Customized dimension line arrows and other dimensioning improvements

Tekla Structures
2018
Tekla Structures

Customized dimension line arrows and other dimensioning improvements

You can now customize dimension line arrows, change dimension arrow size for all arrow types, and add pour object properties in dimension tags. Straight rebar dimensions are now anchored to the rebar ends. There are also some updates in the Rebar group dimensioning application.

Customize dimension line arrows

If you feel that none of the default dimension line arrow types suits to your needs, you can now create arrows of your own.

  • First open the dimension_arrows.sym file in Symbol Editor, and create a new arrow type and save the file. The file is located in the Common environment ( ...ProgramData:\TeklaStructures\<version>\Environments\common\symbols ) or in your environment under the \symbols folder.

  • Then you need to add the position of the new symbol to the configuration file dimension_arrows.txt in the same folder. This file tells which arrows are available for use in your environment. For example, if the position number is 4, then add 000,001,002,003, 004.

    You no longer need to stretch dimension arrow heads, because dimension_arrows.sym in the Common environment has been updated to show arrows correctly at a 1:1 scale.

  • Create a bitmap of the new arrow type in the ..\ProgramData\Tekla Structures\<version>\Bitmaps folder on your computer using the naming convention dr_dialog_dim_arrow_type_004.bmp.

  • Finally, restart Tekla Structures.

Now, when you open the Dimension Properties dialog box, you should see the new arrow type in the Arrow list .

For more information about customized dimension line arrows, see Customize dimension line arrows.

New dimension arrow types

Some new dimension arrow types have been added to the arrow symbol set, see the image below. Each symbol is built on a 10 pixel basis so you can easily scale them if needed.

Change dimension arrow size

  • You can now change the dimension arrow size for all dimension arrow types in the Dimension Properties dialog box.

Rebar dimensions anchored to rebar ends

Straight rebar dimensions are now anchored to the rebar ends and not to the middle of the rebar group.

Pour object properties available in dimension tags

You can now add pour object properties to dimension line tags associated to pour objects in GA drawings. Note that dimension tags that have been created on pour object dimensions before this improvement will not work, and they need to be recreated.

Improvements in Dimension rule properties

  • You can now define different dimension line settings for each side ( Top , Bottom , Left and Right ) in the Dimensioning rule properties dialog box. To do this, clear the new Same on all sides check box.

    If you select Same on all sides , the settings in the same dimension properties file are used on all sides.

  • The list for selecting vertical dimension properties has been deleted.

For more information about dimensioning rule properties, see Dimensioning rule properties.

Improvements in Rebar group dimensioning

  • On the Parameters tab, you can now select a location for the mark. The options are:

    • Automatic : Mark 1 is positioned above the dimension text when the dimension is above the part, and under the dimension text when the dimension is under the part.

    • Above dim. text : Mark 1 is always positioned above the dimension text.

    • Below dim. line : Mark 1 is always positioned below the dimension line.

    When placing the mark, the dimension text font size for the above text position and the spacing values defined on the Advanced settings tab for both positions are considered. This setting is only available for the non-radial annotation types.

  • On the Parameters tab there is another new option Combine dim. between rebar - dim. allowing you to combine the dimensions of the distance between two rebar groups with the dimensions of the rebar group where the spacing is the same as the distance between the groups. It also combines the first/last group dimension line with the distance to the part end if the distance to the border is the same as the rebar group spacing.

    Example

    • In the example below, the first dimension from the top shows the rebar groups (blue color) with the distances between the groups (green color) plus the distances to the part ends (grey color). Dimensions are not combined.

    • The second dimension shows the same situation with marked equalities between the drawing rebar group spacing (cc) and the distances between the groups. Note that the distance to the part end on the left is not the same as the spacing, and so the dimensions are not combined.

    • In the third dimension, the new combining type Consider same spacings has been applied. The green distances between the two blue rebar groups have been combined with the group that has the same spacing (cc) as the distance between the groups.

    • The combining has also been applied to the gray distance to the part end because the distance to the part end is the same as the spacing (cc) of the adjacent rebar group.

  • On the Extra marks tab, where you can create extra marks in front of or behind the dimension line, the list box labels Rebar position and Text properties are now placed more nicely in the dialog box, and they now exist for both marks.

For more information about Rebar group dimensioning , see Dimension rebars with Rebar group dimensioning application.

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