Location of anchor points on dimensions in Model Space

[Crazy J]

I'm new at using AutoCAD in 3D and am still learning how to turn the Model Space into viewports in the Layout Space and such. So in some of my work, I want to quickly add some dimensions to the Model Space and take some quick screen shots just to give a sense of the general dimensions of the part, for a top-level presentation perhaps.

 

When I add the dimensions, they appear to be correctly anchored (pic 1), but then when I rotate it to an isometric view one can see they are offset from the plane in which I thought I created them (pic 2). Finally, if I mess around with the grips, I can move them around to where they seem correct (pic 3).

 

Is there a setting or technique I could be using to get the DIMLINEAR command to work as in pic 3?

 

Thanks,

Crazy J

[ReMark]

You may find that your dimensions will be placed more accurately by moving the origin point of your UCS.

[hoss]

In order to get dimensions like in picture 3, you need to change the origin of you UCS before creating dimensions. You need to move and rotate UCS accordingly to get the dimensions you want in 3D. Remember you only can create dimensions in XY.

[Crazy J]

Good tips guys... I will give that a try the next time I need to do something like this. Thanks.

[Crazy J]

I just added some dimesions to a file after moving the UCS. Looks great. In the Right View, the dimension lines look neat and crisp to show what I am proposing to my co-workers. And then when I orbit the view to do further work, I can clearly see where the dimensions originate. Notice the two dimensions down in the bottom from doing it wrong the last time

 

Now, should I move my UCS back to where it was, or does this not really matter since I have only translated the UCS and not rotated it? I typically work everything in relative coordinates from whatever point in space I happen to be at. Is there any harm in not going back to the previous UCS? Also, since I saved and closed the file after moving the UCS to do the dimensions, I can't easily chose Previous UCS to go back to where I was. Would choosing 'World' get me back to where I was?

 

Thanks.

[ReMark]

You do know that there such a thing as a "saved view" right?

[Crazy J]

You do know that there such a thing as a "saved view" right?

 

Same as a "Named View", right? Yeah, that makes sense. Save the view before I go and mess with any of the UCS, then basically have a restore point to go back to when I continue working.

 

I've used this a little for different reasons, but this is another good one I hadn't thought of.