Some AutoCAD users like having the alternate representation of annotative scales; others don’t want to see them. The good news is the representations can be faded or eliminated altogether. If you want to see the different scales but don’t want them to be as prominent, fade them by changing the XFADECTL system variable: 70 is the initial value, 0 is very faint and 90 is almost no fading. This system variable also affects the fading of elements when doing in-place editing of xrefs and blocks, so you may have to compromise on the value you select.



If you want to turn off the alternate representations, change the SELECTIONANNODISPLAY system variable to 0.

Notes from Cadalyst tip reviewer R.K. McSwain: Although the XFADECTL system variable was discussed in Tip No. 4339, this tip shows another use for it. I have found that in AutoCAD 2015 and 2016, the effect is less noticable than what you see in the screenshot provided with this tip. Try this out for yourself, and leave a comment with your results.