I have a drawing in model space, created of color dependent lines that have no thickness and it looks perfect. When I look at the sheet in paper space, the model space lines have all become fat, like polylines with width assigned, though the sheet border in paper space looks fine. This was not always the case - it just happened and I am not sure what I did to cause it.

Odds are good that the Plot Style is taking the colors and applying width to them.  Open it up and have a look under the hood.
 
Dave.

I'm brand new to this forum, and I'm hoping the experience here will help me get started. I've used AutoCad LT 2004 before, but for simple drawings without using a template. Most of my work is done in SolidWorks, but the Engineer I'm making the drawings for wants them in AutoCad LT 2004.The CAD drawings for the Engineer are designs for septic systems. The plots of land the systems go on range from 10,000ftsq to 1 kmsq. There are also detailed component layouts for the same drawing package.I'd like to set myself up to make it as easy as possible every time we get a new contract. Ideally, the template would be set up to use 11 x 17 paper with the title block I design. I also have to be able to set the scale appropriate for each different drawing after the template is opened.So.............How do I create the template and then adjust the scale to match the drawing?This may seem simple, but I'm struggling to make it work on my own. any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance,Dave

You want to use 11x17's?  I'd think a 24x36 would be better.AutoCAD LT 2004?  Were you planning on utilizing paper space layouts and viewports or doing everything in model space?

Thanks for the quick reply.The engineer wants everything in 11 x 17. I think that's all his printer is capable of, and this size probably makes a nice neat package for the government agency he submits the drawings and paperwork to. I don't really know much about paper space layouts and view ports, so most of my work is in model space.

I'm half tempted to reinstall my old 2004 LT version again just to see what you're up against.  I can't honestly remember what it featured and what it didn't!

Dave.

Thanks Dave.I appreciate you thinking of reinstaling this ancient version to help me out. Unfortunately I haven't had any other responses yet, and I need to get going on this. I'm sure you're free time is limited, but I'd sure appreciate the help.Thanks in advance for anything you can do,Dave

Well, I'm not doing much other than watching a recording of the All Star game tonite... so I *did* reinstall 2004 LT for the fun of it.  Or for the shock of it - I'm so used to 2012 now!  I missed my ribbon.  :)
But it was worth it for a couple interesting things none the less.  I saved out my primary 2012 DWT file as a 2004 DWG.  This contains the paper space title blocks I use almost daily for ANSI A (8.5x11) and ANSI B (11x17) paper.  Then I opened that in 2004 and saved it out as a template file.  When I opened a new 2004 drawing using it everything but one feature worked.  My title blocks are fully annotated and in some cases use custom fields.  In 2012 I pull the Layout tab name from a system variable field and use it to complete the Sht number.  This didn't work in 2004, but everything else did.
 
The 2004 template also handled of all the text and dimstyles I'd created in the 2012 file.  But their annotative features won't work because there is no cannoscale variable in 2004. 
 
But... the idea of printing from paper space (Layouts) is virtually unchanged in all these years.  It's a bit easier now, but still workable and worth learning in 2004.  It'll serve you well when you do move up to a new version of ACAD.  You have an ANSI B template in your folder that ships with LT.  Start a new file and use the ANSI B – Named or Color Dependent Plot Style DWT.  These both contain an ANSI B Layout tab with a sample title block that you can modify to your company standard.  I would suggest you delete the Viewport that is already on it before you resave it as your new DWT.
 
Remember that DWT files can contain a lot of stuff to help you standardize your work and save you time.  You want to include all standard layers, dimension and text and table styles you might want in new drawings.  Template files are never really done or complete... you’ll continue to improve them as you learn and do new things.
 
I plot from paper space all the time and you can in 2004 too.  I plot to DWFs using the DWF to pc3 plot style because (1) I frequently need to send others DWFs for review purposes, but also (2) because I like to plot to PDFs as well, and for my money the Design Review program creates better PDFs than AutoCAD does.  Design Review 2013 is free.  If you don’t already have it, get it.
 
Spend a little time after you do some of the above and study the concept of Viewports, how to create them, how to scale them, and how they work in paper space.  Create your own text and dimension styles if you don’t already have them.  Mess around with all this a little bit and come back with questions as you have them.  You’ll find that plotting from paper space now (even in 2004) is easier than doing it from model space.
 
