How to Create Linetypes in AutoCAD

Linetypes in AutoCAD help us control how lines look in our drawings. Each linetype repeats a sequence of dashes, dots, and spaces, which we can utilize in the drawing to more accurately depict specific features. While AutoCAD provides several standard linetypes, you can also create custom types to suit your needs. In this guide, we will walk you through the various linetypes in AutoCAD and how to best use them to your advantage.

Understanding Linetypes in AutoCAD

In AutoCAD, linetypes are predefined patterns that control how lines are displayed in a drawing. The default linetype patterns in AutoCAD appear as solid segments, dashes, dots, or combinations of these elements. There are also complex linetyepes that contain words such as “gas,” which would be used to note gas lines for a building floor plan drawing.

Linetype Functions and Benefits

• Linetypes allow for visual differentiation of your lines in AutoCAD.  
  • For example, solid lines might be used for visible edges, whereas dashed lines could represent hidden objects.
• Custom linetypes, with the addition of symbols or color changes, can help more accurately communicate features in the drawing to the end user.

Practical Steps to Create Linetypes in AutoCAD

In this first section of the guide, we will cover the basic linetypes that come loaded into AutoCAD that you can readily use. Note, you can choose your linetypes before drawing any objects or change existing lines, however the steps are basically the same. Begin this section using ByLayer to ensure consistency in your linetypes.

1. If you already have a drawing, that’s great.  If not, start by drawing a simple line.
2. Click on the object or line that you want to change type
3. To open the properties palette, you can either type properties in the command line and press enter or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+1.
   • Alternatively, depending on your version of AutoCAD, you may see a linetype dropdown option in the home tab of your ribbon at the top of the screen.
4. From here, you can click on linetypes and select the “other” option, which will open the Linetype Manager.
5. If you’re curious about what is available, you can select all the linetypes and load them into the linetype manager and browse the options.
6. Select whichever linetype you’d like to use and press ok.

Next, we will walk you through how to create a customized linetype if you have a specific need that doesn’t exist within AutoCAD. There are several custom linetypes that can be downloaded from online sources that you will likely find useful. For this example, we will be creating a custom linetype for a hot water line.

1. Navigate back to the Linetype Manger and press load.
2. From here press the file button.
3. If you’ve downloaded any pre-set linetypes, you can simply click on the .lin file (Linetype Definition File) that you would like to import and click open.
4. For customization, what you’ll want to do is copy and paste the acadiso.lin file into the folder and rename it to “Hot Water Line” for this example.
   • Open this file to continue customization.
5. What appears is a plain text window in notepad showing all the default linetypes.
   • The number sequences (separated by commas) below the different linetypes represent the coding for how the linetype appears.
6. To continue on the customization train, let’s scroll down to the linetype that contains “gas” in between the dash-dot pattern.
   • Copy this example with its numeric sequence, scroll down to the bottom of the window and paste it.
7. For this example, let’s create a linetype for a hot water line.
8. Anywhere in your copied lines of text where you see “gas,” replace the text with “Hot.”  This includes the linetype name title and the word listed in the syntax.
   • More complex linetypes require further edits to the coding, but for simplicities sake, we’ll just change the text items.
9. Close the window and a command prompt will appear – click “save.”
10. The final step is to open the linetype file you created, click “ok” in the linetype directory, and it will be added to the linetype manager.
11. It’s important to note that you should test your linetypes in both Model and Paper Space to confirm display consistency.

Troubleshooting Common Issues Using Linetypes in AutoCAD

• Issues with linetype scaling
  • You can adjust the scaling of your selected linetype using the properties palette. Alternatively, you can type LTSCALE in the command line and set a value that suits your need.
  • Additionally, if you’re in layout view, type PSLTSCALE and set the value to 1 to scale your linetypes in Paper Space.
• Issues with loading custom linetypes
  • Make sure your. Lin file is saved in a folder included in the support file search path.
  • Double check the syntax of your custom linetype by opening the file in notepad and looking for numerical or sequence errors.