Annotation Scale and the Drawing Scale Dialog

Annotation Scale allows us to use single sets of text styles and scalable symbols that can then be displayed at whatever scale is required for screen display or printing. The same text and/or symbols contained in a model file can be displayed at differing scales as required by the context.

The Annotation Scale toggle

appears in many dialogs and tool settings. Before starting to use it, ensure that the Drawing Scale toolbox is open. Go to the Settings menu > Drawing Scale:


 
Turn off Sub Unit (in a metric environment, leave it on when using imperial units) and ACS Scale then dock at the lower edge of the screen:
 
In this dialog you can select, from left to right: the Active Working Units; Toggle Annotation Scale on/off; set the Active Annotation Scale; toggle ACS lock on/off; set the Active ACS for the active view.
See Using ACS for more information about ACS.

Here the Annotation Scale lock button is shown On (as is the Lock ACS button).

Select the required scale. Each model can only have one Annotation Scale set, but Annotation Scale can be set individually for each model.

Where sheet drawings are required with multiple scales the annotation scale can be set differently for each reference file attached to the sheet file.

Existing files where the use of Annotation Scale is unknown.

In an existing drawing, turn on Annotation Scale lock and see what happens. If some or all text has been placed with Annotation Scale set to on, some or all of the text will change size. To deal with this either use Element Information to turn annotation scale off for the text concerned to leave it as found or, if the drawing is going to be edited significantly consider changing the dimension styles used for the text.