WD_BALLOON and DIM variables

[userlevel6]

What is the relationship between settings for WD_BALLOON and DIM variables? I'm finding it very annoying that the Setup for WD_BALLOON causes DIM style Overrides. Particularly, I'm using a Standard DIM style, associative dimensioning, and DIMSCALE to modify the DIM variables per drawing scale. Why does the WD_BALLOON function want to have it's own settings for arrowhead size, and insist on doing it with an override that becomes the current DIM style, messing up my other dimensioning in the process?
I'm curious how others set this up; has anyone found a way to make this function play nicely with their dimension styles?

[Anonymous]

What version of AcadE are you using? The WD_BALLOON command should reset any
dimension settings when it is finished. Do you notice any errors on the
command line when you run the balloon command?

Pat Murnen

wrote in message news:5759234@discussion.autodesk.com...
What is the relationship between settings for WD_BALLOON and DIM variables?
I'm finding it very annoying that the Setup for WD_BALLOON causes DIM style
Overrides. Particularly, I'm using a Standard DIM style, associative
dimensioning, and DIMSCALE to modify the DIM variables per drawing scale.
Why does the WD_BALLOON function want to have it's own settings for
arrowhead size, and insist on doing it with an override that becomes the
current DIM style, messing up my other dimensioning in the process?
I'm curious how others set this up; has anyone found a way to make this
function play nicely with their dimension styles?

[userlevel6]

AutoCAD Electrical 2008 SP1

No error messages. Always overrides DIMASZ setting, even if I just invoke WD_BALLOON and then exit without drawing anything.

[userlevel6]

I see that is does reset if the command is not cancelled.

If you ever exit the command via cancel (esc), you're stuck with an override. There should be a way to write an error trap into the command to perform the resets...

[Anonymous]

I am unable to reproduce this so far. Can you tell me all the options on the
Balloon setup dialog? Maybe it is a combination of settings somehow. Can you
post a drawing or send it to me directly at pat.murnen@autodesk.com?

Pat Murnen



wrote in message news:5759387@discussion.autodesk.com...
AutoCAD Electrical 2008 SP1

No error messages. Always overrides DIMASZ setting, even if I just invoke
WD_BALLOON and then exit without drawing anything.

[Anonymous]

I will log this issue of it not resetting on a cancel. There is an error
trap that does reset a number of settings but this one must not be getting
reset.

Sorry for any inconvenience,
Pat Murnen

wrote in message news:5759391@discussion.autodesk.com...
I see that is does reset if the command is not cancelled.

If you ever exit the command via cancel (esc), you're stuck with an
override. There should be a way to write an error trap into the command to
perform the resets...

[userlevel6]

Thanks Pat 🙂

[hanchris]

I am in the process of setting up AutoCAD Electrical 2008 for my company and I have never even heard about WD_Balloon files or DIM variables.

I tried to do a search for it in help and in my AutoCAD directories; but both turn up blank. In fact AutoCAD help finds nothing in its help menu.

How can I learn more about WD_Balloon?

Thank you in advance.

[userlevel6]

DIM variables are core ACAD variables that control how dimensions are created & displayed. When you use DDIM to setup dimension styles, you are manipulating these variables and saving them to a style for easy retrieval. (I'm an old keyboard-entry guy, so I'm referring to commands you can type from the keyboard - DIM, DDIM, WD_BALLOON are all commands you may well be invoking from pulldown or button menus.)

WD_BALLOON is the program that runs when you select the "Insert Balloon" button/function/command, whatever you call it. This is (probably) a LISP-coded routine that works in combination with the LEADER (or perhaps the older DIM LEADER?) command, and it allows you to set arrowhead size & appearance and text size. To accomplish this, it manipulates DIMASZ for arrow size and DIMTXT for text size. It saves your current settings for these variables when you start it, and restores them when you are done drawing a balloon (unless you cancel it instead of drawing a balloon!).