Default metric template contains imperial linetypes

[leahs6ALC9]

We have an ongoing issue in our company regarding linetypes showing differently when copying between DWG's and when XREF'ing into another drawing. Aside from addressing LTSCALE and general scaling settings, loading our company LIN file often fixes the issue. We use metric and a colleague suggested that the problem was that our company LIN file is imperial. I've looked into it and our LIN file matches the metric acadiso LIN file so I've delved deeper and have noticed something in the default metric template.

leahs6ALC9_0-1720677739297.png

Above is the template file that I used to create a new drawing. In that drawing, the below linetypes are already loaded and in use by layers used for styling.

leahs6ALC9_1-1720678010010.png

leahs6ALC9_2-1720678018752.png

When I draw a line using the DASHED linetype, the measurements match those of the imperial acad LIN file.

leahs6ALC9_3-1720678133418.png

Loading the metric acadiso LIN file changes the line to the metric measurements.

leahs6ALC9_4-1720678222963.png

It seems then that the default metric template is pointing to the imperial acad LIN file rather than the metric acadiso LIN file.

Things to note:

- I've noticed this in both 2022 and 2023. I did a clean install of 2022 to check that it wasn't any of my settings.

- MEASUREMENT is set to "1", as expected of a metric template and C3D points to the acadiso LIN file when loading new linetypes in the Linetype Manager.

My questions:

- Is this expected behaviour or should the metric template be pointing to the metric acadiso LIN file from the get-go?

- Is there a way for me to tell it to point to acadiso on opening or is the only workaround to load the acadiso linetypes and re-save the template?

Our company has our own template files, but I'm wondering now how some of those were created given the ongoing linetype issue. It appears that simply starting with C3D metric doesn't ensure that acadiso is used from the start. 

[MichaelH13]

So when you measure a foot and get 30.48cm, are you surprised? Physical size remains the same while the type of measurement differs.

The linetypes are the same size, otherwise, they would scale differently between the two templates. 

Astute observations though and very thorough.

[leahs6ALC9]

Well, that's just the problem. The physical size of the dash doesn't remain the same. Both of the lines below have a length of "50.000". The first image shows the imperial dashed, the second shows the metric. Using each produces a very different visual for dashed lines in drawings.

leahs6ALC9_0-1720762119158.pngleahs6ALC9_1-1720762125205.png

[MichaelH13]

I think this is your answer:

MichaelH13_0-1720985819363.png

"customized for iso scaling" - is why it is called acadiso.lin instead of acad.lin and why it shows differently between the two files. Nothing to do with how is it measured.

[chriscowgill7373]

I tested this in 2025 and I can confirm what you are seeing.  I would suggest submitting a support request as a bug to see if the Civil 3D team will take a look at their template and fix the default linetype definitions.

@lim.wendy is this something you can help with?

[lim.wendy]

Thanks for tagging me, Chris. Leah, I've submitted a support ticket on your behalf with case ID 22635178. You should receive a notification in your inbox. Please reply to that support case email and provide additional information if requested. Thanks for reporting the issue.

[leahs6ALC9]

Thanks, Chris for checking in 2025 and Wendy for creating a support case. Email has been received.

[edhing]

I have never understood why Autodesk did not differentiate the names of the lines so that there would be no confusion or mixing of lines in a drawing; for example in an imperial file the Border line is named the same as in the Metric file, Border (acad.lin, acadiso.lin, respectively), they could have differentiated them with Border-I, or Border-M. In my opinion, the same name for lines with different scale is the root of the problem.

[andrewpuller3811]

The linetypes are embedded into the drawing file.

It is quite possible that the creator of the metric template loaded the linetypes from the wrong file or they just used the imperial and saved it as the metric template.

To load the metric linetypes into the template, you need to purge the imperial linetypes first.

If you try to load a linetype with the same name as one that is in the drawing, the new definition is ignored.

[edhing]

Hi,
It happens that when we exchange drawings, although basically the line has the same name, it literally does not, because the language influences; so we can have a continuous line, which is also called continuous but in Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, etc., not to mention the variations for using lowercase and capital letters or misspellings and even the particular name given by the user to the type of line. For example “Border” in English, “Bordure” in French, or one in Spanish, which was designated as “Morse”, the first one being Imperial and the following two Metric. So if you have lines of different scales, it is not so easy to change the scales of the lines, because they apply to all of them and you end up editing the whole drawing; at least in my experience and to the best of my knowledge. What is left is to edit line by line. On the other hand, there are people who draw in metric, millimeters or meters, but the units of the drawing file are in Imperial, inches or feet, and they manage scaling at the time of printing; if you take a drawing that should whose units should be metric, from imperial to metric, the lines will not follow the change and less if you have metric and imperial lines mixed. I still don't learn how to deal with those inconveniences, because everybody explains you to change the scale of the lines, but they all change and I haven't found a way to purge the imperial or metric lines of a drawing, leaving the others the same.

Best regards...

[leahs6ALC9]

Now that's an interesting suggestion. Different names certainly would enable proper differentiation.