Hi, I just found your blog and I can see I will visit it often! Very nice tips and your style is easy to understand!

Nice, simple, straightforward Thanks

thanks,understanding scale&units,i will visit your lessons all time

Good day thank you very much for your clear explanation and tips. Can you give us tips for a multiple scale in one drawing sheets

Hello Ricardo,
You can create more than one MVIEW for each layout. And in MODEL SPACE mode you can zoom each viewport seperately.

Hi,

I have a question. I have been using ACAD professionally ever since release 9. I have seen Model space and Paper space develop over the years, and I appreciate the way they make scaling to actual paper (plotting) easier. Esp. when producing architectual or civil drawings, drawing in model space where every drawing unit represents 1mm is great and then just scale them to paper space when plotting is neede. However, I have never found a solid and good solution when it comes to text. Drawings must conform to standards (ISO for example) and when I draw something in modelspace and need some text with it, I must calculate the textheight accoding to the scale I will be plotting in. Ok, at first glance not a big problem. text that needs to be 2.5 mm high on the plot I just draw 250 when the scale is 1:100, but what if I want to plot in 1:100 AND 1:50 ?? The text-height comes out all wrong. Placing text in paperspace is not an option either because sometimes different scales mean different paper-sizes (A0 becomes A1 etc.) which means that all text is in the wrong place.
So, do I overlook something or is there no “simple” solution?

Hi Bert,

Please try SPACETRANS, SCALETEXT and JUSTIFYTEXT commands. These three commands esp. designed for MSPACE/PSAPACE transitions.

I hope this makes easier to scale your texts

Hi Orhan,

Thnx for the reply, but I really don’t see how this makes things easier. Spacetrans only works in paperspace, and when there is a drawing with 10 or more layout’s attached to it all with different scales this means I have to apply the same text 10 times or more. Besides, like I said, placing text in paperspace is not very efficient because when something changes in modelspace (or if the viewport changes) I must accomodate for that in every paper space.
Scaletext and justifytext would seem a better option, but again, if I need to plot something I must change the textheight for every plot. This can be a tedious job and easilly forgotten.
Plus, what about attributes that are often part of blocks. They alway’s reside in modelspace.
If I could add my 2 cents to a wishlist I would opt for text having a relative scale attribute that automatically adjust when plotting.

Sorry Bert,

All i know about text scale was that. Hope visitors can answer your issue.

See you again

I would like to know how I can make wall which has two lines goes parallel to each other and when I need to make a door how can it close and after space of a door how can it continue to make another room

I am tranee AutoCAD before that i have some problem in printing and adjusting scall in printing but after reading your good topics about that all the my problem solve and I appriciate your efforts

Hi,totally good tips for beginner..You had done a great and kindness job ever. Thousand of thanks are not enough for that. I would enjoy see more tips from you! Thanks again.

hi
now its very clear to me about scale concept.thanx.i have some problem about osnap command.please clear it for me .i am a civil engineering diploma student.

to avoid text scaling when printing drawings I usually place all text in paperspace regardless of how many viewports on many different scales are used in the drawing, by doing this you guarantee that all text are of the same size, you do not have to make additional setup for different viewports, if you place text in model space you inevitably have to make calculations to make it all look of the same size when you go to paperspace

Hi,I am new to auto cad.
If the drawing scale is 1:250 mentioned in title box (all dimensions in mm) and i have to draw circle of 79 meters radius.Now pls let me know that i have give draw circle of 316 radius so that it can show 79meters.
Pls clear my dought

Hi Pankaj,

Like i mentioned in my article, if you want to draw a circle with 79m radius you should enter 79000 as radius. Of course with accepting your 1dwg unit = 1mm

can you help me how to use autocad?what the work environment and tool(basic command)thnk you sir

thanks for the explanation!

I was wondering: if i draw in cm in model space (1 unit=1cm) is there a way to set up the layout units in cm also and not mm … I use a field (in layout) with a custom scale attribute and it shows 1:10 scale while I’m printing a 1:100 scale on paper….is there a way to change this so that 1:100 on screen is 1:100 on paper. Thanks

I have a 3D model of a process plant that I need to annotate and dimension in paperspace, I need to have hidden lines removed when I plot the drawing which I understand I have to do in the viewport properties not in the plotting dialogue box. However !!!! My tanks and pumps have no center lines in the model so I add them manually in the paperspace when I dimension from a paperspace object to a modelspace object (as I did in Autocad 2000) if my dimlfac variable is not set to the correct value I don’t get the correct dimension. I think Autocad cad now picks up the scale of your viewport and sets the dimlfac accordingly is their a variable I can set to ignor the viewport scale so that I can set my dimlfac once and then dimension to scale regardless of whether the object I am picking is in modelspace or paperspace ?

