Units and scale is killing me

Hi everyone,

I don't know what to do with my drawing Units and Scale.

I want to draw in Meters! But when i make a rectangle 30x15m it looks so small that i can't see it in my draw. Using my scale is 1:1 and Units Meters.

I tried changing my scale and my units and the rectangle still looks the same way it was. If i want something to look big, i have to draw in mm, for example, 30000x15000mm rectangle.

But, when i do that, everything go wrong...For example, when i draw a rectangle in mm (30000x15000) and i change the line style in layer command or when i try to hatch/linear dimension and etc all looks very small or very big.

Please what can i do? What's the easiest way to draw a floor plan?

Thanks and sorry for my Brazilian English and my newbie skills

If you want to draw in METERS then you should choose a metric template.

Click on the Big A icon in the upper right hand corner

then NEW > Drawing ....... which will take you to the template selection dialogue box.

It sounds like you want to draw a house, so you might want to use the template shown in the image.

If a template does not specifically mention that it is METRIC, or end with ISO,

it is an IMPERIAL (feet and inches) unit template.

The default unit of measure in a metric drawing will be mms, unless you reset it.

Meaning that if you specify a line be drawn with a length of 1, it will be 1mm long.

If you want to change your drawing units to meters, or another unit of measure, you can do that with the -dwgunits command.

Your modelspace will be rescaled to the new unit of measure.

When you switch from mm units to meters, your modelspace will be scaled down by a factor of 1000.

Having done that, should you specify that you want to draw a line with a length of 1, it will be 1 meter long.

Units expressed will now be meters, so a measuremednt of .5 means half a meter.

All other measurements such as area will also be expressed in square meters, volume in cubic meters, etc.

Sorry, i forgot to say that i'm using ACA. I don't have all these templates.

Isn't better for me to create one? Or not?

What do you think is the better way (units/scale) to draw house plans?

Thanks!!

Please update your user profile to USING Autocad Architectural.

You will have METRIC templates there too, I believe, just choose appropriately.

Ok, updated.

I'm using ACA but i'm not using ACA tools yet. First i'm learning basic autocad. Using lines, PL, Rectangle, Trim, Offset, Extend, etc.

Ok, now i'm using AcadISO template. And things got better. But just one thing..

Autocad standard units is mm right?

So if i draw everthing in meter (30 instead of 30000). What scale factor should i use in Dim style? Or in hatch?

Thanks and sorry.

*I'm going to bed now, when i get up i'll see your reply. Thanks!

Ok, updated.

 

I'm using ACA but i'm not using ACA tools yet. First i'm learning basic autocad. Using lines, PL, Rectangle, Trim, Offset, Extend, etc.

 

Ok, now i'm using AcadISO template. And things got better. But just one thing..

 

Autocad standard units is mm right?

 

So if i draw everthing in meter (30 instead of 30000). What scale factor should i use in Dim style? Or in hatch?

 

Thanks and sorry.

 

*I'm going to bed now, when i get up i'll see your reply. Thanks!

Where do you plan to do your dimensions?

There are so many different ways they can be done.

They can be done in MODELSPACE or in PAPERSPACE.

ASSOCIATIVE, ANNOTATIVE or neither.

I would suggest that you decide before you start your drawing what UNITS (meaning do you want something with measurement of 3 1/2 meters to read 3.5 on the dimension, or 3500 ?) you want to use.

If you are using ASSOCIATIVE dimensions you do not need a different dim scale.

You would create a DIMSTYLE which would be 1:1.

If you are using an ISO template then your HATCH and LINETYPES have already factored that in, they should already be in the ballpark.

You may well need to make some adjustments, especially setting your HATCH scale, but see how it looks first, then experiment, if need be.

Your drawing in Modelspace should be full sized (1:1)

I don't know how to use PS properly yet.

I draw everything in MS using meters. Example: Room 9m x 6m. The template I'm using (AcadISO) is set in mm and scale 1:1. Do i need to change these things?

ASSOCIATIVE, ANNOTATIVE or neither? I don't know what are these things. Where can i see what I'm using?

I'd like to be read as 3.5m (not 3500mm)

Thanks again!!!

Reset your -DWGUNITS to meters then.

Use the -DWGUNITS (be sure to include the - ) command at the commandline to start.

