Dr. Woggz:

You must only work with terribly simple plans.

I create one drawing for which to plot from is generally labeled PLAN. This drawing is pre-sized with the border etc. on it. The individual views, like TOPVIEW, SIDEVIEW, FRONT, WING, HOZSTAB, SECTION1, SECTION2, SECTION3, etc, are then brought into this drawing using the XREF command. The individual drawings are then shifted around on PLAN to a best fit arrangement. If so desired, the LTSCALE command can then be issued to make the linework plot out nice. If however, the LTSCALE command was issued to each and every one of the drawings, that latest command from PLAN, will modify the individuals even more. Thus creating a mixture of linetypes, not a uniform linetype which is to be plotted out. The distance between gaps on a centerline should be uniform through the whole project, and then too at the PLOT command. By issuing the LTSCALE command before plotting PLAN, you cannot then go in to pick and choose individual lines which need adjustment. They all get adjusted then, needed or not. If the CAD operator wants the "view" a certain line, then change the linetype, not the whole drawing.

If a LTSCALE factor of 1.05 was applied to SIDEVIEW, and factor of .5 to TOPVIEW, the linework for perhaps a centerX4 would not be uniform upon plotting. If certain lines were altered to centerX3, on one drawing and to centerX2 on another, the application of the factor would then be uniform, not random. There also may then be no need for the factor when plotting PLAN. If a subsequent drawing called PLAN2 or PLAN3 is required, by altering the original linetypes in the parent drawing, they will appear to be uniform on these sheets also.

I have worked in Land Development where whole unit size for lines easily may run up to 10,000 for length. When the combined plan is plotted to scale, the LTSCALE command is used so that the centerlines have visable gaps. This being the original purpose of the command. Paper Space drawings are also often used in Land Development, as the whole visable configuration can then again be rotated without upsurping the coordinate basis, and the plotter settings can remain at 1=1 for everyone.

The big indicator here was the notation that an LTSCALE factor of 0.05 was used.


Wm.