How to Zoom in BricsCAD

Quick answer: ZOOM changes the drawing’s displayed size within the current viewport, and RTZOOM does the same in real time. Zooming only affects how the drawing is displayed, it has no effect on the actual dimensions of anything in it.

What Zooming Does (and Doesn’t Do)

Zoom out to reduce magnification and see more of the drawing at once, or zoom in to increase magnification and see a portion in greater detail. Either way, this only changes the display, entity dimensions in the drawing itself are unaffected.

Real-Time Zooming

1. Launch RTZOOM. The cursor changes to a magnifying glass.
2. Hold down the left mouse button and move the mouse.
3. Optionally right-click for a context menu: Exit, Pan (switches to RTPAN), Zoom (switches to RTZOOM), Constraint Sphere (switches to RTROT), or Sphere (switches to RTROTF), the same menu available while panning.
4. Press Esc to exit.

Zooming to Extents

Either double-click the middle mouse button (scroll wheel), or launch ZOOM, type E, and press Enter.

Dynamic Zooming

This pans and zooms at once, using a rectangular view box representing the current viewport. The command first zooms out to show the whole drawing, then lets you position and resize that view box over whichever area you want to see.

1. Launch ZOOM.
2. Choose the Dynamic option. The drawing zooms out to its extents; a dashed rectangle marks your previous view’s area, and a view box the same size attaches to the cursor.
3. Optionally resize the view box: click, move the cursor to resize it, then click again to stop.
4. Position the view box over the area you want to enlarge, then right-click. The drawing zooms in on that area.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does zooming change the actual size of entities in my drawing? No, only how the drawing is displayed. Entity dimensions stay exactly the same regardless of your zoom level.

What’s the fastest way to zoom out and see the whole drawing? Double-click the middle mouse button, or run ZOOM and type E for Zoom Extents.

What does Dynamic zoom actually let me do that regular zooming doesn’t? It combines panning and zooming into one step: after zooming out to show the entire drawing, you position and resize a view box directly over the exact area you want to zoom into.

Can I switch to panning or 3D rotation while zooming in real time? Yes, right-click during RTZOOM and choose Pan, Constraint Sphere, or Sphere from the context menu to switch directly into that tool.