SCALE

SCALE makes objects larger or smaller. Everything grows or shrinks by the same amount, toward or away from a base point you choose.

How it works

Type SC and press Enter. Select the objects and press Enter. Click the base point, the one point that stays where it is. Then type a scale factor and press Enter.

Command line

Command: SC
Select objects: (pick the plate)
1 found.
Select objects: (pick the hole)
1 found, 2 total.
Select objects: Enter
Specify base point: (click the lower-left corner)
Specify scale factor or [Copy/Reference]: 2
Scaled.

A factor of 2 doubles the plate and its hole; the base point stays put.

Plotted by Musa CAD 0.8.0 from the example drawing cmd-scale.musaDownload the drawing

The scale factor multiplies every size. 2 makes the objects twice as big, 0.5 half as big. Before you type, the objects grow and shrink with the cursor, and the factor shows beside it. If you click instead, the factor is the distance from the base point to the click, in drawing units: a click 3 units away scales by 3.

Options

Option	What it does
Copy (C)	Scales a copy and leaves the originals as they are. Musa CAD says Scaling a copy of the selected objects. and asks for the factor again.
Reference (R)	Scales so that a length you show becomes a length you type. See below.

There is no default factor. Pressing Enter at Specify scale factor says Requires numeric distance or second point. and asks again.

Scaling to an exact length with Reference

Reference is useful when you know how long something should be, but not the factor. Musa CAD works out the factor as the new length divided by the reference length.

Command line

Specify scale factor or [Copy/Reference]: R
Specify reference length <1.0000>: (click one end of an edge)
Specify second point: (click its other end)
Specify new length or [Points] <1.0000>: 50
Scaled.

• At Specify reference length, type the length the objects have now, or click two points, such as the two ends of an edge.
• At Specify new length, type the length it should have, or click a point: its distance from the base point is the new length.
• Points (P) lets you give the new length with two points of your own, for example the ends of another object.

In the example, the edge you clicked becomes exactly 50 long, and everything else scales with it.

Selecting objects

At Select objects: you build up the set of objects to scale. Each pick or window adds to it, and Musa CAD says how many it found, such as 1 found. or 2 found, 5 total.

• Click an object to add it.
• Click an empty spot, then click again to draw a box. Going from left to right makes a window: it takes only objects that lie completely inside. Going from right to left makes a crossing window: it also takes objects that only touch it.
• Press and drag to draw a free shape, called a lasso. Start dragging to the right for a window, to the left for a crossing.
• Hold Shift and click a selected object to take it out again.
• Press Enter, or right-click, when the set is complete. If nothing is selected, SCALE ends.

If objects are already selected when you start SCALE, it uses them and goes straight to the base point. You can also type a keyword at Select objects:, such as ALL for everything or P for the objects the last edit worked on. SELECT lists them all.

Good to know

• A factor of zero or less is refused with Value must be positive and nonzero. The same goes for a reference length of zero.
• SCALE always scales the same amount in every direction. It cannot stretch objects in one direction only; for that, use STRETCH.
• Polyline widths scale too.
• When it is done, Musa CAD says Scaled., or Scaled a copy. with Copy. The scaled objects stay selected.
• Associative dimensions and hatches that are attached to the scaled objects go with them, even if you did not select them.
• One SCALE is one undo step. Esc cancels, and nothing changes.
• Objects on layers that are off, frozen or locked cannot be selected.

Compared with AutoCAD

SCALE follows AutoCAD’s prompts and its rule for a clicked factor: a point one unit from the base point is a factor of 1. Copy and Reference work as AutoCAD users expect.

Next

• Scale text, each piece about its own insertion point, with SCALETEXT.
• Turn objects around a point with ROTATE.
• Read more about changing drawings in Modifying objects.