AutoCAD Mechanical toolset provides a single command, AMPOWERDIM, to create all types of dimensions.
The AMPOWERDIM command prompts you to select two points to create a linear dimension. The dimension line appears in the drawing area and the program prompts you to specify the dimension location. As you move the dimension line, depending on the direction of drag, the dimension line snaps to become a horizontal, vertical, or aligned dimension.
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1 = horizontal dimension 2 = vertical dimension 3 = aligned dimension |
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To prevent the dimension type from changing when you move the cursor, use command line options to select the dimension type to place. Alternatively, use the AMPOWERDIM_HOR, AMPOWERDIM_VER, or AMPOWERDIM_ALI commands to create horizontal, vertical, and aligned dimensions, respectively.
To create rotated dimensions, choose the appropriate dimension type from the command line options of the AMPOWERDIM command. Alternatively, use the AMPOWEDIM_ROT command to create a rotated dimension.
As you move the dimension line, it snaps to a position 12 mm or 1/2 inch from the object you are dimensioning. It also changes from green to red. This feature is called Distance Snap. You can change the snap distance while you are placing the dimension using the placements settings command line option. You can also temporarily turn off distance snap.
To base distance snap on an object other than the one being dimensioned, use the Placement Options command line option and select another object. For example, the shaft marked 1 in the image below, shows a dimension snapped into position under default condition. The shaft marked 2, in the image below, shows a dimension snapped into position, relative to the 10-mm gear. To override the default snap position, you use Placement Options and select the 10-mm gear as the object to calculate distance snaps from.
While using Placement Options, if you select an existing dimension instead of an object, the dimension snaps into position at the distance specified by the DIMDLI variable (the predefined spacing between two consecutive dimension lines) instead of the preset distance snap value.