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How to Set DIMSCALE

Tuesday, May 20th, 2014

Common DIMSCALE Values
Drawing Scale DIMSCALE
1/32″=1′ 384
1/16″=1′ 192
3/32″=1′ 128
1/8″=1′ 96
3/16″=1′ 64
1/4″=1′ 48
3/8″=1′ 32
1/2″=1′ 24
3/4″=1′ 16
1″=1′ 12
1 1/2″=1′ 8
3″=1′ 4
1″=1″ 1
1″=500′ 6000
1″=200′ 2400
1″=100′ 1200
1″=60′ 720
1″=50′ 600
1″=40′ 480
1″=30′ 360
1″=25′ 300
1″=20′ 240
1″=10′ 120
Design Master uses the standard CAD system variable DIMSCALE to determine the scale of the current drawing. DIMSCALE is used to size text, leader arrowheads, and other drawing elements that are not to scale. DIMSCALE should be set to the number of inches that should be represented by one inch on the plan when printed on paper. It answers the following question: If I plot the drawing and measure a real inch on it, how many inches would that represent on the plan?

To determine the DIMSCALE of a drawing, you need to convert your scale factor to inches. Common scales and their DIMSCALE values are listed in the table on the left. The examples below show how you can determine the necessary DIMSCALE for your scale factor.

For a 1/8″=1′ scale factor, start by converting 1′ to 12″, which gives you 1/8″=12″. Then, multiply both sides by 8 to get 1″=96″. The DIMSCALE is the number on the right side. So, for a 1/8″=1′ drawing, you should use a DIMSCALE of 96.

For a 1″=20′ site plan, you would convert the 20′ to inches and get 1″=240″, resulting in a DIMSCALE of 240.

For a scale like 3/16″=1′, which is the same as 3/16″=12″, you must multiply both sides by 16/3 to get the left side of the equation to 1″. This gives you 1″=64″, so DIMSCALE should be set to 64.

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