Systems computer-aided design- CAD
Working in AutoCAD
Self-instruction book
6.3.3. Line Scale Setting
Dashed lines are displayed using the so-called scaling factor, which by default is 1. AutoCAD supports both a global scale factor that affects the display of all dashed lines in a drawing, and a local scale factor for each individual object. The latter is also equal to 1 by default, but in the case when it changes for some object, the effective scaling factor for such an object is determined by multiplying the global factor by the value of the local factor set by the user. This approach allows you to flexibly customize all dashed lines in the drawing.
Since in our case there is no need to change the local scaling factor, we will simply change the global factor for all dashed lines of the drawing at once, increasing the length of the strokes and the spaces between them by 5 times.
1. Enter the command in the command window lscale or simply lmsh.
2. AutoCAD will prompt you to enter a new value or, by pressing Enter, leave the current value unchanged. Enter 5.
3. Outline view system unit changes as the strokes become distinguishable (Figure 6.28). If you are not satisfied with the selected scale factor, you can try setting a different value (for example, 4, 4.5 or 5.5).
Good day!
As you know, in AutoCAD there is a concept scales of linetypes... The linetype scale is a scale factor that is applied to the linework master and allows you to change the length of strokes and other objects that make up the line.
In other words, by decreasing the scale of the line type, we reduce the length of the strokes (there are more of them fit into the segment of finite length), increasing the scale - we increase the length of the strokes (less of them fit into the segment of finite length).
I think everyone has come across a situation more than once when you need to draw a dashed line on a small object. As a result, after drawing, it is not dashed at all, but solid. In order to still turn it into dashed and you need to change the scale of the line type.
There are four system variables to control the scale of linetypes in AutoCAD:
- LMSCALE (_LTSCALE)
- CELTSCALE
- PSLTSCALE
- MSLTSCALE
LMSCALE (_LTSCALE)
Variable LMSCALE (_LTSCALE)(the name is formed by an abbreviation for Line Type Scale - Scale of the Line Type), which sets the global scale of line types. Applies to ALL lines in the drawing. This is the most important scale relative to which all other scales are calculated.
Please note that after changing the value of the variable, you need to update the drawing with the command REGEN (_REGEN).
If you work exclusively in Model space (draw and print) and do not use annotative scales, then you only need to use this variable. Set the variable to the desired value to match the scale of your current drawings and use.
To change the scale of the line type of a specific object, just enter its properties (Ctrl + 1) and set the desired value
Also, using the Properties window, you can set a global value for the scale of the linetype, while nothing should be selected.
In 90% of cases, this knowledge is enough to control the display of lines in your drawings. If you need finer settings and control capabilities, then read on.
CELTSCALE
Command CELTSCALE(the name is derived from the Current Entity Line Type Scale - Scale of the Line Type of the Current Object) allows you to set the current scale factor for the line type of the object relative to the global scale LZZZAB.In other words, if you have set the global scale, but you need to draw several objects with a different scale, without changing the existing ones, then you can override the current scale by setting the appropriate value in the CELTSCALE variable.
A line created with CELTSCALE = 2 looks in a drawing with a base factor of LTSCALE = 0.5, just like a line with CELTSCALE = 1 in a drawing with a base factor of LTSCALE = 1.
After you finish creating the lines, do not forget to return the value CELTSCALE = 1. Otherwise, you can get confused and forget, in this case you will draw lines, and they will not be of the same scale as specified in LTSCALE.
PSLTSCALE
Variable PSLTSCALE(derived from Paper Space Line Type Scale) controls the scale of the line types of objects displayed in paper space viewports.0 - No special linetype scaling is performed on the sheet. All lines in layout viewports will be displayed according to the LTSCALE factor, i.e. exactly the same as in the model.
1 - The scale of the linetype depends on the scale of the viewport. When you change the scale of the viewport, the linetype scale will change accordingly.
It is important to note that the value of the PSLTSCALE variable is set for each sheet separately.
MSLTSCALE
The MSLTSCALE variable (derived from Model Space Line Type Scale) controls the scaling of linetypes displayed in model space to the scale of the annotation.The variable takes two values:
0 - No special linetype scaling is performed. All lines will be displayed according to the LTSCALE factor, regardless of the annotation scale value.
1 - The scale of the linetype depends on the scale of the annotation. When you change the scale of the annotation, the linetype scale will change accordingly.
It is important to understand that MSLTSCALE overrides the LTSCALE and CELTSCALE values in model space, but does not affect PSLTSCALE in any way on sheets. In other words, if you control the display of lines using the annotation scale in the model, they will look very different on the sheet.
The rest of the techniques for working in AutoCAD can be found on this.
With all respect, Andrew.
