AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats

Transcription

1 AutoCAD LT Section 5 AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats This section covers: 1. Layers 2. Colors 3. Linetypes 4. Units 5. Text Styles 6. Dimension Styles 7. Point Styles

2 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-1 AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Creating standard formats that are used in all your drawings gives your drawings a common look will providing a professional look.. AutoCAD LT just like this document contains formats. These formats range from a variety of things that deal with what text looks like to colors that affect how your drawing might print like. Drawing formats are one of the major keys in creating company standards for how drawings will be created in house (drafting state) to leaving the in house production arena to only be seem by your customers and builders that may use your drawings for bidding on. So not only do standards help the drafting side of things, but they also help when sending out drawings to outside companies that they can easily identify critical notes and other objects on the drawing. Now lets take a look at what types of formatting you can control in a drawing. We will not be covering all formats in depth during this introduction course, but will be covering the ones that affect your drawings the most. Accessing the Format Commands The fastest way to view what type of formats that you have available to you is to go to the Format menubar (Fig. 5.1). The Format menubar contains all the formats that you can setup and change in your drawing (See following table). Fig. 5.1

3 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-2 Formats Menubar Layer Dialog Box Commands LAYER or DDLMODES Command Line -LAYER Description Controls the appearance of how an object is drawn. These properties include color, LineType and the visibility of an object as it is held in the drawing. Color DDCOLOR COLOR Controls what color new objects will be drawn with. It will override the color that is carried on the current layer unless byblock or bylayer are used. Linetype DDLTYPE or LINETYPE -LINETYPE Controls the appearance of the 2D geometric construction lines. Text Style DDSTYLE or STYLE -STYLE Controls the appearance of new text and existing text in a drawing. Dimension Style DDIM DIMSTYLE Controls the appearance of new dimensions, as well as existing dimensions in a drawing. Point Style DDPTYPE PDMODE & PDSIZE Controls the appearance of Points (or nodes) in your drawing. Units DDUNITS UNITS Controls the way you input distances in to AutoCAD LT, as well as how you get the values of distances from AutoCAD LT. Thickness N/A THICKNESS Controls the thickness of objects that are drawn in 3D. Drawing Limits N/A LIMITS Controls how large your drawing takes up and how much of an area the grid will be displayed in. Rename DDRENAME RENAME Allows the user to rename many of the different styles in the drawing to a different name.

4 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-3 Layers Layers are one of your primary types of formats inside of AutoCAD LT. The easiest way to think of a Layer is it s kind of like a book with only one color and format for it s pages, like a text book. The text book would represent a poor drawing due to the fact that everything looks the same and it would be rather hard to suppress that feature of the drawing since it is the same color and page style. Ok then if that is a poor example then what would a good example be then. A good example would be like a phone book. A phone book represents a lot of different phone numbers and it s pages are color coded to find a section of the book faster. So you want your drawing to contain more than one layer in it so you can suppress or isolate something on your drawing faster. Now that we have talked about layers a little bit lets take a look at the Layer command. We will take a look at only the dialog box of the commands when there are both choices. To access the Layer dialog box simply type in LAYER at the command line or select Format>>Layer for menubar access or from the _Objects Properties toolbar (Fig. 5.2). Fig. 5.2 The Layer dialog box (Fig. 5.3) in AutoCAD LT 97 contains many great enhancements over previous methods of the Layer dialog box in past releases. The Layer dialog box at first may seem overwhelming the first time that you use it, but you will find it very easy to use after you get used to it. We will not be cover all the features in this class, but more than plenty of them to get you started. Fig. 5.3

5 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-4 Layers and their properties A Layer is built of a total of 8 different properties. All of these properties except two of these properties affect how objects appear in the drawing. All properties of a Line Type can be changed at anytime during the drawing or drafting process. Lets take an in depth look at these properties and find out what each one does. Layer Name The Layer Name (Fig. 5.4) is simply used for your reference to what layers you have setup inside of your drawing. Giving your layers a descriptive name will help you to remember what that Layer should be used for. You can t have two Layers with the same name in one drawing. Fig. 5.4 Layer On/Off The Layer On/Off (Fig. 5.5) is used to suppress the visibility of all objects on the Layer(s) that you choose to turn on/off. When you turn off a Layer it still can be selected through the use of commands that you can have the sub command all with it. You will learn more about this effect later on when you talk more about editing commands. Even though there is a downside to being able to select objects that are still off, there is also a positive to using the off versus a freeze. This is due to AutoCAD LT must perform a regeneration on the drawing when thawing a layer, where as there is no regenerations are needed when just turning a layer off to on. When the light bulb is on (or yellow in color) (Fig. 5.5) the Layer is visible and if it is gray in color (Fig. 5.6) that means the Layer is off and not visible in the drawing. Fig. 5.5 Fig. 5.6 Note: AutoCAD LT will allow you to turn off your current layer. So if you are drawing along someday and nothing seems to be added to your drawing you might want to check to see if your current layer is off.

