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Customize Dimensions on a View Frame

Style, link, and resize the dimensions on a view frame.

Written by Sabine Bunese

Where a template's dimensions come from

  • Static — drawn directly into a DWG in AutoCAD: a fixed value, unrelated to any project.

  • Dynamic, variable-driven — built from a Liftdesigner project variable, so the value updates automatically.

  • Per-instance overwrite — a specific dynamic dimension created for one particular case.

Customizing a dimension or dimension chain

Prerequisites

  • A view frame, in a standard or dynamic sheet template, that already has dimensions and/or annotations on it

Steps

  1. Select the dimension object itself.
    In the Properties Window the dimension settings will activate.

  2. Adapt the dimension-ID.
    It assigns automatically to identify this dimension within its view frame. The assigned ID can be manually changed to reorder the dimension chains withtin the view frame.

  3. Set a prefix.
    Add a per-frame text prefix in front of the dimension's value or chain description; it's blank by default.

  4. Position the dimension chain.
    Set a fix position to the dimension chain via view frame overwrite.
    - Above/Below: if the dimension is horizontal
    - Left/Right: if the dimension is vertical.

  5. Turn the dimension on or off.
    Still in View Frame Settings, set Enabled to Yes to display the dimension, or No to hide it without deleting it (creating an overwrite record).

  6. Define the text position relative to the dimension.
    Set the position of the text:
    - Horizontal: Default (centered), Left, Right, Outside Left, Outside Right
    - Vertical: Default, Above, Below, Middle.

  7. Change the dimension appearance.
    Modify the appearance of the extention lines and arrows individually.
    ​Extension lines: Default(by frame), Standard, Short, None.
    ​Arrows: ByDimstyle(from prototype DWG), Dot, None.

  8. Activate the dimension chain description.
    Toggles whether a chain-level description label is shown. Dimension chain description location sets where it's placed relative to the frame.

  9. Choose a background color.
    Make the dimension text stand out as needed. There are four options:
    - None: no background color defined (standard).
    ​- Use drawing background color: a rectangular background is activated following the project background.
    ​- Use style background color: the background set in the dimension style in the prototyp DWG.
    ​- Use color: choose a background color from the list.
    ​

Result

The dimension's identification, chaining, text placement, extension lines, arrowheads, and chain-description behavior are set the way you want.

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