If you have received an answer to your question and want to support the project financially - at the bottom of the page there is a special form for this.
Good day!
As you know, in AutoCAD there is a concept scales of linetypes... The linetype scale is a scale factor that is applied to the linework master and allows you to change the length of strokes and other objects that make up the line.
In other words, by decreasing the scale of the line type, we reduce the length of the strokes (there are more of them fit into the segment of finite length), increasing the scale - we increase the length of the strokes (less of them fit into the segment of finite length).
I think everyone has come across a situation more than once when you need to draw a dashed line on a small object. As a result, after drawing, it is not dashed at all, but solid. In order to still turn it into dashed and you need to change the scale of the line type.
There are four system variables to control the scale of linetypes in AutoCAD:
- LMSCALE (_LTSCALE)
- CELTSCALE
- PSLTSCALE
- MSLTSCALE
LMSCALE (_LTSCALE)
Variable LMSCALE (_LTSCALE)(the name is formed by an abbreviation for Line Type Scale - Scale of the Line Type), which sets the global scale of line types. Applies to ALL lines in the drawing. This is the most important scale relative to which all other scales are calculated.
Please note that after changing the value of the variable, you need to update the drawing with the command REGEN (_REGEN).
If you work exclusively in Model space (draw and print) and do not use annotative scales, then you only need to use this variable. Set the variable to the desired value to match the scale of your current drawings and use.
To change the scale of the line type of a specific object, just enter its properties (Ctrl + 1) and set the desired value
Also, using the Properties window, you can set a global value for the scale of the linetype, while nothing should be selected.
In 90% of cases, this knowledge is enough to control the display of lines in your drawings. If you need finer settings and control capabilities, then read on.
CELTSCALE
Command CELTSCALE(the name is derived from the Current Entity Line Type Scale - Scale of the Line Type of the Current Object) allows you to set the current scale factor for the line type of the object relative to the global scale LZZZAB.In other words, if you have set the global scale, but you need to draw several objects with a different scale, without changing the existing ones, then you can override the current scale by setting the appropriate value in the CELTSCALE variable.
A line created with CELTSCALE = 2 looks in a drawing with a base factor of LTSCALE = 0.5, just like a line with CELTSCALE = 1 in a drawing with a base factor of LTSCALE = 1.
After you finish creating the lines, do not forget to return the value CELTSCALE = 1. Otherwise, you can get confused and forget, in this case you will draw lines, and they will not be of the same scale as specified in LTSCALE.
PSLTSCALE
Variable PSLTSCALE(derived from Paper Space Line Type Scale) controls the scale of the line types of objects displayed in paper space viewports.0 - No special linetype scaling is performed on the sheet. All lines in layout viewports will be displayed according to the LTSCALE factor, i.e. exactly the same as in the model.
1 - The scale of the linetype depends on the scale of the viewport. When you change the scale of the viewport, the linetype scale will change accordingly.
It is important to note that the value of the PSLTSCALE variable is set for each sheet separately.
MSLTSCALE
The MSLTSCALE variable (derived from Model Space Line Type Scale) controls the scaling of linetypes displayed in model space to the scale of the annotation.The variable takes two values:
0 - No special linetype scaling is performed. All lines will be displayed according to the LTSCALE factor, regardless of the annotation scale value.
1 - The scale of the linetype depends on the scale of the annotation. When you change the scale of the annotation, the linetype scale will change accordingly.
It is important to understand that MSLTSCALE overrides the LTSCALE and CELTSCALE values in model space, but does not affect PSLTSCALE in any way on sheets. In other words, if you control the display of lines using the annotation scale in the model, they will look very different on the sheet.
The rest of the techniques for working in AutoCAD can be found on this page.
With all respect, Andrew.
If you have received an answer to your question and want to support the project financially - at the bottom of the page there is a special form for this.
The linetype scale is responsible for how a particular linetype will look on the print. This is not an idle question, since this setting has subtleties that are not obvious. If you are worried about questions like - why do the strokes on the screen look normal, but on the print they are too large, too small, or they are not visible at all? Why do they look different in the sheet and in the model? Then this article will help you figure it out.
So, the types of line strokes can be very different. But their display in the model and on the sheet can be very different. This is due to the fact that line types are created in conventional autocad units. In general, one such unit corresponds to one millimeter of the model. What needs to be clarified before moving on.
Metric template for drawings
Important if you are working in metric system - use metric templates to create a new file, or no template... Since the autocad can work with inch dimensions, the first thing to do is to clarify the current drawing units.
Millimeters per inches and vice versa can be changed at any time in the drawing settings. But until you realize that you are working in an inch system, it may take a lot of time. The differences between one and the other systems in normal work with AutoCAD are not obvious, but they can cause a fair amount of confusion when you move on to setting up hatching, setting line types and the like.