6 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-5 Layer Thaw/Freeze The Layer Thaw/Freeze (Fig. 5.7) is used to suppress the visibility of all objects on the Layer(s) that you choose to thaw or freeze. Unlike turning a layer off, when you freeze a layer it can t be selected through the use of commands that you can have the sub command all with it. Remember that when using thaw/freeze will cause a drawing regeneration so you may want to use on/off first, especially if you are working on a larger drawing. When the sun is on shining (or yellow in color) (Fig. 5.7) the Layer is visible and if it is a blue snowflake (Fig. 5.8) that means the layer is frozen and isn t visible in the drawing. Fig. 5.7 Fig. 5.8 Note: AutoCAD LT will not allow you to freeze the current layer. Even though you can t freeze the layer that doesn t mean you can t set a layer that is frozen to being current. So just like the On/Off you could find yourself drawing along someday and drawing your new objects on a frozen layer.. Layer Thaw/Freeze in Current Viewport The Layer Thaw/Freeze in Current Viewport (Fig. 5.9) is used to suppress the visibility of all objects on the Layer(s) that you choose to thaw or freeze in the current (or active) viewport you are in. This thaw/freeze has all the same benefits and negatives that the standard thaw/freeze have. The positive to this thaw/freeze allows you to control the visibility of layers in individual viewports that you might setup on your drawing. The layer settings are then stored in that viewport. This is the only way that you can show or suppress different layers in a viewport. When the sun is shining (or yellow in color) (Fig. 5.9) the Layer is visible and if it is a blue snowflake (Fig. 5.10) that means the layer is frozen and isn t visible in the drawing. Notice that this icon has a see through box with the sun or snowflake. By default (Fig. 5.11) this icon is turned off until you have a viewport in your drawing. Fig. 5.9 Fig 5.10 Fig. 5.11

7 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-6 Layer Thaw/Freeze in New Viewports The Layer Thaw/Freeze in New Viewports (Fig. 5.12) is used to suppress the visibility of all objects on the Layer(s) that you choose to thaw or freeze in any new viewports that you might create in your drawing. This thaw/freeze has all the same benefits and negatives that the standard thaw/freeze have. The positive to this thaw/freeze is that it allows you pre-setup the thaw/freeze properties that will be set when you create any new viewport. When the sun is shining (or yellow in color) (Fig. 5.12) the Layer is visible and if it is a blue snowflake (Fig. 5.13) that means the layer is frozen and isn t visible in the drawing. Notice that this icon has a filled in box with the sun or snowflake. By default (Fig. 5.14) this icon is turned off until you have a viewport in your drawing. Fig Fig Fig Layer Unlock/Lock The Layer Unlock/Lock (Fig. 5.15) is used to control whether or not you can select objects on a that layer or not. This layer property comes in handy when you need to select an object(s) that is in the drawing and all on one layer. Unlock and lock make this task much easier to accomplish than zooming in on your drawing and trying to select all the objects individually. You can also use lock to prevent from accidentally moving objects on a particular layer. When the lock is open (Fig. 5.15) the Layer is selectable and if it is a closed lock (Fig. 5.16) that means the layer is locked and objects on that layer are not selectable. By default a layer is unlocked. Fig Fig. 5.16

8 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-7 Layer Color The Layer Color (Fig. 5.17) is used to control the color that is used to represent that layer on the screen. This color is also used by an object when you create a new object. You can select any of 255 colors for you layer properties. You can activate the Color dialog (Fig. 5.18) by simply selecting the color swatch (or square). Then you can change it to one of the other colors that are in the dialog box. Fig Fig Layer Linetype The Layer Linetype (Fig. 5.19) is used to control the appearance of the 2D geometric construction lines used in drawing up objects inside of AutoCAD. You can select any of the loaded linetypes in AutoCAD to use for the format of your layers. You can activate the Linetype dialog (Fig. 5.20) by simply selecting the name of the current linetype for the layer. If the linetype isn t loaded at this time you would need to load the linetypes into AutoCAD LT. We will talk more about this process later. Fig Fig. 5.20

9 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-8 [Add lab here: Creating/Renaming and Deleting a Layer]

10 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-9 Color Color is the second of your primary types of formats inside of AutoCAD LT. The two major reasons you use colors in your drawing are to be able to identify parts in your drawing on screen faster and the second reason is so you can plot your drawing off with different pen weights. To access the Color dialog box simply type in DDColor at the command line or select Format>>Color for menubar access. The Color dialog box (Fig. 5.21) is exactly like the Color dialog box that is found in the Layer dialog box. Although instead of setting a color to use with a Layer for its properties this time you are setting the Color to override the color from the current Layer. There are two Logical Colors that you can use from inside of AutoCAD. These two Logical Colors are known as Bylayer and Byblock (Fig. 5.22). Fig Fig Bylayer Bylayer color forces all new objects to be drawn with the color of the current layer.

