How to change the line scale. How to change line type in AutoCAD? Quick change of line type

In this article, I will show you how you can change the linetype in AutoCAD.

We designate the following groups of objects in the drawing with different types of lines: axial lines (dash-dot type), invisible lines (dashed type), visible lines (solid type), fences (solid line with circles). There can be an infinite number of line types, depending on how you decide to customize the file in which you work.

The list of line types is located on the ribbon in the "Properties" group of commands. In the same list, you can select the “other” item to add new line types from other files to the drawing. When an object is selected (how to select an object?), in the “properties” group of commands, the corresponding list will display the type of lines assigned to this object. To change the linetype of an object, just select another item from the list.

If you select any item in the list without selecting objects, then given type lines will be set current and all following objects, which you draw, will have the type of lines you have chosen.

This and other questions are considered in ours.

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However, sometimes just downloading and installing a line type is not enough. You still need to make a number of settings, for example, change the scale of the line. But most importantly, very often you need to use non-standard line options that are not in AutoCAD. That is what will be discussed in this article.

Dotted line in AutoCAD.

Due to the fact that a dotted line is quite common in AutoCAD, let's consider its creation and configuration in more detail.

To draw a dotted line in AutoCAD, you should follow the following sequence of actions:

1. Create drawing elements (draw a segment, polyline or other objects).

2. On the Properties panel (Home tab), open the Linetype list and select Other....

3. Click "Download" and in the list that appears, select the appropriate option (in our example, this is the type ACAD_ISO_07W100), as shown in Fig. one.

4. Select the objects, press Ctrl+1 to open the Properties palette and set the loaded line type.

Rice. 1. Dotted line AutoCAD.

Line scale 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 vice versa, then to increase. The value should be written with a dot, for example, "0.5", "0.01", "2.5", etc. The smaller the value of this parameter, the more repetitions of the elementary line fragment are generated per drawing unit. (see Fig. 2).

Rice. 2 Line scale in AutoCAD.

Rice. 3 Linetype scale in AutoCAD.

AutoCAD provides for changing the scale both for all drawing objects (i.e. globally) and separately for each element (see Fig. 2).

The global and current scale settings are made in the Linetype Manager. To configure these settings, click "On. details” (see Fig. 4.).

Fig.4. Global and current linetype scale in AutoCAD.

Changing the current scale (aka linetype scale) is also available on the Properties palette (Ctrl+1). On this topic, I have a video material: "Scale of AutoCAD line types and SPDS". If you want to use the program effectively, be sure to read it.

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 reading the add. material, you will be able to answer the following questions on your own, which were not explicitly covered in this topic, then you have mastered the types of lines on "5+".

The linetype scale determines how a particular linetype will look on print. This is far from an idle question, since this setting has subtleties that are not obvious. If you're worried about questions like why do strokes look normal on screen, but are they too big, too small, or not visible at all on print? Why do they look different in the sheet and in the model? 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. AT general case one such unit corresponds to one millimeter of the model. Which needs clarification before moving on.

Metric template for drawings

Important if you are working in the metric system - use metric templates to create a new file, or without template. Since AutoCAD can work with inch dimensions, the first step is to clarify the current drawing units.

Millimeters to 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 quite a while. 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 hatching, setting line types, and the like.

You can make sure that the metric system is taken as a 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 prefer to keep not a millimeter but a meter for one unit, since I work with plans. At the same time, the range of scales for printing drawings is from 1:10 to 1:5000.

Accordingly, if you make a dotted line with a standard step, then in models 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 I want to do is to reduce hatch output. To do this, we have an indispensable property - linetype scale. It can be found in the line properties ( ctrl+1). However, this should not be done. Because in fact the stroke size does not depend on the scale of the printout. This means that despite 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 output of strokes on print is coming in millimeters of printed sheet , i.e. on a one to one scale. And always. Because of this, changing the scale of the type of lines in the model - something is not clear on the print.

But how to see the correct stroke scale in the model?

Use an annotative scale

It is enough to set the appropriate annotative scale so that the output of the line type in the model corresponds to how the line will look at this scale in 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 in sheets.

It can be seen above that the stroke sizes of a dotted line will have the same size, regardless of the scale of the line being printed.

Autocad system variables.

Another way to control the linetype scale is to use the AutoCAD system variable − LTSCALE- it directly affects the linetype output scale. The default value is 1.0. Scale it up or down to make the strokes bigger or smaller. However, as mentioned above, this should not be done. However, it makes sense to check this variable if you have received a drawing in which something is wrong with the linetype scale.

Linetype Scale

So, we are finally back to where we started. When should you use linetype scale?

Mainly in those cases when the size of the stroke should depend on the scale of the view. For example, if we use hatching to display road markings. Then the stroke sizes at the scale of 1:1000 and 1:2000 should be different and at the same time correspond to the actual 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.

