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Inserting an Automatic AEC Dimension

You can use the following procedure to insert an automatic AEC Dimension whose parameters are controlled by an AEC Dimension Style. This automatic AEC Dimension will use logical points from the selected objects. The dimensions will be updated automatically when any object is modified.

1. Click Document menu. If you do not have this menu, click the Window menu > Pulldowns > Document, and you will see it.
2. Click the AEC Dimension command.
3. Click Add AEC Dimension...
4. In the Properties Palette, expand the Basic section and then expand the General section.
5. In the list Style, select our custom style MyAECDimStyle.
6. In theACA Workspace, select all objects to be dimensioned, and press [ENTER] to conclude the selection.
7. Do one of the following:
   • Choose an insertion point for the AEC Dimensions.
   • Type R and press [ENTER] to define a rotation angle to the AEC Dimension.
   • Type A and press [ENTER] to select an AEC object that will be used as a base to align the AEC Dimensions.

Inserting a Manual AEC Dimension

You can use the following procedure to insert a Manual AEC Dimension whose parameters are controlled by an AEC Dimension Style. This Manual AEC Dimension will use points selected with the traditional Objects Snaps like ENDPOINT, MIDPOINT, etc.

1. Turn on the Object Snap feature by pressing the F3 key.
2. Click the Document menu. If you do not have this menu, click the Window menu > Pulldowns > Document, and you will see it.
3. Click the AEC Dimension command.
4. Click Add AEC Dimension...
5. Type P (for Pick Points) and press [ENTER], then select all points that you want to dimension with Object Snaps, and press [ENTER] to conclude the selection.
6. Type ST and press [ENTER] to select a style, and then type MyAECDimStyle and press [ENTER].
7. Do one of the following:
   • Choose an insertion point for the AEC Dimensions.
   • Type R and press [ENTER] to define a rotation angle to the AEC Dimension.
   • Type A and press [ENTER] to select an AEC object that will be used as base to align the AEC Dimensions.

Editing AEC Dimensions with Grip Points

Use this procedure to reposition individual dimension texts, extension lines, and dimension chains on an AEC Dimension.

The length of extension lines and the distance between dimension chains are set in the AEC Dimension style, and are identical for all chains and all extension lines in the dimension. In some cases, you need to override those settings, and display varying extension lines or chain distances. Also, you might need to move individual dimension texts to a different location. AEC dimensions offer you the ability to change the display of a dimension with direct editing via grips.

Figure 28: AEC Dimension Grip Points

1. Select the AEC Dimension on which to reposition individual texts, extension lines, or dimension chains.
2. Click its Edit In Place grip (blue circle).

   
   Figure 29: All AEC Dimension Grips

3. Click the blue triangular grip on the dimension line to reposition it.
4. Click the blue triangular grip on the extension line to reposition it.
5. Click the blue square grip to reposition the text.
6. Click the blue circular grip to exit Edit in Place editing mode.

Overriding Dimension Values and Hiding Dimension Segments

The dimension values in an AEC dimension are the real-life calculated values taken from the objects that are dimensioned. When the dimensioned object is updated, the dimension value is updated accordingly. In some cases you might want to override that value and exchange it for a manually inserted value.

In other cases, you might want to retain the original value, but supplement it with a prefix or suffix.

Sometimes, you need to hide a dimension text or a whole dimension segment.

Hiding the Overline of Overridden Dimension Values

Overridden dimension values can be marked in different ways. Use this procedure to hide the overline of overridden dimension values.

When you create an override for a dimension value-entering a different value, hiding a text or a segment, adding a prefix/suffix-the override is marked by a small overline above the changed value. The overline is useful for seeing at a glance which values have been overridden. It is also useful when you have hidden texts and segments, to select the hidden segment.

In some cases, however, you might want to hide the overline. The overline is placed on the DEFPOINTS layer, and by default is not plotted. If you want to hide it in the AutoCAD Architecture session as well, you need to hide the DEFPOINTS layer.

1. In the Layer Properties toolbar, select the DEFPOINTS layer.
2. Click the light bulb icon to hide the layer.

Note: Alternatively, you can hide the DEFPOINTS layer in the Layer Manager.

When you manually override a dimension value, the correct automatic value still exists. You can remove the override, and restore the correct value again.

Overriding Dimension Values

Use this procedure to exchange an automatic dimension value for a manually inserted one, to add prefixes and suffixes to dimension values, and to hide dimension texts and segments.

1. Select the dimension on which to override a dimension value, then right-click and click Override Text & Lines.
2. Click the value to override.
3. Specify the value override and click OK.

