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AutoCAD Productivity

Original Dimension Value

by Michael Beall

From: AutoCAD Productivity Articles #143
Originally published: December 2015

Since the dimension text of an associative dimension is Mtext, double-click anywhere on an associative dimension and you can add additional information… or modify the value to what you want.

Dimension 1

But what if you want to put the dimension back to the original value?

Insights:
If you reposition an extension line origin grip of a dimension and the value doesn't change, the original value was modified.

If you double-click a dimension and the edit box has a white background — not blue — the original value was modified.

Dimension 2

Solution:
Double-click the dimension, then put the less-than and greater-than characters in the dimension box, like this… <>

The original value will be restored.

See all the articles published in December 2015

Michael's Corner

Between 2003 and 2016, Michael Beall (and one or two guests) wrote almost 600 articles for CADTutor. The focus of these articles is AutoCAD productivity, and although some of them are now more than a few years old, most remain relevant to current versions of AutoCAD. The article above is just one example. Check out Michael's Corner for a full listing.

Tip of the Day

Object snap tracking

object snap trackingFinding the centre (centroid) of a square or rectangle used to require the use of at least one construction line but with object snap tracking, the same point can be found without having to draw any other objects.

This technique relies on the fact that "Midpoint" is set as one of your running object snaps and that polar tracking (POLAR) and object snap tracking (OTRACK) are on. Say you have a square and you want to draw an inscribed circle. Start the circle command and then hover the cursor over one of the vertical sides of the square until the midpoint snap icon appears. Move towards the centre and a dotted tracking like will appear. Next, hover the cursor over one of the horizontal sides of the square until the midpoint icon appears, again, move towards the centre of the square. This time, when you get close to the centre, both horizontal and vertical tracking lines appear and you can snap to the intersection simply by left-clicking. Finish the circle by snapping to any midpoint.

Today's tip is by David Watson

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