Autocad units

[Anonymous]

I still dont get the units in autocad i change the units in options and it dont change the units in the dwg not the distance units and not the line units someone can explain it to ne?
And only when i doing dwgunits command its change the lines units.. but when i try to print 1:20 (centimeter) its just aint right...

[imadHabash]

Hi and Welcome to AutoCAD Forum,

i suggest to follow this LINK that will help.

Regards,

[Cadologist · Accepted solution]

There are a variety of variables, both drawing and system variables that control 'units' in AutoCAD.

The ones that are shown in the OPTIONS dialog box (under User Preferences) is the system variable INSUNITS which specifies a drawing-units value for automatic scaling of blocks, images or xrefs when inserted or attached to the drawing.

Autodesk Knowledge Network Link for INSUNITS - https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/autocad/learn-explore/caas/CloudHelp/cloudhelp/2015/ENU/AutoC...

As for Drawing Unit configuration, there are quite a few variables (both drawing and system variables) that control what unit is configured. Here at the ones I know of (below):

• UNITS - controls the precision and display format for coordinates, distances and angles in the current drawing.
• LUNITS - Sets the linear units format for creating objects
• LUPREC - Sets the display precision for linear units and coordinates
• MEASUREMENT - Controls whether the current drawing uses imperial or metric hatch pattern and linetype files
• INSUNITSDEFSOURCE - Sets the source content unit value when INSUNITS is set to 0 (unspecified)
• INSUNITSDEFTARGET - Sets the target drawing unit value when INSUNITS is set to 0 (unspecified)
• -DWGUNITS - States that it is only applicable to vertical products, however I have seen it IMPACT vanilla AutoCAD drawings as well, specifically the setting in that command related to 'Scale objects from other drawings upon insert' which should be set to NO. If it is set to YES, it will scale objects which typically, depending on what your doing is likely causing you scaling issues.

Ultimately you want everything that you are inserting, xreffing, creating, etc. to all have the same units (easiest way to control this random scaling). The easiest thing I found was to create a script (via a Tool Palette button) that will set everything to the unit of your choice. I am located in Canada, so for example, I have two buttons, one that sets everything to METRES and another that sets everything to MILLIMETRES. If I run this script on the drawing that is deemed to be causing issues, it resolves the problem.

Essentially the script ensures that the above variables are all configured correctly for the unit that I am drawing in. As an added note, this can be pre-configured via a start up template so whenever you start a new drawing, everything in regards to units is setup correctly from the start, thus eliminating many of the unit related frustrations that can occur.

Question: When you say 'i try to print 1:20 (centimeter) its just aint right..." can you elaborate?