dimensions - wrong values

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lylef5478n
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dimensions - wrong values

Post by lylef5478n » Sat Jul 17, 2021 6:47 pm

I'm a new QCAD user and am a retired mechanical engineer; early in my career I spent a number of years as a mechanical designer doing old fashioned drafting on paper. The system is running under Windows 10 and is version 3.26.4.0.

I've successfully downloaded QCAD and the QCAD technical manual and have the program running somewhat successfully.
I'm currently trying to do a warehouse space layout for a charity organization and am having trouble with adding dimensions to the drawing. The appearance of the drawing is correct and it prints correctly on standard A4 paper without a problem.

However, if I try to add dimensions, the numerical values are incorrect - too large by a factor of 96. The coordinates were all entered using the feet and inches format and when the measuring tool is used are shown to be exactly correct. Units were set to inches and the display format is set to architectural. Also the sizes input show exactly correct on the x and y scales on the screen. Changing the scaling factor shown on the Edit/Drawing Preferences location seems to have no effect on the value displayed.

Does anyone have any ideas on what I've done wrong?

Thanks,
Lyle
Last edited by lylef5478n on Sat Jul 17, 2021 9:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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andrew
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Re: dimensions - wrong values

Post by andrew » Sat Jul 17, 2021 6:53 pm

Please check your dimensioning scale in the options tool bar (should be "1" or "1:1" or 1" = 1"):
Screenshot 2021-07-17 at 19.52.10.png
Screenshot 2021-07-17 at 19.52.10.png (15.31 KiB) Viewed 5223 times
You can also change the scale of existing dimensions in the property editor (property "Linear Factor").

If you can't solve it, please attach your drawing file.

lylef5478n
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Re: dimensions - wrong values

Post by lylef5478n » Sat Jul 17, 2021 10:47 pm

Changing the dimensioning scale only seems to affect the dimension value text size, not the value itself. The file is attached.

I'm using Windows 10 and QCAD version 3.26.4.0.
Attachments
warehouse3.dxf
has wrong dimension value, should be 12'
(103.08 KiB) Downloaded 254 times

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Husky
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Re: dimensions - wrong values

Post by Husky » Sat Jul 17, 2021 11:38 pm

lylef5478n wrote:
Sat Jul 17, 2021 10:47 pm
Changing the dimensioning scale only seems to affect the dimension value text size, not the value itself.
Sounds like you changed something else ...

What Andrew meant in his posting was to change the scale factor in the OPTION BAR. This bar pops up on the upper left side of your Model_Space area when you launch a dim tool.


Husky-2021.07.17-02.png
Husky-2021.07.17-02.png (75.72 KiB) Viewed 5201 times
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andrew
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Re: dimensions - wrong values

Post by andrew » Sun Jul 18, 2021 9:24 am

Again, the property that controls the factor of the displayed dimension label is called "Linear factor". This is the property to change for existing dimensions. Your dimension has a linear factor of 96, hence the displayed value is 96 times larger than the measured value:
Screenshot 2021-07-18 at 10.23.13.png
Screenshot 2021-07-18 at 10.23.13.png (96.03 KiB) Viewed 5173 times

On the other hand, "Scale" in the options toolbar at the top can be used while drawing a dimension to set the scale the drawing is in.

For example, if you are currently constructing a part of the drawing at a scale of 1:100, you can set the scale accordingly and the dimension will be created with a linear factor of 100. In other words, your drawing is 100 times smaller than in the real world, so dimensions have to be displayed 100 times larger to make sure the values match the real world.

Most likely that scale (in the options toolbar at the top) is off on your configuration. That's what you need to correct to make sure your dimensions display the correct value:
Screenshot 2021-07-17 at 19.52.10.png
Screenshot 2021-07-17 at 19.52.10.png (15.31 KiB) Viewed 5167 times
To summarize, this is how you can correct the issue:
- start the dimension tool
- change the "Scale" (in the options toolbar at the top) to 1 or 1:1 or 1" = 1"

lylef5478n
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solved - Re: dimensions - wrong values

Post by lylef5478n » Sun Jul 18, 2021 2:47 pm

This worked - thanks a bunch! Now I'm off to learn how to use Blocks so I can create multiple copies of features(easily, I hope).
Lyle

lylef5478n
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Re: dimensions - wrong values

Post by lylef5478n » Sun Jul 18, 2021 3:03 pm

How do I get to that menu, I can't seem to find it although I was successful with changing the factor after selecting the specific dimension tool.
Lyle

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andrew
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Re: dimensions - wrong values

Post by andrew » Sun Jul 18, 2021 3:16 pm

At this point, I'd strongly recommend you reset your QCAD configuration:
https://qcad.org/en/tutorial-resetting- ... figuration

Some toolbars were likely moved around and now cannot see the options toolbar anymore. I'd recommend to reset QCAD and then keep all toolbars in place until you are comfortable you know which toolbars are used for what. The options toolbar is essential when working with QCAD as the options of the current tool are displayed in it.

If you are referring to the property editor, you can display it using:
View > Property Editor

lylef5478n
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Re: dimensions - wrong values

Post by lylef5478n » Sun Jul 18, 2021 4:44 pm

I've attempted to do the configuration reset by finding and deleting the QCAD3.ini file but I cannot find it anywhere on my W10 system. I'm wondering if I should just attempt restarting from the downloaded file-perhaps after deinstalling QCAD?

Otherwise I'll struggle on trying to learn how to use Blocks.
Thanks again,
Lyle

CVH
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Re: dimensions - wrong values

Post by CVH » Sun Jul 18, 2021 5:22 pm

lylef5478n wrote:
Sun Jul 18, 2021 4:44 pm
by finding and deleting the QCAD3.ini file but I cannot find it anywhere on my W10 system.
Followed the Tutorial?
•Make sure that system files and system folders are displayed in Windows Explorer:
...
•Win10: C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\QCAD\QCAD3.ini (where "username" is your login name)


Regards,
CVH

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