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Over 165 AutoCAD tips and tutorials! |
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AutoCAD Tips & Tutorials
Precisely scale an object when you know before and after dimensions
Ken Monsanto of Bahrain Precast Concrete sent in this tip for scaling an object when you know the current and desired dimensions. For example, let's say that you have a circle with a diameter of 35 and you want to scale it so that it has a diameter of 50.
He suggested these steps:
- Start the CAL command.
Command: cal
>> Expression: 50/35
1.42857143
- Select the quotient 1.42857143 and copy it to the Clipboard.
- Start the SCALE command, select the object, specify the base point, and click on the Command line. (If you don't click on the Command line, AutoCAD thinks that you want to paste a text object into your drawing.)
- Paste the quotient from the Clipboard and press Enter.
Your circle now has a diameter of 50.
Instead of the CAL command, you can use the newer QUICKCALC command and use the calculator-like interface.
The advantage is that the command automatically copies the result to the Clipboard for you.
If you're scaling a circle, and you know the radius (or dividing by two is easy), here's an easier method. This method works in AutoCAD 2006 and later.
Follow these steps:
- Select the circle.
- Click one of the quadrant handles and drag inward or outward.
- Type the new radius and press Enter.
For other techniques of changing a circle's size, see the first tip below.
Several people (Nancy Eaton, Bob Young, Jack Kriz) mentioned that the easiest way is to just enter 50/35 at the Specify scale factor or [Copy/Reference] <1.0000>: prompt.
Several other people (Stephanie Clayton, Patrick Hughe, Mark Loomis) smentioned the Reference option of the SCALE command. Then, do the following:
Specify reference length <1.0000>: 35
Specify new length or [Points] <1.0000>: 50
Thanks for all your input!
Related tips:
- Stretch a circle with grips
- Precisely control the size of OLE text and objects
- Let AutoCAD do the math
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