Turn Dimension Style Overrides OFF...for good!

[jrd.chapman]

Has anyone ever tried/found a way to completely disable AutoCAD's ability to apply overrides of any kind to dimension styles?

I cannot stand them. The problem is, we use Land Desktop 2005, and it LOVES to "automagically" apply overrides to dimension styles. Thanks LDT, that's nice of you to try and manage my dimension styles for me, but I am quite capable of setting them up and managing them myself, with the settings I want.

NEVER, and I mean never, do I require my dimension styles to have overrides of any kind applied to them. Hence, my hope that Autodesk does have a way (whether documented or not) to permanently disable/turn OFF AutoCAD's ability to apply any form of override to a dimension style.

Any insights? Profuse thanks to anyone in advance who may be able to lend a hand.

[bmonk]

Has anyone ever tried/found a way to completely disable AutoCAD's ability to apply overrides of any kind to dimension styles?

I cannot stand them. The problem is, we use Land Desktop 2005, and it LOVES to "automagically" apply overrides to dimension styles. Thanks LDT, that's nice of you to try and manage my dimension styles for me, but I am quite capable of setting them up and managing them myself, with the settings I want.

NEVER, and I mean never, do I require my dimension styles to have overrides of any kind applied to them. Hence, my hope that Autodesk does have a way (whether documented or not) to permanently disable/turn OFF AutoCAD's ability to apply any form of override to a dimension style.

Any insights? Profuse thanks to anyone in advance who may be able to lend a hand.

I also share your hatred for this feature, and would also like to know if there is a way.

[sinc]

NEVER, and I mean never, do I require my dimension styles to have overrides of any kind applied to them. Hence, my hope that Autodesk does have a way (whether documented or not) to permanently disable/turn OFF AutoCAD's ability to apply any form of override to a dimension style.

So do you apply all dimensions in paperspace, then? Or do you just create tons of DIMSTYLES for each scale you use?

We've found paperspace dimensions to be impractical for most things, and don't like the "tons of DIMSTYLES" approach. And there's also no way to disable LDD's overrides. LDD will ALWAYS add a DIMSCALE override when you run an LDD command, no matter what. Best bet is to just learn to work with them, as detailed here. We use a grand total of four DIMSTYLES for everything with minimal hassle.

Unfortunately, LDD will still apply Text overrides (and maybe some others) automatically every time you change the Drawing Scale. This is irritating, but since you should rarely need to change the Drawing Scale once you start labeling a drawing, it's not too bad. But that's the only time it applies these other overrides, so you just need to be aware that you need to delete them if you change the Drawing Scale.

I've put together something in Civil-3D that automatically changes the DIMSCALE override to the drawing scale in modelspace, and to 0 in paperspace (so that dimensions work correctly in both paperspace and in paperspace viewports). The DIMSCALE override is changed as the user switches between modelspace and paperspace, so it is always set to the "correct" value. It also automatically applies the DIMSCALE override when the user changes the DIMSTYLE from the Styles toolbar, rather than waiting for the user to run a LDD or C3D command. This lets a single DIMSTYLE be used at any drawing scale, in either modelspace or paperspace, with no trouble, and without fighting Autocad's behavior. It would take very little time to convert this to a version that works in Land Desktop. I've been meaning to do it for a while, so I'll try to do it this weekend and post it somewhere.

You may need to change your standard DIMSTYLE definitions, but it is possible to get dimensions working sanely in Land Desktop. No idea why the default OOTB behavior is so bad, though. It's been that way since the first version of Land Desktop, though, so I don't see Autodesk changing it.

[jrd.chapman]

I definitely see the merits and reasons for the use of overrides, and therefore understand why Autodesk introduced them many years ago.

I certainly don't have any objection to them being an option, but I disagree that the feature should be forced on the user, without any option to turn the feature off.

I wrote a suite of LISP utilities for my company that is implemented company-wide, and within it is code for dealing with this very issue (if LDT overrides something, it will get changed back to a previously determined standard dimension style). So, I am not inquiring about workarounds that will "reset" things if they have been changed. I am wondering if there is a way to stop the change from occurring in the first place (i.e., is there a registry tweak, a hidden command, an undocumented variable, or a setting within AutoCAD that will turn overrides off completely), and eliminate the code needed to deal with those changes.

It comes down to a matter of preference. Some prefer to have one dimension style, dealing with different scales with the use of overrides. Some use paper space for their dimensioning. I don't prefer either. I, and a surveyed majority of the people that use my suite of tools, prefer to have a dimension style for each scale. To each his/her own.

Further to the annoyance with LDT applying overrides, the program seems to randomly like to change the logic it uses in applying the override, particularly for dimscale (for which there may be a simple solution, but off topic). Sometimes LDT will override a dimstyle in a 1:500 metric drawing with a dimscale of 0.5, other times it will decide that it actually wants to apply a dimscale override of 500. This has nothing to do with drawing units, as I can ensure drawing units are always set properly.

But I digress, the point of the paragraph above is to illustrate that sometimes we are presented with circumstances that would be made easier if we could just disable/turn off the feature that is causing the annoyance. Rather than being forced to write some code that will take care of it.

It seems to me that it would be absolutely harmless to allow a user the choice of turning the feature ON or OFF.

[robert.1.hall72202]

I often like to use dimension overides for adding the following:
(Ref.)
(Nom.)
(Min.)
(Max.)
Typ of 2
Typ of both

Unless Autodesk could read everyones minds and come up with
these notations, overides will always be required.

I do think that the first 4 should be added to the software.

[n.g]

So do you apply all dimensions in paperspace, then? Or do you just create tons of DIMSTYLES for each scale you use?

This is an interesting question. I have abandoned dimensions in paperspace, it is impractical. I have found it is easier to create one DIMSTYLE, set the text size to what I want it to print as (usually 1/8") and select "scale dimensions to layout" in the Fit tab. Once my view is set, lock the viewport, and dimension. Autocad automatically scales the dimensions for each layout. The only problem (and 2008 has "solved" it with their Annotative dimensions) is layouts or viewports with different scales. I have created a different DIM layer for each scale and just freeze/thaw in the desired viewport. What do other people do? This is what I have found to work here.

[Opie]

John,

I do not know of a "switch" to disable overrides. You might try submitting this as a wish list item.

[jaberwok]

I often like to use dimension overides for adding the following:
(Ref.)
(Nom.)
(Min.)
(Max.)
Typ of 2
Typ of both

I use styles. I detest overrides.

[jgrande26]

I don't use overrides either. When I have a drawing that has an override and I set the "parent" dimstyle current, I get a warning that the override will be discarded. How then, do those of you who use them, manage multiple overrides?

[margaretl]

I know this is an old thread, but thanks to all of you for this discussion. I have been fighting overrides since we started using Land Desktop. The article by Edward-James Surveying, Inc. helped me through them with ease. I have revamped all of our dimension styles as a result.

Something else I also learned about was child dimension styles. I have been using CAD for 16 years and have never heard of either of these items before. I wish there was a bit more available to tell me what I don't know. . . It usually ends with changes promoting efficiency.