Drafting Utility

Viewport Scale Engine

Plot Scales for the Paper Space Zoom XP in AutoCAD and IntelliCAD. Instantly translate XP factors into real-world ratios, or use the master guide below.

Interactive Converter

XP

True Drawing Scale

1:200
Paper Space 1 mm
Model Space 200 m
AutoCAD Command z ↵ 5xp

The Rule of Thumb

I have added here the rule of thumb for choosing the right plot scale for a drawing in AutoCAD or IntelliCAD.

N.B. The Paper Space should be set for a plot scale 1:1 or 1 mm = 1 drawing unit. Then in the Paper Space activate the Object Space Window and do a zoom 5xp.

The rule is very simple:

"zoom" (millimetres in one drawing unit) x (scale) "xp"

Memo: The shortcut command for zooming is usually "z", so write simply z 0.2xp (Enter).

Example 1: Centimeters

If I draw in centimetres (10 mm each) and I want to print at 1:50, I will do a "zoom":

(10) x (1/50) = 10/50 = "0.2xp"
or even directly "10/50xp"

Example 2: Meters

If I draw in metres (1000 mm each) and I want to print at 1:200, I will do a "zoom":

(1000) x (1/200) = 1000/200 = "5xp"
or even directly "1000/200xp"

Master Plot Scale Reference

If you cannot memorize the rule, print this reference table.

Plot Scale Drawing Units
mm cm m
10:1 10xp 100xp 10000xp
5:1 5xp 50xp 5000xp
2:1 2xp 20xp 2000xp
1:1 1xp 10xp 1000xp
1:2 0.5xp 5xp 500xp
1:5 0.2xp 2xp 200xp
1:10 0.1xp 1xp 100xp
1:20 0.05xp 0.5xp 50xp
1:25 0.04xp 0.4xp 40xp
1:50 0.02xp 0.2xp 20xp
1:100 0.01xp 0.1xp 10xp
1:200 0.005xp 0.05xp 5xp
1:250 0.004xp 0.04xp 4xp
1:500 0.002xp 0.02xp 2xp
1:1000 0.001xp 0.01xp 1xp
1:2000 0.0005xp 0.005xp 0.5xp
1:5000 0.0002xp 0.002xp 0.2xp
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