Overview Of Lineweights - Autodesk 057B1-41A111-1001 - AutoCAD LT 2010 User Manual

Overview of Lineweights

Lineweights are width values that are assigned to graphical objects as well as
some types of text.
Using lineweights, you can create heavy and thin lines to show cuts in sections,
depth in elevations, dimension lines and tick marks, and differences in details.
For example, by assigning varying lineweights to different layers, you can
easily differentiate between new, existing, and demolition construction.
Lineweights are not displayed unless the Show/Hide Lineweight button on
the status bar is selected.
TrueType fonts, raster images, points, and solid fills (2D solids) cannot display
lineweight. Wide polylines show lineweights only when displayed outside of
the plan view. You can export drawings to other applications or cut objects
to the Clipboard and retain lineweight information.
In model space, lineweights are displayed in pixels and do not change when
zoomed in or out. Thus, you should not use lineweights to represent the exact
width of an object in model space. For example, if you want to draw an object
with a real-world width of 0.5 inches, do not use a lineweight; instead, use a
polyline with a width of 0.5 inches to represent the object.
You can also plot objects in your drawing with custom lineweight values. Use
the Plot Style Table Editor to adjust the fixed lineweight values to plot at a
new value.
Lineweight Scale in Drawings
Objects with a lineweight are plotted with the exact width of the assigned
lineweight value. The standard settings for these values include BYLAYER,
BYBLOCK, and Default. They are displayed in either inches or millimeters,
with millimeters being the default. All layers are initially set to 0.25 mm,
controlled by the LWDEFAULT system variable.
A lineweight value of 0.025 mm or less is displayed as one pixel in model
space and is plotted at the thinnest lineweight available on the specified
plotting device. Lineweight values that you enter at the Command prompt
are rounded to the nearest predefined value.
You set the lineweight units and the default value in the Lineweight Settings
dialog box. You can access the Lineweight Settings dialog box by using the
LWEIGHT command, by right-clicking the Show/Hide Lineweight button on
the status bar and choosing Settings.
124 | Chapter 6 Create and Modify Objects