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Documentation Altium Designer Documentation ... Dialog Reference G to L

Leader Dimension

Created: June 07, 2017 | Updated: June 18, 2017 | Applies to version: 17.1
Now reading version 20. For the latest, read: Leader Dimension for version 17.1

The Leader Dimension dialog.

Summary

This dialog allows the designer to specify the properties of a Leader Dimension object. A leader dimension is a group design object. It allows for the labeling of an object, point or area. The label text can be encapsulated in a circle, a square, or not at all, while the pointer can be an arrow or a dot.

For information on how a placed leader dimension object can be modified graphically, directly in the workspace, see Graphical Editing.

Access

The Leader 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 leader dimension object to be changed, which will be applied when placing subsequent leader dimensions.

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

While attributes can be modified during placement, bear in mind that these will become the default settings for further placement unless the Permanent option on the PCB Editor – Defaults page of the Preferences dialog is enabled. When this option is enabled, changes made will affect only the object being placed and subsequent objects placed during the same placement session.

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

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

Options/Controls

  • Line Width - the current arrow line width (the "thickness" of the lines used to produce the arrow and connecting lines).
  • Text Gap - the current gap between the dimension text and the last 'leg' of the leader line.
When the Shape is set to Round or Square, this becomes the gap between the dimension text and the right-hand edge of the encapsulating shape. In this case, increasing the gap will actually bring the text closer to the end of the leader line.
  • Arrow Size - the current arrowhead size. The size is measured as the distance between the arrow tip and the end of the arrow 'legs'.
  • Size - the current size of the circle (its diamater) or square (its edge length) that encapsulates the leader dimension text. This field comes into play when the Shape field is set to Round, or Square, respectively.
  • Pick Gap - the current pick gap value, which is is the distance between the leader dimension arrow/dot and the object/point that the leader is associated with.
  • 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).
Quickly change the units of measurement currently used in the dialog between metric (mm) and imperial (mil) using the Ctrl+Q shortcut. This affects the dialog only and does not change the actual measurement unit employed for the board, as determined by the Measurement Unit setting in the Board Options dialog (Design » Board Options).

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.
  • Locked - enable this option to protect the dimension from being edited graphically.
If attempting to graphically modify an object that has its Locked property enabled, a dialog will appear asking for confirmation to proceed with the edit. If the Protect Locked Objects option is enabled on the PCB Editor – General page of the Preferences dialog, and the Locked option for that design object is enabled as well, then that object cannot be selected or graphically edited. Double click on the locked object directly and disable the Locked property, or disable the Protect Locked Objects option, to graphically edit the object.
  • Text - the current label text for the dimension. The default text is String, change this as required.
  • Dot - enable this option to use a dot-tipped leader. Disable to use an arrow-tipped leader.
    • Size - with the Dot option enabled, use this field to determine the size of the dot, in terms of its diameter.
  • Text Direction - the current position of the dimension text. Use the associated drop-down list to choose one of the following options:
    • Aligned - the dimension text will be aligned with the angle of the last 'leg' of the leader line.
    • Unidirectional - the dimension text will remain horizontal, irrespective of the dimension alignment angle.
    • Manual - the dimension text will be available for manual placement by the user.
  • Shape - use this field to determine whether or not a shape is used to encapsulate the dimension text. Available options are None, Round, and Square.
  • 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.
Stroke-based fonts are built into the software and cannot be changed. All three fonts have the full IBM extended ASCII character set that supports English and other European languages.

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.
The use of TrueType fonts in PCB documents will result in more complex Gerber outputs.
To ensure all fonts used in your design are available wherever the design is loaded, enable the Embed TrueType fonts inside PCB documents option, on the PCB Editor - TrueType Fonts page of the Preferences dialog. A substitution TrueType font can also be nominated, for files using TrueType fonts that are not installed locally.

 

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Note

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If you don’t see a discussed feature in your software, contact Altium Sales to find out more.