Improve alignment of feature control frames

[Anonymous]

When attaching a feature control frame to a dimension, the frame can only be aligned in a center-justified manner.  Depending on the length of the dimension, this can look look unusual (at best) or obscure other objects (at worst).  Nearly every FCF that I see on other drawings in industry is right- or left-justified against the dimension text and leader line.

I would like to see the frame intelligently justify itself based on the dimension snap point that the user selected.  This would allow the existing behavior to persist, for those who require it, but permit consistent justification in the same way that multi-line hole notes and leader text are displayed.

My current workaround is to place the FCF elsewhere on the screen and manually drag it below the dimension.  Of course, the FCF is no longer attached to the dimension, and the vertical spacing has to be eyeballed every time.

Attached is a picture that illustrates the behavior.

[alessandro.gasso]

Option for aligning automatically the feature control frame selecting the dimension.

[chris90]

Is it possible to align a Feature Control Frame to an edge that is not a zero or 90 degrees?  I have yet to find a way to move the FCF off of being horizontal.

In the image attached, you can see the surface texture symblol aligned with the edge.  I'd like to do the same thing with a Feature Control Frame.  Or does Y14.5M-1994 not allow this???

[mark.trotter]

Once you have placed the FCF with the glyph below the dimension, grab the glyph again and move it to where you want.

[Anonymous]

Mark,

Your suggestion works, but the FCF will do one of two things:

1.  If the FCF has already been attached to the dimension, a leader line will appear when the FCF is dragged far enough away from the dimension.  This not only looks ridiculous, but seems to be in violation of Section 3.5(b) of Y14.5-2009, which states that leader lines coming from an FCF point to the feature itself.  (I understand that not everyone uses that standard, but since it's one of the most prevalent, adherence to the spec would be helpful).  See below:

2.  If the FCF has been placed in open space and isn't attached to the dimension, it can be moved around as suggested, but it won't move relative to the dimension.  So, if I manually place an FCF under a dimension and then decide to drag the dimension elsewhere, the FCF won't follow it.

As an addendum to my original request, it would also be helpful if the six little green alignment dots around the dimension were visible when attaching FCFs.  It's always a hunt to position my cursor in the right place to find the dot when attaching an FCF.

Andy

[mark.trotter]

Andy, I kind of see your issue here. I hate it when you have to place an FC in open space. And if you move the view the FCF stays put... In my example I have attached the FC to a glyph in the middle bottom of the dimension so it will stay with the view as I move it. I can then slide it left or right a limited amount before it goes out to the lead away from the dimension. If I dimension it differently I can attach the FC to either end of the dimension as well.

Regards,
Mark

[Anonymous]

Mark,

I hadn't even considered the floating FCF not moving with the view, either.  That's a good point.

What version of IV are you running?  I have 2016 and can't get the FCF to slide when it's attached to the bottom center alignment dot.  It stays put and eventually a horizontal line will appear if I move the cursor far enough over (figure 1 below).  If I pull downward, I'll get a leader as shown above.

I see what you mean about snapping to the end of the dimension.  This can get a little cumbersome with long callouts, though (figure 2).

I'm not nixing your suggestions, but just demonstrating to Autodesk that FCF alignment is definitely lacking in Inventor and creates some compromises .

Andy

[mark.trotter]

Andy, we are running 2015. I have seen where the horizontal line appears. Usually after I have moved the FCF fully in one direction or the other. Then I know I have gone as far as I can without going to the leader away from the dimension. Maybe this is a 2016 issue only? Check for any fixes AD has done to 2016? I only use the end snap when I have to pull my dimension out of the dim lines. Yes it can be cumbersome... I do like the idea of ALL of the glyphs highlighting during FCF attachment to the dim. It would also be great if you could change the placement without having to reattach the FCF to a new glyph.

Mark

[Anonymous]

Mark,

I was able to reproduce the snapping behavior you described.  For me, though, I need to select a random location "somewhere near" the dimension when placing the FCF.  If I click a green alignment dot, it doesn't work.  After filling out the FCF dialog, the frame will then snap to the dimension text.  It can be dragged left, right, or center.  The workflow here seems really ambiguous.

Even so, and this might be splitting hairs, the FCF still isn't aligned correctly with the dimension text.  See below.

So, maybe I should reword this feature request:

1. Make the green alignment dots visible at all times.
2. Eliminate the obscure "click somewhere near the dimension, but not on a hidden green alignment dot" behavior that allows the FCF to snap justified to the dimension text.
3. Offset the FCF so it aligns with the dimension text, not the leader line.

I think that covers it now...

Andy

[Anonymous]

I too am using 2016 and am still having the problem.  Prior to 2016, I could shift the alignment of the FCF by dragging left or right.  Now when you try to drag it, it just pulls a straight line out, without moving the FCF, as shown above in fig. 1b.  When working in an existing drawing, the FCF's that already exist allow you to pull and they move, new ones added do not.  Has any body found a fix for this?  I can't even get the alignment like shown directly above (with the FCF aligning with the leader line).  I was hoping by now that this would have been fixed or answered, but I cannot seem to find it anywhere...and I have been looking for the better part of a year now.  Thanks in advance.

Jamie

[Anonymous]

Jamie,

I can duplicate the behavior you described in 2016, too. However, I've found a workaround. The FCF will not allow pulling and dragging while snapped unless it's pulled off as a leader line first, and then snapped back. This has to be a bug.

The workflow is this:

1. Attach FCF to bottom middle green dot under a dimension.
2. After the FCF is placed, pull it off so there's a leader line pointing to the dimension (which looks goofy).
3. Drag the FCF back under the dimension, which should make the leader line disappear.
4. Drag the FCF left or right to snap as needed.

In addition, if you click one of the left- or right-justified green dots in Step 1, the FCF will snap inline with the dimension text. At that point, all bets are off in terms of alignment. It needs to go to the middle dot.

Does that make sense?

Andy

P.S. As a side note, Autodesk, this workaround does not resolve the issues described in my original post...

[Anonymous]

Oh my goodness, Andy!  Thank you so much!  It did makes sense and it worked.  Wish I would have responded to this post months ago when I first saw it.  I will now relay this to my team!

[Anonymous]

Glad to help! 

[mark.trotter]

Yes, these are essential requirements for drafting personnel. This would expedite the drawings exponentially. I have to realign my FCF's every time. This was on option before and for some unknown reason was taken out.

[genovaj]

FCF attachment to hole notes is beyond broken. FCF attachment to dimensions and hole notes in drawings really should be addressed. I don't have time to hunt, peck, and pray that the FCF snaps to the hole note or dimension.

If Autodesk is so hell bent on making Inventor work like Solidworks to attract that cult userbase to using Inventor, they should pay attention to some of the things that Solidworks got right which is FCF automatically snapping to dimensions and hole notes and aligning to the correct justification automatically. This needed to be fixed about 10 releases ago, but somehow this JDI never gets any traction.

[mark.trotter]

Agreed. The FCF placement used to work decently when you could place it on a dimension and then move it left to right to justify it the way you wanted. However this was removed several releases back. Please put it back in.