The grid is a drawing aid that is a display of equidistant points oriented along the X and Y axis of the Drawing Plane. The grid is located within the drawing window and is visible by default.

 

 

Types of Grids:

Simple:

The simple grid uses dots instead of lines. The simple grid cannot be used in a dynamic grid. When the simple grid is enabled you will only have one set of grid dots (in rows) which correspond to the current drawing's unit-type and the grid spacing as specified in the Viewport Settings.

 

Static:

The static grid, made of lines, is the type of grid that most computer aided designers are familiar with when they use design software. The static grid displays grid points, spread at a fixed distance, across the draw plane, based on the spacing that the user can Specify. The static grid does draw major grid lines according to the next unit in the drawing's unit family (e.g., in an inch/feet combo, there will be a major line every 12 minor lines), but the unit set does not dynamically change to accommodate the zoom level. Instead the grid is fixed and if the user zooms too far in or too far out they will no longer see it, because the grid will be outside their vision.

 

Dynamic:

The dynamic grid changes based on the drawing units, unit family, and zoom level. For the dynamic grid there are two overlayed grids; the major and the minor. The spacing of the minor grid is based on the current drawing's unit type. The spacing of the major grid is based on the next unit type up in the drawings selected family of units.

       For example: If the drawing's selected unit family is Imperial, and the drawing units are set to inches, then the minor grid will display a line every one unit, and since the next unit up in the family is feet, every twelve units (inches) there will be a major grid line. If the user then zooms out, eventually the minor grid lines will represent feet, and major grid lines will be placed every three feet, representing yards (the next unit up in the unit family).

 

 

Grid Settings and Properties

The Grid Snap, grid visibility, and grid type can be enabled/disabled from the following locations:

               Snaps Toolbar

               Snap Property Tree

 

The grid increments can be modified by changing "Grid Spacing along X-Axis" and "Grid Spacing along Y-Axis" settings in Modelspace Viewport Settings.

 

The current settings for simple and dynamic grids can be changed in the Grid and Snaps Tab.

The default settings for simple and dynamic grids can be changed in the Application Settings Dialog.

 

 

'Grid Unavailable' Notifications

The size of the grid sometimes is either too small or too large to display on the drawing screen. The grid cannot currently be displayed when, instead of the normal grid, a small grid window appears in the lower right hand corner of the drawing screen with a red ∅ symbol.

 

Grid is Too Sparse

If the grid is too sparse the user must zoom out to display the grid. This grid window will show a widely spaced grid like the following:

 

 

To zoom out, roll the top mouse wheel toward you, or find the Zoom Out Tool and click inside the drawing window.

 

Grid is Too Dense

Likewise, if the grid is too dense the user must zoom in to display the grid. this grid window will show a tightly spaced grid like the following:

 

 

To zoom in, roll the top of the mouse wheel away from you (forwards), or find the Zoom In Tool and clicking within the drawing window.