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Viewport QC

Read-only audit of every paper-space viewport and page setup for plot-production readiness: unlocked viewports, annotation-scale ÷ viewport-zoom mismatch, off/orbited views, per-viewport layer overrides, and each layout's plot device, CTB, and paper size.

Command VDCVIEWPORTQC · VDC Sheets tab › Sheets + Takeoff panel
Read-only audit of every paper-space viewport and page setup for plot-production readiness: unlocked viewports, annotation-scale ÷ viewport-zoom mismatch, off/orbited views, per-viewport layer overrides, and each layout's plot device, CTB, and paper size.
One command scans all layouts: each viewport's lock / scale / view + the sheet's plot device & CTB. LAYOUT: C-401 PLAN & PROFILE VIEWPORT 1, OK locked · 1"=40' · annoscale = zoom VIEWPORT 2, ERROR annotation scale ≠ viewport zoom annoscale 1:20 · zoom 1"=40' → labels plot wrong size unlocked, WARNING · fix from status-bar scale, not ZOOM Plot device: DWG To PDF.pc3 CTB: monochrome.ctb, not in allowed list Paper: ANSI D (22×34) matches sheet-set size Findings annoscale non-plan unlocked vp off lyr override CTB / paper vp freeze dbl-click → zooms to vp model center + CSV next to dwg
Passing viewport (locked, scale matched)   ERROR (annoscale mismatch / orbited)   WARNING (unlocked / off / override / CTB)   INFO row (vp freezes) + palette/CSV

What it checks

  • Per viewport: display not locked (WARN), annotation scale ≠ viewport zoom (ERROR), turned off (WARN), orbited non-plan view (ERROR).
  • Layer state: per-viewport color/linetype/lineweight/plot-style/transparency overrides (WARN); layers frozen in this vp only (INFO count).
  • Page setup: layout has no plot device (WARN, suppresses CTB/paper checks), no CTB/STB or one outside the allowed list (WARN), paper size straying from the set's dominant size (WARN).
  • Safe: read-only, whole-drawing, runs in seconds; the annoscale check skips off viewports and any whose scale can't be read (never guesses).
  • Findings double-click to the viewport's model-space view center, lands correctly even on twisted views.

Settings & outputs

  • Each viewport check toggles individually; page-setup checks toggle as a group.
  • Allowed plot style tables: comma-separated list (e.g. Standard.ctb, Presentation.ctb); empty = accept any non-empty CTB.
  • Persisted at %APPDATA%\VDC\ViewportQc\settings.json; office-wide override via VDC_VIEWPORTQC_SETTINGS.
  • Outputs the findings palette plus a CSV in the drawing's VDC Reports folder carrying every row, including the INFO freezes.
  • Completes the plan-production trio with VDCSHEETINDEX (numbering / scale / twist / match-lines) and VDCLABELQC (plotted collisions), no overlap.

Dialog

Viewport QC dialog
Viewport QC, VDCVIEWPORTQC

When to use it

  • Right before a submittal plot batch - it's read-only and takes seconds.
  • After borrowing sheets from another project, to catch foreign page setups and CTBs.
  • When a plotted sheet came out with wrong-size labels - the annotation-scale check finds which viewport drifted.

How to run it

  1. Run VDCVIEWPORTQC; toggle the checks you want and set the allowed CTB list (empty accepts any non-empty CTB); click OK.
  2. The tool scans every layout: viewport lock/on/scale/annotation-scale/view state, per-viewport layer overrides + freezes, and each layout's plot device / CTB / paper size.
  3. Work the palette top-down (double-click zooms to the viewport's model area); the CSV in the drawing's VDC Reports folder carries the full list including the INFO rows.

Options

  • Viewport checks: unlocked, annotation-scale mismatch, off, non-plan (orbited), layer overrides - each toggles individually.
  • Page setups: plot device present, CTB/STB assigned, paper size consistent across the set.
  • Allowed plot style tables: comma-separated names; layouts plotting with anything else get flagged. Empty = any non-empty CTB passes.

Watch out for

  • Annotation-scale mismatch is fixed from the STATUS BAR viewport scale control (or re-lock at the standard scale) - zooming inside the viewport is what caused it.
  • Per-viewport layer overrides aren't wrong by themselves - the flag exists because they make the sheet plot differently than the model shows; confirm each is deliberate.
  • Scale standardness, twist, and match-line continuity are Sheet Index's checks (VDCSHEETINDEX) - run both before issuing.

Related: Sheet Index · Label QC · Standards QC