In the system of design documentation adopted different types lines. For drawing, solid, dotted, dash-dotted and other lines are most often used. If you are working in AutoCAD, you will definitely come across linetype replacement or editing.

This time we will tell you how to create, apply and edit a dotted line in AutoCAD.

Quick change of line type

1. Draw a line or select an already drawn object for which you want to change the line type.

2. On the ribbon, go to "Home" - "Properties". Click on the linetype icon as shown in the screenshot. There is no dotted line in the drop-down list, so click on the "Other" line.

3. The linetype manager will open in front of you. Click Download.

4. Select one of the predefined dotted lines. Click OK.

5. Also, click "OK" in the manager.

6. Select the segment and right-click on it. Select "Properties".

7. On the property bar, in the "Line type" line, set "Dotted".

8. You can change the pitch of the dots in this line. To increase it, in the "Linetype Scale" line, set a larger number than it was by default. And vice versa, to reduce - put a smaller number.

Changing the line type in a block

The method described above works for individual objects, but if you apply it to an object that forms a block, then its linetype will not change.

To edit the line types of a block element, do the following:

1. Select a block and right-click on it. Select "Block Editor"

2. In the window that opens, select the required block lines. Right-click on them and select Properties. In the line "Type of lines" select "Dotted".

4. The block has changed according to the edit.

That's all. Dashed and dashed lines can be set and edited in the same way. Using the properties panel, you can assign any type of line to objects. Apply this knowledge in your work!

In this article, we will talk about lines in autocad .

In AutoCAD, we use drawing and editing commands to create objects. All the resulting objects are displayed as lines with a certain style, which depends on what type of line we set for this or that object. line in autocad can be solid, dashed, dash-dotted, zigzag, or take the form of many others line types .

We can set the line type for objects in two ways.

The first way is through the Properties panel or the Properties palette. Using this method, the user can assign a linetype individually for each object, regardless of what linetype is set for the layer on which the object is located.

The second way is through layers. In this case, several layers are created and each is assigned a specific line type . Objects are then placed on their respective layers and the lines of these objects are displayed depending on the line type of the layer.

Consider the following example.

We have three objects in the drawing: a circle with a radius of 400 mm, a rectangle with dimensions of 700 x 500 mm and a regular triangle with a side length of 600 mm. All these three objects are located on the "0" layer, which is available in AutoCAD by default. Objects initially have a solid linetype called "Continuous" . This type of line in AutoCAD is set by default for layer "0".

Now let's assign a different line type to each of the objects, other than "Continuous" . Let the circle be drawn with a dashed line, the rectangle with a dash-dotted line, and the triangle with a zigzag line. In this case, all objects will still be on layer "0".

Let's select a circle. On the Ribbon, on the Home tab, find the Properties panel and expand the third scroll from the top in this panel, which says By Layer (the default value). This is a scroll responsible for choosing the type of line in AutoCAD.

When we expand this scroll, we will see three options: By Layer, By Block, and Continuous.

Option "By layer" means that this object is assigned the same linetype that is set for the layer on which this object is located.

Option "By block" means that the lines of the block will have the same line types that were specified when the block was created. If you do not have a block occurrence selected, but just an ordinary object, as in this example, then the lines will be displayed according to the line type that was set for the layer on which the object is located.

The third option is called Continuous. This, in essence, is the "Continuous" linetype, i.e. type defines a solid line forcibly for any selected object, regardless of what type of line is set for the layer on which this object is located.

That is, if we had an object in the drawing that was on a separate layer, and for this layer the user would have previously set, for example, a dashed line type, then if the "Continuous" option was selected on the "Properties" panel for this object, this object is forced to appear as a solid line, regardless of the fact that the layer where the object is located is set to a different line type.

In our example, on the contrary, it is necessary to force the dashed line type for the circle, which is located on the layer for which the solid line type is set. But the trick is that we do not have the option to select a dashed line type in this scroll.

In fact, by default in a new autocad file there is only one type of line - "Continuous" or "Continuous", as it was written in the rollout. To be able to select a different line type, you must first load that line type into the current drawing file.

Probably, you have a question: "Why do we need such troubles with preliminary additional loading of line types?" . Everything is very simple. AutoCAD supports a huge number of line types. They are just dark. And if information about all these types of lines is immediately loaded into any file with a drawing, then this file will weigh a lot and slow down when working.

Therefore, AutoCAD developers have kindly provided us with the opportunity to independently load only those types of lines that we need when working on each specific drawing. But keep in mind that the more line types you upload, the more loaded your drawing file will be.

So, we need to load a new line type into our file. To get this opportunity in the unfolded scroll, click on the inscription "Other ...".

We will open a window called "".

As you can see, in this window we again have the same three options for the type of line: "By layer", "By block" and "Continuous". To load other line types, click on the "Load..." button.

Another window called Loading/Reloading Linetypes appears.

