introductiontoautocadmeptraining-annotationscaling-2009

Introduction to AutoCAD MEP Training

Created by: Beth Powell Page 1 of 8 3/11/09

Annotation Scaling

What is Annotation? Annotation consists of objects that give information to your drawings. Some examples include:

Text (single-line or multiline) Labels Tags Schedules or Tables Dimensions Leaders and Multileaders Hatching

You might also consider a hyperlink in a drawing or blocks and attributes to be annotation.

How much or how little annotation you place in a drawing depends on your preferences and the final use of the drawing? Do you expect the people in the field to know certain information? Do you not want to leave anything to chance for a contractor to misinterpret? Is this to be built exactly to scale or is it more for illustration to get an idea across?

How do you want your annotation to look? Whatever the amounts and types of annotation you plan to use is, you will want to decide how this should look. What size sheet will someone be reading? Will it be on an 8-1/2 x 11 sheet or a full D-size sheet?

This will have an impact on the size of text and this and your own preferences will affect the size and font you use for some types of annotation.

As a general rule, many firms use a plotted text size of 1/8 (.125). You may notice 3/16 as the default in AutoCAD. That size is a little larger. Whatever size you choose, you should be consistent. And this should then become a CAD Standard for your firm.

If you choose 3/16, then when you plot out a drawing to scale you should be able to place a ruler on a piece of text or an arrowhead and it should measure 3/16.

Youll want to decide on a font as well for some of your annotation styles. Standard is often the default, but looks rather choppy and computer-generated. You may like RomanS (which stands for single line drawn Roman font in AutoCAD) or perhaps a Windows True Type font. (TT when you are looking at font lists) Whatever you choose, you should be consistent again.



Where to find annotation tools

If you havent yet viewed the webinar on Paperspace Layouts, this is the layout we created. You are looking at this drawing in paper space. We turned on the Layout tabs in options.

You will NOT see any annotation scale in the drawing status bar in paper space because you must either be in model space or looking through the viewport from paperspace to model space.

You have annotation tools on your tool palette for whatever discipline you are working with. These annotation tools, like the other out-of-the-box tools on tool palettes, are meant to just be some starting tools to use.

One difference with the annotation tools on the tool palettes is that they are associated with layer key styles. We cover layer key styles more in depth in the classroom training. Basically they will be created on the appropriate layer for you.



If you use your ribbon, you have an annotation tab. Youll notice that I have annotative styles already set up to use. I know this because of the annotation symbol beside each one (Ive highlighted this on the screen capture.)

Setting Styles to use Annotation Scale

You will want to have layers or layer keys to use for your annotation layers. You will also want to set these styles. You can do so from your ribbon or from the Format pull-down menu.

For information on how to go through each of these to set up, I recommend viewing my Autodesk University class on CAD Standards: How to Get Started or by attending classroom training.

Visit http://www.autodeskuniversity.com and go to Online Classes.



Setting Annotation Scale

When we double click inside a viewport, we activate model space. Again, you may want to review the Paperspace Layout webinar if you dont have a good understanding of this.

In the drawing status bar lower left hand corner, we now see a scale list. We can click on that list and change to what scale we want. This would be the plotted scale. After weve zoomed and panned the drawing, we set the scale we want.

If you do not want to change the scale by accidentally zooming and panning inside the viewport, lock the scale to the viewport by selected the lock icon to the left of the scale.

Lets look at the three annotation buttons to the right of the scale. Those control what you see.

Note: The icons for these button changed slightly between AutoCAD 2008 and 2009. You will note that in Autodesk information and the help menu, the older style icons are shown.



Its a little hard to tell when these buttons are turned on and off. The view to the left shows them both turned on.

The button that shows annotation visibility (the one with the light bulb that turns on and off) controls the Annoallvisible system variable. Here is the definition from the AutoCAD help menu.

Basically this just means do you want to see all the annotation objects when you have several different scales or just your current scale. Usually, you want to just see your current scale.



Now, heres a much more confusing system variable. Its the second button with the lightning bolt. Annoautoscale is what allows you to automatically add annotation at whatever scale you change to. It looks a lot more confusing than that, doesnt it?



