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AutoCAD Productivity

Dual Dimensions in a Dimension Style

by Michael Beall

From: AutoCAD Productivity Articles #147
Originally published: August 2016

Alternate Units‘Alternate Units’ doesn't always mean Metric.

To follow along, set the current Dimension style to one you like. The following exercise begins with a Dimension Style with the Unit format set to Architectural on the Primary Units tab.

How to Display Ft′-In″ as well as Inches

  1. Launch the Dimension Style dialog box [Alias: D], click New and enter a name, then click Continue.

  2. Click the Alternate Units tab.

  3. In the upper left corner, put a check in the box for Display Alternate Units.

  4. Set the Unit Format to Fractional.

    Note: I would suggest you set the values for the Precision and the Round off to the same values as those on the Primary Units tab.

  5. Set the Multiplier for Alt Units to 1.00.

  6. In the Suffix edit box, put the inch marks ( ″ ).

    Dimension settings

  7. The last setting you may want to make is to set the Placement feature radio button (under the preview) to Below Primary Value.

    Primary location

  8. Click OK, Close the Dimension Style dialog box, then check out your new dimension!

See all the articles published in August 2016

Michael's Corner

Between 2003 and 2016, Michael Beall (and one or two guests) wrote almost 600 articles for CADTutor. The focus of these articles is AutoCAD productivity, and although some of them are now more than a few years old, most remain relevant to current versions of AutoCAD. The article above is just one example. Check out Michael's Corner for a full listing.

Tip of the Day

Object snap tracking

object snap trackingFinding the centre (centroid) of a square or rectangle used to require the use of at least one construction line but with object snap tracking, the same point can be found without having to draw any other objects.

This technique relies on the fact that "Midpoint" is set as one of your running object snaps and that polar tracking (POLAR) and object snap tracking (OTRACK) are on. Say you have a square and you want to draw an inscribed circle. Start the circle command and then hover the cursor over one of the vertical sides of the square until the midpoint snap icon appears. Move towards the centre and a dotted tracking like will appear. Next, hover the cursor over one of the horizontal sides of the square until the midpoint icon appears, again, move towards the centre of the square. This time, when you get close to the centre, both horizontal and vertical tracking lines appear and you can snap to the intersection simply by left-clicking. Finish the circle by snapping to any midpoint.

Today's tip is by David Watson

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