11 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-10 Byblock Byblock color forces all new objects to be drawn with the default color. When these objects are blocked and then inserted into the drawing then the objects will take on the current layers color. Standard Colors Besides the Logical Colors in AutoCAD there are 255 other colors to choose from in AutoCAD LT. The Standard Colors (Fig and 5.24) in AutoCAD LT are numbered 1 (Red) and moving two the right to number 9 (Light Grey). Below you will find a chart that was the number reference to the color. Fig Fig Standard Colors Color Number Red 1 Yellow 2 Green 3 Cyan 4 Blue 5 Magenta 6 *Black or White 7 Dark Grey 8 Light Grey 9 * - Depends on background color of AutoCAD LT

12 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-11 Grey Shades In addition to the Logical Colors and Standard Colors there is also a set of colors called Grey Shades. The Grey Shades (Fig and 5.26) are used by most users when they want to represent colored wires or metals of some sort in there drawings. Grey Shades in AutoCAD LT are numbered 250 (Black) and moving two the right to number 255 (White or Light Grey). Below you will find a chart that was the number reference to the color. Fig Fig Grey Shades Color Number Black % Grey % Grey % Grey % Grey 254 *10% Grey or White 255 * - Depends on background color of AutoCAD LT Full Colors Palette In addition to the Grey Shades, Logical Colors and Standard Colors there is also a table of colors called Full Colors (Fig. 5.27). This table is based off the Standard Colors. The Full Colors are then mixed with the Grey Shades creating a spectrum of colors ranging in numbers 10 to 249. Fig. 5.27

13 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-12 Linetypes Linetypes is the third of your primary types of formats inside of AutoCAD LT. Linetypes make up what your objects will look like to the end user of the drawings and also how the drawings are interpreted and used. To access the Linetypes dialog box simply type in DDLtype at the command line or select Format>>Linetype for menubar access. The Linetype dialog box (Fig. 5.28) is part of the Layer dialog box except on a separate tab. Tabs are used in dialog boxes to group commonly used features or settings to the AutoCAD LT environment. Although you can select a Linetype from the Layers portion of the dialog box you are making that Linetype part of the properties of the Layer. In this tab you are loading and managing your Linetypes that are currently loaded into your drawing. Linetypes are drawing specific and not part of your setup for your AutoCAD LT sessions. Just like the Colors there are also to Logical Linetypes that you can use. These two Logical Linetypes are known as Bylayer and Byblock (Fig. 5.29). Fig Fig. 5.29

14 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-13 Bylayer Bylayer linetype forces all new objects to be drawn with the linetype of the current layer. Byblock Byblock linetype forces all new objects to be drawn with the default linetype. When these objects are blocked and then inserted into the drawing then the objects will take on the current layers linetype. Other Linetypes All other linetypes must be loaded into AutoCAD LT for you to use. There are a total of 46 English linetypes and 46 Metric linetypes that come standard with AutoCAD LT. By default you always start off with three linetypes loaded. These tree linetypes are the two Logical linetypes plus the linetype called Continuous. The Continuous linetype creates a solid line at any linetype scale.

15 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-14 [Add lab here: Loading linetypes and navigating DDLtypes]

16 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-15 Units Units is the fourth and final of your primary types of formats inside of AutoCAD LT. Units make up how you draw your objects in the drawing. Units also determine how you will get information back from AutoCAD LT. We will learn more about Units and how they effect drawing and inquiries of objects later in this course. To access the Units dialog box simply type in DDUnits at the command line or select Format>>Units for menubar access. The Units dialog box (Fig. 5.30) relates to two different measurements. The first measurement is Linear Units and this type of unit determines how you enter and receive distances of measure from AutoCAD LT. The second measurement is Angular Units and this type relates to how we enter and receive angular measurements from AutoCAD LT. There are a total of 5 Linear Units and 5 Angular Units. Below is a chart that references that Unit type and the type of input that you will need to enter or receive from AutoCAD LT. Each type of unit has its own level of precision. Along with being able to setup Units in the Units dialog box you can also specify where true zero is in your drawing. This can be selected through the Direction button located at the bottom of the Units Control dialog box. After pressing this button, another dialog box will appear on the screen called Direction Control (Fig. 5.31). Fig Fig. 5.31

17 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-16 Linear Units Angular Units Unit Name String Format Unit Name String Format Scientific 0.000E +01 Decimal Degrees Decimal Deg/Min/Sec 0d Engineering Grads g Architectural 0-0 1/16 Radians r Fractional 0 1/16 Surveyor N 0d E By changing the direction of Zero you open up a big can of worms. From past experience this truly causes problems when other people have to share drawings with each other, and when they get a drawing that doesn t act right they start to get frustrated and confused. This confusion then results in lost time due to not knowing what the problem is. So it is best not to change any of the Direction settings, but if you do want to experiment with the settings use the following chart as a reference. Direction Control Angle 0 Direction East North West South Other Counter-clockwise Clockwise Definition When used, it references that zero is to the East (or the Right on the drawing) When used, it references that zero is to the North (or the Top on the drawing) When used, it references that zero is to the West (or the Left on the drawing) When used it references that zero is to the South (or the Bottom on the drawing) Allows you as the user to either type-in a value or use the pick button to select the direction based on two points from inside of the drawing. Positive angle goes in a Counter-clockwise direction. Positive angle goes in a Clockwise direction.

