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Object linking to Dimensions

Anonymous
Not applicable
I worked with a program called Chief Architect several years ago. They had a very helpfull feature that would speed things up in archicad ...... If you select any Item that has a dimension associated with it, a wall for example, select it then select the dimension and a type box comes up to allow you to change the dimension and the location of the wall would change accordingly.

I also really think the dimension tool should "Know" the direction of the string. I miss that tool so many times and have to re-select all my points
21 REPLIES 21
Anonymous
Not applicable
Ken wrote:
I worked with a program called Chief Architect several years ago. They had a very helpfull feature that would speed things up in archicad ...... If you select any Item that has a dimension associated with it, a wall for example, select it then select the dimension and a type box comes up to allow you to change the dimension and the location of the wall would change accordingly.
Maybe I'm missing something here, but if you move or stretch the wall or whatever it is, the dimension will automatically change. One less thingyou have to do- you don't have to select the dim string.
Ken wrote:
I also really think the dimension tool should "Know" the direction of the string. I miss that tool so many times and have to re-select all my points
This happens to me occasionally also. Did you know that you can use the rotate tool to rotate that string so that it's in the desired direction? That may be easy sometimes than reclicking all the points. One other thing I discovered recently that I probably should have already known about that you can undo bad clicks by just clicking on it again. You can also rotate through what the click relates to if there are multiple items on top of each other. I know, I should have already knowon that.
Anonymous
Not applicable
Thank you for your post Brian,

I think however I may not be explaining my first point correctly. If I select a wall that has been dimensioned, I can use shift+R to restrain and type in a value to move the wall..... the dimension updates as the wall moves. In this other (cheap) program if I select the wall and the dimension reads 2 feet .... and I would like it to be 4 feet, with the wall already selected I can click on the dimension, type in a new value 4' and the wall moves to that distance. It is very fast and I never had to calculate how much farther I would need to move the wall in order to get the desired distance .... it was automatic ... i just had to type in the new value. I hope this is clearer than mud.
Anonymous
Not applicable
Much clearer, I should have read closer. That would be pretty handy to have.
Geoff Briggs
Mentor
Isn't that the way Revit works too?
Regards,
Geoff Briggs
I & I Design, Seattle, USA
AC7-27, M1 Mac, OS 14.x
Karl Ottenstein
Moderator
Geoff wrote:
Isn't that the way Revit works too?
Yup.

Karl
One of the forum moderators
AC 27 USA and earlier   •   macOS Ventura 13.6.6, MacBook Pro M2 Max 12CPU/30GPU cores, 32GB
Anonymous
Not applicable
Ken wrote:
In this other (cheap) program if I select the wall and the dimension reads 2 feet .... and I would like it to be 4 feet, with the wall already selected I can click on the dimension, type in a new value 4' and the wall moves to that distance.... i just had to type in the new value. I hope this is clearer than mud.
Well - you can use the coordinates box with the wall selected. Click on the wall corner that needs to be moved, move the curser to the other end of the wall and type x4'+ or y4'+ , depending whether the wall is in x or y direction - or 'r' would work. It's also very speedy and achieves the same result.

HTH

Kim
Anonymous
Not applicable
Hi Kim,

Utilizing the x,y,or r does not actually create the same result, nor as fast. Using the coordinate box you would still have to take the time to calculate the distance you would need to move the object to get your overall result ie: current dimension point 2' plus additional 2' to give you your overall required result of 4' (which is really no big deal until you get into fractions of inches ect.). With the software i am reffering to, whatever you type in for a dimension is what you get. For instance, if your wall is 3'6 1/4" from another dimension point and you would like the wall to be moved to say 8'3 1/2" you will have to take the time to do the math, then select the wall hit shift then r then then new value ect ..... too slow. Wouldnt it be nice if you could just select the item, click on the dimension ...type in a new value.... hit enter and your done (no math )? Almost give the impression here that I dont like math
Aussie John
Newcomer
Ken wrote:
Hi Kim,

Utilizing the x,y,or r does not actually create the same result, nor as fast. Using the coordinate box you would still have to take the time to calculate the distance you would need to move the object to get your overall result ie: current dimension point 2' plus additional 2' to give you your overall required result of 4'
Hi Kim - you are not strictly correct. Select end of wall, type r and that is length of wall. type length you want and that is the result. No calcs needed. ( of course you need the relative triangle selected for this to work).

I think this is better than selecting the dimension as you need to also define the anchor point.
Cheers John
John Hyland : ARINA : www.arina.biz
User ver 4 to 12 - Jumped to v22 - so many options and settings!!!
OSX 10.15.6 [Catalina] : Archicad 22 : 15" MacBook Pro 2019
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Anonymous
Not applicable
Ken wrote:
Utilizing the x,y,or r does not actually create the same result, nor as fast. Using the coordinate box you would still have to take the time to calculate the distance you would need to move the object to get your overall result ie: current dimension point 2' plus additional 2' to give you your overall required result of 4'
No. You didn't read what I wrote. If you click one end of the wall, drag that end until the curser sits over other end and then type the x or y - and the final number with a "+" after it, you get the correct length. Putting the "+" afterwards is the key, if the cursor is at the start of the wall. Try what I've described here, if it makes any sense, and you'll see what I mean.

Even better, follow Aussie John's advice - (Thanks for the correction I wasn't too clear when I wrote "or 'r' would work" - I'm assuming people know what you clarified because I've been using this for a long while! )

Kim