D/Sir,
Would you like to suggest good books for beginners
on autocad (mehanical).
Thanks & Regards.

Hi Kksingh,

Sorry, I’m not fallowing the published books on AutoCAD worldwide. May be our readers suggest their favorite books.

I’m new to autocad. I drew some plans and saved the dwg. when I move the dwg to another autocad version. the scale isn’t what it should be. where my stud should be 6″ actual it ends up being something like 108. But this only happens when I load my other dwg. If I make a new one everything is what it should be. I’m sure there is some unit/scale I misunderstood when I first drew the dwg… any suggestions on how to rescale, so I don’t have to re draw it? thank you!

Sir

I am just starting to learn autocad by self. I am reading a lots of tips from net. I started with the origin point. When I put 0,0 or any other number in this format it is not giving me a straight line. it is slanting backwards and making a half triangle

Please advise me

Cherian

Hi Cherian,

Please read my “Coordinates in AutoCAD” article.

Have a nice weekend

i’m self-studying and practicing autocad and i tumbled into your blogs in one of my searches…i’m relieved. im sure i will visit it often coz i can see that your style is very simple and easy to understand. in fact, today i’ve learned a lot!

is the mesaurement o scale is different for modelspace and layout space i relly very confuse about these scale and i also like to know about precision???????
thanx in advance for help

I have only started working with autocad in the last 4 weeks and I find your tips great.At present I`m having trouble getting my head around the units and scaling with regards my work. The basis of this is drawing, scanning OS maps as bases for adding site information to. I can draw objects at 1:1 and get it but I`m having a mental block applying it to maps which are already scale drawings….Help.

yeah sounds easy…
don’t you think so,
cool

I have been reading several atrticles to get an idea of this scaling buisness in Autocad, Finally I found the right place, Thanks for your explanations. it is simple & easy to understand.
Further I would like to know how draw one object in different scales. for an example I want to draw a cross section of a road in two different scales in X-direction & Y-direction 1:50 & 1:20 respectively. Do I still draw this in 1:1 scale in model space & do the adjustment when the prints are taken. please explain… also explain about viewports & layouts and models

Thank you kinigama,

Please read http://www.dailyautocad.com/autocad/advanced-plotting-using-layouts/ article. And chackout our http://www.dailyautocad.com/category/printout/ category.

hey! what a great resource.
I have searched your data and can’t figure out the answer to my question. If anyone can help… I’d be very happy.
Here’s the scenario: I started using AutoCAD at work this year. Picked up the basics pretty well. Now I have it at home and can’t figure out how to change my modelspace. At work, we can draw anything no matter how big. At home, I can’t figure out how to make the modelspace larger. I draw a line 12″ long (just for testing) and zoom out but the line is still VERY visible. I need to plan a room in a home but when I enter the dimensions in inches the plan is too big to view (can’t zoom out far enough). How can I set the space to accommodate any drawing?

Thanks

A great many people think they are thinking when they are merely rearranging their prejudices — William James

I looked around the net and asked a few friends for a few hours now, but still i cant find a solution to my problem.

Ive have drawn in model space so that 1 dwg unit = 1 metre, and i’m now trying to set up my layout to a standard scale. However after much confusion I have realised that my paper space units are in inches for some strange reason, ie when i draw a line in paper space it measures in inches.

I checked Format => Units and sure enough it was in inches, so i changed it to millimetres, however it still draws in inches. I then check the page setup to make sure everything was in metric units, but still the problem persists.

Can anyone suggest what is going on and how to resolve this?

Thanks,

Rick

Hello Rick,

I think problem is your plotting device settings. Please try to select DIN format papers (e.g. A4 A3 ..). If this can not solve focus on your Windows control panel. look at your locale settings are metric or not.

thanks orhan,

turns out my title block that i was importing into the drawing was in imperial, and overiding the overall metric units of the drawing. Thanks again for the help.

Can I have an information on “Attribute” related to Block?

