Dimension

The Dimension dialog.

Summary

This dialog allows the designer to specify the properties of an Original Dimension object. An original dimension is a group design object. It places dimensioning information on the current PCB layer. The dimension value is the distance between the start and end markers, measured in the default units.

Access

The Dimension dialog can be accessed prior to entering placement mode, from the PCB Editor – Defaults page of the Preferences dialog. This allows the default properties for the original dimension object to be changed, which will be applied when placing subsequent original dimensions.

During placement, the dialog can be accessed by pressing the Tab key.

After placement, the dialog can be accessed in one of the following ways:

• Double-clicking on the placed original dimension object.
• Placing the cursor over the original dimension object, right-clicking and choosing Properties from the context menu.
• Using the Edit » Change command and clicking once over the placed original dimension object.

Options/Controls

• Start X/Y - defines the location of the center-point of the left-hand extension line.
• End X/Y - defines the location of the center-point of the right-hand extension line
• Line Width - the current arrow line width (the "thickness" of the lines used to produce the arrows).
• Text Height - the current height of the dimension text characters. The character width used to display or print the text is automatically proportioned to this height. A minimum height of 36mil (0.9mm) will allow the string to be legibly photoplotted.
• Text Width - the current dimension text stroke width (the "thickness" of the lines used to produce the lettering).
• Height - the length of the extension lines.

Properties

• Layer - the layer the dimension is currently assigned to. Dimensions can be assigned to any available layer, click on the list to view and select a different layer, from all those currently defined for the board.
• Unit Style - select how the units should be displayed. Available options include:
  • None - no units are displayed, only the dimension value (e.g. 846.104).
  • Normal - units are displayed after the dimension value (e.g. 846.104mil].
  • Brackets - units are displayed in brackets at the end of the dimension value (e.g. 846.104 (mil)).
• Locked - enable this option to protect the dimension from being edited graphically.

• Font - use this field to choose the type of font used for the dimension's text, either Stroke or TrueType. The dialog will present options based on the chosen type.

Select Stroke Font

This area of the dialog and its asscociated option are presented only when the Stroke option is chosen for the dimension text's Font.

• Font Name - use this field to choose the required Stroke font. Available options are Default, Serif, and Sans Serif. The Default style is a simple vector font which supports pen plotting and vector photoplotting. The Sans Serif and Serif fonts are more complex and will slow down vector output generation, such as Gerber.

Select TrueType Font

This area of the dialog and its asscociated options are presented only when the Truetype option is chosen for the dimension text's Font.

• Font Name - use this field to choose the required TrueType font. The drop-down list is populated with TrueType and OpenType (a superset of TrueType) fonts found in the \Windows\Fonts folder. Note, the list will only include entries for detected (and uniquely named) root fonts. For example, Arial and Arial Black will be listed but Arial Bold, Arial Bold Italic, etc will not. Use the Bold and Italic options to add emphasis to the text.
• Bold - enable this option to make the dimension text bold.
• Italic - enable this option to make the dimension text italic.