DraftSight

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Continuing on with the trend of labeling drawings to make them clear and polished, I found myself exploring DraftSight’s Dimension icon under the Annotations tab in the customizable ribbon. After becoming more familiar with the feature’s options, I now consider adding dimensions a crucial part of my drawing routine – so, I thought I’d shed some light on the perks of defining the lengths and angles of your designs in this post.

I’ll be focusing on the Smart, Parallel, Linear, Angular, Diameter, and Radius Dimension options, but keep in mind that there are a few other features that will be covered in a future blog.

As expected from any DraftSight function, there is a short cut to adding Dimension, called Smart. This option allows the user to click any entity and quickly produce a label declaring its length. This option is especially convenient for valuing multiple line segments or arcs in a timely manner.

The Diameter and Radius options work similarly to the Smart feature, in that you just click a designated arc and their dimensions appear instantaneously. Every other Dimension operation is activated by selecting its option in the ribbon, and pressing the endpoints of the line or angle that you’d like to be defined.

One thing to mention – the Smart feature will also require endpoint identification if you’re defining a polyline, which defeats its expediting purposes. To fix this problem, you may want to press the Explode icon in the ribbon, so individual segments of your drawing can be identified right away.

The more detail you add to your drawings, the more accurately your vision can be communicated in your drafts – in this sense, including dimensions go hand-in-hand with adding Text.

I hope this post encourages you to make Dimension an integral step in your DraftSight designs!

Check out the video below to see Dimension operations at work!

(0:00 Smart, 0:06 Parallel, 0:16 Linear, 0:25 Angular, 0:32 Diameter, 0:40 radius)

Learn more at DraftSight.com!

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Proven DWG-file-based CAD at the best value on the market. DraftSight, brought to you by Dassault Systèmes, the 3DEXPERIENCE company, has been trusted by millions of users worldwide. DraftSight provides a familiar, intuitive 2D drafting experience with options for advanced productivity tools, 3D design capabilities, parametric constraints, and flexible licensing options including perpetual licenses and network licenses for organizations with multiple users or sites. DraftSight’s command and file compatibility and support for legacy drawings and data like Dynamic Blocks facilitate a quick transition from AutoCAD with a minimal learning curve. Visit DraftSight.com to learn more.