Announcement
July 8, 2021

When your design changes in AutoCAD, keep your dimensions updated with Associative Dimensions

Having dimensions associated to the geometry they measure can help keep your dimensions updated when your design changes. Learn how to control whether new dimensions are associative, how to turn the annotation monitor on and off, and how to easily associate dimensions to geometry.

About Associative Dimensions

In AutoCAD, dimensions can be associative, meaning they adjust to changes in the geometric objects they measure. Dimension Associativity defines the relationship between geometric objects and the dimensions that give their distance and angles.

Depending on how they are created, dimensions can be associative or non-associative. They can also become disassociated if the geometry they measure are deleted or exploded.

When a dimension becomes disassociated, you’ll see one of the following messages at the command prompt:

Types of Dimension Associativity

Associating dimensions to drawing geometry makes it more efficient to update the dimensions when the design changes.

There are three types of dimension associativity:

  • Associative dimensions automatically adjust their locations, orientations, and measurement values when the geometry associated with them is modified.
  • Non-associative dimensions can be selected and modified using grips, but they don’t change automatically when the geometry they measure is modified.
  • Partially associative dimensions exist when only one extension line is associated with a geometric object. This typically occurs when geometry associated with a dimension is deleted or exploded.

Annotation Monitor

When active, the annotation monitor displays a yellow badge on the dimensions that have lost associativity. To turn the monitor on and off, click the Annotation Monitor Status bar button. When the annotation monitor is off, there is no visual indication of whether a dimension is associative or non-associative.

Control Whether New Dimensions are Associative

All new dimensions are associative by default. You can change this in the Options dialog box.

Click below to read the full article on the Autodesk Knowledge Network

Have You Tried: Associative Dimensions 

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