Blocks inserting at odd scale

[Mac Demer]

My blocks are inserting at a very strange scale .03937.
I'm using 2010
I insert the block, hit enter twice to accept the defaults and get this strange scale.
All my setting are "Specify On Screen"

Any ideas appreciated.

Mike

[rkmcswain]

It's being scaled automatically.
Explore INSUNITS, INSUNITSDEFSOURCE, and INSUNITSDEFTARGET.

[Coolmo]

It's being scaled automatically.
Explore INSUNITS, INSUNITSDEFSOURCE, and INSUNITSDEFTARGET.

We figured out what we wanted to use for these variables and set them automatically in the ACADDOC.LSP file. Never a problem afterwards.

[rkmcswain]

We figured out what we wanted to use for these variables and set them automatically in the ACADDOC.LSP file. Never a problem afterwards.

Since INSUNITS is saved in the drawing, we just set it in our templates so DBMOD isn't changed at startup.
The other two are saved in the registry, so they shouldn't get modified, but setting them at startup can't hurt.

[jaberwok]

and 0.03937 is not so strange - it's the relationship between millimetres and inches. :)

[irneb]

and 0.03937 is not so strange - it's the relationship between millimetres and inches. :)Yep, that's the relationship: 1" = 25.4mm ... thus 1mm = 0.03937"

So it seems as if the drawing you are inserting from has an INSUNITS=4 (Millimeters), while your current drawing is set to 1 (Inches). If this scaling is incorrect (i.e. it should stay in inches), then the original drawing's InsUnits need to be changed to either 1 or 0 (preferably 1). If the original DWG's InsUnits=0 then the InsUnitsDefSource comes in play. If your current DWG's InsUnits=0 then the InsUnitsDefTarget is used instead.

What I tend to do is the following (in order of importance - most important first):

For all blocks which are not supposed to scale to match the desired units (these are extremely rare) I set their InsUnits=0 and have my InsUnitsDefSource=0 as well. For all other blocks I set their InsUnits to the units they are drawn in (be that 1=Inches, 2=Feet, 4=Millimeters, 6=Meters, etc.)
The current DWG's InsUnits is always set to the units as desired
My InsUnitsDefTarget is set to 4 (seeing as I usually work in mm).This way I don't have to worry about the units the block was drawn in. If it was in inches and I'm now working in mm, then it scales by 25.4 (automatically). If it's drawn in Meters and I'm now in feet it scales automatically by 3.2808399.

[Mac Demer]

Thanks everyone, I can fix it, but I am a little confused about how to keep it constant.
are these drawing specific variables or are they global?
I can't remember ever having this problem so I think I inadvertantly insterted a metric.dwt into my .dwg that switched it.

Thanks

[rkmcswain]

are these drawing specific variables or are they global?

See post #4.