dimension ignorance

I draw a lot in 3d in AutoCAD 2006 , I mostly dimension in paperspace but
the occasion arises where I need to dimension the se iso view in model space

my problem arises when for instance I dimension a feature on the top surface
with my
ucs set to top , it is likely to place the dimension any where in the three
dimensional area , it
looks right in the top orthographic view but if you set to se iso and zoom
out the dimension will be a good distance away from the actual object

this is consistent no matter what face I am trying to dimension


any help would be appreciated

 

Just set the UCS origin to one of the points you are dimensioning.
You'll probably find a macro helpful for this somewhat tedious task!

 

only thing I know about macro is I like mine with cheese

would be funny if it wasn't so sad

 

Well I can't really help because I'm still using an older version of
AutoCAD. I think it might be different in 2006 but in my version you
can customize and create new toolbars by right clicking on them.

So, I make a new toolbar and then add a new, user defined button to it,
give it a name, a description and a pretty picture and then assign it
the following macro...

^C^C_UCS O \^C^C_DIMLINEAR;

This is exactly what you would type into the command line each time to
achieve the same effect. "^C^C" is like pressing escape a couple of
times and "\" means pause for user input.

Perhaps someone else can enlighten you as to how to achieve the same
thing in 2006.

 

===================================================
I do most of my dimensioning in model space, and I do a lot of 3D work.

When dimensioning in 3d model space, you need to be able to see what object
you are snapping to when you dimension, and therefore you should probably
use one of the iso views when doing so, so you can put your dimension on the
object you actually want to dimension. It's really pretty simple. You can
use the 'orbit 3D' to assist you in changing your view to suit your needs.
Your dimensions will appear correctly then, both in 3D and in a 'plane'
view, like 'top' or 'left', etc.

If you dimension using a 'plane' view, like top, AutoCAD doesn't distinguish
objects, and as you've found it will snap to anything you have set at the
particular point (relative x,y but NOT z) to your view.

Norm - NorthSlope Detailing

 

, thanks , I am dimensioning in model space in s.e. iso view

with the ucs set to left and picking points on the left face the dimension
appears on the
right face or off in space


i am thinking i have a setting wrong or something unchecked