Scale Charts

You can use the following charts to help you set up new drawings or investigate the drawing scales of existing drawings.

The first two charts list drawing scale factors and AutoCAD text heights for common architectural drafting scales.  

Drawing scale and text height (imperial units)

Drawing Scale	Drawing Scale Factor	1/8" Plotted Text Height	3/32" Plotted Text Height
1/16" = 1’-0"	192	24"	18"
1/8" = 1’-0"	96	12"	9"
1/4" = 1’-0"	48	6"	4-1/2"
1/2" = 1’-0"	24	3"	2-1/4"
3/4" = 1’-0"	16	2"	1-1/2"
1" = 1’-0"	12	1-1/2"	1-1/8"
1-1/2" = 1’-0"	8	1"	3/4"
3" = 1’-0"	4	1/2"	3/8"

 Drawing scale and text height chart (millimeters)

Drawing Scale	Drawing Scale Factor	3 mm Plotted Text Height	2.5 mm Plotted Text Height
1=200 mm	200	600 mm	500 mm
1=100 mm	100	300 mm	250 mm
1=50 mm	50	150 mm	125 mm
1=20 mm	20	60 mm	50 mm
1=10 mm	10	30 mm	25 mm
1=5 mm	5	15 mm	12.5 mm

 The next two charts list AutoCAD model space limits sheet for common architectural drafting scales and architectural sheet sizes.  

Drawing scale and sheet size (imperial units)

Drawing Scale	8-1/2" x 11" (Letter size)	11" x 17" (Ledger size)	24" x 36" (Arch. D)	30" x 42" (Arch. E)	36" x 48" (Large E)
1/16" = 1’-0"	136’ x 176’	176’ x 272’	384’ x 576’	480’ x 672’	576’ x 768’
1/8" = 1’-0"	68’ x 88’	88’ x 136’	192’ x 288’	240’ x 336’	288’ x 384’
1/4" = 1’-0"	34’ x 44’	44’ x 68’	96’ x 144’	120’ x 168’	144’ x 192’
1/2" = 1’-0"	17’ x 22’	22’ x 34’	48’ x 72’	60’ x 84’	72’ x 96’
3/4" = 1’-0"	11’-4" x 14’-8"	14’-8" x 22’-8"	32’ x 48’	40’ x 56’	48’ x 64’
1" = 1’-0"	8’-6" x 11’	11’ x 17’	24’ x 36’	30’ x 42’	36’ x 48’
1-1/2" = 1’-0"	5’-8" x 7’-4"	7’-4" x 11’-4"	16’ x 24’	20’ x 28’	24’ x 32’
3" = 1’-0"	2’-10" x 3’-8"	3’-8" x 5’-8"	8’ x 12’	10’ x 14’	12’ x 16’

Drawing scale and sheet size (millimeters)

Drawing Scale	210 x 297 mm (A4)	297 x 420 mm (A3)	420 x 594 mm (A2)	594 x 841 mm (A1)	841x 1189 mm (A0)
1 = 200	42,000 x 59,400 mm	59,400 x 84,000 mm	84,000 x 118,800 mm	118,800 x 168,200 mm	168,200 x 237,800 mm
1 = 100	21,000 x 29,700 mm	29,700 x 42,000 mm	42,000 x 59,400 mm	59,400 x 84,100 mm	84,100 x 118,900 mm
1 = 50	10,500 x 14,850 mm	14,850 x 21,000 mm	21,000 x 29,700 mm	29,700 x 42,050 mm	42,050 x 59,450 mm
1 = 20	4200 x 5940 mm	5940 x 8400 mm	8400 x 11,880	11,880 x 16,820 mm	16,820 x 23,780 mm
1 = 10	2,100 x 2,970 mm	2,970 x 4,200 mm	4,200 x 5,940 mm	5,940 x 8,410 mm	8,410 x 11,890 mm
1 = 5	1,050 x 1,485 mm	1,485 x 2,100 mm	2,100 x 2,970 mm	2,970 x 4,205 mm	4,205 x 5,945 mm