You can set dimension placement to free or fixed, and control the space between parallel dimension lines and the location of the dimension in relation to the object it is dimensioning. You can also select whether to place short dimension text inside or outside the dimension.
In single-part, assembly and cast unit drawings, the dimension placement settings can be defined in an open drawing, saved into a dimension properties file and loaded in another drawing, or taken into use in dialog box. In general arrangement drawings, most of the settings can be defined on drawing and view level, but placement settings only on object level.
Remember that in addition to dimension placement settings, the placement is also affected by
Protection properties.Tekla Structures uses the protection properties to prevent marks and dimensions from being placed in protected areas.
To adjust dimension placement settings in an open drawing and save the settings for later use:
-
On the
Drawing tab, click
.
-
Go to the General tab in dimension
properties.
-
In
Dimension lines spacing, enter the desired space between two parallel dimension lines.
-
Select whether to place short dimension text inside or outside of the dimensions from the
Short dimensions list.
-
Click
Place..., and define the desired placing settings:
- Set
Placing to
free to let
Tekla Structures decide the location and direction of the dimension based on the
Direction settings.
- If you set
Placing to
fixed, you can place the dimension in any location. When you use the setting
fixed, the dimension stays where you place it even though you update the drawing, whereas with
free,
Tekla Structures tries to find the optimal place for the dimension.
- The option
Direction defines where
Tekla Structures places dimensions relative to the dimensioned object. You can select either
positive or
negative, or both. Positive places the dimension further away and negative closer to the dimensioned object. This setting affects the
Placing:
free setting.
-
In
Minimum distance, enter the closest distance
Tekla Structures uses to place the dimension.
-
In
Search margin, enter the empty margin that you want to have around the dimension. If
Tekla Structures cannot place the dimension at the minimum distance, it moves the dimension by the value you enter in the
Search margin box.
Tekla Structures tries to place the dimension using the
Search margin value until it finds a place for the dimension.
-
Click
OK to close the dimension placing dialog box.
-
Save the dimension properties using
Save, or save them in another file using
Save as.
-
Click
Modify to modify the dimension properties in the open drawing.
The dimensions are placed according the changes you made. Now you have a dimension properties file that you can load whenever you need to adjust the dimension placement settings in the same way. For example, you can
load these properties in the
Dimension Properties box in the
Dimensioning rule properties dialog box, or in an open general arrangement drawing in the
Dimension Properties dialog box.