2 Easy Ways to Scale in AutoCAD

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Learn how to scale by a factor and by a reference

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Last Updated: August 3, 2024

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Scaling by a Factor

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Scaling by a Reference

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This article will show you how to scale lines, objects, groups, blocks, or images in AutoCAD in two ways. The first is scaling by a factor, the second is scaling with a reference. Both methods are useful to AutoCAD users and make life just a little bit easier for us!

Scaling in AutoCAD

Open your AutoCAD file and select what you want to scale. Type “scale” and press the spacebar and click the scale button. Then, type in your base point and your scale factor.

Method 1

Method 1 of 2:

Scaling by a Factor

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If it's a new file, just draw a line or insert an image.
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You can type "sc" or "scale" and press the spacebar/enter button, or in the ribbon, in the modify tab, find the Scale button (It's a blue square with a smaller grey square in the bottom left corner. If it's not in your modify tab, click the drop down arrow for more modify options.)
Your base point can be on the object itself or it can be anywhere in the workspace. You can even click a point on another object to use as a base point. You can for example select the edge of something, or the midpoint. Select your base point by clicking on it.
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Specify your scale factor. Using method 1 (scaling by a factor), you can now type a number (a scale factor) and press spacebar/enter. Your object will change size according to that number. If you use decimals, the thing you want to scale will become smaller. Voila! You're done!
- Alternatively, you can scale by moving your cursor around. When you find a size that you want, just left click on the mouse to enter. This step makes it very difficult to scale down though.

Method 2

Method 2 of 2:

Scaling by a Reference

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This method is when you have a sized object, and you want to make another object to be the same length/size/proportion as the first one. For this method you need two objects to work with. One could be a line/object/block/image/group and the other could be different (eg. one line and one image, or one block and one image). Or they could both be the same thing (eg. two lines or two images).
Choose which object is the correct size for you, and leave it alone. Choose the thing you want to scale and click on it.
Or choose the Scale button from the modify tab in the ribbon.
So select your base point (could be the point where the two objects line up).
You can click on "reference" / or just type "r" and ↵ Enter.
You can select a midpoint of the object, or select the end, depending on how much you want to scale it. According to what you want, click on a point anywhere the object you want to scale. (Don't click on the objects base point again.)
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Specify a new length. Now you can click on how long you want the object to be. It could be to the midpoint of the first object, or it could be the full length of the first object. If you put the Object Snap (OSnap) off now, you can click anywhere in the workspace and your object will scale to that size.

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What is the use of scale in AutoCAD?

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The scale tool allows you to change the size of an element while still keeping the same proportions. For instance, you can make a rectangle twice as large as it was, while still keeping the sides the same lengths relative to each other.

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How do I set the scale in an AutoCAD layout?

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Select the layout viewport you want to modify, then click the triangular scale grip at the middle of the viewport. Select the scale you want from the list to apply it to the viewport.

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How do I check the scale in AutoCAD?

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To check the scale of a scale area or viewport, click the “View” tab, then select “Viewports Panel,” then “Scale Monitor.” Move your cursor over the scale area or viewport and look at the Scale Monitor dialog box to check the scale.

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