Use Dimension Styles

Use Dimension Styles

A dimension style is a named collection of dimension settings that controls the appearance of dimensions, such as arrowhead style, text location, and lateral tolerances.

You create dimension styles to specify the format of dimensions quickly, and to ensure that dimensions conform to industry or project standards.

• When you create a dimension, it uses the settings of the current dimension style
• If you change a setting in a dimension style, all dimensions in a drawing that use the style update automatically
• You can create dimension substyles that, for specified types of dimensions, deviate from the current dimension style
• If necessary, you can override a dimension style temporarily

You can view all the settings in a dimension style. Dimension styles used in externally referenced drawings are differentiated from those defined in your current drawing.

You can list the dimension styles in the current drawing. You can also list all dimensioning system variables and their current status or only the variables affected by a dimension style.
When you list the current status of all dimensioning system variables, any running overrides that apply to the current dimension style are listed. You can also list the differences between a named dimension style and the current dimension style.

Use Externally Referenced Dimension Styles

The program displays externally referenced dimension style names using the same syntax as for other externally dependent named objects. When you view externally referenced dimension styles using the Dimension Style Manager, the name of the xref displays in the Styles list as Xref:drawing name with each xref style appearing below the drawing name. For example, if the drawing file baseplat.dwg has a dimension style called FRACTIONAL-1, and you attach baseplat.dwg as an xref to a new drawing, then the xref dimension style is displayed in the Styles list of the Dimension Style Manager as Xref:baseplat.dwg, and FRACTIONAL-1 appears under the drawing name.
Externally referenced dimension styles can be examined, but they cannot be modified or made current. You can use an externally referenced dimension style as a template for creating a new dimension style in your current drawing.