2012

Set the Scale for Annotations and Blocks
Before you draw, you should set the scale for dimensions, annotations, and
blocks in your drawings. Scaling these elements beforehand ensures that they
are at the correct size when you plot the final drawing.
You should enter the scale for the following objects:
■ Text. Set the text height as you create text or by setting a fixed text height
in the text style (STYLE).
■ Dimensions. Set the dimension scale in a dimension style (DIMSTYLE) or
with the DIMSCALE system variable.
■ Linetypes. Set the scale for noncontinuous linetypes with the CELTSCALE
and LTSCALE system variables.
■ Hatch patterns. Set the scale for hatch patterns in the Hatch and Gradient
dialog box (HATCH) or with the HPSCALE system variable.
■ Blocks. Specify the insertion scale for blocks either as you insert them, or
set an insertion scale in the Insert dialog box (INSERT) or in DesignCenter
(ADCENTER).
The system variables used for inserting blocks are INSUNITS,
INSUNITSDEFSOURCE, and INSUNITSDEFTARGET. This also applies to
the border and title block of the drawing.
You can also use
annotative on page 1518 objects if you want to scale annotations
automatically. For information about using annotative objects and scaling
annotations automatically, see
Scale Annotations on page 860.
Determine the Scale Factor for Plotting
To plot your drawing from the Model layout, you calculate the exact scale
factor by converting the drawing scale to a ratio of 1:n. This ratio compares
plotted units to drawing units that represent the actual size of the objects you
are drawing.
For example, if you plan to plot at a scale of 1/4 inch = 1 foot, you would
calculate the scale factor 48 as follows:
1/4" = 12"
1 = 12 x 4
1 (plotted unit) = 48 (drawing units)
Using the same calculation, the scale factor for 1 centimeter = 1 meter is 100,
and the scale factor for 1 inch = 20 feet is 240.
294 | Chapter 12 Create Single-View Drawings (Model Space)