What values to use for A2 paper size in Microsoft gpd file?

Question

I hope this question could be answered here.
I need to understand what values should be chosen for A2 size.
Per this Franklin Heath article and this one at Microsoft Answers:
A3 and A4 size are specified by microsoft PDF writer as
A3 : *PrintableArea: PAIR(5346000, 7560000)
A4 : *PrintableArea: PAIR(3780000, 5346000)
With that I am not able to figure out the A2 size
Stephen Wiltshire specifies A2, A3 and A4 as

The A2 size print measures 42.0 x 59.4cm, 16.53 x 23.39 inches, if
mounted 59.4 x 76.6cm, 23.39 x 30.16 inches.
The A3 size print measures 29.7 x 42.0cm, 11.69 x 16.53 inches, if
mounted 40.6 x 50.8cm, 15.98 x 20 inches.
The A4 size print measures 21.0 x 29.7cm, 8.27 x 11.69 inches, if
mounted 30.3 x 40.6cm, 11.93 x 15.98 inches.

I am not able to figure out what unit the values are in the gpd file
Note : I used 7560000, 10690900 initially and after I received the answer, I changed to 7560000, 10692000

scottbb · Accepted Answer

The beauty of the A-paper size system (Wikipedia) is that for any of the A-sizes (A4, A3, etc.), the ratio of the long edge of the paper to the short edge is √2:1. Because of this particular ratio, each successively smaller size, such as A3 → A4, is obtained by cutting the larger page in half along its long dimension. Thus, A4's long dimension is just A3's short dimensions; and A4's short dimension is half of A3's long dimension.

^{A series paper sizes. From Wikimedia Commons by user Bromskloss. CC BY-SA 3.0}

Using pattern recognition, starting with your spec of A3: *PrintableArea: PAIR(5346000 , 7560000), then your A2 pair should be 756000 and 5346000 * 2 = 10692000.

A series paper sizes. From Wikimedia Commons by user Bromskloss. CC BY-SA 3.0
Using pattern recognition, starting with your spec of A3: *PrintableArea: PAIR(5346000 , 7560000), then your A2 pair should be 756000 and 5346000 * 2 = 10692000.

twalberg · Answer

Well, if you divide the dimensions (in inches or cm or whatever) by the numbers from the software, you'll get the same value for each - e.g. 11.69 inches / 5346000 = 0.00000218668. If you then divide the dimensions for the A2 size by that number, you should get the values you need to plug into the software - which I calculate to be about 7559399 and 10696573, respectively. Although, obviously the software is using rounded-off values - so maybe 7559000 and 10697000. Not sure if those numbers are a specific unit of size, or just a general scaling factor, but the math isn't too difficult.

Answered by twalberg on July 12, 2021

What values to use for A2 paper size in Microsoft gpd file?

2 Answers

Add your own answers!

Ask a Question