18 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-17 Text Styles Text Styles is the first of two secondary types of formats that we will be taking a look at for AutoCAD LT, there are a total of 5 secondary formats inside of AutoCAD LT. Text Styles make up what types of fonts (or text Styles) that you have available in your drawing. Text Styles determine how your text and dimensions will look when created inside of your drawing. To access the Text Styles dialog box simply type in Style at the command line or select Format>>Text Style for menubar access. The Text Style dialog box (Fig. 5.32) is by far one of the most complex dialog boxes that you will have to use inside of AutoCAD LT. There are an overwhelming number of options that can be setup inside of the Text Styles dialog box. Each one of these settings affects how the text looks on screen and how it prints off. Keep in mind that some of the fonts look great at a large or average scale, but when you make the text to small it will not make your drawing look very well when it is printed off. Lets take a look at the styles dialog box now. Fig. 5.32

19 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-18 Style Name The Style Name section (Fig. 5.33) of the dialog box allows you to create a new style, rename an existing style or even delete an existing style. By default there is always at least one style that is automatically created for you. This Text Style is called Standard, and it can t be deleted or renamed. However, you can change the properties of the Text Style other than its name. This means that one drawings Standard text style could look completely different than the next Standard text style on another drawing. Fig Font The Font section (Fig. 5.34) of the dialog box allows you to select the font and its properties from a set of controls. The fonts that you can use are located in a folder called Fonts under the installed directory of your AutoCAD LT application. There is also a secondary location in your Windows directory under the Fonts folder there also that AutoCAD LT will use for additional fonts. In order to use the Font folder under the installed location of AutoCAD LI, it must first be placed in the Support folders located under Preferences. Fig Tip: If you want the option of changing the height of your text as you draw it, leave the Height set to or you could set up several Text Styles with a preset height. This will also force a standard for text heights in your companies drawings.

20 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-19 Effects The Effects section (Fig. 5.35) of the dialog box allows you to customize your Text Styles even more. You will find out as you use some of these effects that some work better with some fonts than they do with others. Below is a chart with all the effects in it and what those effects do. Fig Text Style Effects Angle 0 Direction Upside down Backwards Vertical Width Factor Oblique Angle Definition Creates text that is upside down. Creates text that is backwards. Creates text that goes in a vertical direction versus the standard horizontal. Sets up how much a character in a text string takes up in the horizontal or vertical direction. Allows you to specify at what angle you would like to create your text at. Preview The Preview section (Fig. 5.36) of the dialog box allows you to preview what a string of text will look like as you change effects and/or change fonts. You can also use the text box next to the Preview button to specify a new text string to preview. After entering a new string click the Preview button. Fig. 5.36

21 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-20 Dimension Styles Dimension Styles is the second the secondary types of formats that we will be taking an in depth look at for AutoCAD LT. Dimension Styles make up what the format for your dimensions that you have either created in your drawing or could create. Dimensions are the most complex object that you can truly create in your AutoCAD LT drawing, this is due to all the combinations of settings that you can create and the number of different items that actually make up a Dimensions Style. To access the Dimension Styles dialog box simply type in DDIM at the command line or select Format>>Dimension Style for menubar access. The Dimension Style dialog box (Fig. 5.37) is by far the one dialog box that has the most settings contained in one command that you will encounter inside of AutoCAD LT. At first this section will seem very complex, but as you use and draw with Dimensions you will begin to understand more of the options in the dialog box. Lets take a look at the Dimension Styles dialog box now. Fig. 5.37

22 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-21 Dimension Style The Dimension Style section (Fig. 5.38) of the dialog box allows you to create a new style or rename an existing style. The Current dropdown box displays the current Dimension Styles that are currently available in the drawing. By default there is always at least one style that is automatically created for you. This Dimension Style is called Standard, and it can t be renamed. However, you can change the properties of the Dimension Style other than its name. This means that one drawings Standard Dimension Style could look completely different than the next Standard Dimension Style on another drawing. Fig Note: If you see a + sign in front of a Dimension Style that means the Dimensions wasn t saved the last time that a setting in the Dimension Style was changed. Verify that all settings in the Dimension Style are the way they need to be and click the Save button to update the style. Family The Family section (Fig. 5.39) of the dialog box allows you to create a style for each type of Dimension type. Each one of the different radio buttons represents a different Family which represents a different set of settings. Refer to the following chart for a listing of the Family types and a description of each one. Fig. 5.39

23 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-22 Dimension Family Types Family Type Definition Parent Changes all dimension settings that are common in all the different dimension styles. Linear Changes settings for the dimension type Linear. Radial Changes settings for the dimension type Radial. Angular Changes settings for the dimension type Angular. Diameter Changes settings for the dimension type Diameter. Ordinate Changes settings for the dimension type Ordinate. Leader Changes settings for the dimension type Leader. You can set up seven different dimensions based of one main Dimension Style. This allows for an easier way to setup and manage your Dimension Styles. During this section we will only be covering the various parts of the Dimension Settings dialog box, and will not be going in depth into creating setting up your own custom dimensions. Let s now take a look at the three common areas of formatting for the Dimension Styles. These three areas are called Geometry, Format and Annotation. Geometry To enter the Geometry section of the Dimension Style simply click on the Geometry button on the main Dimension Style dialog box. The Geometry section (Fig. 5.40) is a separate dialog box that contains information about how your dimension will actually look like. This dialog box controls settings that range from the style of Arrowheads that you use at the end of your Dimension Style to the colors that your Dimension Style are made up of. Dimension Line The Dimension Line section (Fig. 5.41) controls the appearance of the Dimension Line. This includes whether or not a Dimension Line is drawn or not, extension lines are created, Special dimension spacing to the color of the Dimension Line itself. Note: If you find that you like to use type-in commands versus dialog boxes, the one dialog that you truly must use in order to work in AutoCAD LT would have to be the Dimension dialog box due to the fact that everything isn t available for you at the command line to create new Dimension Styles or even to modify an existing of.

