Sep 10 • Jordan Felber

How to Create a Viewport in AutoCAD

Related — AutoCAD for Landscape Design
Understanding how to create a viewport in AutoCAD allows landscape designers to turn full-size landscape plans into scaled drawing sheets.

In AutoCAD, landscape plans are drawn at 1:1 scale in Model Space, meaning every line represents its actual dimension in the real world.

Paper Space represents the physical sheet size the drawing will eventually be printed on, such as 11" × 17", 18" × 24", or 24" × 36".

A Viewport connects these two spaces, allowing the full-size plan to be displayed on a sheet at a specific scale, such as 1" = 10' or 1" = 20', without resizing the original geometry.

In this article, you’ll learn how to create and set up a viewport to prepare landscape plans for client presentations and construction drawings.

Where Do You Create a Viewport in AutoCAD?

Once your landscape plan is drawn at full size in Model Space, the next step is preparing it for presentation or printing.

This happens in Paper Space, accessed through the Layout tabs beside the Model tab, where each Layout represents a sheet such as L1.0 Landscape Plan or L2.0 Planting Plan.

Think of each Layout as a digital version of the physical sheet that will eventually be printed or exported as a PDF.

Viewports are created within these Layouts in Paper Space, where they display and scale the full-size landscape plan from Model Space to fit the sheet.

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How to Create a Viewport in AutoCAD

Before creating a viewport, set up Paper Space to match the final sheet size you intend to print or export as a PDF. Landscape drawing sets commonly use sizes such as ARCH B (12" × 18"), ARCH C (18" × 24"), or ARCH D (24" × 36"), with the title block placed at its actual printed size. With the sheet established, the viewport can be sized and scaled around the space available for your landscape plan.

Step 1: Create a Viewport

Type VIEWPORTS into the AutoCAD command line and press Enter. In the Viewports dialog box, select Single and click OK. AutoCAD will then prompt you to define where the viewport will appear in Paper Space.

Step 2: Draw the Viewport Boundary

Click and drag to create a rectangular boundary within the available area of your sheet. Once the boundary is created, the landscape design from Model Space will appear through the viewport. The viewport acts as a window into the full-size model, so the original landscape geometry remains unchanged.

Step 3: Set the Viewport Scale

Click the edge of the viewport to select it, then choose an appropriate architectural or engineering viewport scale for the drawing. For example, a residential landscape plan might use 1" = 10' or 1" = 20', while larger sites may require an engineering scale such as 1" = 30' or 1" = 40'. Choose the scale that allows the plan to fit comfortably within the sheet while remaining clear and legible.

How to Set the Viewport Scale

The viewport scale determines how your full-size landscape design in Model Space is represented on the printed sheet.

For residential landscape plans, 1" = 10' often provides enough room to clearly show planting, paving, pools, walls, and other site elements, while larger properties may require 1" = 20', 1" = 30', or 1" = 40' to fit comfortably within the sheet.

Enlarged plans and construction details can use a larger scale when additional detail needs to be communicated.

After selecting the appropriate scale, activate the viewport and use PAN to position the landscape plan within the available drawing area rather than zooming, which can alter the established scale.

Once the plan is positioned correctly, select the viewport boundary and lock the Display to prevent accidental changes while adding dimensions, notes, labels, and other information to the sheet.

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Why Use More Than One Viewport on a Sheet?

Multiple viewports allow landscape designers to communicate different scales, areas, and types of information on a single sheet. Instead of limiting the sheet to one view of the landscape, additional viewports can provide more detail while maintaining the context of the overall design.

Enlarge Specific Areas of a Master Plan

An overall master plan can occupy the primary viewport while additional viewports enlarge areas that require more detail. This might include a pool terrace, entry garden, outdoor living area, or Phase 1 of a larger landscape project. Each enlarged viewport can use a different scale, allowing smaller areas to be communicated more clearly without changing the master plan.

Separate Planting and Hardscape Information

Additional viewports can isolate specific layers of the landscape design, allowing one view to focus on planting while another shows hardscape, grading, or construction information. AutoCAD's VP Freeze controls can hide layers within an individual viewport without removing them from Model Space or other views. This is useful when the complete master plan contains too much information to communicate clearly in a single drawing.

Add Details, Sections, and Material Information

Viewports can also bring supporting drawings into the same sheet as the plan they relate to. Landscape designers can include construction details, sections, material layouts, paving patterns, or hardscape schedules and tables alongside the overall design. This creates a more complete sheet where the overall plan provides context and the supporting views communicate the information needed to understand or construct specific elements.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is Model Space in AutoCAD?

Model Space in AutoCAD is the primary workspace where you create and edit a design at full size, or 1:1 scale. For landscape designers, this is where the site plan, planting, hardscape, grading, and other design elements are drawn using their real-world dimensions.

What is Paper Space in AutoCAD

Paper Space in AutoCAD is the workspace used to organize a full-size Model Space drawing onto a scaled sheet for printing or PDF output. It represents the final paper size, such as 11" × 17", 18" × 24", or 24" × 36", and uses viewports to display the Model Space drawing at a selected scale.

What is a Viewport in AutoCAD?

A viewport in AutoCAD is a window in Paper Space that displays a scaled view of a full-size drawing from Model Space. It allows designers to show the same drawing at different scales or focus on specific areas without resizing or duplicating the original geometry.