Units

HI,I am new in using autocad.

I am very confuse about setting units,Basically I have to draw floor plans and section of building as I belong to civil engineering field. Is it compulsory to set units and limits before drawing or afterwards I can set it.

My confusion is also that I have to take printout on A4 size paper,and size is given in mm around 420x297mm and as my plan units are in m (room size) if i will convert it to mm it will in 1000mm or more which cross the paper size.

ii)I have a problem regarding using offset with multiple command.

If i enter 4m but line offset on measuring giving 3.79 or 3.96etc I am not getting why these error are coming.But if I use only through offset or single offset or any line command these errors are not occurring.

Please need your advice on these as soon as possible.

Hi and welcome to the forum!

I think you are missing some questionmarks there, but I'll take a stab at some of what I think are your questions

Is it compulsory to set units and limits? No. I never set Limits on my drawings. You should set Units beforehand. Or better yet, set it in your template and then never worry about them. I tend to recommend setting Units to Unitless but it is equally right to set it to the unit you are using - in your case, meters. Since that is what you are using in the Model Space.

Regarding paper size vs. room size - You should look into using the Layout Tab and the use of Viewports to get your scale correctly. Remember to never scale your drawing in Model Space - always, always, always draw everything in Model Space in a 1:1 scale.

I have a problem regarding using offset - I can't say why your OFFSET command messes up, it shouldn't. Can you explain more how you use the Offset command?

Thankyou for your reply:)

As u said I should set the units first,I have already drawn plans by default unit setting inches,now what should I do?I know u must be finding my questions very silly but really am not understanding it

regarding offset command,

I use this method,

'o'

then 't' for through

then select object

giving distance then chose multiple 'm'

and giving distances 0.3 enter

4 enter

but on measuring it is giving .297 or 0.28

4.96 etc I am not getting why these errors are occurring only in offset command with multiple.

How are you measuring your distances? Are you using OSnaps?

Why have you decided to use the Through option to the Offset command?

yes I always keep my Osnap on.

I use it because I have to draw plan which requires parallel lines or perpendicular and through multiple offset commands it is very fast to give distance.

what is the other method?

I was just curious. I'm assuming your offset distances vary then.

I don't see why you should be getting different values reported back to you (via the Distance command) if you offset using the same setting each time.

Post a copy of your DWG so we can take a look at it. Maybe we are missing something obvious.

It may be that you are not using the command with the options in the correct order.

When you start the Offset command, if you want a constant offset, you have to enter it to start with, and then you can choose the Multiple option.

If you choose the Through option first, then the offset will be through the position of the cursor whenever you pick, even though you think that you are entering an offset distance.

If all your offsets are different, then I don't think you can use the Multiple option

Could always check out Lee Mac's Dynamic Offset lisp routine.

http://lee-mac.com/dynamicoffset.html

Thankyou ReMark very useful link:),But example shown are offset having same distances in my drawing distances are vary.

I will post my drawing after two or three days ,right now I don't have at home P.C

Can I ask more question on same tread or I have to make different threads ?

I think there is an option in Lee Mac's program for offset with different distances. I'd have to check.

Regarding asking more questions, if the topic of the thread changes then you should start a new thread.

If i enter 4m but line offset on measuring giving 3.79 or 3.96etc I am not getting why these error are coming.But if I use only through offset or single offset or any line command these errors are not occurring.

Do you work with multiple UCS's? (User coordinate systems)

If you change your units, the drawinh won't change at all. So if you want to change the drawing to match the new unit you will have to use Scale to get your drawing correct.

Do you work with multiple UCS's? (User coordinate systems)

I am not aware of this.I am drawing as per default settings.

Is this errors occurring bcoz of that?

You did not answer the question. Are you using multiple UCS's. Yes or No?

I am beginner.I don't know what is Ucs.I am not sure ,I think it gives the coordinates value.I haven't change settings of UCS it is default after installation of the autocad

Then I doubt this has anything to do with changing the UCS or using multiple ones.

I think it may have something to do with how you are offsetting the lines.

I dont think so bcoz if I use it for same distance there is no error at all.It occurs Only with different distance.

Any ways is there any other method to get offset line with different distances?I mean by using any other command.I can't post my drawing also there is problem in compatibility of my home PC with loading of autocad.

Find and use a custom lisp routine.

If you want to continue using the Through option then use an Osnap, Absolute Coordinate, Rectangular Coordinate or Relative Polar Coordinate to select the point to place the offset object through. Don't guess; don't eyeball it. Be exact.

I think ReMark kinda resolved the UCS issue, if you're not familiar with it, then that's probably not it, but just to be sure, do the letters "WCS" appear underneath your viewcube in the upper right corner?

MemberX, can you post a sample drawing containing one or more lines that don't offset as you expect them to?

HERe is my drawing.......

Now please help in resolving my problem.I know making this drawing is cup of tea for you people.But this is really difficult for me.

drawing - Copy (3).dwg