24 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-23 Fig Fig Dimension Line - Suppress The Suppress option under the Dimension Line section (Fig. 5.41) controls whether or not a line is drawn from the extension line to the middle of the Dimension or to the text. Fig displays a Dimension with the 1 st selected under Suppress, and Fig displays a Dimension with the 2 nd select under Suppress. Fig displays how a dimension would look with both 1 st and 2 nd selected. Fig Fig Fig. 5.44

25 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-24 Dimension Line - Extension The Extension option under the Dimension Line section controls how long a dimension line will be extended past the extension. The Extension section can only contain a zero or a positive number in it, the dimension line will be extended that distance past the extension line (Fig. 5.45). The only way you can set the Extension value for dimension lines is through a type-in command called DIMDLE. Fig Dimension Line - Spacing The Spacing option under the Dimension Line section controls how much space is provide between your first dimension and your second dimension. The spacing is only used when you use the Baseline type dimension. Fig shows how the spacing works when using Baseline. The first dimension that was drawing was the 3 3/8 and then the second dimension with 6 5/8 was created with the Baseline dimension type. You can notice that it created the second dimension automatically higher than the original dimension that was placed. Fig. 5.46

26 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-25 Dimension Line - Color The Color option under the Dimension Line allows you to select a different color for your dimension lines, than your text or extension lines. You can either enter a number from or one of the two Logical Colors (Bylayer or Byblock). Along with entering a color number or name you can also select the button label Color to bring up the Color dialog box. Extension Line The Extension Line section (Fig. 5.47) controls the appearance of the dimension Extension Line. An extension line is a line that is projected from the point or object that you used to create the beginning point of your dimension. This section includes all the same properties that a Dimension Line has and those properties are length of the extension line, the display properties of the extension line and its color. Fig Extension Line - Suppress The Suppress option under the Extension Line section (Fig. 5.47) controls whether or not a line is drawn from the object or point selected to the dimension line. Fig displays a dimension with the 1 st selected under Suppress, and Fig displays a dimension with the 2 nd select under Suppress. Fig displays how a dimension would look with both 1 st and 2 nd selected. Fig Fig Fig. 5.50

27 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-26 Extension Line - Extension The Extension option under the Extension Line section controls how long an extension line will be extended past the dimension line. The Extension section can only contain a zero or a positive number in it, the extension line will be extended that distance past the dimension line (Fig. 5.51). Unlike the Extension section under the Dimension Line, you can type the value you wish to have your extensions go past the dimension line. If you wanted to, you could change the value of the extension line through a type-in command called DIMEXE. Fig Extension Line Origin Offset The Origin Offset option under the Extension Line section controls how much space is provide between your dimension and the points that make up your dimension (the points you selected). Fig shows how the offset helps to keep your dimensions separate looking objects from the object that was dimensioned. Fig. 5.52

28 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-27 Extension Line - Color The Color option under the Extension Line allows you to select a different color for your extension lines, than your text or dimension lines. You can either enter a number from or one of the two Logical Colors (Bylayer or Byblock). Along with entering a color number or name you can also select the button label Color to bring up the Color dialog box. Arrowheads The Arrowhead section (Fig. 5.53) controls the appearance of the dimension direction indicators called Arrowheads. An arrowhead is simply a pointer that points in the direction of the dimension or leader line, this helps to provide information about exactly where you are dimensioning from and to. This section controls what type of arrowhead you are using for your first and second dimension line and also the size of the arrowhead.. Fig Arrowheads 1 st and 2 nd The 1 st and 2 nd option under the Arrowhead section what your arrowheads will look like when you create a dimension in your drawing. You can setup to two different arrowheads per dimension family based on my family type. The following chart shows all the different arrowheads by name and description. Arrowhead Types Arrowhead Name None Closed Image Dot Closed Filled Closed Blank

29 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-28 Arrowhead Types cont. Arrowhead Name Oblique Image Architectural Tick Open Origin Indication Right Angle Open 30 Dot Blanked Dot Small Box Filled Box Datum Triangle Filled Datum Triangle Integral User Arrow The User Arrow gives you the ability to create custom Arrowheads. All a custom arrowhead is just a standard AutoCAD block. This block must be in the drawing and can t be externally reference. We will talk more about blocks later in this course. Arrowheads Size The Size option under the Arrowheads section controls the overall scale that an arrowhead will be created at. The block is scaled in all three directions (X, Y, & Z). The size can be very important if you are wanting to use a User Arrow. Another important factor to arrowhead size is how large of objects or areas that you will be using your dimensions in. If you are dimensioning things that are small it might be a good idea to make your arrowheads smaller in size to give you more room for text.

30 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-29 Center The Center section (Fig. 5.54) controls some of the appearances of dimensions for the Families Radial, Angular and Diameter. This option when setup will create a point at the center of an arc, circle, or etc This section controls what type of designator will be setup for the center of an object, and also the size of the arrowhead. Fig Center Mark, Line, or None Below is a set of figures that depict the differences of the three options under Center. Fig shows what a dimension would look like with the Mark option selected. Fig shows what a dimension would look like with the Line option selected. Fig shows what a dimension would look like with the None option selected. Fig Fig.5.56 Fig Center Size The Size option under the Center section controls the overall scale of the Mark or Lines of the dimension.