I had taken Autocad classes a while ago using Autocad 2000/2002 versions, and now I’m about to use Autocad again after 5 years of break. As I’m trying to brush up my CAD skills quickly, can anyone tell me what’s been changed between version 2002 and the current version, 2008 (?).
Thanks for your help,

what is the use of grid setting and snap when i print to scale 10:1

hi,
I am a beginner and my knowledge on acad is limited. i hope you would help me solve this problem. I have created many drawings of mechanical components in A4 sheet format and to the true size. some are very big, say 2000mm by 1000mm and some are small say about 100mm by 60mm. now my boss wants everything in an A0 sheet. As you know naturally the smaller components get shrunk when i bring all dwgs in A0. so I tried to resize/scale the smaller components but the dimension also gets changed. Do i have to override all dimensions to scale the particular component dwg so the dimensions are not affected? Or is there a way to scale the object/component drawing with out updating/affecting the original dimensions? i hope i have put it rightly. Thanks in advance.
senthil

Hi Senthil,

I Think your old parts drawn with scaled dimensions. E.g. 1000mm length is reduced 100mm as in 1:100 scale drawing. If so you have to dimension them again after scaling 1/1.
Please explain what is your sitiuation.

hi there…im having a problem in making roof gutters in my 2008 version..can you help me..please email me right away..thanks!

Hi,
My knowdege about AutoCAD is very limited. And things about Model/Paper space, units and scales trouble me most. In your article,

You said it is important how users accept 1 AutoCAD drawing unit.

So exactly how? Say I want to let 1 drawing unit = 1 feet or 1 cm? What are the commands I should go through?

Hi,

Forget to ask one more question:

What is defined as a drawing unit?

Hi Tedina,

First of all, work in model space and use layouts as paper.

In modelspace, when you enter “1″ for any distance inputs, Autocad draws 1 DWG unit. here is mini table for 1 DWG unit

In architectural discipline
ANSI std: 1DWGunit can be accepted as 1 ft or 1 inch
DIN std: 1DWGunit can be accepted as 1cm or 1m

In mechanical discipline
ANSI std: 1DWG unit can be accepted as 1 inch
DIN std: 1DWG unit can be accepted as 1 mm

Hi, Orhan

Thanks for your quick reply.

But, you said 1 DWGunit “can be” accepted as 1 ft or 1 inch. Are u saying there is no way to tell AutoCAD what 1 drawing unit really represent?

Maybe I wasn’t clear in the previous comments/questions. What I am asking is how to tell AutoCAD to make 1 drawing unit equal to 1 cm or foot in real world regardless of what disipline I am in?

Thanks

Great blog. I have a question regarding “Primary” and “Alternate” unit dimension location. Standard options in 2004 dimensioning allows the “Alternate” dimension to be placed eith below or beside the primary dimension. Our customers are asking if we can show the “alternate” units (mm) above the primary units.

I’ve seen several other software programs that allow various placements of alternate dimension but can’t seem to find it in Autocad.

Is this an option on the latest versions?

Thanks

Dear, Orhan Toker
I have a long term goal, its my dream to alway design my own house, i know it will defently take time, but i have taken the first step to learn and get more knowledge on arhitecture. I want to know whats the best program to use to design my own house, and how can i go about on doing this goal that i have. What are the main things i need to be looking at. I was considering Autocad and learning out of the lessons you have so i know what to expect, they are very good, i just want to make sure i’m heading the right direction.
Thanks,

Hi Rebecca,

I prefer REVIT building for architectural drawings. But Home3D is cheaper of course

i can’t undrstand properly
can i do work within model space through mvsetup?

Yes you can work in model view window on layout tabs, or model tab directly.

hello, i just read yuor blog and gain knowledge but can i ask something im concerned? for example i have a drawing in the cad and if printed i want it to be scale so my foreman will understand the distance using his steel tape without hassle for me to put dimension. like i want it to print in 8.5×13″ white paper and hope after printing its already scaled example 1:50. what will u advise?

dear experts
how can i display the co-ordinate points in the working plane.

U can use ID command to get coordinate info of any point. Buy unfortunataly an autolisp or other macro reqired to print their coordinates on screen.

Regards

I am having troubles exporting a PDF to AutoCAD and having the scale be correct. Once the pdf is exported as a .dgw into AutoCAD, how do I scale it to full size so the measurements are correct? My measurements are off quite a bit because when I look at the measurements of the room on the pdf they are quite a bit larger than the measurements once it is converted to AutoCAD.

Thank you!

Nice article, really helpful. Cheers.

