Some Dimensioning updates

[matt.bellenoit]

Some updates with dimensioning I wish they would change:

Radius/Diameter dims - ability to make multi segment dims (like you can with leaders)

Ability to easily change sides the dimension text is on left right (without having to go into properties and changing to "move text with leader")

Big pet peeve -
Tolerances - when putting in a "symmetrical" tolerance not having it switch to "deviation" when you put in a value for the tolerance limit, just to switch back to symmetrical.

Extension lines - Add the ability to Jog the line without changing the dim value...

just some things I've noted...

[kryptonite_186]

Just adding to your list :)

Dimstyle allows you to set different arrowhead "types" (has variables: dimblk1, dimblk2, dimldrblk).

Dimstyle needs to be able to set different arrowhead "sizes" for these different types (needs variables: dimasz1, dimasz2, dimldrasz).

I use the Arch Tick for my linear dimensions and Closed Filled for my leaders and I am constantly running into problems while trying to keep these the right size (Arch Tick @ 1/16" and Closed Filled @ 1/8").

See also this thread: (4) Arrowhead "Size" Variables for Dimension Styles.

[Mike.Perry]

Hi

Already on the list -

(4) Arrowhead "Size" Variables for Dimension Styles (http://forums.augi.com/showthread.php?t=8004)

:beer: Mike

[michael.12445]

Personally, I think the whole dimensioning subsystem in AutoCAD should be thrown out and rewritten from scratch. If they were able to do this with plotting (between R14 and the 2000 series), they should be able to do it with dimensioning. IMHO, dimensioning is an essential part of CAD - if a program has no facility for dimensioning, it can't be called a CAD program. AutoCAD's dimensioning facility has become such a byzantine accretion of DIMVARs, with more of them piled on with each new release, that it's become really hard for the user to control and not get unexpected results. If I'm not mistaken, this basic paradigm hasn't changed since the very first releases (I go back as far as Release 9). "Styles" and "Families" were meant to tame this monster, but I've met almost no users who can understand and use them effectively.

That said, here's my wishes:

- Annotation should be a separate animal. As it is, it's too easy for DIMVAR settings for numerical dimensions to "infect" annotations. If I had a nickel for every time I saw a leader with a tick mark instead of an arrowhead...

- It should be possible automatically to left-justify a column of annotations that have arrows pointing to objects to the right of the annotations, or to right-justify a column of annotations pointing to objects on their left.

- In a given viewport, annotations and dimensions should respond to the value of "ZoomXP", and scale themselves up or down to plot at the proper height.

- Annotations and dimensions should work properly if contained in an xref file, without the arrowheads and tick marks getting skewed and scaled randomly. The user should be able to use REFEDIT without screwing up dimensions in a reference file.

- The Dim: prompt is an annoying anachronism that should have been jettisoned a long time ago. Why does it make AutoCAD more usable for the user to get "unknown command" errors if he or she tries to draw a line after editing dimensions?

- If the user sets the precision to a relatively large value like 1", a string of dimensions should be linked to the overall dimension in such a way that rounding errors do not cause the overall total to disagree with the sum of the individual dimensions.

Michael Evans