Plot lineweights in viewports don't scale up or down

[michelle_wecke]

Hi people who know more than me.

I need to get some form of resolution to my problem.

I freelance for a guy who assigns line weights to each layer. There is not CTB for it.
When I set up my drawing in paper space I use various scales ... you know, as one tends to do when doing details.
When I print it, every viewport has the same lineweight ... but yeah, I really don't want that. When I print a drawing at 1:10 I want the lines to plot thicker because it then looks like I'm not a first year who knows nothing about lineweights.

I have tried assigning a lined weight to the layer in a viewport but that is such unneeded work! 
Is AutoCAD not able to scale the lineweights automatically?

If not, is there a techy on here who could make that a thing for the next release - AutoCAD 2020 - now with lineweight scaling so that you can save 4 hours of unnecessary work.

[imadHabash]

Hi,

You can scale lineweights proportionately in a layout with the plot scale. i suggest to read this AKN that may help . >> Click  <<

Regards,

[michelle_wecke]

Been there, done that, got the t-shirt 😄
There is no difference between plotted lineweight in a 1:100 and a 1:50 and a 1:10. All walls are the same thickness in each viewport. That little command only regulates the lineweights assigned to the layers so that they print at the various thickness. If not ticked they all print to 0.05mm (which looks even more horrendous!)

[jggerth]

Uhmmmm,  that's the way lineweights have worked since the days of Rapidograph pens and ink on mylar drafting.  A #0000 pen is a #0000 pen, regardless of where on the paper it is.

that said, without a CTB and properties all assigned per object,  there's not going to be a way to work around that.

[michelle_wecke]

Even with my other freelance client who has a CTB it all does the exact same thing ... even my own CTB doesn't make any difference in viewport printing.

What I want to know is if there is a way to make a 0.3mm pen at 1:100 scale up to a 2mm pen at 1:10 without assigning a new pen thickness in the viewport. I am wasting time playing with line thickness in each and every viewport and giving polylines a global width is just as insane.

If there isn't a solution like a friend of mine said there wasn't - the programmers need to make a function / command / button / annotative line weight scaling to scale line weights between various scaled viewports like you can with annotative text and dims (they get smaller and bigger depending on the scale you give them and the scale of your viewport).

[jggerth]

Sorry, that isn't the way lineweights work, or have ever worked.  Other than ensuring everything is drawn with BYLAYER properties and using layer overrides per viewport, there's not an approach to the result you want, and I would guess there never will be, because that's not the way the tools are designed to work.  Although to be fair, autodesk's handling on lineweights is pretty limited to begin with,

Frankly i can't imagine how what you're after could be done -- changing lineweights as a intrinsic property of a viewport just does not seem viable.

[Anonymous]

I noticed in the Page setup, under plot scale, there's a check box that says Scale lineweights.... Have you tried that?

(I've never actually used it before, so I'm not sure if it's useful. It just sounded like it might do what you're looking for)

[cadffm]

"When I print it, every viewport has the same lineweight ... but yeah, I really don't want that.

"When I print a drawing at 1:10 I want the lines to plot thicker

"because it then looks like I'm not a first year who knows nothing about lineweights.

I am very surprised by this statement, because in the parts of the world I know your wish is absolutely wrong.

Line weights are in a few cases dependent on the format, but never on the scale. 1: 5 lweight0.35 is also in 1:10 lweight0.35
I learn this at school, in the workplace and in all books on standards and regulations.



"Is AutoCAD not able to scale the lineweights automatically?"

In short: No, AutoCAD can not do that.

"I have tried assigning a lined weight to the layer in a viewport but that is such unneeded work! 

That works and this is the only solution for different lineweights for the same object in on layout.

Control lineweights across layers and change the lineweight of the layers in each viewport. VP Lineweight

[RobDraw]

I bet there are a lot of people just cringing at the thought of drafting in this way.

What you are describing is not how lineweights should be used. If you truly want to do your drafting in a non-drafting fashion, you could use polylines with an assigned width. That way a 1' thick line will measure 1' no matter what scale you print it at.

[Anonymous]

I would love to know a solution to this as well.

[imadHabash]

Please ... make a new post and tell us more about your problem . 🙂

[RobDraw]

"This" (the topic of this thread) is not considered good drafting practice. If you have a specific need for it (unlike the OP who thinks that "this" is the way drafting works), start another thread and state what you need it for. Just remember that AutoCAD does not work this way and it will take some effort to accomplish "this".

If you think you want exactly what the OP has stated, forget about it. "This" not a good idea.

[Anonymous]

I understand and share the same problem / situation refered here and i know also many people who would like an option like the one proposed here, regardless of what some say here are tje "standards of drawing".. i dont even understand what that means! Alongside with "standards of drawing practice" you also have "real world problems" that a program that wants to keep itself as a valuable tool for people who use it a viable solution.

Having said that, I  share the same problem cause even though i know that ctb is supposed to fix a lineweight to each line, its also a pain in the ass to have to do a plt style to every scale you want to draw. Would it be so much a of a corruption of the " international drawing standards" if you had something that, when activated, would double or reduce to half (basically adjust acording to a viewport scale) the thickness of the lines established in a CTB?

I would buy that in a second!

[RobDraw]

Some people have non-standard printing needs. AutoCAD is very flexible when it comes to printing, just about anything can be set-up to suit your needs but when it comes to uncommon practices, there is no easy solution. You need to set them up yourself, find someone that has already done it and is willing to share, or get someone to do it for you. 

[Anonymous]

Flexbility would be to have that option.

In any case, thanks for the answer.

Cheers,

Rui

[RobDraw]

So, what you're saying is that you want an easy button. Any other solution is unacceptable to you. That's an inflexible stance. 

Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I wonder if this was the kind of answer people got just before annotative objects came into existence...

[pendean]

@Anonymous Before annotative "objects/text/dims etc., an AutoCAD user had to maintain multiple versions of the same items in the various plot scales they used the most, including text styles, dimstyles, blocks that need to scale up/down and so on.

If you don't wish to use Annotative features that's the old-school approach.

HTH

[RobDraw]

Yeah, we have no idea what post you are referring to. The solution is quite simple but it's not a magic button. 

The function that you are referring to is called annotative scaling which can be applied to a variety of objects.

[Anonymous]

Thats's precisely my point. Did somebody who asked for annotative objects before they existed also got an answer like: "you want the easy way out"?