AutoCAD

AutoCAD 2012
2012
and
and
AutoCAD
AutoCAD LT
LT 2012
2012
Essentials
Essentials
By Scott Onstott
Ch 11: Dimensioning

Accessing Dimension Style Manager

Use the DIMSTYLE command

D is the command alias for DIMSTYLE
Button in expanded Annotation panel
Choose the current dimension style
in the adjacent drop down

Ch 11: Dimensioning

Dimension Style Lines Tab

Control characteristics of
dimension and extension lines
Always use real world values
It is the best practice to assign
properties ByBlock for dimensions
Use the preview image to make
sense of changes that you make
on the tab; it is a dynamic preview

Ch 11: Dimensioning

Symbols and Arrows

Select arrowhead symbol

Enter arrowhead size in real world size
Unit (i.e. inch or centimeter) is set in
the UNITS command

Ch 11: Dimensioning

Dimension Sub-Styles

Create sub-styles by clicking the

New button in the Dimension
Style Manager
Open the Use For drop down
in the Create New Dimension
Style dialog box and select a
dimension type
The style preview shows the
settings for the parent style plus
all sub-styles
Sub-styles allow you to maintain
different settings for each type
of dimension object
Ch 11: Dimensioning

Anatomy of a Linear Dimension

Linear dimensions have two extension lines

which point at the measured feature
Perpendicular to the extension lines is the
dimension line which is either broken by or
has text that appears just above the line
Dimension text automatically reports the
actual distance between the extension lines
You can override the dimension text but
care should be taken to keep the
dimensions honest
Preference should be given to changing the
geometry rather than overriding dimension
text
Ch 11: Dimensioning

Linear Dimension Orientation

You choose whether linear dimensions will

be horizontal or vertical by locating the
dimension line relative to the extension
lines
In cases where the first and second
extension line origin points are neither
horizontal nor vertical relative to each
other, the location you choose for the
dimension line determines whether the
dimension object will measure a vertical
or horizontal distance

Ch 11: Dimensioning

Aligned Dimensions

Aligned dimensions measure

1,2,3,4,and 5 in the graphic
Aligned dimensions are neither
horizontal nor vertical
Use aligned dimensions to measure
lines that are at an angle with respect
to the cardinal directions
Shortcut: press Enter when asked to
select the first extension line origin
and then select the angled line and
both extension line origins will be
selected at the ends of the line
Ch 11: Dimensioning

Other Dimension Types

Angular dimensions measure

angles between lines (53 and 37
degrees in the graphic)
Use DIMCENTER to add a center
mark within an arc or circle
Multileaders lead the eye from a
geometric feature to descriptive
text
Multileaders are associative
objects that link the arrowhead,
leader and text into an object that
can be grip edited
Ch 11: Dimensioning

Baseline Dimensions

As the name suggests,

baseline dimensions all
share one extension line,
called the baseline
Baseline dimensions all
reference the same base
point to eliminate
cumulative errors that
can crop up due to
rounding errors between
consecutive adjacent
dimensions

Ch 11: Dimensioning