In the meantime I'll be jangling my memory to try and recall how I used to plot with this version myself!  I've learned a thing or two since then ... 
 
Dave.heinsite2012-07-11 10:43:51

Here's a quick and dirty practise exercise for you:
 
1.  Open one of your current drawings.
2.  Go to the Layout tab and right click.  Select From Template and load the ANSI B - Color Dependent Plot Styles.DWT.  A new tab will become available on the status bar.  Click on it (ANSI B Title Block).
3.  Double click inside the large open section of the template.  The border (the viewport) will get bold.  You've "activated" the viewport.  You're now in Model space.
4.  Zoom Extents.  Everything in your model should be visible.
5.  Double click anywhere outside of the viewport.  When you do this correctly the bold viewport line will be thin again.
 
To plot from here you'll need to configure a few things.
 
Right click the ANSI B Title Block tab.
Select the Plot Device tab and change None to DWF6 ePlot.pc3
Change the Plot style table setting to monochrome.ctb
Select the Layout Settings tab and make the paper size ANSI full bleed B (17x11 Inches)
Drawing Orientation should be Landscape
Make the Plot area Layout
Make sure the "Display when creating a new layout" box is checked.
Click OK
 
Right click the ANSI B Title Block tab again.  This time click Plot.
The Plot Settings tab looks the same, but the Plot Device tab contains a "Plot to file" section.  Change the File name and path to somewhere you'll remember (I have a dedicated DWF Files folder).
Click the Full Preview button. 
Click OK and plot your drawing.  If things don't look centered you may have to change the Plot Offsets... I did.  I ended up with x= .60 and y=.37 and it looked good enough for binding.
 
Now open this in Design Review.  Print it to your plotter.  Print a copy to a PDF.  Experiment with different print sizes.
 
We haven't dealt with scaling yet, but you're on your way!  Let some of this sink in first.  There's more. :)
 
Dave.heinsite2012-07-11 11:57:07

Thanks Dave,
 
I'll try it tonight when I get home. Let ya know how it works.
 
Dave

I probably have a mistake or two in those descriptions somewhere.  You can let me know later where they are! 
 
In the meantime today I'll look around for any of old DWG files last saved in 2004-6.  You have me curious to see what my skill level was at the time.  It was pretty bad, I know that much since I'd just made the jump from Autodesk Autosketch to AutoCAD and was struggling to learn all this stuff myself.
 
Whatever I find ain't gonna be pretty!
 
Dave.

In Page Setup is "Display Plot Styles" Checked?

[QUOTE=SugarCAD] In Page Setup is "Display Plot Styles" Checked?[/QUOTE]

It doesn't matter if you check it or not, but I always do because I will use named Page setups.  This can be especially helpful if you have a project where you want to print only selected colors... say, everything in black on white except for something you want to show with bold Red.  If you check Display Plot Styles and use a named page setup your viewports will display exactly as they'll print.  When they do that you really don't need to Preview as often.
 
Dave.

Dave,I still ran into some troubles with this. I think I'm getting ahead of myself since I dont even know how to take a drawing from model space to paperspace (layout). I now have a model which contains 3 different drawings, each with it's own title block. and I'd like to insert each drawing into it's own layout tab. I havent done anything with layouts, paperspace, viewports etc. So this part is new to me. When I open the layout tab, it just shows the entire model space. I tried copying 1 drawing into a new layout, but still got everything. It's probably simple, but it's eluding me. Can you give me a step by step procedure to follow to separate each drawing into it's own layout? Once I've got that done, I can practice with scale, plotting, etc. Thanks,Dave

