Leader Dimension

Parent page: PCB Dialogs

The Leader Dimension dialog

Summary

This dialog provides controls 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.

Access

The Leader Dimension dialog can be accessed during placement by pressing the Tab key.

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

• Double-click on the placed leader dimension object.
• Place the cursor over the leader dimension object, right-click then and choose Properties from the context menu.

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.

• 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 diameter) 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.
• Pick Gap - the current pick gap value, which is is the distance between the leader dimension arrow/dot and the object/point to which the leader is associated.
• 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  and  buttons in the Home | Grids and Units area of the main menus.

Properties

• Layer - the layer to which the dimension is currently assigned. Dimensions can be assigned to any available layer. Click on the list to view and select a different layer from those currently defined for the board.
• Locked - enable this option to protect the dimension from being edited graphically.

• 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 Position - 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 regardless 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 -  select the desired font type:
  • TrueType -  select to use fonts available on your PC (in the \Windows\Fonts folder). TrueType fonts offer full Unicode support. 
  • Stroke - select to use Stroke fonts.

Select TrueType 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.

Select Stroke Font

• Font Name - use the drop-down to select the desired Stroke font. Choices are:
  • Default - a simple vector font designed for pen plotting and vector photo plotting.
  • Sans Serif - a complex font that will slow down vector output generation, such as Gerber.
  • Serif - a complex font that will slow down vector output generation, such as Gerber.