Defining printer options with the Atlas command

When map documents are printed using the Atlas command, you can specify the paper size, units for the page size, and the orientation of the page. You can also indicate the quality level of the images when they are printed.

Setting the paper size

With the Atlas command, you can manually define the page size, which must coincide with the size of the paper available in your printer. For example, you cannot specify legal-size paper if only letter size is available.

The syntax for setting the paper size is as follows:

Syntax for setting the paper size

Atlas /print /printer:<path to printer> /papersize:<WidthxHeight> /mxd:<map document path>
Steps:
  1. Run the command prompt by doing the following:
    1. Click the Start button, then click Run.
    2. Type cmd in the Open text box.
    3. Click OK.
  2. Change the prompt to the location where the Atlas command is located: 
    cd C:\Program Files\ESRIProductionMapping\Desktop10.0\Bin
  3. Type the following: Atlas /print /printer:<path to printer> /papersize:<WidthxHeight> /mxd:<map document path>, where the path to the printer is the local or network path to the printer you want to use and Width and Height are the width and height of the page size you want to use. The map document path is the local path to the map document you want to print.

    In the example below, the map document is going to be printed on paper that is 8.5 x 11 inches in size.

    Atlas /print /printer:\\servername\Printer1 /papersize:8.5x11 /mxd:Doc70.mxd
  4. Press ENTER.

Specifying page units

In addition to the paper size, you can also indicate what units of measurement to use to determine the page size. For example, you could define the page size as 8.5 x 11 but want to use centimeters instead of inches.

The syntax for specifying page units is as follows:

Syntax for specifying page units

Atlas /print /printer:<path to printer> /unit:<Inches | CM> /mxd:<map document path>
Steps:
  1. Run the command prompt by doing the following:
    1. Click the Start button, then click Run.
    2. Type cmd in the Open text box.
    3. Click OK.
  2. Change the prompt to the location where the Atlas command is located: 
    cd C:\Program Files\ESRIProductionMapping\Desktop10.0\Bin
  3. Type the following: Atlas /print /printer:<path to printer> /unit:<Inches | CM> /mxd:<map document path>, where the path to the printer is the local or network path to the printer you want to use. Inches or CM indicates the unit of measurement you want to use for the page size. The map document path is the local path to the map document you want to print.

    The default for page units is inches.

    In the example below, the Doc70 map document is going to be printed in inches.

    Atlas /print /printer:\\servername\Printer1 /unit:Inches /mxd:Doc70.mxd
  4. Press ENTER.

Specifying page orientation

Along with the page size and units of measurement, you can also define the orientation of the maps when they are printed. You can choose to use either portrait or landscape.

Syntax for specifying the page orientation is as follows:

Syntax for specifying the page orientation

Atlas /print /printer:<path to printer> /orientation:<Portrait|Landscape> /mxd:<map document path>
Steps:
  1. Run the command prompt by doing the following:
    1. Click the Start button, then click Run.
    2. Type cmd in the Open text box.
    3. Click OK.
  2. Change the prompt to the location where the Atlas command is located: 
    cd C:\Program Files\ESRIProductionMapping\Desktop10.0\Bin
  3. Type the following: Atlas /print /printer:<path to printer> /orientation:<Portrait|Landscape> /mxd:<map document path>, where the path to the printer is the local or network path to the printer you want to use. Portrait and Landscape are the two options for page orientation. The map document path is the local path to the map document you want to print.

    The default value for the orientation is Portrait.

    In the example below, the Doc70 map document is going to be printed using landscape as the orientation.

    Atlas /print /printer:\\servername\Printer1 /orientation:Landscape /mxd:Doc70.mxd
  4. Press ENTER.

Specifying output image quality for printing

With the Atlas command, you can specify the quality of the output using an integer. The range is 1–5; 1 represents the highest output image quality, while 5 represents the lowest.

Steps:
  1. Run the command prompt by doing the following:
    1. Click the Start button, then click Run.
    2. Type cmd in the Open text box.
    3. Click OK.
  2. Change the prompt to the location where the Atlas command is located: 
    cd C:\Program Files\ESRIProductionMapping\Desktop10.0\Bin
  3. Type the following: Atlas /print /printer:<path to printer> /oiq:<1-5> /mxd:<map document path>, where the path to the printer is the local or network path to the printer you want to use. The 1-5 range represents the output image quality level, with 1 being the highest quality. The map document path is the local path to the map document you want to export.

    In the example below, the Doc70 map document is going to be printed using the highest image quality level.

    Atlas /print /printer:\\servername\Printer1 /oiq:1 /mxd:Doc70.mxd
  4. Press ENTER.

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4/19/2012