Command: -DWGUNITS

Drawing units:

1. Inches

2. Feet

3. Millimeters

4. Centimeters

5. Decimeters

6. Meters

Unit for length : 6

Drawing unit display formats:

1. Scientific

2. Decimal

Linear display format :

Linear display precision : 2

Scale objects from other drawings upon insert? [Yes/No] : y

Match INSUNITS to drawing units? [Yes/No] :

** WARNING: you have changed the unit for this drawing database. **

** All new objects will be drawn according to the new unit, but **

** existing objects will not change size unless you specifically **

** ask to have automatic scaling occur. **

Scale objects in current drawing to reflect change in units? [Yes/No] :

Include objects in Paper Space? [Yes/No] : n

Scaling the entire database...

Scaling AecDbObject(s)...

Scaling entities in Model Space...

Skipping entities in Paper Space...

Everything done. So now i have to save as a template and everytime i want to start a draw I just load this?

Thanks for your patience!

Good thinking!

Yes, save it as a .dwt file, and give it a name you will remember.

You can also set this to be your default QNEW template, in OPTIONS.

Uhu! Thanks man! Now i hope everything goes right!

If i get some issue, I come back here. Thanks again!

Happy to help.

Set your template like this.

Use the BROWSE button to access your template dialogue box, where you can choose the new one you created.

So that in the future if you click on the NEW drawing icon, this template will be selected for you.

You can access OPTIONS by right clicking in your commandline.

Done!

Later you will add lots of other things to this template, but this is a good start.

Hi!!

I have one more thing to ask.

Watching some youtube autocad tutorials, i noticed that when the draw is ready for plot, the scale they choose always fit perfectly in the paperspace viewport. How they calculate that?

I'm asking that because i've started a floor plan and when i finished i tried to scale it in several ways (1:10; 1:50; 1:100 ...) but or the draw looked big (not fitting) or small. The only scale factor that fit almost exactly was 1:25. But I don't want it.

So, how can I know that?

Hi!!

I have one more thing to ask.

 

Watching some youtube autocad tutorials, i noticed that when the draw is ready for plot, the scale they choose always fit perfectly in the paperspace viewport. How they calculate that?

 

I'm asking that because i've started a floor plan and when i finished i tried to scale it in several ways (1:10; 1:50; 1:100 ...) but or the draw looked big (not fitting) or small. The only scale factor that fit almost exactly was 1:25. But I don't want it.

 

So, how can I know that?

You can double click into your VIEWPORT, and use your mouse wheel to zoom to an appropriate scale, or you can select a scale from your viewport scale list, or select the VIEWPORT and set the scale in PROPERTIES. Of course you can also move the view around in your viewport, to place it as you want (hold down your mouse button to grab the MODELSPACE and reposition it in relation to your viewport) . Once you have the placement where you want it, and the SCALE set make sure you LOCK the VIEWPORT (the padlock icon in the lower right hand corner of your screen), so that it stays like you have it.

Now, got it. But I still have one problem.

The scale used for the drawing to fit nicely in paperspace is not exact, so it's impossible for me to measure my draw with a scale ruler, am I right?

My scale ruler only has 1: 1/10/25/50/75/100.

Thanks again and again!

Now, got it. But I still have one problem.

 

The scale used for the drawing to fit nicely in paperspace is not exact, so it's impossible for me to measure my draw with a scale ruler, am I right?

 

My scale ruler only has 1: 1/10/25/50/75/100.

 

Thanks again and again!

If you want to use a scale ruler, go back to drawing on the board.

You will need to decide which is more important, having an optimized drawing or being able to use a scale ruler.

By the time it is properly dimensioned and noted you shouldn't have any need of a scale ruler, and the commensurate inaccuracies that come with.

Remember that in CAD, unlike on the board, we draw at full size in MODELSPACE.

No matter WHAT you are drawing, from galaxies to subatomic particles. That is why we have, and frequently use ZOOM. :wink:

Yeah, you're right. All I need to do is to dimension my draw correctly.

Thanks for your patience. hahaha!

Sorry, I don't agree. It should be plotted to a recognizable scale unless it is a schematic in which case it would be noted somewhere that the drawing is "not to scale".

Maybe you need to change paper sizes.