Warning: "This drawing contains a large number of annotation scales" when opening a file in AutoCAD Products

Autodesk Support

Sep 18, 2024

Products and versions covered

When opening a drawing in AutoCAD Products, the following warning message is displayed:

This drawing contains a large number of annotation scales. Do you want to reset the scales list?

Annotation scale - large number of scales

Additionally, the command line may present the following message:

It is recommended you open and resave the Xref file to remove excess scales.

Click "Yes" on the warning message to delete the excessive annotation scales.

Enter the command -SCALELISTEDIT > Reset > Yes.
Install the Scale List Cleanup Utility for the specific AutoCAD version being used (see Autodesk Download Finder). This allows removing the annotation scales from multiple files.

Use the SAVEAS command and resave it in DXF format.
Close the DWG file and open the DXF file.
Enter the -PURGE > Regapps command.
Enter the PURGE command, select all checkboxes, click OK.
Use the AUDIT command.
Resave to DWG format.
It may be necessary to open a new drawing and use INSERT to insert the affect file into it, to fully clean up the drawing.

Note: Make sure the drawing and its Xrefs are saved locally.

AutoCAD Products;

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