Think of the Layout tabs like this:  as a big piece of paper covering your entire model.  When you cut a hole in the paper (a viewport) you see thru the paper and get to see the actual model.  But unlike an actual hole in the paper, with this one you can change the magnification factor.  That's the scale idea.So, to start with, we'll go back to Step 0.  Go to your layout tab, Ctrl-A to select everything, and Delete.  You won't see anything now.  You just put a fresh sheet of paper on the layout.  Now type -VPORTS at the command line and if <Fit> is the default, simply hit the Enter key.  If <Fit> is not the default simply type 1 at the command line, stretch the rectangle to the opposite corner, and left click.  You'll have a viewport.  You can select it and change the size and fit from here if you want.You should see *everything* in your model now.  You've effectively "cut" a hole in the paper now.  But this generally isn't what we want... we want to see just a part of the model.  Zoom Extents to make sure the entire layout is visible and then double click anywhere on the inside of the new viewport frame you created.  The viewport outline should be bold now because you "activated" it.  In fact, you're now working in Model space, but doing it from the Layout.Now do a window zoom around one of the title block sections in your model.  This will fill your viewport.  If you now double click anywhere on the outside of the viewport frame the frame will return to a thin line and will no longer be active.  Anything you do now will be in the Layout space.To see what the scale is of the viewport, single click the frame and look on the status bar.  A scale will be shown.  It will probably say "Custom".  You can change this to one of the standard scales that's provided or to something that fits your model.  It's important to Lock the viewport once you've set up keeper scale so that you don't accidentally mess it up when you activate the viewport later.Now, here's the thing.  Most of us don't put our title blocks in the model anymore.  We just put the model there.  The title block is drawn in the Layout ... on the paper.  Then once that's done we cut the viewport hole in it and scale that viewport to see the model, or portion of it we want.Mess around with this a bit until it starts to make sense.  We'll continue with more questions from there.Dave.

Thanks Dave,I'm making headway. Got each drawing in it's own tab and messed around with the scale until everything fit nice. Well.....almost!Question, - Is there an easy way to center the drawing in the layout, besides adjusting the coordinates? Once it's centered, I can adjust the scale to make max use of the available paper size.Thanks,Dave

If there is an "easy" way I'm not using it.  Here's what I do:
 
1.  Activate the viewport in the Layout;
2.  In Model space either zoom extents or zoom window the area I want in the viewport;
3.  De-activate the viewport to return to Layout space;
4.  Select the viewport and examine the scale;
5.  With the viewport window still selected change the scale to something standard (1:100, 1/4" = 1'-0", etc);
6.  Activate the viewport again and pan the view until everything is located the way I like (I'll do this by pressing and holding the scroll wheel button and dragging the model until it looks good.  This does not move the model!... it only changes where it is in the viewport;
7.  De-activate the viewport again;  and finally,
8.  LOCK the viewport!!!
 
It sounds like a lot of work.  It's not.  Once you get into the routine of doing it it's all done before you know it.
 
Try this.  Read #6 until that part is fully absorbed. 
 
Dave

Will I need to create a new tab for each paper size and set up the scale, center model, etc? Sometimes I need to print on 8.5 x 11 as well as 11 x 17.Dave

Yes, exactly.  That's what I do.  I have a template for ANSI A (8.5x11) and one for ANSI B (11x17) that are my primaries.
 
Right now your title block is in the model.  Eventually we want to get you to create a template where the title block is in Paper space (in the layout).  When it's really well built it will contain attributes and fields to quickly and consistently place the data that goes on it.
 
So we completely separate the functions.  The model is only the model.  The title block is only the title block.  You use them together by creating viewports "thru" the title block in paper space to reveal sections of the model that you want to print.  It's quite elegant.  You'll never go back to printing from the model once you understand this.
 
You're getting there!
Daveheinsite2012-07-17 20:06:57

So.......to create the templates for ANSI A and B, I open a new drawing and draw 1 title block in layout only, with plot settings for ANSI A and save as a template (Say called ANSI A Title Block Template)? Then open another drawing and do the same thing except with plot settings for ANSI B, and also save as a template?Sorry for the endless string of basic questions?Am I on the right track?Dave  

You are on the right track, but I would suggest creating layout templates for the ANSI A and ANSI B title blocks in the *same* drawing.  Here's why:
 
If you also include lots of other things like standard layers, text styles, dimension styles, table styles, and maybe a few other frequently used blocks, it'll be inconvenient to say the least to have to update them in separate drawings when you make changes.  By having all this stuff in one template file you only have one place to go and then resave as a DWT when you're done.
 
So when you have the ANSI A layout title block all working add a new layout and do the same setup for an ANSI B.  All the other things in the file will come along for the ride when you open a new drawing with this template.  And if the unused title block bothers you in a new drawing, simply delete the one you don't need.
 
Dave.