Lets add a Multileader to the viewport on Layout 1. This is a 3/16=1 and is automatically

scaled to the right size because we have a multileader style that uses annotative scale. We have visibility turned off for showing all annotative scales.

Now we go to our other layout that is at 1/2 = 1 and add another multileader.



Not only do you see a good example of how the scaling automatically sizes our text and arrowhead for each scale, but you can see with the annotative visibility turned on we see both scales.

Now if we unlock our viewport and change the scale to 1=1, you will see that our annotation changes. Both of them did in this view only because we have our auto scale set to automatically add new scales. Whatever scale we change to, the annotation will be resized.

When that is not on, you need to right click on that right hand button and manually add the scales, which you can certainly do.

Im including an Autodesk paper on Annotation Scaling written by Heidi Hewett. It is for 2008, but the same basic principles apply. You can also check her blog for a lot more information on this topic. http://heidihewett.blogs.com/

AutoCAD

2008

Annotation Scaling in

AutoCAD 2008

This paper describes the general tools and

procedures for implementing annotation scaling

functionality in AutoCAD 2008 software.

Annotations are a crucial part of almost any drawing, and creating them can consume a

considerable amount of your workday. In earlier versions of AutoCAD software, creating

annotations in model space required manual calculations and you often had to recreate

and copy annotations to multiple layers in order to display them appropriately at different

scales. Maintaining multiple copies of the same data was difficult and prone to error.

New and improved functionality in AutoCAD 2008 software enables you to annotate your

drawings with greater flexibility and efficiency than previous versions. You can apply new

annotation scaling functionality to any of the following object types:

Text (Text, MTEXT) Dimensions (Dimensions, Leaders, Tolerances) Multiple Leaders (New in AutoCAD 2008) Hatches Blocks Attributes

With annotation scaling enabled, AutoCAD 2008 software automatically calculates and

applies properties, such as text height, based on the current annotation scale. It also uses

the annotation scale to determine which annotations are visible in which viewports. You

can control the location of individual scale representations while having the information

itself coming from a single source. In addition to applying annotation scaling to the above

object types, linetypes applied to any objects automatically adjust themselves based on

the current annotation scale.

How do you scale annotations prior to AutoCAD 2008? To better understand how to use the new annotation scaling in AutoCAD

2008, think about

how you create dimension and text annotations in model space using traditional methods.

Traditional Process for Scaling Annotations Examples

Imperial Units Metric Units

1. Decide the PaperSpace text height for annotations drawn

in ModelSpace.

3/32 2.5mm

FOR DIMENSIONS:

2. Set the viewport scale. 1/8=1 1:100

3. Determine the scale factor. 1/8x12=96 100

4. Set the dimension text (DIMTXT) to the proper height. 3/32 2.5mm

5. Set the dimension scale (DIMSCALE) to the scale factor. 96 100

Annotation Scaling in AutoCAD 2008

FOR TEXT OR MTEXT:

6. Determine the model space height for text. 3/32x96=9 250mm

7. Set the text size (TEXTSIZE) to the model space height. 9 250mm

What happens if you decide to change the scale after youve determined and applied the

proper annotation sizes based on a specific scale? Using traditional methods, you would

have to repeat the entire process for the new scale and recreate or modify the existing

geometry.

How does annotation scaling in AutoCAD 2008 compare to

traditional methods? Creating dimension and text annotations in AutoCAD 2008 is similar to traditional methods

except that it minimizes the tedious model space calculations.

Comparison of Traditional and New Processes for

Scaling Annotations

Examples



in ModelSpace.

3/32 2.5mm

FOR DIMENSIONS:

2. Set the viewport annotation scale. 1/8=1 1:100

3. Determine the scale factor. 1/8x12=96 100

4. Set the dimension text (DIMTXT) to the proper height 3/32 2.5mm

5. Set the dimension scale (DIMSCALE) to the scale factor 96 100

FOR TEXT OR MTEXT:

6. Determine the model space height for text. 3/32x96=9 250mm

7. Set the text size (TEXTSIZE) to the model space proper

paper height.

