AutoCAD® 2011 & AutoCAD LT® 2011 Bible

Chapter 15. Creating Dimension Styles

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Understanding dimension styles

• Defining a new dimension style

• Changing dimension styles

In Chapter 14, you drew many dimensions using the default dimension style. However, you can create your own dimension styles to control the way dimensions appear. Once you're familiar with dimensions, you can learn how to customize them to suit your needs.

Understanding Dimension Styles

You should create your dimension styles before dimensioning. Some drawings have several dimension styles, although a drawing can look confusing if it has too many dimension styles. In general, you create a dimension style, save it in your template drawings, and (you hope) rarely have to deal with it again, except to override a setting for a unique situation.

The various disciplines each have their own standards and customs regarding dimensions. Dimension styles are flexible enough to accommodate any type of dimensioning practice.

The Dimension Style Manager is the master control room for managing dimensions. Here you create new dimension styles and modify existing ones.

The preset Standard dimension style is most appropriate for mechanical drafting. Whichever type of drafting you do, you'll probably need to make some changes to the default dimension style or create a new dimension style. A preview of the current dimension style is shown at the right side of the dialog ...