Plotting to PDF - 1:1 Plot Scale missing in Page Setup

[Anonymous]

I am running into an issue when I try to plot DWG to PDF.

When I am in Layout1 and go to page setup, the 1:1 plot scale is missing. I want the PDF scale to be 1:1 and my view port scale to be 1/8" = 1'-0". 

The reason I am trying to do this:

I get a lot of PDF architectural and structural plans. Sometimes I convert these to DWG in AutoCAD by insert -> PDF. When I am converting to DWG and the window pops up it always says the scale of the PDF is 1:1 when it is someone else's PDF. In the scale box I put the scale factor, such as 96 for example if I know the drawings scale is 1/8" = 1'-0".

I want my CAD drawings I plot to PDF to have this same setup. For some reason though, when I print DWG to PDF, if I go to convert that PDF back to DWG, when the window pops up, the PDF scale says 1/8" = 1'-0". So my scale factor would just be 1.

I am trying to create a drawing as a teaching point to show how to convert a PDF to DWG by using scale factors. I want to create a drawing of my own for this teaching material so I don't have to use other people's PDFs for Copyright reasons but I cant get my PDFs to say 1:1 scale. I think the issue is that in page setup I cannot select 1:1 because it is missing.

[pendean]

Did you use the migration tool to move stuff from an older ACA version? I have 1:1 in all 5 PDF drivers included in the package.

But you seem to have it set the way you want already too (no pulldown needed):

[Anonymous]

Cant remember if I used that tool or not. For some reason the custom 1" = 1 unit doesnt seem to have an affect on the outcome because the PDF will still say it is 1/8" = 1'-0".

I tried SCALELISTEDIT and reseting the scale list but that didnt change anything.

[dbroad]

Background questions (please be patient):

1. When you import your pdf, are you importing into the model or into a layout tab?  If you are scaling the imported pdf up to be measureable as model size, it needs to be imported into the model tab. If you are plotting converted pdfs that you have enlarged, you need to be creating a viewport in a layout tab with the scale that you want. The layout itself should be plotted in paper units 1:1.  If you don't have the scale, you can create it.
2. Is 1:1 annotation scale missing in every drawing, even those created new without a template? In my experience, 1:1 scale can't be deleted since it is almost always referenced.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your reply. 

1. Yes I import the PDF into the model tab and not the layout tab. I am scaling the imported PDF up to be model size. (I usually, do this during the import process using a scale factor. See the first picture in the original post for reference). Yes, if I plot the PDFs after importing them, I create a viewport in the layout tab and choose the scale for the viewport.

2. Yes the 1:1 scale is missing in page setup in every new drawing I create, even those created without an existing template for layout. For example if I open AutoCAD and click "Start Drawing", then i press the new tab button at the botto of the screen to create the layout1 tab, if I right click on that tab and go to page setup and then try to select the 1:1 scale, it is not in the drop down list. (See 3rd and 4th pictures in the original post for reference of this).

Let me know what you think. Thanks

[dbroad]

Repair or reinstall.  Depending on whether it's AutoCAD or AutoCAD Architecture, the default scale list is embedded either in a DLL or in the registry.  Repair or reinstall should fix those issues. Make sure you use a standard OOTB profile to test.

[Anonymous]

Thank you. I tried repairing and uninstalling then reinstalling. Still no 1:1. in the drop down.

I work for a construction company and I recieve a lot of CAD files for different projects. If I open any of the CAD files I have recieved from the Architect or Engineer, they all have the 1:1 scale option in the page setup plot scale drop down. See picture below.

But for whatever reason, mine looks like this. See below.

[David_W_Koch · Accepted solution]

Interesting conversation.

In AutoCAD Architecture 2020, in drawings started from both my firm's standard template and in the out-of-the-box Aec Model (Imperial Stb).dwt template (I believe this is from the 2018 release), I do not have a 1:1 scale on my list of standard scales.  1'-0" = 1'-0" is available (which is 1:1), but not one called 1:1.

That said, I made a few test PDFs, plotting from a layout using the 1'-0" = 1'-0" scale.  One set of tests had just one viewport being plotted; that viewport had a scale of 1/4" = 1'-0".  The other set of tests had two viewports, the same 1/4" = 1'-0" viewport and a second one with a scale of 1 1/2" = 1'-0".  Both of those were plotted using the Bluebeam PDF plotter that I would normally use for creating a PDF as well as the out-of-the-box DWG to PDF.pc3 plotter.

Then I ran the PDFIMPORT command.  Both plots created with the Bluebeam PDF plotter indicated that the PDF scale was 1:1.  For the DWG to PDF.pc3 plots, the one with the single viewport noted a PDF scale of 1/4" = 1'-0" and the one with two viewports at different scales indicated a PDF scale of 1:1.

As might be expected, the three indicating 1:1 were imported at the paper size when leaving the scale factor set to 1; the other came in at model size with the scale factor set to 1 as the PDF scale of 1/4" = 1'-0" (1:48) was applied.

It would seem that whether a PDF has a PDF scale of 1:1 or not is not dependent on whether a drawing scale named 1:1 was used to generate the PDF, but rather dependent on a PDF plot driver that includes viewport scale in the PDF metadata as well as whether all viewports included in the PDF have the same scale or not.

I will also note that when the PDF plots were opened by Bluebeam, a dialog noting that 'Untitled' viewports which may interfere with calibration or measurements were present.  I did not remove these in Bluebeam.  Perhaps if I had done so, then when importing the PDF with just one viewport the PDF scale would have been given as 1:1.  Or maybe the scale factor is embedded elsewhere in the PDF?  I am not sure, and do not have time to experiment with that right now. 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for taking the time to help. You were right about the bluebeam message.

In summary:

The problem:

In AutoCAD For the layout1 tab: In Page Setup, I was selecting custom -> 1" = 1 unit, or I was selecting 1'-0" = 1'-0". Both should have made the PDF page scale 1:1. My viewport in layout1 was scaled to 1/8"  = 1'-0". I would then plot this as a PDF. However when I opened this new PDF in Bluebeam a message would pop up

and I would click no. Then when I went to bring this PDF into AutoCAD using PDFIMPORT, the PDF scale would say 1/8" = 1'-0" when I needed it to be 1:1 so I could demonstrate scale factors to someone.

The Solution:

When the message on Bluebeam pops up I clicked yes to remove the untitled viewports. Then I saved the PDF. Now when I go to bring this PDF into AutoCAD via PDFIMPORT it says the PDF scale is 1:1.

Thanks for the help.