Hi
This point is very important, AutoCAD is Scale less software!
In AutoCAD we have two different Drawing Scale:
1-Draw scale =CAD drawing and real world measurement. (for example 1/100)
2-Plot scale factor =CAD drawing and plot sheet size (for example 1/1)
Note: If you know the sheet size that you’re going to use and real-world size of the building plan you’re going to draw, and you want to find out the largest drawing scale factor you can use:
1.Divide the X dimension of the building by the X dimension of the sheet.
2.Divide the Y dimension of the building by the Y dimension of the sheet.
3.Take the larger number from the calculations in steps 1 and 2.
4.Round up to the nearest “real” drawing scale factor that’s used in architectural drafting

I just found Daily AutoCad.
I am newly employeed at a consulting engineering firm.
I know nothing about autocad. I have opened it & played around, but still can’t draw anything.
Can you suggest where I should begin for learning on my own? Is there step by step information somwhere?
Please let me know where to start.
Thanks very much,
Sidney

i have a drawing i need to calculte lenghts

scale is 1:750
sheet is A0

so kindly advice me 1 unit of drawing is equals to how many of actual

Hi it is simple
i want ot know more about lline standared thikness in drawing will giving print

Viral Panchal
Suzlon Energy ltd India

hi.
i m new user of auto cad, i am facing some problem in making a dimenson style like m,cm,mm
sir will you send me some tips about these three dimensiom style,
thanks

Hello Sir, I just found your blog and I can see that you teach very clear I will visit your site regularly ! Very nice tips and your style is easy to understand!

It is very helpful for us student taking up architectural Engineering….

nice job and keep it up your good work

God Bless You….

I have a dilemma, I usually only work with architectural scales and now I have a project they want in metric. They plan to build a model of a room so I used the 1:50 scale. I have to explain in simple terms on how they are to build it. What does the 1 mean and what does the 50 mean. I can see if it was 1cm=50m but I don’t know how to explain it to the customer on how to build and read this. Can you help me expain?

I am just starting again on the autocad program. Im running Cad2000 and was wondering when I copy a drawing that has been emailed to me and insert it into Cad how can I then adjust the scale in case it is different from the un-modified drawing

Hello, Glad to find an educational tutorial site since I want to learn autocad, etc. I have signed up @ a college, and already I am feeling on my on. I think they just want to see if I am online, are monitoring my time and not really teaching us anything. Oh yeah, we do all the classes, read, go to links, do test based on chapters we read, but no one really shows us anything. Where do you start? I did a little drafting a long time ago, but the hours of lettering was so frustrating I quit it. Now, here I am, with a few weeks in the class, and already feeling the pressure of hurry it up, lessons are due and aside from email, I am on my own. What do u recommend the easiest way to learn, and what to help with getting the drafting/design, area, trig down pat? Thanks again for being there….

First of all I shall be thankful to you . I wanted to ask a question that What is meaning of the command “OOPS”.

Hello, first of all thanks for the article.

I have one question, I’m doing a software application that does not use Autocad but if interprets data from a CAD file. There any way to know the correspondence of 1 dwgUnit in this file, I mean the real scale that is stored in the CAD file, or the data stored in the CAD file are always in CAD units.

Thanks in advance and sorry for my English

for surveying purposes i draw a line 1.7 units long with the units set as decimal metres to represent 1.7 metres but when i put in the dimensions the arrows are absolutelly huge. i feel i should scale up my work space area. can you help. thanks.

How can i use inches in my drwaing instead of survayor measurement and engineering.

Thanks for this site cos when am searching for real thing in AutoCad after searching endlessly finally i found what make my mind to be at peace and it is your site…Am very grateful for this site.
Thanks.

Hello Orhan.
I’m a student of Architecture, so… I don’t know much about AutoCAD…
Ok, today I started drawing in CAD, and I realized that the measurements of the lines are not appearing… I already changed the dimensions and all the options I know… But nothing happens! I draw a line and nothing appears… Could you please tell me what to do?… I’m desperate, since it’s a big project, and I’t due on Monday!
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
BTW, your explanations are great :]

Dear Sir,

1. Can i scale the layout?
2.  I want my MS limits to reflect in the paperspace but i cant set it accurately…..can you help me this

thanks

Hi…
I just want to say THANK YOU! I have learn autocad by my own and have been struggling a lot with the scale thingy but this is so easy to comprehend!!! Thanks again! =D

Hi !

I’m new with AutoCAD. I have a quaestion for You: how to configure display units so that with maximal zoom, without snap active when I place a point with mouse and then another by inputing coordinates (readed from first one), to allways place-it in over ? Note I’m using 2004 version, with scale 1:1 (mm) and precision 0.001 for x and y. If snap function is ON mouse moves are restricted adn points are OK; if snap function is off placing a point with mouse can be done in a square with same x and y – this is what I wnat to prevent (any move to mouse I wand to be to a different coordinate, and yet close – like increased by 0.001). Thank You ! I’m sorry if this is a silly question from a novice.