31 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-30 Scale The Scale section (Fig. 5.58) controls the scale of dimensions within the drawing. There are a total of two different ways that dimension scales can be affected in the drawing. The two ways are Overall Scale and Scale to Paper Space. Fig Scale Overall Scale The Overall Scale affects the drawing if a scale outside of 1 is entered and used. There are only a couple items that are affected by the use of the scale. The items that are affected are appearance items only such as, arrowhead scale, text size, gaps and offsets. Scale Scale to Paper Space By selecting Scale to Paper Space you are instructing AutoCAD to keep a relational size of dimensions between Model and Paper Space dimension objects. This comes in handy when you need to dimension items in both spaces, although it s not always recommended for you to dimension items in both spaces if possible.

32 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-31 Format To enter the Format section of the Dimension Style simply click on the Format button on the main Dimension Style dialog box. The Format section (Fig. 5.59) is a separate dialog box that contains information about how your dimension will be orientated versus your dimension and extension lines. This dialog box controls settings that range from the text orientation to whether or not arrowheads are placed due to the size of your dimension. Fig Format User Defined The User Defined affects if AutoCAD LT will automatically place the dimension text in the drawing for you. The default is unchecked which means AutoCAD LT will place the text in the drawing based on the settings that are in the Horizontal Justification section. If the User Defined option is check AutoCAD LT will ask you where you would like to place the dimension text.

33 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-32 Format Force Line Inside The Force Line Inside affects if AutoCAD LT will automatically place the dimension lines inside of the extension lines even if the arrowheads remain on the outside of the extensions lines. Fig shows a dimension with the Force Line Inside unchecked and Fig shows the same dimension with the Force Line Inside checked. Notice in Fig that the dimension line goes in between the extension lines versus Fig doesn t have the dimension line going between the two extension lines. Fig Fig Format Fit The Fit affects how AutoCAD LT will place text, arrowheads inside or outside of the extension lines based on space requirements for these items. Below is a breakdown of the choices you have for Fit and what each one means. Types of Fit Fit Type Text and Arrows Text Only Arrows Only Best Fit Leader No Leader Description Forces text and arrows outside the extension lines if they will not fit between the extension lines. Forces the arrows to the inside of the extension lines and the text to the outside if both will not fit between the extension lines. If not enough adequate space is still not available after the text was moved then the arrowheads will be moved to the outside. Forces the text to the inside of the extension lines and the arrows to the outside if both will not fit between the extension lines. AutoCAD LT tries to calculate the best placement of the Text and Arrows for the space that is given. A leader line is generated and connected to the text if it will not fit between the extension lines. Places text above the dimension line without a leader line if it does not fit between the extension lines.

34 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-33 Format Horizontal Justification The Horizontal Justification (Fig. 5.62) affects how AutoCAD LT will place text on dimensions that have a horizontal direction. Below is a breakdown of the choices you have for Horizontal Justification and what each one means. Fig Types of Horizontal Justification Justification Description Centered The dimension will be created with the text created over the center of the Dimension Line. (Fig. 5.63) 1st Extension Line 2nd Extension Line Over 1st Extension Over 2nd Extension The dimension will be created with the text created over the left side of the Dimension Line. (Fig. 5.64) The dimension will be created with the text created over the right side of the Dimension Line. (Fig. 5.65) The dimension will be created vertical to the first extension line of your dimension. (Fig. 5.66) The dimension will be created vertical to the second extension line of your dimension. (Fig. 5.67) The next set of images shows how each of the different horizontal justifications look when applied to a dimension.

35 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-34 Fig Fig Fig Fig Fig Format Text The Text (Fig. 5.68) affects how AutoCAD LT will place text on dimensions. Below is a breakdown of the choices you have for Text and what each one means. Fig Types of Text Text Inside Horizontal Outside Horizontal Description Places dimension text that is created inside the two extension lines in a horizontal position. Places dimension text that is created outside the two extension lines in a horizontal position.

36 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-35 Format Vertical Justification The Vertical Justification (Fig. 5.69) affects how AutoCAD LT will place text on dimensions that have a vertical direction. Below is a breakdown of the choices you have for Vertical Justification and what each one means. Fig Types of Vertical Justification Justification Description Centered The dimension text is centered between the two extension lines. Above Outside JIS The dimension text is created above the dimension line. The dimension text is created opposite of your dimensions origin. The dimension text is created to the specifications of the Japanese Industrial Standards. Formatting your dimensions takes a little practice and some patience, but so do many things that we first try. Just keep in mind that we will be usually setting up you Dimension Styles once and therefore you don t need to a master dimension creator when you go and apply all this back at work.

37 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-36 Annotation To enter the Annotation section of the Dimension Style simply click on the Annotation button on the main Dimension Style dialog box. The Annotation section (Fig. 5.70) is a separate dialog box that contains information about how your dimension will look and print on your drawing. This dialog box controls settings that range from the measurement units to the way your dimension text will look like. A lot of the settings in the dialog box are Family specific so don t worry if you don t have all the selections available when you go to set up these properties. Fig Annotation Primary Units The Primary Units (Fig. 5.71) allows you to select what type of units you would like to dimension your drawings with. The Primary Units contains 4 controls in it. The controls are the Units button, a Prefix and Suffix field and a Preview Image. Lets now take a closer look at these controls.

