AutoCAD: XREF with different units (m vs mm) – how to print to A1 at correct scale?

[j_riyaz4TV4N]

I’m having trouble setting up my layout and printing correctly in AutoCAD 2D, and I’d really appreciate some guidance.

I have two drawings:

• A siteplan with the details of Crane on site created by me with correct scale in meters.
• Another drawing with details of parts of rail and isometric view at scales 1:50, 1:20, and 1:10 in millimeters which has already been created  and printed in pdf to A1.

My goal is to keep them both in one plane and print to pdf in A1. 

I attached the site plan into the second drawing drawing as an XREF. Then I switched to the layout tab, set the layout to A1, and drew a rectangle to define the printable area. Then I put my existing drawing into the rectangle and after that, I created a viewport (MVIEW) to add the siteplan inside this existimg drawing , and positioned it inside the layout.

Now I’m stuck at the printing stage.

The final output should:

• Firstly, I am not sure how to keep the scale of the siteplan maintained, not just visually adjusted. I am trying to put different sacles 1:200, 1:500, 1:000 and so on but it doesn't fit perfectly. How can I set the correct viewport scale for the Lageplan, considering the meter vs. millimeter units.
• Secondly, how to fit correctly on an A1 sheet as I am not able to achieve it despite many tries.

I cannot put the pictures as it's my company data. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

[imadHabash]

Hi,

@j_riyaz4TV4N 
What you did - In general- is correct as a procedure.
BUT.. the secret is located in the size of your A1 paper space size and other things like Insunits. What is the dimension size unit for the A1 :

841x594 / 8410x5940 / 84.1x59.4 

depending on the A1 size unit the Zoom factor for viewport zoom scale will be affected also. 
      Such issues would be easier for us to answer if we had the files in our hands so that we could try them together under the same conditions. 

[jreidKVSUZ]

j_riyaz4TV4N,

I have always scaled the XREF up or down to match my working drawing. By doing so, my print will be printed as my working drawing's settings.

Here is what AI and I used to do:

When xrefing a millimeter (mm) drawing into a meter (m) drawing, set the insertion scale factor to 0.001. Since there are

in, the mm-based drawing is 1000 times larger than necessary, so the scale factor of
(or) shrinks it to the correct size.

Quickest Fixes
1. During Attach: In the Attach External Reference dialog box, set the Scale to X: 0.001, Y: 0.001, and Z: 0.001.
2. Already Attached: If it is already attached and wrong, select the xref, open properties (MO command), and change the scale factors (X, Y, Z) to 0.001.

Proper Setup Checklist
To avoid this in the future, ensure your drawing units are defined correctly:
1. Main Drawing (meters): Type UNITS -> Set insertion scale to Meters.
2. Xref Drawing (millimeters): Type UNITS -> Set insertion scale to Millimeters.
3. Automatic Scale: If both files have correct unit definitions, AutoCAD will automatically apply the factor.

If the xref still comes in too small, it was drawn 1:1,000,000 (effectively mm to meters, but not adjusted).

Hope this helps!!

Thanks, JRR!