9 3/32 250mm

2.5mm

How do you scale annotations in AutoCAD 2008? After comparing the traditional process of creating dimension and text annotations with the

new process in AutoCAD 2008, you can see that the new process is not significantly

different, yet considerably simpler.

Simplified Process for Scaling Annotations Examples



in ModelSpace.

3/32 2.5mm

FOR DIMENSIONS:

2. Set the annotation scale. 1/8=1 1:100

3. Set the dimension text (DIMTXT) to the proper height 3/32 2.5mm

FOR TEXT OR MTEXT:

4. Set the text size (TEXTSIZE) to the proper paper height. 3/32 2.5mm


Annotation Scaling Tools To begin using the powerful new annotation scaling functionality, youll need to familiarize

yourself with new annotation scaling tools including Viewport Lock, Viewport Scale, and

Annotation Scale.

Viewport Lock Viewport Scale Annotation Scale

Figure 1. Annotation Scaling Tools

The Viewport Lock is displayed on the Status Bar when a layout viewport is selected or

active. Although the viewport locking button on the Status Bar is new in AutoCAD 2008,

the ability to lock viewports through other methods, including the right-click menu and

Properties window, has been available since the AutoCAD 2000 release. Locking a

viewport after setting an appropriate viewport scale prevents you from inadvertently

zooming or changing the scale.

The Viewport Scale (VP Scale) control is also displayed on the Status Bar when a layout

viewport is selected or active. It enables you to view and edit the scale at which the active

viewport is displayed. Although the Viewport Scale control is new to the Status Bar in

AutoCAD 2008, it has been available via the Viewports toolbar since AutoCAD 2000. The

Annotation Scale control is completely new in AutoCAD 2008. It displays on the Status

Bar when a layout viewport is selected or active as well as when the Model tab is active.

The Annotation Scale sets the CANNOSCALE system variable, which is what tells

AutoCAD the scale to use when creating annotations. Without realizing it, this control is

how you are specifying the scale factor! Typically you want AutoCAD to assume an

annotation scale that is the same as the viewport scale. When you set either of these

controls from the Status Bar, AutoCAD automatically updates the other one to match,

keeping them in sync. They can get out of sync, however, if you change the viewport

scale by zooming or using the Viewports toolbar. To sync them back up, simply set either

one using the Status Bar.

Annotative Objects In AutoCAD 2008, all object types that support annotation scaling (Text, MTEXT,

Dimensions, Leaders, Multiple Leaders, Tolerances, Blocks, Attributes, Hatches) include a

new Annotative object property. You can view and modify the Annotative property using

the Properties window as well as object-specific editors such as the Text Formatting

toolbar, Hatch dialog boxes, etc.

Figure 2. Annotative Object Property


In addition, for objects that use styles (Text, Dimensions, Multiple Leaders), you can

create and apply annotative styles.

Figure 3. Annotative Styles

When an objects Annotative property is enabled, a new Annotative Scale property is

automatically applied to the object. Every annotative object must include one or more

annotative scales. These are the scales at which you want the object to be represented.

Using traditional methods, if you wanted an object to be displayed at several different

scales, while maintaining the same height, you created several copies of the object on

multiple layers. Then you made each object a different model space height based on both

the scale at which you were going to display it and the paper height at which you wanted it

displayed. Annotative object scales perform the same function with fewer steps and no

data redundancy. You can view, add, and delete the objects scales supported by a

selected object using the OBJECTSCALE command. The list of available scales that you

can add to an object comes from the general AutoCAD Scale List, which you can

customize with the SCALELISTEDIT command.

Figure 4. Annotative Object Scales


You can differentiate annotative objects and styles from traditional ones by their annotative icons.

When you pass your cursor over an annotative object, an annotative icon is automatically

displayed near the cursor. A single icon indicates that the object supports only one annotative

scale and a double icon indicates that the object supports two or more annotative scales.

Annotative icons are also used to indicate which styles in a style list are annotative.

Figure 5. Annotative icons.

The annotative scales of an object determine the size as well as the visibility of the objects

scale representations. When a viewport or the Model tab is set to a particular annotation

scale, only the annotative objects that support the current annotation scale are displayed.