38 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-37 Fig Annotation Primary Units Units The Units button when selected brings up the Primary Units dialog box (Fig. 5.72). The Primary Units dialog box contains a wide range of controls on it that deal with all units of measure for a variety of the different Dimension Style Families. Fig. 5.72

39 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-38 Annotation Primary Units Units - Units The Unit property is used to specify what type of measurement you would like to use for the basis of all dimensioning between two points. In the Fig below you will find a listing of all available units types for dimensioning. The Units are used in all Dimension Families except Angular. Fig Annotation Primary Units Units - Angles The Angles property is used to specify what type of measurement you would like to use for the angular dimensioning of two points. In the Fig below you will find a listing of all available units types for dimensioning. The Angles are used in only the Dimension Family Angular. Fig. 5.74

40 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-39 Annotation Primary Units Units - Dimension There are several options under the Dimensions section (Fig. 5.75). The Precision (Fig. 5.76) option is used to specify how accurate your dimension will be to the actual value that the object was drawn at. Fig Fig The next group of controls focuses more on the way the text at the end of the use of the Dimension commands will look. This group of controls is called the Zero Suppression controls. The main reason for these controls is to control unneeded information from appearing in the Dimension text. Zero Suppression Type of Suppression Leading Trailing Description Leading zeros in a dimension are removed from the actual text that will be placed in the drawing >>.6750 Trailing zeros in a dimension are removed from the actual text that will be placed in the drawing >> Feet The feet value is removed from dimension text when the total distance was less than one foot. 0-7 ¾ >> 7 ¾ 0 Inches The inch value is removed from dimension text when the total distance is an even foot measurement. 2-0 >> 2

41 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-40 Annotation Primary Units Units - Tolerance Just like the Dimensions section, the Tolerance section (Fig. 5.77) contains the very same options. This section controls the properties of the Tolerance text. Fig Annotation Primary Units Units - Scale The Scale is a very important setting for your Dimensions (Fig. 5.78). The Scale setting controls the scale factor in which linear dimensions are created from, Leader and Angular dimensions are not affected by these settings. Fig Annotation Primary Units Units - Scale - Linear The Linear setting is used to setup the scale factor at which all Linear dimensions when created will be multiplied by. It is not recommend to change this setting due to the fact that it will create drawings that are not to one true scale. Annotation Primary Units Units - Scale Paper Space Only The Paper Space Only setting is used to setup the scale factor at which all Linear dimensions created in Paper Space will be multiplied by. When set this setting forces anything created in Model Space to take on the scale factor of a viewport.

42 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-41 Annotation Primary Units Prefix and Suffix The Prefix and Suffix boxes are used to add additional characters or a single character to a dimension text. The boxes are primarily used for Alternative Units in dimensions. This would give you the ability to add a small m after your dimension to signify a measurement in Meters. Annotation Alternative Units The Alternative Units (Fig. 5.79) allows you to select what type of units you would like a second dimension to show up on your drawing with. The Alternative Units contains 5 controls in it. The same controls exist the same as the Primary Units with the addition of one new control that Enables or Disables the Units. To Enable the Alternative Units simply click the Check Box next to the Caption Enable Units. Once check marked you can then select your Units and other properties of your Alternative Units. Fig Annotation Alternative Units Units - Units The Unit property is used to specify what type of measurement you would like to use for the basis of all dimensioning between two points. In the Fig below you will find a listing of all available units types for dimensioning. The Units are used in all Dimension Families except Angular. Fig. 5.80

43 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-42 Annotation Alternative Units Units - Angles The Angles property is a changeable property under Alternative Units so it is grayed out and not enabled (Fig. 5.81). Fig Annotation Alternative Units Units - Dimension There are several options under the Dimensions section (Fig. 5.82). The Precision (Fig. 5.83) option is used to specify how accurate your dimension will be to the actual value that the object was drawn at. Fig Fig The next group of controls focuses more on the way the text at the end of the use of the Dimension commands will look. This group of controls is called the Zero Suppression controls. The main reason for these controls is to control unneeded information from appearing in the Dimension text. See the following page for a chart of Zero Suppression options and a description of each one.

44 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-43 Zero Suppression Type of Suppression Leading Trailing Description Leading zeros in a dimension are removed from the actual text that will be placed in the drawing >>.6750 Trailing zeros in a dimension are removed from the actual text that will be placed in the drawing >> Feet The feet value is removed from dimension text when the total distance was less than one foot. 0-7 ¾ >> 7 ¾ 0 Inches The inch value is removed from dimension text when the total distance is an even foot measurement. 2-0 >> 2 Annotation Alternative Units Units - Tolerance Just like the Dimensions section, the Tolerance section (Fig. 5.84) contains the very same options. This section controls the properties of the Tolerance text. Fig Annotation Alternative Units Units - Scale The Scale is a very important setting for your Dimensions (Fig. 5.85). The Scale setting controls the scale factor in which linear dimensions are created from, Leader and Angular dimensions are not affected by these settings. Fig. 5.85

