Guide to Generating Drawings
Guide to Generating Drawings
Guide to Generating Drawings

Dimension Ordinates

Use it!

Used to label distances along an axis from an origin (datum) along the ordinate axis (the line along which the distances are measured).

Location is set in the Dimension Styles box (Placement category).

Tool SettingEffect
Style

Displays the active dimension style, which is set on the Dimension Styles dialog box. The option menu lets you select other available dimension styles.

If you change a tool setting from the default, the setting is highlighted in blue, and an asterisk appears next to the Style name.

Magnifying glass icon

Opens the Dimension Styles dialog box, which is used to control settings for dimensioning.

Alignment

Sets the axis along which the dimension is aligned.

Association

  • If on, snapping a tentative point to the element being dimensioned causes an association point to be created.

  • If off, no associations are created.

To place an ordinate dimension
  1. Select the Dimension Ordinates tool.

  2. Enter a data point to define the origin.

  3. Enter a second data point to define the ordinate axis.

  4. Enter a third data point to define the length of the extension line. This places the “zero” dimension. If the Datum Value field is active, the Datum Value is placed as the dimension.

  5. (Optional) To edit the dimension text, move the input focus to the Key-in window and press <Enter>.
    The     Dimension Text dialog box opens if it is not already open, letting you edit the dimension text.

  6. Enter a data point to define the start of another ordinate dimension. If Location is Automatic or Semi-Automatic, the text is aligned with the text in the “zero” dimension.

  7. If Location is set to Manual, enter a data point to define the endpoint of the ordinate dimension and position the text.

  8. Reset to stop or go back to step 6 to dimension another ordinate from the same origin.

    Dimension Ordinates. Left: Dimension Alignment set to View. Right: Dimension Alignment set to True.

      

Key-in: DIMENSION ORDINATE

To prevent the text for a higher ordinate from overlapping the text for a lower ordinate, turn on Stack Dimensions for the Dimension Ordinates tool in the Dimension Styles dialog box (Tool Settings category). If Stack Dimensions is on, dimension lines jog if necessary.

Ordinate dimension with jogged dimension lines.

  

Ordinate dimensions with jogged dimension lines cannot be displayed with previous versions of MicroStation.