Even if you’ve engraved the drawing scale factor on your desk and written it on your hand, AutoCAD 2014 doesn’t know the drawing scale until you enter it. Keeping AutoCAD in the dark is fine as long as you’re just drawing continuous lines and curves representing real-world geometry because you draw these objects at their real-world size, without worrying about plot scale.
However, as soon as you start using noncontinuous dash-dot linetypes (line patterns that contain gaps in them), you need to tell AutoCAD how to scale the gaps in the linetypes based on the plot scale. If you forget this, the dash-dot linetype patterns can look waaaay too big or too small.
The scale factor that controls dash-dot linetypes is found in a system variable called LTScale (as in, LineType Scale). You can change this setting at any time, but it’s best to set it correctly when you’re setting up the drawing.
The following steps include directions for typing system variable and command names. To set the linetype scale at the keyboard, follow these steps:
- Type LTSCALE (or LTS) and press Enter.AutoCAD responds with a prompt, asking you for the scale factor. The value at the end of the prompt is the current linetype scale setting, as shown in the following command line example:
- Type the value you want for the linetype scale and press Enter.The easiest choice is to set the linetype scale to the drawing scale factor. Some people, however, find that the dashes and gaps in dash-dot linetypes get a bit too long when they use the drawing scale factor. If you’re one of those people, set LTSCALE to one-half of the drawing scale factor.Alternatively, you can specify linetype scale in the Linetype Manager dialog box: Click the Linetype drop-down list on the Properties panel of the Ribbon’s Home tab and select Other. Then in the Linetype Manager dialog box, click the Show Details button, and type your desired linetype scale in the Global Scale Factor text box.
You want to change the thickness or width of an ellipse, but the option is not available in the object properties. Solution: Solution. True ellipse objects do not have a thickness or width. However, if you use a 2D polyline representation of an ellipse, you can assign it a thickness or width. Enter PELLIPSE on the command line.
Besides LTSCALE, there are three other similarly named system variables you can use to control the display of dash-dot linetypes:
- PSLTSCALE: Makes linetype spacing look the same in paper space viewports, regardless of the viewport scale
- CELTSCALE: Changes the effective linetype scale factor for new objects
- MSLTSCALE: Visually displays dash-dot linetypes in the model tab based on the annotative scale setting
If any of these sound useful — and it is strongly encouraged that you enable PSLTSCALE — check them out in the online help index.
You should set linetype scale only when you’re starting a new drawing from one of the generic AutoCAD templates (acad.dwt or acadiso.dwt in the full version, acadlt.dwt or acadltiso.dwt in AutoCAD LT) and you’re not using the default linetype scale. Don’t change LTSCALE in existing drawings without knowing why you’re doing it and what values to set them to, in case someone before you set those values for good reasons.
You can view and change all properties of an object in the AutoCAD Properties palette, and many of them in the Quick Properties palette. The Properties palette at the left and the Quick Properties palette at the right show properties for the selected line object.
The Properties palette was joined in AutoCAD 2009 by its more streamlined little sibling, Quick Properties (QP). When it’s turned on in the status bar, selecting an object opens a floating palette that displays a customizable selection of that object’s properties. (If the status bar buttons show text rather than icons, look for the QP button.)
Handy as it is, the Quick Properties palette has a knack of popping up on top of drawing objects that you need to see. In AutoCAD, you can let Quick Properties mode remain turned off at the status bar and instead use the QuickProperties command. Type its alias and then select an object to display the Quick Properties panel. You can also double-click most objects to display their quick properties.
To toggle the full Properties palette on and off, click the Properties button on the View tab of the Ribbon or press Ctrl+1. Before you select an object, the Properties palette displays the current properties — properties that AutoCAD applies to new objects when you draw them.
After you select an object, the Properties palette displays the properties for that object. If you select more than one type of object, the Properties palette displays, and then changes the properties that they have in common.
Properties and QuickProperties let you change any properties of one or more selected objects. You should change the main properties (such as color, linetype, and lineweight) only by moving the objects to a different layer.
If you’re a CAD manager, you can easily customize the Quick Properties palettes to remove “undesirable” properties. For detailed instructions, search for customize quick palettes in the Help search window.