AutoCAD 2008 User's Guide > Annotate Drawings > Work with Annotations > Scale Annotations > 
Overview of Scaling Annotations
 
 
 

Objects that are commonly used to annotate drawings have a property called Annotative. This property allows you to automate the process of scaling annotations so that they plot or display at the correct size on the paper.

Instead of creating multiple annotations at different sizes and on separate layers, you can turn on the annotative property by object or by style, and set the annotation scale for layout or model viewports. The annotation scale controls the size of the annotative objects relative to the model geometry in the drawing.

Show Me: Scale Annotations Automatically

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The following objects are commonly used to annotate drawings and contain an annotative property:

When the Annotative property for these objects is turned on (set to Yes), these objects are called annotative objects.

You define a paper size for annotative objects. The annotation scale you set for layout viewports and model space determines the size of the annotative objects in those spaces.

Workflow for Annotating Drawings

The following steps represent a typical workflow for annotating a drawing so that your annotations will scale automatically.

  1. Create annotative styles.
  2. In model space, set the annotation scale to the scale at which the annotations will be plotted or displayed.
  3. Create annotative objects using annotative styles.

If one or more annotative objects needs to be displayed at an additional scale, follow these steps.

  1. Add the additional scale to the annotative objects.
  2. Set the annotation scale to the new scale (the annotative objects that support the new scale will be resized based on the annotation scale).
  3. Reposition the annotative objects as needed for the new scale

When you create your layouts, follow these steps.

  1. Create a new layout or make a layout current.
  2. Create viewports.
  3. Set the annotation scale for each viewport. (For each viewport, the annotation scale and viewport scale should be the same).

For more information about setting visibility for annotative objects, see Display Annotative Objects. For more information about adding scales to annotative objects, see Add and Modify Scale Representations.