More Annotation Scaling Tools Since the visibility of annotative objects is determined by the current Annotation Scale and

the objects supported Annotative Scales, it is possible for some or all objects to

disappear when you change the annotation scale to a value that has no current scale

representations. You can quickly display all annotative objects, regardless of their

supported annotative scales, using the Annotation Visibility control on the Status Bar (the

annotative/light bulb button). You can then select any of the objects and add or delete

Annotative Scales. To avoid confusion about what objects are or are not supported by the

current Annotation Scale, you should disable Annotation Visibility except when needed.

The last annotation control on the Status Bar (the annotative/lightning bolt) enables you to

automatically add scales to annotative objects when the annotation scale changes. For

example if the annotations in the current viewport only include an Annotative object scale

of 1:50 and you want to change the viewport/annotation scale to 1:100, you can turn on

this toggle so that the new scale (1:100) is automatically added to all of the annotative

objects within that viewport. If you are experimenting with various viewport sizes, it is best

to disable this option until you settle on a size. If not, you might inadvertently add

unwanted annotative scales to the objects.

Viewport Lock Viewport Scale Annotation Scale

Figure 6. More Annotation Scaling Tools

Visual Fidelity of Annotative Objects Since annotation scaling is new to AutoCAD 2008, earlier releases of AutoCAD do not

understand the annotative functionality. However, AutoCAD 2008 includes a control that

enables you to maintain visual fidelity for annotative objects when opening the drawing in

an earlier release of AutoCAD. You can access this control on the Open and Save tab of

the Options dialog box or with the SAVEFIDELITY system variable. When visual fidelity is

on, annotative objects are decomposed and scale representations are saved to separate

layers, emulating the traditional methods for creating annotations at different sizes.


Figure 7. Visual Fidelity Control

Transitioning to Annotation Scaling Given a general understanding of the concepts and tools for annotation scaling in

AutoCAD 2008, you can begin taking advantage of this powerful new functionality. The

steps for implementing automated annotation scaling in AutoCAD 2008 vary slightly

depending on the types of objects and whether they are new or existing.

Working with Text, Dimensions, and Multiple Leaders

To implement annotation scaling for objects that use styles, including text, dimensions,

and multiple Leaders, you should first create annotative styles. You can create new styles

or edit your existing ones. If youve created multiple styles for the sole purpose of

producing annotations at different scales, you can delete the extra styles!

To Create/Edit Styles

1. Access the style definition by creating a new one or modifying an existing one.

Set the desired size for text, arrowheads, etc. This is the real (paper) size of the objects.

Enable the Annotative property. The location of this control varies for each type of style:

Text Style Dialog Box

Dimension Style Manager (Fit Tab)

Multileader Style Manager (Leader Structure Tab)

2. Save the updated style definition.

To Create New Text, Dimensions, and Multiple Leaders

After youve defined the annotative styles, you can quickly create new annotative objects

based on those styles!

1. Set an Annotative Style. You can identify annotative styles by the annotative icons

displayed next to the style names in the style lists.

2. Set the Annotation Scale for the current viewport or Model tab to an appropriate size.

This is what determines the default annotative scale for the new objects you create.

3. Draw Text, Dimensions, and Multiple Leaders.

4. Use OBJECTSCALE to add/remove annotative scales for selected objects as needed.


To Update Existing Text, Dimensions, and Multiple Leaders

1. Edit the associated styles so they are annotative (See To Create/Edit Styles above).

2. Set the Annotation Scale for the current viewport or Model tab to the scale that you

assumed when creating the original annotations. For example, if you created text at a

height of 9 (or 250mm) because you wanted it to be 3/32 (or 2.5mm) tall when scaled

at 1/8=1 (or 1:100), you should set the Annotation Scale to 1/8=1 (or 1:100).

3. Use ANNOUPDATE and select the objects that you want to support the current

Annotation Scale.