45 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-44 Annotation Alternative Units Units - Scale - Linear The Linear setting is used to setup the scale factor at which all Linear dimensions when created will be multiplied by. This is the recommend Linear Scale value that you should change when wanting to show your Alternative dimension in a different unit of measure like Meters. Annotation Alternative Units Units - Scale Paper Space Only The Paper Space Only setting not an available selection under Alternative Units. Annotation Tolerance The Tolerance (Fig. 5.86) allows you to specify a special type of note that you can put on the dimension line with your dimension value. Tolerances are used primarily for the fabrication of machine parts. Most users may never use then in their daily use of AutoCAD. The Tolerance section contains 5 properties in it. The properties control various things in the Tolerance text, which range from appearance to its values that are displayed. Fig Annotation Tolerance Method The Method setting controls how the Tolerance text will look on the dimension. Below is a chart that lists all the different types of methods along with a description of each one of the methods.

46 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-45 Tolerance Methods Methods None Description No Tolerance is added to the Dimension. Symmetrical A plus/minus tolerance expression is added to the Dimension. (Fig. 5.87) Deviation A separate plus and minus tolerance is expression for the Dimension. (Fig. 5.88) Limits Generates a dimension that displays a maximum dimension number or a minimum dimension number. (Fig. 5.89) Basic Creates around the dimensions text value. (Fig. 5.90) Fig Fig Fig Fig Annotation Tolerance Upper Value The Upper Value is used to setup the maximum tolerance value. Annotation Tolerance Lower Value The Lower Value is used to setup the minimum tolerance value. Annotation Tolerance Justification Controls the justification of the tolerance text. You only have three choices of justification, they are Top (Aligns tolerance with the top of the text) (Fig. 5.91), Middle (Aligns tolerance to the middle of the text) (Fig. 5.92) and Bottom (Aligns tolerance to the bottom of the text) (Fig. 5.93).

47 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-46 Fig Fig Fig Annotation Tolerance Height Sets and creates the Tolerance text height to the scale specified. If the value is set to 1 the Tolerance height is created at the same height as the dimension text and if the number is a fraction of that height the Tolerance height is the dimension text height times that number. Fig was created with height set to and Fig was created with a height set to Fig Fig Annotation Text The Text section (Fig. 5.96) allows you to specify the properties of your dimension text. The properties control various items of the Dimension Text, which range from Text Style to its color and height. Fig. 5.96

48 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-47 Annotation Text Style The Styles dropdown is a complied listing of all Text Styles that are available in your current drawing only. If you needed additional Text Styles you would have to set them up by using the Text Style command STYLE. Once you have created your Text Style that you used you can then come back to the Dimensions Styles Annotations dialog box and select your new Style. Annotation Text Height The Height controls the current value of your Dimension Text height. Annotation Text Gap The Gap is a very important setting when you want to set your Dimension Text right in the middle of your dimension line. Figure 5.97 and 5.98 display how the Gap can affect the appearance of your dimension when centered in the dimension line. Fig has a Gap value of and Fig has a Gap value of Fig Fig Annotation Text Color The Color setting controls what color the dimension will be created on. By good practice you should always leave this setting on BYLAYER. This will force the dimension to be created with the Active Layer s color property. See the Format section about Colors for more information. Annotation Text Roundup The Roundup controls the factor for dimensioning measurements. This will force all dimensions to round up to the nearest increment that you have specified. If you have in the Roundup field it will force all dimensions to round to the nearest 1/8 of an inch, and if you have 1.0 in the Roundup field it will force all dimensions to be rounded up to the nearest whole unit.

49 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-48 Point Style Point Styles is the last of the secondary types of formats that we will be taking an in depth look at for AutoCAD LT. Point Styles make up what we see on screen when we draw a dimension line or use the Point command. This is simply how we want our points to show up on the screen so we can see them better from a distance out on the drawing. To access the Point Styles dialog box simply type in DDPTYPE at the command line or select Format>>Point Style for menubar access. The Point Style dialog box (Fig. 5.99) is by far, one of the simplest dialog box that you will encounter inside of AutoCAD LT. The dialog box contains really only two properties in the dialog box. The first is the point style itself which is what it will look like on the screen, and the second is it two parts. The first part is size the point will be, and the second is how that size is interpreted. Lets take a look at the settings for the Point Style now. Fig. 5.99

50 AutoCAD LT Introduction AutoCAD LT Drawing Formats Section 5-49 Point Style The Point Style section (Fig ) of the dialog box allows you to select what you want your Point to look like when its created in AutoCAD LT. There really is no right or wrong type of point to use in your drawing, except that it isn t recommended to use the second one from the left in the top row because the Point won t show up on your drawing. Fig Tip: If you see to many points or small dots on your drawing when you print them you might want to change your Point Style to the second one in the top row and perform the command REGEN to make them disappear. Point Size The Point Size section (Fig ) of the dialog box allows you to specify what your point will look like after you create it and also it will control what your Point will look like after you perform the command REGEN. If Set Size Relative to Screen is selected and the Point Size is set to 5.000% your point will always become 5% of your current viewport after performing a REGEN. Unlike the, Set Size Relative to Screen, the Set Size in Absolute Units makes a little more sense to use because it will keep your points at the same size no matter how you view your drawing. Fig Note: The Point Size will affect all the Point Styles except the first two in the top row.