How can I get the viewport scale to display correctly? When I use the properties dialog box and the scale box set to 0 1/4" the resulting scale is too large for the layout sheet size (24x36). I want the drawing in model space to show 1/4" = 1' on the sheet. This is in Progecad Pro.
To set the scale properly you have to calculate it using the inverse of what you would think it would be. You stated you wanted 1/4" scale correct? Well you might think that meant just going to the viewports properties box down at the bottom and type in the scale property 1/4". But that would not set the scale correctly. The entire scale that you need is 1/4" = 1 foot. There are 12 inches in a foot so that scale factor can also be displayed as 1/4"=12 inches. Now, we can find the scale at which the drawing should be displayed within the viewport by dividing our inches by the scale on the left (the 1/4"). This results in a number of 48. So, 1/4 goes into 12 inches, or 1 foot, 48 times. Set your viewpoint to have that scale by using the properties panel usually located on the left in progeCAD and it should work golden! You can also use the zoom command to zoom to 1/48xp (the x p stands for times paperspace or multiplied by paperspace).
The same rule can be applied for engineering scales like 1 to 100, or mechanical.
Or, you could cheat and use this handy chart http://odc.syr.edu/acadref/scale_factors.htm courtesy of the office of campus planning and design at Syracuse University in New York, USA.
Enjoy!
