How Do I Tell Which Units the CAD Drawing is in?

[Casio47]

Hello All,

I have a CAD file, where in options can I find if the file was originally designed in inches, feet, millimeters, etc. when I measure an object?

Thanks for the help

[rkent]

Simply locate something that you know the dimensions of, a door opening, bolt head, what have you. Measure that and then you will know.

[JD Mather]

-dwgunits

and rkent suggestion.

[cbuchert]

Casio47, here's a video I made about setting and changing units. Hope it's helpful.

 

[mdbdesign]

Type: MEASUREMENT and read default value

1 - is for metric

0 - for imperial

[dbroada]

of course knowing what units the drawing was done in is irrelevant if the originator didn't set them and produced the drawing in the "wrong" units.

 

rkent's solution is the only way of knowing

[mdbdesign]

...can I find if the file was originally designed in inches, feet, millimeters, etc. ...

I am sorry, I was looking at this part of question.

[dbroada]

mdb, that wasn't aimed at you. I was trying to point out to the OP that he had asked two different questions.

[Dadgad]

mdb, that wasn't aimed at you. I was trying to point out to the OP that he had asked two different questions.

 

You brought up another very good point though Dave, which is a regrettable and dirty little truth, which nobody cares to mention,

way too often unskilled users might be using an inappropriate template for their intended dimension units.

I always rely on -dwgunits in such cases, although rkent's hands on solution is excellent, assuming

you have a known given item to measure.

[Casio47]

Thanks for everybody's input. In the past, I've simply done as rkent states. I was hoping there was a fool-proof way of AutoCAD telling you what the file was originally designed in. For example, the CAD files coming from our facilities oversees in normally in mm, so when people here in the states measure something, and it comes out to 100's of thousands of mm, instead of a smaller number for inches, they tend to FREAK out. Thanks for the help, I'll continue doing it the old fashion way...