Figure 30: Janela Override Text & Lines

If you want to…	Then…
Hide the selected dimension text	Select Hide Text.
Hide the selected dimension segment	Select Hide Text and Lines.
Override the dimension value	Enter a value for Text Override. Note: You can enter all alphanumeric characters.
Mark an overridden value with an underline	Select Underline Text.
Add a prefix to a dimension value	Enter one for Prefix.
Add a suffix to a dimension value	Enter one for Suffix.

Removing Overrides from Dimension Values

Use this procedure to remove overrides from dimension values. The result of removing overrides is as follows:

• Overridden values are reset to their correct value.
• Underlines and overlines are removed.
• Prefixes and suffixes are removed.
• Hidden text and hidden segments are redisplayed.

1. Select the dimension from which to remove an override, then right-click, and click Override Text & Lines.
2. Click the value or segment from which to remove an override.
3. Click Remove Override.
4. Click OK.

Additional Editing Options

Flipping an AEC Dimension Text

This is a new feature in AutoCAD Architecture 2010. You can flip an AEC Dimension Text by just clicking on the desired AEC Dimension, then clicking on the blue arrow highlighted as shown in the following example:

Adding Points to an AEC Dimension

You can add points to an AEC dimension in the following ways:

• You can attach a new object to the dimension; if dimension points have been defined for that object type in the dimension style, corresponding associative points are added to the dimension.
• You can add associative points to the dimension by picking base points or OSNAP points on AEC objects.
• You can add non-associative points to the dimension by picking points selected anywhere in the drawing.

These points are not connected to objects and are therefore not associative. To change their position, you need to move the location grips generated on the dimension.

When you attach an object for which dimension points have been specified in the AEC dimension style, the points are dimensioned and added to the appropriate dimension chains. For example, if you add a wall to an AEC dimension that has style settings for wall components in 2 chains, component dimensions are added to these 2 chains.

If an object is not specified in the AEC dimension style, you can either dimension the base point of the object or pick any of its OSNAP points as dimension points. These dimension points can be manually offset while retaining the associativity to the object. For example, you can dimension the base point of a multi-view block and offset the dimension from the base point. If the multi-view block is moved or rotated, the dimension moves and rotates with it while observing the offset.

To add non-associative dimension points in a drawing, you specify points, which are added as location grips, and are dimensioned on the selected dimension chain. When the location grip is moved, the dimension point is updated accordingly. Non-associative dimension points can be useful if you want to dimension a component not represented by an AEC object, like a property line, or AutoCAD objects, like blocks.

Adding Associative Dimensions to Objects Defined in the AEC Dimension Style

Use this procedure to add associative dimensions by attaching an object for which dimension points have been defined in the AEC Dimension Style.

You can also attach AEC objects for which dimension points are not specified in the AEC dimension style, in which case, the base point of the selected object is added as a dimension point.

1. Select the AEC dimension to which you want to attach objects, and click the Add grip () or select an AEC dimension, then right-click and click Add Objects.
2. Select the objects for which you want dimension points to be added to the AEC dimension, and press [ENTER]. Any dimension points specified in the style for the selected objects are added to the chains of the AEC dimension. If a selected object has no dimension points specified in the AEC Dimension Style, a dimension point is added at the base point of the object.
3. If you want to offset a dimension point from an object not specified in the AEC Dimension Style, select its location grip on the dimension, and move it to the desired location.

Adding Associative Dimensions from Picked Points to an AEC Dimension

Use this procedure to add associative dimensions to an AEC dimension by picking OSNAP points on an AEC object.

1. Verify that OSNAP is turned on.
2. Select the AEC dimension to which you want to add associative points, then right-click and click Add Extension Lines.
3. Select the AEC object OSNAP points you want to dimension. Note: OSNAP points on AutoCAD objects will be filtered out of the dimension.
4. Press [ENTER].
5. Select the AEC dimension chain to which the points should be added.

Adding Non-Associative Dimensions from Picked Points to an AEC Dimension

Use this procedure to add non-associative points picked in the drawing to an AEC dimension.

1. Select the AEC dimension to which you want to add points, then right-click and click Add Extension Lines.
2. Select the points in the drawing that you want to dimension, and press [ENTER].
3. Select the dimension chain to which the points should be added.
4. For each added point, a location grip is added at the end of the extension line, and the dimensions on the chain are updated.

Detaching Objects from an AEC Dimension

Use this procedure to detach objects from an AEC dimension. When you detach the object, all style-specified dimension points for the object are removed from the dimension.

1. Select the AEC dimension from which you want to detach objects, then right-click and click Remove Objects.
2. Select the objects to detach from the AEC Dimension.
3. Press [ENTER]. The dimension points belonging to the selected objects are removed from the AEC Dimension.

