Linetype Scale 101

You can use the same linetype at different scales by changing the linetype scale factor either globally or individually for each object. Use LTSCALE to change the scale factor of linetypes for all objects in a drawing. Changing the linetype scale factor causes the drawing to be regenerated. By default, both global and individual linetype scales are set to 1.0. The smaller the scales, the more repetitions of the pattern are generated per drawing unit.

In the example to the left all three lines segments are Center by definition.
Setting LTSCALE = 1.0, one repetition of the pattern in the linetype definition is displayed for each drawing unit.
Setting LTSCALE = 0.5, two repetitions of the pattern in the linetype definition is displayed for each drawing unit.
Setting LTSCALE = 0.25, four repetition of the pattern in the linetype definition is displayed for each drawing unit.






Short line segments that cannot display one full linetype pattern are displayed as continuous. You can use a smaller individual linetype scale for lines that are too short to display even one dash sequence.


The Linetype Manager displays the Global Scale Factor and Current Object Scale. The Global Scale Factor value is controlled by the LTSCALE drawing variable, which changes the linetype scale globally for both new and existing objects. When you are in Paper Space LTSCALE should be set to 1.0. When working in Model Space you will need to know at what scale your drawing will be plotted at in order to set LTSCALE properly. In Paper Space, you can adjust the scaling of linetypes in different viewports with PSLTSCALE. The PSLTSCALE drawing variable controls paper space linetype scaling.