having both options provides greater flexibility in preparing documentation for different recipients and purposes.

A More Complete Batch Plotting Experience

Looking at GstarCAD 2025, 2026, and 2027 together reveals how Batch Plotting has developed across several stages of CAD documentation.

GstarCAD 2025 established a more flexible foundation by expanding frame identification, plotting configuration, and output management. GstarCAD 2026 improved the ability to inspect drawing frames before printing. Now, GstarCAD 2027 extends that workflow with additional control over how multiple pages and copies are produced.

These improvements address different parts of the same process, from preparing a batch of drawings to checking its contents and organizing the final output.

For CAD professionals who regularly prepare engineering documentation, such refinements can make repetitive plotting tasks easier to manage, particularly when projects involve multiple drawing frames, large sheet quantities, or several copies of the same drawing package.

Final Thoughts

Batch Plotting is an essential part of many CAD workflows, especially in projects where drawing documentation needs to be produced consistently and distributed efficiently.

The improvements introduced across GstarCAD 2025, 2026, and 2027 demonstrate an ongoing effort to make this process more flexible and practical.

With the addition of Plot by Page and Plot by Set in GstarCAD 2027, users gain more control over the final organization of batch printing output, whether they are preparing multiple copies of individual drawings or complete documentation sets.

The result is a more adaptable batch plotting workflow that better supports the demands of professional engineering and design projects.

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