System Variable "-dwgunits"

Anonymous · ‎02-07-2011

Hi guys,

Just wondering if any of you have come up against this one and how you are handling it??

This system variable is playing havoc with our blocks, causing them to insert at incorrect scale!!

Regards,

B

pendean · ‎02-08-2011

Havoc, How? The variable simply sets the file you are in to the correct Units. What are your settings for INSUNITS and this variable? What are your blocks set to with this variable?

What are your UNITS intent?

Are the problems with Annotative Blocks only?

Anonymous · ‎02-08-2011

If dwg units are inconsistent between blocks and drawings into which they are inserted the problem you described will happen. Remember that autocad doesn't work in meters, light years or feet etc but in units. The fact that each unit in your drawing is an inch or a mm is simply a choice that you indicate in your drawing setup. If you were drawing the galaxy it would make little sense to make your units inches since the numbers would be so large as to cause them to be unusable. Similarly if you are designing microcircuits you don't want to design them using light year units as the numbers would be too small.

Beyond that, you and the other people you work with need to make some decisions, set a standard and incorporate that standard into all your templates and blocks, and work from there.

Anonymous · ‎02-08-2011

Sorry guys I'm afraid it's not that simple.

If you haven't had the problem with the "-dwgunits" "undocumented system variable" then you on't under stand, it actually over rides the insunits.

If oyu haven't come up aginst this problem then you're lucky!!

Please refer to the links below for better explaination:

From Autodesk forum – AutoCAD 2008

Posted July 2009

http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/AutoCAD-2008/DWGUNITS-documentation/m-p/2527820

Posted August 2009

http://forums.autodesk.com/t5/AutoCAD-2008/Insert-block-scale-issue-INSUNITS-seem-correct/m-p/253468...

Regards,

B

Anonymous · ‎02-08-2011

And how is that different than clicking on format, units on the Autocad classic menu? Admittedly there is an extra option available for setting when you use the command line, but -hatch has extra options over accessing hatching by clicking draw, hatch. The issue you are having is simply that the inserted items are not using the same units as the drawing into which they are being inserted.

Anonymous · ‎02-08-2011

Well what you're describing will set the units to say metres but the -dwgunits setting could be set to inches there fore the block will be scaled by a factor of 25.......

Try it out, set the units in a dwg and then type -dwgunti and set the unit there to something differnet and then check you original units again.

Anonymous · ‎02-08-2011

It does exactly what I expected it to do. after using the -dwgunits command, go back to the clicked format units and you'll see it changes the units there. It is consistent. text based interface does a few more things, but both methods are in sync.

It just proves that someone in your operation is not being careful about their units. It does exactly what it's supposed to.

Anonymous · ‎02-08-2011

they can be out of sync!!

As shown in the attached!!

Further in you insert a block with the -dwgunits out of sync in will "infect" not only the receiveing drawing but all other drawings open.

Have you look at the links I posted?? If you haven't encountered this problem and don't hae a solution to it please don't post again.

pendean · ‎02-08-2011

SAVEAS command in the file you are having a problem, create a new one. Delete all top-secret info in it. PURGE.

INSERT a block and confirm the problem still exists.

Highlight/point to the block. QSAVE.

Post two files here: the problem file above and the external block file you are having an issue with.

Recap: you post TWO dwg files here.

That will sort it one way or the other.

Stop posting useless screenshots and links to documents: the problem is more important to solve than little rants on public forums about who knows more than the other.

Anonymous · ‎02-08-2011

Please re-read original post.

pendean · ‎02-08-2011

I guess we know where this is going. Happy Tuesday to ya!

Anonymous · ‎02-08-2011

Wednesday actually!! but thanks anyway Dean!!

Anonymous · ‎02-09-2011

match insunits to drawing units should be yes. By saying no you are telling it that you want them out of sync. Why any one would want that is not something I have ever experienced, but I am sure that someone out there needs it all the time. And yes I looked at all your postings, links and images. So unless you have a problem with the logic behind the program because it doesn't do things the way you want but does it the way it was designed to, there is no problem here.

GrantsPirate · ‎02-10-2011

Why not create a macro to run -dwgunits and set it to what you need in each file you open?

GrantsPirate
Piping and Mech. Designer

Always save a copy of the drawing before trying anything suggested here.
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If something I wrote can be interpreted two ways, and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, I meant the other one.

Anonymous · ‎02-10-2011

Hi jg,

That was an example of how these variables can be out of sync, (as the previous posters maintined they couldn't be) which is the case with a large proportion of our blocks, it's not something we actually set out to do, the -dwgunits variable only came out with 2009 so it wasn't a problem before.

Apparently the -dwgunits is an undocumented system variable that is somehow a decendent of Civil3D

From what i understand if you have a number of drawings open and insert an "out of sync" block into one it will affect all open drawings i.e. all the drawings will have their settings match to the block which is our case usually means setting the -dwgunits to inches instead of metres!!

hope this clears things up a little.

B

Anonymous · ‎02-10-2011

Hi COJonez,

Yes that wold work for drawings but it's our block library that is causing the most pain as we operate a number of project offices that use our standard library stored locally, so we'll probably end up running something over all our libraries in all location but if we miss one block and it gets reinserted into a drawing it could kick it all off again.

I had thought/hoped that maybe some one else was suffering with this in a similar manner.

Regards,

B

Anonymous · ‎02-12-2011

How were your blocks created?

Layer 0, all units based on 1? If you have blocks from different sources, at different sizes, that may be part of the problem.

Reid

Anonymous · ‎02-14-2011

Hi all,

Service pack due out shortly for AutoCAD 2011 to fix address issue, Service pack to be issued for AutoCAD 2012 upon issue to address the same issue.

B

Anonymous · ‎09-05-2011

Anyone know the bug fix of -dwgunits available for download ?

Anonymous · ‎09-26-2012

We have the same problem.

I don’t know the all answers to your questions. But here what we did.

These blocks were mainly created in LDD 2002-2009, both for metres and feet. I assume LDD had a different approach to the units, as it supposed to be not just units but feet or metres.

I end up opening the BAD blocks in clean autocad and fix them with -dwgunits, each time(each block) I would close the autocad and open it again.

It dramatically reduced the time I had to spend with users to fix the problem.

It still happens here and there with older drawings or with users who likes to copy/paste.

Hope it will help you to

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System Variable &quot;-dwgunits&quot;