Dim style with dollar symbol

[GubianiA]

Hello everybody,

I'm using AutoCAD Mechanical 14 in the company where I work and we are having an issue with the dimensions.

I've created a template with a personal dimstyle called More_AM_14 which is an annotative one. But when I use it in a new drawing with the command ampowerdim, it creates dimensions with a style called More_AM_14$N, where N is an increasing number for each dimension. Every dimension with a style like this not follow the scale of the drawing (variable cannoscale) and remains always like if the scale was 1:1. If I change the style of this dimensions in the original More_AM_14, they fit correctly with the cannoscale variable.

I would like to know if I'm doing something wrong or if there's a way to avoid it.

Attached you can find an empty drwaing saved from the template we use in our company (I can't upload the .dwt file as an attachement).

[JoAnn_Hogan]

First tip: You can attach any file format (Even Templates) here, when you put it in a .zip file 😃

OK so is it doing this in all drawings or just the one?

[GubianiA]

Thanks for the tip of the zip file. I use it a lot of times, but in this case I forgot it.

The problem appears in every drawing, either a new one that an old one. When I start from zero I use the template mentioned above. The dwg attached in the first post is just the dwt template saved as a normal drawing.

Thanks for your help.

[JoAnn_Hogan]

Please correct me if I am wrong. I am just trying to understand what is happening, as it seems that I cannot replicate this issue.

So when you create a dimension using the power dimension command. It adds another annotation style adding a $N at the end of the name?

[jggerth]

In vanilla Acad, the "dimstylename$4" refers to a child dimension style,  in this case a child dimstyle for Radius dimensions,  

Presumably the AM MPowerDims do the same thing, but create the children on the fly rather than requiring the use to create them explicitly.

[JoAnn_Hogan]

And how do you stop it from creating these child styles? To be not fruitful and not multiply??

[jggerth]

Disabling  the AM PowerDim functionality is a question for the Mechanical forum and likely is not possible.  Personally, i wouldn't worry about  them.  there's a very limited number that can be created, and I suspect they are hardwired into Mechanical.  

[GubianiA]

@JoAnn: Yes, you're right. And if I look in the dimension styles manager I see no other styles than MORE_AM_14.

@JGerth: I think you're right too about the new styles created on the fly, and this explains why I don't see any new style in the styles manager. But in my opinion this is not a minor problem: when I make a new drawing I must switch every dimension from the new style to the "base" one. And this can be made only selecting the dimensions and changing the properties, because the matchprop command dosen't work in this case.

I will post the same question in the mechanical section of the forum, because it seems to be a specific problem.

Thanks anyway for the help.

[jggerth]

Does the Dim UPDATE command work on Powerdims?  If it does, it seems that would be the quickest way to get things where you want them.  simply set you desired parent dimStyle current, and run DIM UPDATE selecting everything.

Child dimstyles are good things -- after all you don't particularly need to have linear dimensions look exactly like radius dims.

[steve216586]

I've seen this problem many times.

Mechanical Power Dimension commands don't use annotative dimensions. As you have found out, it will override with its own style identified with the "$" symbol. The easiest fix I have to suggest, is to load the vanilla commands for dimensions, on the ribbon and get rid of the Power commands. Go into the CUI and you can swap them out for your workspace profile.

[GubianiA]

@ JGerth: It's not a problem of having a dimension "similar" to another, but a problem of scale: the new dimensions, and this is valid either for the ampowerdim command as for the dimlinear command, is always created with a scale of 1, also when the drawing scale (variable cannoscale) is different, i.e. 20. So I have to change every dimension to the original style, to make them fit to the right scale.

Another thing is that I can't find the command dimupdate in this version of AutoCAD. Ther's an amupdate command, but it works only for Mechanical Desktop (we use the classic AutoCAD Mechanical version).

@Steve: I've tried the classic commands, but the result is the same: AutoCAD creates the dimensions on a new non-annotative style.

EDIT: I've tried the command placed on the ribbon, but this is a ampower command. The classic dimlinear works right.

The only way to make them work correctly is manually change the style from the $N to the original one.

[jggerth]

re dim update,  it's not  _one_  command, it's two  Enter DIM as a command, and then UPDATE.  DIMUPDATE is an unknown command, but DIM <enter>UPDATE works.

No guarantees with mechanical powerdims -- that's something I haven't messed with since the original Mechanical Desktop came out (a DOS version IIRC)

[steve216586 · Accepted solution]

Please read carefully:

AutoCAD lets you select objects used to annotate drawings as annotative. Only annotative objects react to the annotation scale.

AutoCAD Mechanical objects do not react to the annotation scale. If you are using power dimensions, you should not flag them as annotative. AutoCAD Mechanical Objects have been designed to react to scale areas and may not behave as expected if they are made annotative.

You can use AMSYMSCALE to control it or set the scale in AMStandards tab of Options dialog.

[GubianiA]

@JGerth: Sorry, I used dim update almost never, because I usually change the proprieties of an object, and then apply them to the other with matchprop.

@Steve: This the point! I always thought that ampower commands work as the classic ones, instead their behavior is different. I simply set my personal dimstyle as non annotative and everything works fine: now dimensions created with ampowerdim fit the scale of the drawing.

The styles created on the fly remain but this is not a big deal. The important thing is that we mustn't no more change the dimensions style every time.

Thanks you all for the suggestions.