Autodesk 00308-011408-9F30A - VLA AUTOSKETCH R8-MEDIA W9X/NT, User Manual, Page: 27 / 400

Grid Origin
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Grid Origin
The grid origin is similar to the drawing origin in function and appearance.
However, the grid origin serves as a reference point for grid coordinates only.
By default the grid origin is located at the drawing coordinates 0,0, for
example, at the drawing origin. You can move the grid origin of rectangular,
circular, or isometric reference grids. For more information, see the chapter
titled “Customizing the Grid,” which begins on page 59.
Drawing Scale
Drawing scale is the ratio between the actual size of the entities in a drawing
and their size on printed output. In conventional drafting, you scale the
components of a drawing by using an architectural or engineering scale. In
AutoSketch, you simply enter the actual (world) size of an entity and the soft-
ware keeps track of the scale for you. You can also create “scaleless” 1:1 draw-
ings in AutoSketch without regard for scale.
Specifying a drawing scale, however, has two important benefits. It allows
AutoSketch to accurately depict onscreen how your drawing will look on a
printed page. And it allows you to specify entities such as text, markers, and
dimensions by output size. This is usually more convenient than specifying
such entities according to their size in relation to actual (world) entities. For
information on how to change the drawing scale, see “Setting the Drawing
Scale” on page 47.
Layers
Layers help you place entities together in logical groups. An architectural
floor plan, for example, might contain a framing layer, a plumbing layer, an
electrical layer, and so on. You can mask layers while working on others to
remove distracting clutter and improve performance. Masked layers are not
printed or displayed. You can also lock a layer to protect its contents from
unintended change. For information on layers, see “Organizing With Layers”
in online Help.