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Chapter

6DimensioningPADDS system of layers and scales greatly simplifies adding dimensions to drawings. All

measurements are automatically scaled according to the current layer scale.

A host of drawing commands are available for dimensioning linear distances, angles, diameters of

circles and radii of circles and arcs. Distances between points and angles can also be measured

without being dimensioned.

Dimensioning basicsThe dimensioning commands are categorized as follows:

Linear dimensions, eg horizontal and vertical dimensions. Circular and angular dimensions used to measure diameters, radii and angles. Utilities to measure distances, angles and areas.


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Layers and scale

All drawing entities are stored in actual size. However, when they are drawn on the screen, they are

scaled according to the relevant layer scales. When dimensioning a drawing, the current layer scale

is used in similar fashion to measure distances.

To ensure correct measurements, having the correct layer selected as the current layer is important.

New dimensions are also drawn on the current layer as ordinary line and text entities.

Refer to Chapter 4 for a detailed discussion of layers and scale.

Drawing dimensionsSeveral drawing commands are available for dimensioning drawings. Newly drawn dimensions areput on the current layer as ordinary lines and text entities. The entities are drawn using the current

system dimension parameters.

Dimension parameters

The dimension parameters are a combination of some line and text parameters defining the

appearance of new dimension lines and text.

The system line parameters are set with theLine parameterscommand. The dimension parameters

are edited by selectingDimension Parameters on the menu. The following dialogue box appears,

with the following aspects:


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Line pen number : The line thickness associated with each pen number is used. If adrawing is scaled when printed, its pen widths are scaled accordingly.

Text pen number : The same as for line pen. Text font Text height in millimetres. Text width as a factor of text height. Line spacing for baseline dimensions, specified as a factor of text height. Text slant in degrees, up to a maximum of 30. Baseline mode can be toggled on and off. Precision : Number of digits to display after the decimal point. Leader type : Select arrows, dots or lines.Note: Captions and rebar descriptions are also drawn according to the system dimension

parameters.

The display parameters of drawn dimensions can be changed as for normal text and lines. Refer to

Chapter 3 for detail.

The dimension drawing commandsThe dimension drawing commands are generally easy to use. A summary of the available options

are given below. Refer to the Command Reference for more detail on using the commands.


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Linear dimensions

A few commands are available to dimension distances between points. In all cases Baseline mode

can optionally be enabled, in which case all measurements are made from a common point.

Horizontal dimensions

TheHorizontal dimension command is used to measure and dimension the horizontal distance

between two or more points.

Vertical dimensions

Use the Vertical dimension command to measure and dimension the vertical distance between two

or more points.

Skew dimensions

Inclined distances can be measured and dimensioned with the Skew dimension command.


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Circular dimensions

Diameters of circles and radii of circles and circular arcs can be dimensioned in several ways.

Inside diameters

Use theDimension inside diametercommand to measure and dimension a circle's diameter. The

dimension is drawn through the circle.

Outside diameters

The second method to dimension a circle's diameter is using the Dimension outside diameter

command. Here, a dimension caption is drawn outside the circle.


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Radii

UseDimension radius to measure the radius of a circle or a circular arc. The dimension can be

drawn inside or outside the circle or arc.

Angles

The angle between two lines can be dimensioned. Depending on the position of the dimension text,

the dimension line is intelligently positioned inside or outside the indicated angle.


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Measure commandsA few commands are available to measure distances, angles and areas without drawing any

dimensions.

Measuring a line, circle or arc

Measures various properties and displays different information, depending on whether a line, circle

or arc is selected.

Lines : Coordinates of the beginning and end points, the overall length as well as thehorizontal and vertical distances, and the angle of the line are given. For polylines, thisdata refers to the specific segment indicated, but the entire line length is also included.

Circles : The centre point coordinates, circle circumference, diameter and area aremeasured and displayed.

Arcs : The length and radius of the arc, as well as the angle between the imaginary linesjoining the start and end points with the centre point, and the coordinates of the start and

end points are given.

Measuring a distance

Measures the distance between the two points indicated. The angle of the imaginary line joining the

two points is also given.

Measuring an area

Two different commands measure areas. Polygon area measures an area by defining a polygon

outlining it. In certain situations, the Trace outline command can also be used to automatically set

points on an outline.

TheHatch area command, however, measures the area of a selected hatched shape.

Measuring an angle

Measures the angles of each of the two lines selected, as well as the included angle between them.

Tip: Use the Trace outline command if a section's properties need to be calculated. The

command traces an outline and creates an input file for the PROKON section propertiescalculation program, PROSEC. The file is called LASTSEC and will be loaded automatically

when the program is executed.


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Note: The distance and bearing between two survey points can be measured with the Get

distance and bearing command on the Pointmenu.

Measuring an attribute

Measure the number of each type of entity with a specific attribute. Overall measurements of

certain properties are given for the entity types with the selected attribute. An example of the

information box displayed for a group of circles, lines and text, all with attribute a is shown

below.

Note: An attribute can only be measured once entities have been given attributes. Use the Set

attribute command to allocate an attribute to an entity. A prompt requests a name for the

attribute. This can be one or more characters in length and can include text, numbers or

symbols. Select then the entities to which the attribute is to be allocated.

Modifying drawn dimensionsIn PADDS dimensions are stored as lines and text entities. Dimensions are thus not associative,

meaning they are not automatically updated when stretched. Dimension text and lines can still be

modified using the normal editing functions. Refer to Chapter 3 for detail

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