Annotation scaling with embedded ACAD

[kelvin]

Anyone have any success using annotation scaling in Survey's embedded acad?

From what I can tell, just enough of annotation scaling works to tease, but the scale list is unmodifiable and auto scale is unavailable. I can accept the autoscaling option to be disabled in the embedded acad, but inability to manipulate the scale list makes this option virtually unusable.

Anyone come across some back door to manipulating the scale list?

[Dent Cermak]

I'm not clear on what you mean by "Annotation scaling"? Are you talking about the text size scaling under ANNOTATION, or are you refering to that AWFUL list of plot scales that is totally wrong. (Psssst, Carlson!! 1:30 is NOT the same as 1"=30'!!)
Can you clarify what you are trying to do ?

[kelvin]

Dent, thanks for the reply.
You are indeed correct; I am referring that awful list, the one that can be edited in full acad, but EDITSCALELIST is clearly unavailable in the acad 2010 engine.

This restriction with the embedded acad engine creates some unfortunate situations when there are many xref's (and worse when they are cascaded).

The issue you just mentioned about how 1:30 does not equal 1"=30' is precisely the problem. I can get around this occasionally by showing xref'd scales and choosing scales from the xref. However, mismatches frequently occur.

Despite all this, you have largely answered my question in that, apparently, you are also unaware of how to manipulate the scale list either.

It just burns me that Autodesk would include annotative scaling, but strip the essential tools for using them appropriately. Bugger all...

[Dent Cermak]

The mislabeled scales work, it's just agrivating to see that some people do not know the differance. (Amazing how many "experts" do not know what a proportional scale is, but then these are the same whizzes that have given us "major" and "minor" contours.) In all fairness, I believe that this is an AutoDesk error though. I remember seeing that error in a previous edition of AutoCad. They fixed it in LDD, but evidently it remains in the kernal Carlson has been supplied.
And no, I haven't found a way to edit that list. I stumbled upon a place that looked like it allowed editing, but danged if I can find irt again. If I do find it again, I will be sure to let you know.

[Dent Cermak]

Kelvin,
I addressed this issue with the Tech Support folks at Carlson. Here is their response:

Dent,

It may appear as though the scales are "proportional" but they are not. For example 1:30 means 1"=30' not 1"=30" as suspected. I think if you give it a try you'll see that it will plot correctly. thank you.


It's stuff like this that gives me high blood pressure. It's wrong but, no one realises it, nor do they care. Just another thing that we must learn to live with. So much for "professionalism". We are at the mercy of the programmers that do not know the terms of our craft.
Wonder what the state board would do if I label my plat scale as 1:30?

[GPSMAN]

1:360 = 1"=30'
1:30 WOULD = 1"=2.5'

[Dent Cermak]

You know that and I know that, but computer programmers do not know that. To them it is semantics only. In my field it is a critical error and results in the rejection of the drawing by the editors.
This appears to be a case of "Well, you know what I ment!".

[ColC]

The proportional scales are for the other world who work in metric. Unfortunately the scales in Carlsons are set up for using millimetres as the base unit, which is common for Architectural work(Autocad driven). I use viewports to set the scales and that requires entering 0.8 to get a scale or reduction ratio of 1:1250 etc.

So for those metric surveyors using metres as the base unit, a simple work around (still irritating) is required.