AutoCAD 2016 - Scaling an Object to an Existing Line

By Martin Phelps

Following on from my previous blog “Rotating an Object to an Existing Line” a similar process can be applied when using the “Scale” command, no need to list the items, get out a calculator and work out a ratio to correctly scale the selected objects. Instead follow the steps below, again this is not a new function since it’s been with AutoCAD for many releases, but it’s one that is often forgotten or overlooked, and again often crops up in a training course.

Below is a simple example showing a rectangle and a line, but any number of item may be selected and scaled uniformly.

Select the “Scale” command from the “Home” tab of the ribbon menu, select the rectangle and confirm the selection by pressing “Enter”.

Select a suitable base point for “Scaling”, this could be the “Endpoint” or “Midpoint” of one of the lines of the selection set. In this example select the lower left corner of the rectangle.

Use the “Reference” sub command, by either typing in “R” or select “Reference” from the command line.

Select two points on the object, this will be a “Reference” line for scaling.

The selected rectangle can now be “Scaled” by simply moving the cross hairs, however the selected rectangle needs to be scaled to the length of the line below.

Use the “Point” sub command, by either typing in “P” or select “Point” from the command line and select the two end points of the line.

The selected rectangle have now been “Scaled ” to the length of the selected line as below.