Scroll through the list of line types for the slider on the right and find the type "Invisible".

Left-click on the name of the line type "Invisible" and then click "OK".

After that, a new type "Invisible" appears in the linetype manager. You and I can load a couple more line types in exactly the same way.

Click again on the "Download..." button.

In the window "Loading / reloading line types" select the line type "Dash-dotted". Click "OK".

In the linetype manager, click "Load" again.

In the window "Loading / reloading line types" select the line type "Zigzag". Click "OK".

In the linetype manager, also click "OK".

Select the circle, on the ribbon on the properties panel expand the linetypes rollout and select the linetype "Invisible."

Press the "Esc" button on the keyboard to remove the selection. Let's get closer to the circle to get a better look at it.

Approaching, we see that the circle line has become dashed. However, the strokes themselves look very short.

This happened because our circle is quite large in size: its radius, as you remember, is 400 mm. The length of each stroke is approximately 6 mm.

If we want to reduce the number of dashes and, accordingly, increase the length of each dash, we need to increase the value of the parameter in the object properties, which is called Linetype Scale. The default value for this parameter is 1.

So, select the circle again, right-click on the screen and select "Properties".

This will open the Properties palette. We will find there the parameter "Scale of linetype". And in the field opposite this parameter, where "1" is written, click the left mouse button.

Let's change the value. Instead of one, which is the default, we indicate, for example, "8" .

After entering the value, press the key"Enter" , then click on the cross to close the palette"Properties ". Press "Esc" to deselect the circle.

We've increased the linetype scale value by a factor of 8. As a result, we see that the length of each stroke has increased by 8 times, and, accordingly, the number of strokes on the line of our circle has also decreased by 8 times.

Now let's assign a dashed linetype to the rectangle.

By the way, you can assign a line type to objects not only through the Properties ribbon panel. You can also use the Properties palette that we opened to change the linetype scale value.

Select a rectangle. Right-click on the screen, select "Properties".

Opposite the "Line type" field, click on the scroll where it says "By layer". In the scroll, select the line type "Dash-dotted".

Immediately change the linetype scale from "1" to "8" .

After specifying the linetype scale value, press "Enter". We do not close the palette itself yet. Press "Esc" to remove the selection from the rectangle.

Our rectangle will look like this:

Select the triangle and look in the Properties palette. The properties palette now displays the properties of the triangle.

Set the linetype scale to 4 and the linetype to Zigzag.

Close the Properties palette and press the Esc key to remove the selection.

So, we got these objects with different types of lines:

Now we will analyze how to set linetypes for objects through layers. We need to create three layers for each type of line. For each layer, we will additionally set the color and weight properties (i.e. line thickness for printing).

On the Ribbon, on the "Home" tab in the "Layers" panel, click once with the left mouse button on the "Layer Properties" button.

A window called "Layer Properties Manager" opens.

By default there is only one layer named "0" . This layer is created automatically by AutoCAD. We need to create a new layer, on which objects with the line type "Invisible" will be placed later. To create a new layer, click on the "Create Layer" button.

Name the new layer "Invisible". And press "Enter".

Assign a line type to the "Invisible" layer. Click for this layer in the field "Continuous" in the column "Linetype".

The Select Linetype window appears. In this box, we set the blue selection next to the line type "Invisible" and click "OK".

Assign a blue color to this layer.

Let's assign a line weight of 0.25 mm to this layer.

By analogy, we will create two more layers. We'll call one "Axial", the other "Zigzag". For the "Axial" layer, set the line type to "Dash-dotted", the color green and the weight 0.25 mm. For the "Zigzag" layer, set the line type to "Zigzag", the color is yellow and the weight is also 0.25 mm.

Close the Layer Properties Manager. Let's select all three objects.

On the Ribbon, on the Home tab, in the Properties panel, expand the linetypes rollout and select By Layer. Press "Esc" to remove the selection.

All three objects will again be displayed as solid lines.

We need to place each object on the appropriate layer. Select the circle, then on the ribbon, on the Home tab, in the Layers panel, expand the layers scroll and click on the name of the layer "Invisible".

The circle will be transferred to this layer, and the circle line will take on the type assigned to this layer.

Select the rectangle in the same way and send it to the "Axis" layer. Also select the triangle and send it to the "Zigzag" layer.

As a result, all objects will take on the type, color and line weight that are set for the corresponding layers on which they are located.

To display weights (thicknesses) of lines on the screen, you need to make the button "Weight" active on the status bar. But in our case, all lines are thin (0.25 mm thick). Therefore, there will not be much difference in the display of weights.

To make the lineweight on the screen displayed more correctly, additionally right-click on this button and select "Lineweight Options" .

The Lineweight Options... window opens. In this window, set the screen display scale slider to the position of the second line from the left.

This lesson is about lines in AutoCAD completed.

Sincerely, Dmitry Lapin..

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