Ever wonder why some dimensions update when the geometry changes and others don't? Dimensions that update are linked or associated with the geometry they measure. That's called dimension associativity. Dimensions can be associative or non-associative depending on how they are created. They can also become disassociated if the geometry they measure are deleted or exploded.
When a dimension becomes dissociated, AutoCAD informs with one of the following messages at the Command prompt:
In this Have You Tried, we'll cover how to turn on the annotation monitor to indicate disassociated dimensions and what to look for when the design changes.
We'll also learn how to reassociate, disassociate, and delete dimensions when they are no longer needed.
For example, the yellow badges indicate this drawing has two dimensions that are not associated with the geometry they measure.
Associating dimensions to drawing geometry makes it more efficient to update the dimensions when the design changes.
There are three types of dimension associativity:
The annotation monitor, when active, displays a yellow badge on the dimensions that have lost associativity. Common causes for losing associativity is when geometry has been deleted or significantly modified; not necessarily when geometry has been simply moved or resized.
Click the Annotation Monitor status bar button to turn the annotation monitor on and off .
When the annotation monitor is active, the Annotation Monitor icon is added to the status bar.
If you don't see the Annotation Monitor status bar button, click Customization , located at the far-right end of the status bar, and select Annotation Monitor.
When the annotation monitor is off, there's no visual indicator that displays if a dimension is associative or non-associative. You can use the Properties palette or LIST command to verify the status of a dimension.
By default, all new dimensions are associative. This can be changed in the Options dialog box.
Associative dimensions support most types of geometry with the following exceptions:
Let's walk through an example of how a dimension can become disassociated.
Verify that the annotation monitor is on.
See how the dimension values change. That's because the dimensions are associated to the centers of the three circles.
A yellow badge is displayed on the dimensions indicating they are no longer associated to the circles. Deleting the middle circle created two disassociated dimensions.
Due to a design change, we now have two disassociated dimensions. To fix this, we'll delete the dimension that's no longer needed and reassociate the other dimension to the remaining circles.
There are two ways to do this, one is from the ribbon and the other is clicking the yellow badge on the dimension. Both methods are similar. In the example below, let's click the yellow badge and use the menu.
Notice that the yellow badge is no longer displayed on the dimension. This indicates that the dimension is now associated with the centers of the two circles.
The dimension displays the new distance between the circles.
With the annotation monitor active, let's associate some dimensions to geometry.
Associated dimension can help keep your drawing dimensions updated when the design changes.
Command | Description |
---|---|
DIMDISASSOCIATE | Removes associativity from selected dimensions. |
DIMREASSOCIATE | Associates or reassociates selected dimensions to objects or points on objects. |
DIMREGEN | Updates the locations of all associative dimensions. |
DIMSTYLE | Creates and modifies dimension styles. |
System Variable | Description | Default Value | Saved In |
---|---|---|---|
ANNOMONITOR | Turns the annotation monitor on or off. | -2 | Drawing |
DIMASSOC | Controls the associativity of dimension objects and whether dimensions are exploded. | 2 | Drawing |