AUTOCAD UNITS

[garethace]

I notice that an awful lot standard block objects that I am getting to work with now in AutoCAD come from the United States and naturally use Imperial measurements. Of course, a quick .025 scale factor on insertion of the block solves this problem rather well. But try reminding everyone you work with - most have not grasped that as yet unfortunately, and I find myself having to be rather careful. I don't quite understand this new units of inserted objects option in the units dialogue box in AutoCAd. Anyone here care to shed some light?

[mtutaj]

What version of Acad are you using.. and are you talking about the drag and drop scale in user preferences under tools>options for unitless objects?

 

Mike

[garethace]

Version 2000,

 

The drag and drop an autocad file straight from windows explorer.

 

Yeah, you can get at it through Format menu too, but the preference would also be stored in the options mega-dialogue area too I should imagine.

 

I mean, I have tried to drag Imperial and metric blocks into files, but it doesn't make much difference.

 

Having said, that, the drawing template I use is unitless too. Since I learned AutoCAD back when units were just units.

 

I have just beginning to like/get used to the new kind of paper space, and printing etc.

 

I always created my drawing in AutoCAD using Metres rather than millimetres - too fussy IMHO.

 

I.e. if 1 AutoCAD unit = 1 metre

 

Then 1mm = 0.001 AutoCAD units.

 

So when I wanted to print out at 1:200 say,

 

1 plotted mm = 5 AutoCAd units.

 

In the print dialogue box.

 

Complex I know, but spending time drawing using metres in AutoCAD rather than millimetres in my humble opinion is alot more productive. I also use metres when drawing in MicroStation, and always set the decimal display to

 

0.000

 

Three units of accuracy. It is what I am used to and hardly any place now uses that system. The reason I learned that way, was because I spent a lot of my time working on huge maps and master plans in AutoCAd years ago, and I have just adapted that methodology to every software I have used ever since.

 

Since I mostly work on my own on any given job, that is not a problem - and I usually just anticipate the difficulties that might cause for whoever I pass drawings onto later.

 

3DS VIZ, I work in metres, the very same. A lot of the time, my work involves thinking about hectares/acres. So metres rather than millimetres helps alot.