How Do I Manually Change Dimensions in AutoCAD?

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Are you tired of struggling with AutoCAD’s automatic dimensioning? Do you want more control over the dimensions in your drawings?

Well, you’re in luck! In this tutorial, we will learn how to manually change dimensions in AutoCAD using simple steps and commands.

Step 1: Select the Dimension

First, let’s select the dimension that you want to manually change. You can either click on the dimension directly or use the selection tool to select multiple dimensions at once.

Step 2: Open the Properties Palette

Once you have selected the dimension, you need to open the Properties Palette. To do this, right-click on the selected dimension and choose “Properties” from the context menu. Alternatively, you can press Ctrl+1 on your keyboard.

Step 3: Change Dimension Text

In the Properties Palette, locate the section labeled “Text”. Here, you will find a text box where you can manually edit the dimension text.

Simply click inside the text box and make your desired changes. You can add or remove text, change numbers or units, or even add special characters as needed.

Tips:

  • If you want to add a prefix or suffix to your dimension text, simply type it before or after the existing text.
  • To remove any existing prefix or suffix, delete them from the dimension text box.

Step 4: Adjust Dimension Style

In some cases, simply changing the dimension text might not be enough. If you need to modify other aspects of your dimensions such as arrowheads, extension lines, or precision, you can do so by adjusting the Dimension Style.

To modify the Dimension Style:

  1. Click on the “Manage” tab in the ribbon at the top of your AutoCAD window.
  2. In the “Styles” panel, click on the “Dimension Style Manager” button.
  3. In the Dimension Style Manager dialog box, select the appropriate dimension style from the list.
  4. Click on the “Modify..” button to make changes to the selected dimension style.
  5. In the Modify Dimension Style dialog box, you can adjust various parameters such as text height, arrowhead size, and precision. Make your desired changes and click “OK”.

Note: Modifying the Dimension Style will affect all dimensions that use that particular style. If you want to change only a specific dimension without affecting others, use Step 3 instead.

Step 5: Apply Changes

After making the necessary adjustments to your dimension text and/or Dimension Style, click on any empty area of your drawing or press Esc on your keyboard to apply the changes. Your dimensions will now reflect your manual modifications!

Congratulations! You have successfully learned how to manually change dimensions in AutoCAD.

By following these simple steps, you can now have complete control over how your dimensions appear in your drawings. So go ahead and start creating precise and customized dimensions with ease!

Note: The steps mentioned in this tutorial may vary slightly depending on your version of AutoCAD. However, the overall concept remains the same across different versions.