LEVEL 2 Chapters 11­20 13.1 INTRODuCTION TO ADVANCED DImENSIONS This chapter is meant to complete your knowledge of AutoCAD's dimensioning features. Specifically we look at the New Dimension Style dialog box and Parametrics. In Level 1 we focused primarily on defining the types of available dimensions and how to properly dimension geometry. Little was mentioned of this dialog box except for the four essential features deemed most important: Arrowheads, Units, Fit, and Text Style (not needed as much anymore, as the better-looking Arial is the default font). Here we go through the entire Dimension Style dialog box and discuss other options and features, some more than others, according to their usefulness. The reason you need this knowledge is because AutoCAD allows for a tremendous amount of power, flexibility, and variation with its dimensioning. As a regular user, you may not come to appreciate what is available, because much of it may already be "set up" for you. As a CAD manager and advanced user (for whom Level 2 is geared), you may be charged with doing this "setting up" and need to know what to do. We conclude the chapter with a new feature introduced last year in AutoCAD 2010, Parametric Dimensions, and the idea of Constraints. These are routinely found in advanced 3D software, but just recently appeared in AutoCAD. 13.2 DImENSION STyLE mANAGER To start off, let us take a closer look at the Dimension Style Manager. You saw it in Chapter 6, so as a reminder here is how we got it up on our screen. 268 Let us create a new style (by pressing the New button) and name it Sample Style (Figure 13.1). Click on Continue when done. You then see the New Dimension Style dialog box. We now take a much closer look at the seven tabs, titled Lines, Symbols and Arrows, Text, Fit, Primary Units, Alternate Units, and Tolerances. An important point to remember here is that our goal is not to go through every possible button and menu in extreme detail, but rather give a basic overview of them, followed by a narrow focus on (and exact description of) the most useful features only, how they fit in with the design process, and how they benefit you as an AutoCAD user. Let us take a look at the first tab all the way on the left of the New Dimension Style dialog box, called Lines (Figure 13.2). Throughout the process, carefully observe the preview window at the upper right to see the results of changing or adjusting whatever we discuss. FIGuRE 13.1 Create new dimension style.