4. Repeat steps 1-2 for objects that you want to support a different Annotation Scale.

5. Use OBJECTSCALE to add/remove annotative scales for selected objects as needed.

The process for converting existing text, dimensions, and multiple leaders to annotative

ones is just as easy as creating new annotative objects. However, understanding what

AutoCAD is doing behind the scenes might seem complicated. In a sense, AutoCAD is

reversing the original calculations that enabled you to determine the model space height

of the annotations. When you convert an existing object to annotative, AutoCAD uses the

current annotation scale and the current model space size of the geometry to determine

the paper size of the object. You can then view and edit the paper size of the object if you

wish to change it, rather than having to calculate obscure values for the model size.

Working with Hatches

Using annotation scaling you can easily create hatch objects that automatically maintain

the hatch size even when the viewport scale changes.

To Create New Hatches


This is what determines the default annotative scale for the new objects you create.

2. Access the Hatch and Gradient dialog box.

Ensure that the Annotative property is enabled. Apply other hatch properties as usual.

To Update Existing Hatches

1. Set the Annotation Scale for the current viewport or Model tab to the scale that you

assumed when creating the original hatches.

2. Select the hatch objects that you want to support the current annotation scale and

enable the Annotative property using the Hatch Edit dialog box or the Properties window.

3. Repeat steps 1-2 for hatch objects that you want to support a different Annotation Scale.

4. Use OBJECTSCALE to add/remove annotative scales for selected hatch objects as needed.


Working with Blocks

Annotative block definitions enable you to insert block references that are consistently

sized, regardless of the viewport scale. In general, annotative blocks would be symbols

that are not draw at real sizes for real objects. For example, you probably wouldnt want

the stove or sink blocks in a floor plan to be annotative because you want them to scale

up or down with the rest of the geometry. However, the window tags or the receptacles

would make sense as annotative objects because you probably want them to remain at a

consistent size even when the viewport scale changes.

Figure 8. Annotative versus non-annotative blocks.

You can apply the annotative property to block definitions within a drawing file or to

individual drawing files that can be inserted as blocks. Although the Annotative property is

stored in the block definition, the objects Annotative Scales are applied to each individual

block reference.

To Create/Update Block Definitions

1. Access the block definition in the Block Editor.

Set the Annotation Scale at 1:1. Ensure block geometry is drawn at the size you want it represented. Enable the Annotative property in the Property Palette.

2. Save the updated block definition.

To Create/Update Block drawing files (DWG)

1. Create/Open the block geometry in the Drawing Editor.

Ensure block geometry is drawn at the size you want it represented. Enable the ANNOTATIVEDWG system variable. Note: You can only enable the

ANNOTATIVEDWG variable for drawings that contain no annotative objects.

2. Save the updated drawing file.

To Insert New Block references

1. Ensure the block definition is annotative.


This is what determines the default annotative scale for the blocks you insert.

3. Insert blocks with a unit scale of 1.

4. Use OBJECTSCALE to add/remove annotative scales for selected block objects as

needed.

To Update Existing Block References

1. Ensure the block definition is annotative.

2. Ensure the inserted scale of block references is 1.

3. Use OBJECTSCALE to add/remove annotative scales for selected block insertions as

needed.


Working with Attributes

You can apply the annotative property to block attribute definitions to ensure the attribute

text within non-annotative blocks automatically adjusts based on the viewports annotation

scale. You cannot include annotative attributes or any other annotative objects within an

annotative block.

To create new attribute definitions

1. Access the block definition in the Block Editor.

2. Set the Annotation Scale at 1:1.

3. Access the Attribute Definition dialog box.

Ensure that the Annotative property is enabled. Set the Text Height to the proper paperspace text height. Apply other attribute properties as usual.

4. Insert the attribute definition into the block definition.


6. Use ATTSYNC to synchronize existing block insertions with the new attributes.

To update existing attribute definitions

1. Open the block definition in the Block Editor.

2. Set the Annotation Scale at 1:1.

3. Select the attribute definitions and open the Properties window

Enable the Annotative property. Set the Paper Text Height to the proper paperspace size.


5. Use ATTSYNC to synchronize existing block insertions with the updated attributes.

Using the new annotation scaling tools in AutoCAD 2008, you can shave hours off the

time you typically spend calculating scale factors and creating, editing and managing

drawing annotations.

Autodesk , AutoCAD, and DWG are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.

2007 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.

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