You can make sure that the metric system is taken as the conventional unit using the command _units
Scales in AutoCAD
If we always printed drawings from the model to scale 1 to 1, then we had no problems with hatching display. However, the scales are very different. Personally, I do not prefer to keep a millimeter but a meter for one unit, because I work with plans. At the same time, the scale range for printing drawings is from 1:10 to 1: 5000.
Accordingly, if you make a dotted line with a standard step, then in model it will not be visible, or it will be too large because the stroke size will be a thousand times larger than necessary. The first thing you want to do is reduce the hatch output. For this we have an irreplaceable property - linetype scale... It can be found in the properties of the line ( ctrl + 1). However, this is not worth doing. Because in fact the stroke size does not depend on the scale of the printout. This means that in spite of the fact that the conventional units do not correspond to the AutoCAD ones, the shading on the print will be in accordance with GOST. This happens because the printing of strokes goes to millimeters of the printed sheet , i.e. on a one-to-one scale. And always. Because of this, changing the scale of the linetype in the model - something incomprehensible is obtained on the print.
But how do you see the correct scale for the strokes in the model?
Use annotative scale
It is enough to set the appropriate annotative scale in order for the line type output in the model to correspond to how the line will look at this scale on the print.
After changing the scale, in order to see the result, use the command _regen.
This method is convenient because you see the result immediately.
Another option is to use viewports v sheets.
Above, you can see that the dimensions of the dashes of the dashed line will have the same size, regardless of the scale of the line to be printed.
AutoCAD system variables.
Another way to control the scale of the linetype is to use the autocad system variable - LTSCALE - it directly affects the scale of the output of the linetype to be printed. By default, the value is 1.0. Increase or decrease it to make the strokes larger or smaller. However, as mentioned above, this is not worth doing. However, it makes sense to check this variable in the event that a drawing has come to you, in which there is something wrong with the scale of the linetypes.
Linetype scale
So, finally, we are back to where we started. When to use linetype scale?
Mainly in cases where the size of the stroke should depend on the scale of the view. For example, if we use shading to display road markings. Then the dimensions of the strokes on a scale of 1: 1000 and 1: 2000 should be different and at the same time correspond to the real dimensions of the road markings. And accordingly, rather than creating new line types for each scale, it is easier to change the scale of the line type.
However, sometimes just downloading and installing some type of line is not enough. There are still a number of adjustments to be made, for example, to change the scale of the line. But most importantly, it is very often required to use non-standard line options that are not available in AutoCAD. This is what will be discussed in this article.
Dotted line in AutoCAD.
Due to the fact that the dashed line is quite common in AutoCAD, we will consider its creation and configuration in more detail.
To draw a dotted line in AutoCAD, you should adhere to the following sequence of actions:
1. Create drawing elements (draw a line, polyline or other objects).
2. In the "Properties" panel ("Home" tab), expand the "Linetype" list and select "Other ...".
3. Click "Load" and in the list that appears, select the appropriate option (in our example, this is the type ACAD_ISO_07W100) as shown in Fig. 1.
4. Select objects, press Ctrl + 1 to call the "Properties" palette and set the loaded line type option.
Rice. 1. Dotted line AutoCAD.
Scale of lines in AutoCAD.
It is most convenient to adjust the scale of lines in AutoCAD on the Properties palette (Ctrl + 1). Of course, in each case you need to experiment. If the value is less than 1, then the scale will work to decrease, if on the contrary, then to increase. The value should be written through a period, for example, "0.5", "0.01", "2.5", etc. The lower the value of this parameter, the more repetitions of an elementary line fragment are generated per drawing unit. (see fig. 2).
Rice. 2 Scale of lines in AutoCAD.
Rice. 3 Scale of line type in AutoCAD.
AutoCAD provides for changing the scale both for all drawing objects (ie globally), and separately for each element (see Fig. 2).
Setting the global and current scale is carried out in the Linetype manager. To configure these parameters, click "On. details ”(see Fig. 4.).
Fig. 4. The global and current scale for linetypes in AutoCAD.
Changing the current scale (aka the scale of the linetype) is also available on the Properties palette (Ctrl + 1). On this topic, I have a video material: "Scale of line types AutoCAD and SPDS". If you want to use the program effectively, be sure to check it out.
How to create a line type in AutoCAD.
Creating line types in AutoCAD is a practical task. Therefore, I have prepared a video material for you. I consider specific examples not only on the simplest options, but also show how to create complex lines in AutoCAD.
Summarize! If after reading this article and having read the add. material, you yourself will be able to answer the following questions that were not covered in this topic explicitly, then you have mastered the types of lines at "5+".