Removing Object Points Set in the AEC Dimension Style

Use this procedure to remove object points set in the AEC Dimension Style from an AEC Dimension. Removing these dimension points creates an override to the AEC Dimension Style.

Important: Removing points from an object dimension is not identical to detaching an object from an AEC Dimension. Even if you remove all extension lines pointing to dimensioned points on an object, the object is still invisibly attached to the dimension through the AEC Dimension Style. If you turn on the display component Removed Points Marker in the AEC Dimension Style, you can see that the object points still exist and can be restored.

If you want to detach an object from an AEC Dimension completely, use the procedure in Detaching Objects from an AEC Dimension.

1. Select the AEC Dimension from which you want to remove style-defined points.
2. Click the Remove grip () on the extension line of the point you want to remove.

   Alternatively, you can select an AEC Dimension, right-click, click Remove Extension Lines, and then remove the desired extension line.

3. Proceed to remove points. Note: Make sure to select only extension lines referring to objects that are specified in the AEC Dimension Style. Only these points can be restored later. If you remove object points using the Context menu, the behavior of the removal can differ according to your preference settings:
   • If the Update Added/Removed Points Immediately setting is selected, the selected points are deleted immediately.
   • If the Update Added/Removed Points Immediately setting is cleared, the selected points are deleted after you end the command.

Note: If the deleted points are still visible as a crossed circle, then the display component Removed Points Marker is turned on. If you do not want the removed points marker to appear, turn off the component.

When you remove multiple points, some removed points may reappear. This can happen when you have selected the option Update Added/Removed Points Immediately, and the entity display component Removed Points Marker is turned off. The reason for this behavior is that during your current removal operation, you accidentally selected an invisible removed point marker for a dimension point that was already removed. Removing an already removed point restores it. To avoid this effect, turn on the Removed Points Marker component in the entity display.

Restoring Object Points Set in the AEC Dimension Style

Use this procedure to restore dimension points that have been removed from an AEC Dimension and that are set in the AEC Dimension Style. Because the object points are set in the AEC Dimension Style, information about the type and position of the removed point is still present in the AEC Dimension Style.

1. Select the dimension chain on which to restore a removed object point.
2. Verify that the removed point is visible.

   If you want to…	Then…
   The point removed is still visible as a crossed circle	Proceed to step 9.
   The point removed is not visible as a crossed circle	Make it visible by following steps 3 through 9.

3. Right-click and click Object Display.
4. Click the Display Properties tab.
5. Select the display representation on which the changes should appear, and select Object Override.
6. The display representation in bold is the current one.
7. If necessary, click .
8. Click the Layer/Color/Linetype tab.
9. Select the Removed Points Marker component, and turn on the setting for Visibility.
10. Click OK twice.
11. The removed dimension point on the dimension chain is now visible as a crossed circle.
12. If necessary, select the AEC Dimension again, then right-click and click Remove Extension Lines.
13. Click the center of the circle for the dimension points to restore.
    • If the Update Added/Removed Points Immediately setting is selected, the selected points are deleted immediately.
    • If the Update Added/Removed Points Immediately setting is cleared, the selected points are deleted after you end the command.

      

Removing Non-Style Defined Dimension Points

Use this procedure to remove dimension points that are not set in the AEC Dimension Style from an AEC Dimension. These can be points that are generated by picking object OSNAP points or by picking non-object associated points in the drawing. Unlike style-defined dimension points, they cannot be restored once they are deleted; however, you can recreate them if desired.

1. Select the AEC dimension from which to remove dimension points.
2. Click the Remove grip () on the extension line of each point to remove. Alternatively, you can select an AEC Dimension, right-click, click Remove Extension Lines, and then remove the desired extension line.

More Help for Editing AEC Dimensions

To find more information about advanced AEC Dimension editing:

1. Press F1 to open the AutoCAD Architecture 2010 Help dialog box.
2. Click the Search tab.
3. Type Editing AEC Dimensions in the Select a section to search for text box and press the Search button.
4. In the list Select Topic, click twice in Editing AEC Dimensions.
5. In the right panel, you can find basic, intermediate and advanced information about Editing AEC Dimensions.

Part 3 – Summing Up

In Part 3, you learned how to insert AEC Dimensions into your drawing and how to edit the grip points of AEC Dimensions.

"Simplicity is the Ultimate Sophistication"
Leonardo DaVinci
(1452-1519)

The text from this course material was based on AutoCAD Architecture 2010 Student Release and the original content is copyrighted property of Autodesk, Inc. Personal comments from the faculty were added along this course material with educational purposes. All the pictures from this course material were captured using Print-Screen from AutoCAD Architecture 2010 Student Release windows and dialog boxes and they are copyrighted property of Autodesk, Inc.