Creating a linetype that contains simple objectsįirst, I’m going to create a simple one. It was for AutoCAD 2002 but will work the same for the later version. See how you can add the Express Tools installation later here. If you don’t have it, you need to install it first. But remember, you have to have the express tools installed on your computer. I’m going to discuss how we can make a custom linetype quickly. Imagine if you have to create it by using blocks then copy it several times. It is easier, faster, and consumes fewer hardware resources than using simple objects. I like to use it, even for drawing complex objects. But if you have express tools installed, creating custom linetype can be very easy. The problem is creating a custom linetype can be difficult to do. But sometimes it’s just not enough sometimes we need to have our own.

The line type scale doesn’t appear correctly?ĪutoCAD default linetypes are usually enough for everyday purposes.

Linetype that contains more complex objects.

Creating a linetype that contains simple objects.

If two definitions have the same name, the one that appears last in the file will take precedence. Remember to put any bespoke linetypes at the end of the file for easy reference. Once saved the linetypes can be loaded into individual drawings or template files ready for users to work with.Ī similar process can be used to produce a fence line, an oblique symbol breaking a line. The second line sets an Alignment parameter with a positional offset, in this case a 4 unit repeat using the “I” character from the Standard text style, a scaling option of 4, a rotation angle of 45 and a correctional offset to ensure the rotated character stays on the right side of the line without over spilling. The first line sets the style name and provides a rough preview of the custom line pattern. The character in the Arial font is very simple and will give a simple hatch effect.Īdding in the following lines of text in the definition file will set the style The graphic will be a rotated letter ‘I’ which will be arrayed along a drawn length of line. In this example I will create a building line style that would be useful for small scale site survey plans.

Opening this file in Notepad and scrolling to the bottom enables users to place their own information for bespoke patterns. The acadiso.lin file is just a simple text file which holds line pattern definitions. In a previous blog I mentioned how the file can be located from the AutoCAD command line. This is a relatively easy thing to do once the linetype definition file, acadiso.lin, is located within the support folder.

I was recently asked a question about how to create bespoke linetypes, in addition to the out of the box examples that ship with AutoCAD as standard.

Autocad linetype free download