Hi All,

I have recently been working with AutoCAD 2005. I’ve been doing a tedious job of applying a logo to every page of my drawings. Now, this wouldn’t be so bad except the fact that the scaling from page to page is inconsistant. I would like to know if theres a macro I can use that will apply my logo to every page up to scale so that each drawing is consistant and is the same size when I print.

~Thanks

Hi,how do I change a file which was initially saved as a different scale into the 1:1 scale on autocad 2007?,please can you help me, thank you

Hi,
Please clarify  

Suppose i have a room size of around 29.7 x 21( m ).I would like to show it in a standard A4 sheet (297 x 210 (mm)). Also the components in the room are to be in metres, i.e i would like my input dimensions in metres.So i fixed my drawing limits as ( 29.7 , 21) , so that each drawing unit corresponds to metres.The drawing can be scaled down  by a factor of hundred on the  A4 sheet.Now coming to the text size of the drawing, as a standard practice  2.5 mm  text height  is used  for a 1:1 scale and it is multiplied by a suitable scale factor (i.e  25 mm for a 1:10 scale etc.) so that when it is finally scaled down on to the paper your 2.5 mm is preserved.For the above case as the scale is 1:100 , our dimension text  height should be 250mm or 0.25 m .So we modify the text height to 0.25m (as every input we make is in metre).Now I would like to plot the drawing in an A4 sheet.So i turned on layout tab where i could find the drawing  which looks smaller for the page.So I increased the limit box size to fit the paper size and tried “zoom extents”  for the picture and saw the preview in the plotter which fits the page  .Is this the correct way?

Hey, i can create complete drawing with cage on layout space.I know how to print different scale in one  drawing by using Vport. My question is how do it on model space? someone help me please

Dear sir
Thank  you very much for your clear explanation and tips

Hello Orhan sir,
Could you help me with  how to change  the leader arrow head size  without changing the dimension arrow head size ? 

Thanks for the so nice article. I was just cleared about the issue by reading your article.

when i want to preview my model i got this error message
what does it means

“The annotation scale is not equal to plot scale. Do you want to continue.”
Thanx for early response

Hi,
I have a big trouble, I made floor plans and the units are set to 1/8″ to 1′. I have drawn the plan from the blue prints which are scaled to 1/8″ = 1′. I measured from my architectural scale of 1/8 and i drew. Now I want to plot it in 22×34 in sheet as well as 11×17 in sheet. When I make a layout and viewport i’m confused what scale should we use to measure the dimensions from those printouts.  Site engineer wants to measure from his scale. So what scale i should suggest him?

Hello,

I seem to have the hardest time with Drawings I get in Metric… especially if they are without any dimensions. 
Ex: There is not a PaperSpace. The title block is drawn in ModelSpace at 1:75 scale.  Units: Decimal / inches.  I Always print at 1/4″ scale.

 What steps can I do to convert the drawing correctly to print at 1/4″ Scale.

If I have a dimension I am able to scale the drawing, but w/o them… I am lost?

Thanks,
Karen

Hello,
I’ve been having a bit of a problem with autocad because I don’t quite understand the way it displays its scales. What is the difference between 1:10_14, 1:10_36 or 1:10_24? Where could I go to chose whatever scale I want? In one of the drawing I got the scale is 1:126.6143327, I cannot work with a scale like that, I cannot plot the drawing with that scale on it…

Thanks in advance

as i am working on autocad software since 1 year, i would like to now the conversion from cenitmeter to feet and feet to centimerter,  as it is a very simple but i am unable to do it,  if you could do this to me i will be very greatfull to you.

good day sir,..  i get frustrated in the dimensioning…. when we open up autocad, let say it is in a default unit maybe in meters or maybe unitless,… but i wanna convert my units into minimeters…. though i could adjust it or change it in the option command but i think im wrong,… 
so thats why i copy some cad files that had been already converted to mm units then i erase the drawing within it….. yeah sounds crazy… but i have  no options and  idea but to do it …

hello,
i am a fresher in autocad n i am unable to understand the dimensions style settings. In a autocad drawing i open dimension style manager to check the dimension…..style1 =1693 mm is showing n when i click on style2 for the same drawing dim length its showing me 423.29 mm & for style3 its showing 254.0 mm & for standard .508 mm for the same drawing, why like this !!! .so can u plz explain me what does it mean. .? what is the reason…why these dimension r changing like this..hope i get a easy answer from u though my question may be its little difficult ..:)

thanks,
armaan