dimaligned blowing up

Gang,

 

Has anyone else had these dimensionless entities just sporadically just get discombobulated ????

 

I do not know what casue this but i use these thing religiously, and as often as i use them i have come back to a drawing and they are just blown right out of whack. They are just floating around in model space or blown right out to full extents?

 

Anyone else experience this. Very frustrating.

Sounds like the association between the geometry and the dimension got messed up.

Still have not found a solution to this problem?? I am assuming there must be something in the settings / properties that associates the leaders and extension lines to an object? If anyone knew what that setting might be so i can turn it off that would be awesome.

 

It is definitely something to do with the association of an object you chose to label with dimalign. As right now i have three dimalign objects along a polygon and as soon as i add a vertex on this polygon (a rectangle), even though there is no azimuth change, they all seem to come apart and do whatever they want. no rhyme or reason. There has got to be some thing in the settings/properties i can set to turn this association off.

The only setting you can turn off for this is to turn off associations altogether for all newly created dimensions using the system variable DIMASSOC. Setting it to will subsequently cause creation of non-associative dimensions from that point forward. Setting DIMASSOC to will give you exploded dimensions, at least in release 2015, and setting it to will give you associative dimensions.

 

You can also change this variable on the OPTIONS >> USER PREFERENCES tab. There is a check box there for "Make new dimensions associative." Un-checking it sets DIMASSOC to .

 

I do not recommend using non-associative dimensions but there are occasions where one is handy. I refuse to say anything more about exploded dimensions, other than if I find out someone does it, I will turn them in to the Exploder Police.

 

I have experienced this issue a few times with linear and aligned dimensions, and as near as I can figure out, it is caused by one or both dimension nodes not being exactly on the snap points of the object in the first place. This means there is no real association to the object with one node on it and one marking a point in space. Then, any modifications to the object really mess up the math for AutoCad, and the dimension goes stupid.

 

I found a clue to this a long time ago using the 2009 release, not that it matters. I went to move an object horizontally, using a crossing box, with everything selected, even the dimensions. When I moved, everything but one end of one dimension moved with it. I did an undo, and zoomed in on the errant dimension node, and it was less than 1/64th off the vertex I thought I had snapped to. Apparently I snapped to a polar tracked "extension" point rather than to the corner vertex of a polyline rectangle. The distance to the vertex from the dimension node would not even measure as greater than zero. I think this one dimension node may not have been inside the crossing box, but it should not have mattered. However, it appears that the association with the point in space took precedence.

 

I have also seen this sort of thing happen to dimensions that are snapped to two different objects after one of the objects is moved.

 

Sometimes, all the dimensions will move with the object, only to splay all over the place the next morning when the drawing is opened. In this case there is no undo.

 

Occasionally I will zoom in to a few dimensions I have placed to check myself, and about half the time, I will find dimension nodes that are not really exactly on an object snap point, but instead sitting a couple thou off to one side.

 

I have learned to be more patient and wait for the snap to actually take place now, before I click in the dimension.

 

I'll bet a really close zoom in to some of your dimension nodes might show them a tiny bit off.

 

I think AutoCad has a little trouble calculating association for dimensions that are only sitting on a point in space, once the relationship between nodes changes.

 

I will say that I have not had this problem with the 2014 nor 2015 releases, yet.

Edited October 14, 2014 by Dana W

Still have not found a solution to this problem?? I am assuming there must be something in the settings / properties that associates the leaders and extension lines to an object? If anyone knew what that setting might be so i can turn it off that would be awesome.

 

It is definitely something to do with the association of an object you chose to label with dimalign. As right now i have three dimalign objects along a polygon and as soon as i add a vertex on this polygon (a rectangle), even though there is no azimuth change, they all seem to come apart and do whatever they want. no rhyme or reason. There has got to be some thing in the settings/properties i can set to turn this association off.

Hmmmm. Does this change affect the angle of the aligned dimension? If so, that will change the length of the distance. In any case aligned dimensions react badly to their parts being monkeyed with in any circumstance. The problem you originally posted is probably made worse concerning aligned dimensions, and like I said, I have even had it happen to all other dimension types.

Could you post a drawing file?

 

Seems that adding a vertex reorders the snaps associated with the dimensions.

 

AFAIK the only fix would be to make the Dims unassociated, before adding a vertex.

Could you post a drawing file?

 

Seems that adding a vertex reorders the snaps associated with the dimensions.

 

AFAIK the only fix would be to make the Dims unassociated, before adding a vertex.

 

Disregard my reply Dana w answered this.

 

DIMASSOC set to 1 is the magical cure. Thanks Dana.

Disregard my reply Dana w answered this.

 

DIMASSOC set to 1 is the magical cure. Thanks Dana.

I wasn't recommending this as a fix, merely stating a fact about the function of DIMASSOC.

I wasn't recommending this as a fix, merely stating a fact about the function of DIMASSOC.

 

I get you. Thanks anyways. It fixed it for me and i had no idea about those other settings. Learn something new everyday.