Activate Dimensions

[Chirag Mistry]

I am trying to edit a curtain wall. The grid spacing changed since last design and I can pick the grid and activate dimension and type in the distance.
My question is why does it ask me to activate dimension every single time...it did'nt for the previous curtain wall on another elevation...is there a setting I need to do.

Thanks

[irwin]

My question is why does it ask me to activate dimension every single time...it did'nt for the previous curtain wall on another elevation...is there a setting I need to do.
Activating dimensions sometimes requires a lot of processing.

In order to determine if Revit can add a temporary dimension between two references it must know whether those two references are locked together (in which case it shouldn't put such a dimension). Since they could be locked together indirectly through a chain of explicit constraints and implicit relationships, it needs to do a fair amount of searching to know the answer one way or another. It used to be that it would do all of this searching every time you selected something. In some extreme cases, that would mean you'd have to wait a while even if you were selecting for another reason and had no need for the temporary dimensions. To prevent this, Revit now starts doing the calculation and if it looks like it will take a while it doesn't create the temporary dimensions but instead puts up the Activate Dimensions button. If you really want the temporary dimensions you can press this button, but if you were selecting for some other reason you don't have to wait while Revit calculates them.

In your case, for this particular curtain wall Revit's heuristic algorithms decided it would take too long to calculate the temporary dimension, while on the other curtain walls it didn't. For the most part, this is not something you can control (though avoiding adding unnecessary constraints can sometimes help).

[patricks]

What I want to know is how come sometimes I will select something, and no temporary dimensions appear AND I do not get an Activate Dimensions button? I have to pull an actual dimension annotation, select the object again, and then change that dimension annotation value, then delete the dimension. Sooo frustrating!

[echte]

Does anyone knows where the "Activate Dimension" is in new UI in 2010 version. I couldn't find it.

[techsupport.161645]

I found it when clicking on an object. See attached image.

[patricks]

Yep, same place it's always been in every previous version - the Options Bar. It will appear when you click on something if the dimensions don't show up already, just like always.

In 2010 it's just farther to the left since the type selector isn't on the Options Bar anymore.

[dzatto]

What I want to know is how come sometimes I will select something, and no temporary dimensions appear AND I do not get an Activate Dimensions button? I have to pull an actual dimension annotation, select the object again, and then change that dimension annotation value, then delete the dimension. Sooo frustrating!
Did you ever get an answer for this?? It's doing the same thing to me. Sooo frustrating is right!

[j_starko]

I find this tedious sometimes too..

I wish it showed up when you right clicked... or I wish there was a keyboard shortcut

like when you've selcted the object and instead of having to click the acitivate dimensions button, you could just mash the spacebar or something.

[dzatto]

I find this tedious sometimes too..

I wish it showed up when you right clicked... or I wish there was a keyboard shortcut

like when you've selcted the object and instead of having to click the acitivate dimensions button, you could just mash the spacebar or something.
True. But I can handle hitting the button. I was wanting to know why, when I insert a door for instance, it sometimes doesn't give me temp dims nor the activate dim button. I have to manually dimension the door. Then after I do that and select the door, the temp dims show up only if actual dims are there. Very weird.

[magicstone1412]

I have same this problem.
<code>Does anyone knows where the "Activate Dimension" is in new UI in 2010 version. I couldn't find it.</code>

[magicstone1412]

I have same this problem.

Does anyone knows where the "Activate Dimension" is in new UI in 2010 version. I couldn't find it.

[Ning Zhou]

it will only show after you select object AND no temp. dimensions displayed, well, Revit is smart enough to figure out when to show what.

[rdkuffel]

Make sure the current workset is set to be visible in the view you are in. If it is not, the temporary dims will not show up. I have no idea why...

[djc1984]

I've aligned and locked a column to a foundation in both directions, and found that the two padlock symbols get added to the temporary dimensions. That means when I select an object, it isn't clear if it is locked to anything until I click the activate dimensions button.