unit (mm - meter) question

 From:  wimverbe
6210.1 
I mostly model in the mm unit mode, but when I export my obj file, the object is a 1000 times too big. changing the prefs to meter at that point does not only change the units, it also changes the size of the objects, so problem remains.
I thought that opening a fresh document in meter units, then copy paste my objects into it would save the problem, but it doesn't.

there even is a funny glitch then, I cannot select objects anymore, just rotate view, zoom and pan. restarting the program is the only option.

is there a way to export objects when drawn in mm units, without having to scale it down a 1000 times first?

tnx
wim