Editing Dimensions in AutoCAD® 2017

By Renu Muthoo

If the dimensions are interfering with some parts of a drawing or are overlapping each other, a variety of tools have been provided in the AutoCAD software to edit and modify them. You can edit dimensions using grips, shortcut menu options, and commands and tools provided with the software. The various dimension editing methods and tools are discussed in detail in Chapter 19: Adding Dimensions of the AutoCAD/AutoCAD LT 2017 (R1): Fundamentals - Mixed Units (2nd Ed.) student guide.

Dimension Shortcut Menu:

Selecting the dimension and then right-clicking on it gives you many options to modify dimensions.

• Dimension Style option controls the basic features of a dimension, such as the text location and number of decimal places.
• Precision option controls the text location and number of decimal places in a dimension.

Editing Dimensions Using Grips:

Grips can be used to relocate dimension elements. Without starting a command, select the dimension to display its grips.

Using grips, you can edit the dimensions as follows:

• Select the grip at the dimension line and move it to change the distance from the object.
• Select the grip on the text and move it to change the location of the text (and sometimes the dimension line).
• Select the grip at the extension line origin to change the length of the dimension. (This option might disconnect the associativity to the object it is dimensioning.)

Multifunctional grips:

Hover the cursor over a grip, and select an option in the dynamic input list. Depending on the specific grip that you hover over, a different list of options displays.

• Use the various text options, such as Move Text Only and Above Dim Line to move the text to a different position.
• The Reset Text Position option returns the moved text to its original location.
• You can use an existing dimension as the beginning of a series of related dimensions in either Continue Dimension or Baseline Dimension .
• Use the Flip Arrow option if the arrowheads on a dimension were pushed out and you want them to be inside the extension lines or on the opposite side.

Adjusting Dimension Spacing:

You can modify the space between sets of dimensions using the Adjust Space command.

Unevenly spaced                                            Evenly Spaced

1. In the Annotate tab>Dimensions panel, click  (Adjust Space).
2. Select the base dimension (the one closest to the object) of the group you want to modify.
3. Select the rest of the dimensions in the group.
4. Type the distance that you want to have between dimensions or press <Enter> to accept the automatic distance.

Dimension Breaks:

When there are many dimensions in a drawing, the various extension lines and dimension lines can overlap. Using the Dimension Break command, you can create dimension breaks without changing the associativity of the dimension object.

Without dimension breaks                   Dimension breaks added

1. In the Annotate tab>Dimensions panel, click  (Dimension Break).
2. Select a dimension to break.
3. Select an object to break the dimension or select one of the options.
4. Continue to select other objects to break their dimensions as required.
5. Press <Enter> to complete the command.

I hope that you will find the above dimension editing methods and tools useful in cleaning your drawings and making them more up-to-date and accurate. As mentioned earlier, I have provided a fully detailed section on these dimension editing methods and tools along with a hands on practice in Chapter 19: Adding Dimensions of the AutoCAD/AutoCAD LT 2017 (R1): Fundamentals - Mixed Units (2nd Ed.) student guide.