aligned dimensions

[Mike686]

hi everyone

is there a way to lock the dimensions to aligned dimensions...

or a key i could hold while dimensioning that would do that..

i have to dimensions a drawing where theres a lot of aligned dimensions to put and to do it manualy each time takes forever...

[Curtis_Waguespack]

Hi Mike686,

Here's a tip that might help:

Once your dimensions are placed, hold the Shift key and then right click and choose Select All Inventor Dimensions. Then right click again and choose Arrange Dimensions.

Often I'll just throw dimensions on the sheet whereever they land and then use this tip to put them in place.

I hope this helps.
Best of luck to you in all of your Inventor pursuits,
Curtis
http://inventortrenches.blogspot.com

[Curtis_Waguespack]

Hi Mike686,

If you find that you don't want to select all of the dimensions you can hold the Shift key and then right click and choose Detail Filters. Then you can window select across the view and choose only some of the dimensions, the filter fitlers out the view so that it doesn't get selected, that way when you right click you'll get the Arrange Dimensions option.

You can hold the Shift key and then right click and choose Edit Filters and set up what gets selected also, or create a custom filter.

I hope this helps.
Best of luck to you in all of your Inventor pursuits,
Curtis
http://inventortrenches.blogspot.com

[Mike686]

hi curtis, thanks for the quick response

i did what you descripted but i think yous misunderstood what i want to do..

what you tell me to do will aligned the dimension horizontaly..

but what i need to do is dimension some tube that are not parralel with each other

i dont need the dimensions to aligne with one another but aligned with the frame member.. see attachement

[mrattray]

The dimension line will always be parallel with the direction of measurement. If your dimension is not at the angle you expect, it is because you're not dimensioning what you think you are.

[Mike686]

i don't think so...

see the attachement

the dim 1 is if i clic and drag the dimension...

the dim 2 is if i clic the drag and then rigth clic and choose aligned in the dimension style...

so its not always parallel...

i'm dimensioning the same frame member....

[mpatchus]

You must be dimensioning from/to points instead of lines.

[mrattray]

Like the other Mike said, it looks like you're dimensioning to points instead of lines. You should dimension to lines whenever possible to avoid these sorts of behaviors.

[Mike686]

no.. i'm clicking on the line

[Mike686]

if i zoom real close it dimensioning paralel to the line but if i'm at normal distance it's place a linear dimension...

[mrattray]

You need to zoom your face right up close in there to make sure you're getting the line, if you're zoomed out on busy geometery Inventor will select the end point and give you a wacky dimension.

[Mike686]

look i'm not stupid..

even if i clic on the line on the back... wich is the only line there it still give me a linear dimension....

maybe it something in my style that cause that????

[mrattray]

I never called you stupid.

I'm trying to help you. If you're not getting the answer you expected, perhaps you're not explaining yourself very well.

[Mike686]

yeah sorry, i did'nt mean to sound ungratful...

its just i'm on a real tight schedul to make this drawing

and i'm in the process of switching completly to inventor wich come with many many frustrating moment

anyway here a video i took with my phone, maybe this will help you see the problem

its really short but if not i bust the limit for attachement

[Curtis_Waguespack]

Hi Mike686,

You might already have found this, I couldn't tell from what you've mentioned so far, but if you select the line (or points, either works fine) and then right click and choose Dimension Type you can select Aligned to force that solution. But I'm not aware of any way to set things up to default to Aligned.

I hope this helps.
Best of luck to you in all of your Inventor pursuits,
Curtis
http://inventortrenches.blogspot.com

[Curtis_Waguespack · Accepted solution]

Hi Mike686,

The only other way that I can find,  is to select the line (or points, either works) and then hold the CTRL key and select on the line again. This will place the the dimension pretty much right on top of the line. Do this quickly for all of the dimensions and then you can use the Arrange option I mentioned earlier to quickly arrange them all offset from the object lines.

That might or might not be faster?

I hope this helps.
Best of luck to you in all of your Inventor pursuits,
Curtis
http://inventortrenches.blogspot.com

[Mike686]

yeah it help, it still takes times but it work

but i really wish in inventor there was like two seperate commands for linear and for aligned dimension

like autocad....

or maybe something like if you hold like shift it lock to aligned dimension

but like you said in mastering inventor

i have to put design concept used in autocad on the shelf......

[Mike686]

one more thing curtis

do you know someone who is really good with the frame generator..

i have some questions and things i want to do with the FG and i need someone who really knows the possibilities of the FG

[Curtis_Waguespack]

Hi Mike686,

There are several people on this forum that use Frame Generator on a daily basis and have explored it's strengths and weaknesses, so I'm sure you can find some answers here.

If you have several questions about FG, I'd suggest typing them out individually for yourself so that you can organize your thoughts a bit, and then post them one at a time (as new topics) giving specifics about each issue, including example files and screen shots.

Also be sure to explain what you've tried and not tried, and so on. Basically the more clear and concise you can be, the better replies you'll get.

Of course if you have a general question about your workflow or a specific project, then it might be just as well to start off with general questions with some screenshots and details to get the ball rolling.

As I said, there are some really proficient FG users on this forum, so I think you're in the right place.

I hope this helps.
Best of luck to you in all of your Inventor pursuits,
Curtis
http://inventortrenches.blogspot.com

[SBix26 · Accepted solution]

The General Dimension tool gives three placement options after picking a line or two points, depending on where your cursor goes: aligned, horizontal, and vertical.  The dimension orients as aligned when the cursor is within the bounding box of the end points, then changes to horizontal or vertical when outside the box.  This means that it is relatively easy to place an aligned dimension on a 45° angle, and really difficult when the angle is very close to horizontal or vertical.  The latter case is, unfortunately, what you are dealing with, so the RMB option to force the aligned orientation is probably the best option.  Or, as you noted, zooming in very close.