Dimension style driving me CRAZY. Please help me update this correctly.

[TrocoChris]

So, 

When I first started at the company that I work at. Someone had created titleblocks for the company (not me). They told me to save a copy of the blank idw to my desktop and use that for my own titleblock. 

Well, that person has been gone for over a year now, and I'm the CAD manager/lead drafter/yada yada. I was always frustrated with the never ending manual filling of titleblocks, and having to pull them from the desktop each time. So, I've wisened up and created the correct templates that utilize iproperties to fill in the titleblocks as I produce sheets.

We only use 2 sheet sizes at the company I work for, and I have each of those saved into a correct template. 

PROBLEM IS- 

There was a dimension style that we prefer to use (Similar to architectural, but specific to my crew for understanding). It's always been in that saved IDW. Now, I cannot for the life of me find it in my files or how to get it imported into the new templates. Is there a step by step on how to get it loaded as the STANDARD dimension type whenever I open the template?

Also

One the smaller sheet size, when I go into Annotate and click dimension, it shows under the drop down box in Format on that size.....

On the other larger sheet size (which is a different template), it doesn't show under the dimensions NOR does it show in styles manager? 

PLEASE- I'm going batty trying to get it to load up the correct way so that I don't have to reset it every single time i open a page, and every time i get out of dimension for that matter.

[cbenner]

Do you still have that old drawing you were using, which had the dimension style you want?

If so, go to styles editor and find that dimension style.  Right click and select Export.  it will save it as an xml file.  You can put that into a shared location or into your Design Data folder... wherever works for you.  Then go into your template files and create a new Dimension style or pick an existing one you can overwrite.  At the bottom of the Styles Manager, click Import.  Navigate to that file and select it.  It will pull that style into the style you are editing.

Next (very important).  If this is your default style, go to Object Defaults in the Styles Manager, and select that style for all of the various dimension types that are in your defaults.  A lot of people miss this step that's why I call it out.  if you already knew that... sorry.

If you do not still have that drawing, you'll probably have to recreate it from what you can remember.

[TrocoChris]

Okay, so I followed your instructions. 

I've now gotten the Dimension style to show up in both of my templates. But when I got to start dimensioning, it defaults to "Standard" which isn't the correct Dim style..... 

I exported, then imported into each template. Opened object defaults and switched it to the style I wanted. Yet in both drawings, it does the same thing still....

I'm also getting (I was getting this before) A "style conflict" whenever I open either of the drawings. It says.....

"The folliwng style definitions in template C:\Users\Public\Documents\Autodesk\Inventor 2014\TROCO 8.5x11 CHRIS.idw differ from the definitions in the style library; the style library definitions will be used.

Object Defaults:Object Defaults (ANSI)

If the syle definitions in the style library are inteneded for the new document, update the template with the new style definitions. If the style definitions in the template are intended for the new document, remove these styles from your style library using the Style Library Manager."

Thanks for the help so far, It's close.......

[TrocoChris · Accepted solution]

After playing with it this morning. I realized that the styles editor was in "Read Only", I bypassed that under the project menu to Read/Write, and created a new object default with the correct dimension style. Updated that as well to "Active" and saved it in both templates.

Thanks for helping me get there. Atleast now I know how to do it and can create a couple new defaults for my machinist to streamline things. 

[cbenner]

Great!  That read only will bite you every time!

Hope it goes well from here on.

[TrocoChris]

Ahh... Do we ever learn it all? Feel like I learn something new everyday. 

Inventor does so much, class a few years back only covered so much.