XREF scale problem

Hi all

I'm having trouble with an XREF.

Ill try keep it simple, I have a drawing (Drawing A) with an XREF, when I open the XREF and measure a line it is not the same length as when measured on Drawing A. EG: Parking bay width when measured 2500 on the XREF (when opened separately) measures 63500 when measured on Drawing A.

The drawing units for both drawings are the same.

Any help please?

63500 / 2500 = 25.4 - this is the conversion-rate for inches to millimeters so somewhere the X-ref is being scaled.

The simplest way IMO is to in your Drawing A, highlight the X-ref (click on it), bring out the Properties pane (PR) and scroll down to the SCALE section. You'l probably see 25.4 in all three (X, Y, Z) boxes. Change it to 1 and hope for the best.

Thanks Tiger , you were spot on as usual. I was having to divide all my measurements by 25.4.

I actually had 6 drawings using this XREF as the deadline didnt allow me time to rectify this earlier. Wish I had just done it as it was simpler than I expected.

Off I go to change them all

Glad to help

Not that I have ever done that myself. No. Never. Not at all

I'm curious. Is there someway that an XREF will be inserted with the scale set to anything other than 1 automatically? I thought that had to be set at insertion or changed afterwards.

If the drawing has a UNIT set then AutoCAD attempts to correctly scale the x-ref based on the UNITs.

But he said the units were the same in both files.

yep, I know.

Somhow it is not an exact science

While I was writing the FAQ (way back when...) about insertion scales I did extensive research into all the different settings that affect this, and even after spending days looking at it, trying it out, reading about it, writing the procedures, re-writing it, trying it again, I still didn't understand all the possible scenarios.

In the end, I have a way that most often solves the issue, and I've left it at that.

Okay. You are right, it would be pretty hard to cover everything.