What is ʼLinetype Scaleʼ (LTSCALE) in BricsCAD?

ByCADbrief Staff

Short Answer

linetype scale in BricsCAD controls how dashed, dotted, and other non-continuous linetypes display across the drawing. The main professional method is adjusting the global scale with LTSCALE so patterns look correct at your drawing scale and viewport output. It does not fix linetypes that were loaded incorrectly or objects with bad individual scales.

What You Need to Know Before

Warning: A wrong linetype scale can make dashed lines appear continuous or too dense, especially between model space and paper space viewports. In shared drawings, inconsistent global and object linetype scales often cause plotting errors and standards failures.

How-to

  • Command: LTSCALE

  • Shortcut: [LTSCALE]

  • Quick Steps:

    1. On the command line, type LTSCALE and press Enter.
    2. Enter a new global linetype scale value, such as 0.5, 1, or 10, based on your drawing units and annotation scale.
    3. Regenerate the display with REGEN if needed, then verify the result in model space and in a layout viewport.

Variables & Settings

  • System Variable: LTSCALE (Default: 1.0)

  • Expert Setting: This variable sets the global linetype scale multiplier for the entire drawing. Higher values make dash patterns longer; lower values make them tighter. It works together with object linetype scale and paper/model display settings such as PSLTSCALE and CELTSCALE.

Why it Fails

  • Cause 1 (Geometry): Very short line segments may be too small to show a dashed pattern, so the linetype looks continuous.

  • Cause 2 (layers/Locks): The object may be on a layer using Continuous, or the layer/object properties may override the expected linetype.

  • Cause 3 (Command/Logic): Changing LTSCALE alone may not update viewport display correctly if PSLTSCALE or object-level linetype scales are inconsistent.

Quick Fix & Best Practice

  • Quick Fix: Set LTSCALE to a sensible project value, then run REGEN and check PSLTSCALE=1 for layout consistency.

  • Manager’s Verdict: Use LTSCALE as the main office-standard control for linetype appearance, and avoid random per-object scaling unless a specific detail truly requires it.

FAQ

Does LTSCALE affect all objects in the drawing?
Yes, it globally affects linetype pattern display unless object-specific linetype scaling overrides it.

Why do dashed lines look different in viewports?
Usually because paper space linetype scaling settings like PSLTSCALE are not aligned with the drawing workflow.

Can LTSCALE fix a continuous-looking hidden line?
Yes, if the linetype is assigned correctly and the geometry is long enough to display the pattern.

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