trouble attaching dimensions to object in paperspace

hi!

i'm not sure if i'm doing this right. i have a little drawing in modelspace. in paperspace, i have a viewport. let's say it's set at 1/4" = 1'-0". everything looks okay so far.

i click on the 'annotate' tab, and then select 'annotative' for my dimension style. it has the little triangle icon thingy so it should be annotative.

i make a couple of simple linear dimensions on my drawing (still in paperspace). looks okay so far.

but now lets say i want to change the scale of my drawing. i change it from 1/4" to 1/2" = 1'-0". my drawing gets bigger, but the dimensions stay the same size and position. they're no longer attached to anything on my drawing.

then i change the scale again, let's say back to 1/4" scale. my drawing shrinks, but as soon as it's back to it's original size, the dimensions now suddenly get twice as big and are where they should have been at 1/2".

and it continues like that, when i change my scale, the dimensions change to whatever the last scale was at, so that they're never synced up.

what's going on, here?!

There is no need to use annotative scaling if you are dimensioning in your layout instead of model space.

Your dimensions should be set to "associative" which is NOT the same as annotative. This won't solve the problem if you change the viewport scale however. It will only help if you stretch an object and want the dimensions 1) to follow and 2) to update to the new size.

If you constantly find yourself rescaling viewports then use Annotative Scaling but do so in model space not in paper space.

Do you have DIMASSOC set to 2?

hi!

thanks for the quick replies...

ReMark: i do find that i change viewport scales fairly often. i thought it would make sense to do all my annotations in paper space because then i can relate their size to the sheet of paper i'm printing on, rather than the size of the 1:1 model

what i just noticed, is that i can't find my 'annotative scale' on the bottom right corner of my screen. i just have viewport scale.

also if i select my viewport, and then also select the dimensions, the viewport scale says "VARIES" and then the button to the right of it says "ANNOTATIVE SCALE IS NOT EQUAL TO VIEWPORT SCALE - CLICK TO SYNCHRONIZE" and when i click that button everything straightens out. but do i need to select all my annotations first? can't i just change the viewport scale and have annotation scale sync up automatically?

i'll play around with this in model space, and look more into dimassoc!

my dimassoc is set to 2

if i use the 'annotative' dimension in model space, here's what happens:

1. a pop-up box pops up saying i'm about to create an annotative object, and to set the model scale. i chose 1:1 because that's the scale of my model.

2. i create the dimension. it is TINY. i can barely see it on the screen.

3. the dimension does not show up in my viewport in paperspace.

that can't be right?

While in model space change your scale to what your viewport scale is set. Your viewport and model space need to have the same scale.

You set the annotative scale equal to the scale or scales your viewports(s) support. So if you plan on using three different scales for your viewports one option would be to set your dimensions to also use all three scales or some combination thereof.

I do all my dimensioning and text in my paper space layout. I rarely, if ever, have to go back and rescale a viewport. If you are constantly changing viewport scales I would seriously reconsider your reason for doing so. Maybe your way of doing things is flawed.

Everything is model space needs to be draw at FULL size. Your paper space layout viewports do NOT have to be the same scale as your model space. Only the objects like text, dimensions, blocks and hatches have to have the same scale as the viewport they will be displayed in.

Annotative scaling means that your dimensions automagically scale to whatever scale you set your viewport too - and it also doesn't show at any other scales.

Instead of 1:1 like you did now, you set your scale on the dimension as 1/4" = 1'-0" is that is what you need. Now you need to have your viewport set to that scale (and the annotative scale on the viewport) as well, otherwise the dimension will not show.

Everything is model space needs to be draw at FULL size. Your paper space layout viewports do NOT have to be the same scale as your model space. Only the objects like text, dimensions, blocks and hatches have to have the same scale as the viewport they will be displayed in.

I was not refering to the geometry being the same scale as the viewport only text and leaders ect. as you said. Sorry for the confusion.

Just wanted the OP to be clear on what we all were referring to. No apologies necessary.

eyde - are you sure that's correct? i was under the impression you draw at 1:1 scale in model space, and have your viewports in whatever scale you need. i do not want to start drawing at 1/4" scale, that will be really counterproductive for me.

ReMark - i do a lot of government work, and requests to change the scale are pretty frequent. i try to set my viewports at a scale that will be comfortable and convenient to read, and hardly ever have to change private jobs, but government is a different beast altogether.

Tiger - i'll give that a shot. but i prefer doing my annotations in paper space, again, because it allows me to relate the annotations to the actual paper size.

thanks everyone for the help!

Yes you need to draw you geometry 1:1 in model space.

If you want your dim's to be in paper space then make sure you select the object at an osnap point so that your dim's will be associtive.

Once again, just to be clear, there is a big difference between ASSOCIATIVE and ANNOTATIVE. To make sure dimensions are associated with the geometry being dimensioned do this...

okay, got it. thanks again for this.

so here's what i'm trying out right now:

1. i've got two dimstyles set up: annotative MS and annotative PS. i'm testing them both out. both are annotative, obviously.

2. in model space, i'm using annotative MS. i set my annotative scale at 1/4" which is what i want to presumably use for my viewport. i added a couple of linear dimensions to my model, in model space. they show up in model space, they're kind of big in my opinion, and i'm not sure i like having them floating around while i'm modelling, but anywhere they're there at least.

3. in paper space, i switch to annotative PS (MS and PS are the same, same fonts/style/everything). i create a viewport of my model in 1/4" scale, and add a couple of linear dimensions. they look good. they're the same size as the dimms i made in model space. everything looks nice and neat, although i prefer seeing dimms in paper space, it just makes more sense to me.

4. now! i change the scale of the viewport, from 1/4" to 1/2". the dimensions i made in model space automatically sync up and work with it. that's really nice, that's kind of what i wanted all along. in model space, the annotative scale is still set to 1/4", though, and the dimensions look about the same size. if i 'update' the annotative scale to 1/2" the dimensions shrink a little bit in model space, but no changes in paper space. just playing around with the annotative scale, i noticed if i go any bigger (1" = 1' for example) the dimms get pretty big, rather than smaller. should i be updating the annotative scale at all? is that necessary if adjusting my viewport scale changes everything correctly?

5. back in paper space, my paper space annotations are out of sync, but if i select my viewport, and then select the paperspace dimensions, and click that 'sync' button, they all sync up with the viewport scale. so that's works as well, albeit possibly a little more work.

that's what i've learned so far! i think i'll stick to making annotations in paperspace, i don't like them cluttering up model space, and unless i'm doing a project where i know i'll be asked for lots of different scales, i'll just try to keep things to a single viewport scale.

ReMark: thanks for that - i wasn't in the right place at all!!

Once agian my bad. I have fixed it.

There is a command that will reassociate you dim's if you loose the association. REASSOCIATE

DO NOT use annotative annotations in paperspace. All annotations in paperspace should be at whatever height you want 1:1.

There is absolutely no reason to make any text or dimensions placed in a paper space layout annotative.