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Editing Dimension Markers


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  • Vectorworks, Inc Employee

Dimension markers are page-scale objects (as are all line markers). I can't imagine anyone needing one at 2". It's important to understand the Vectorworks concept of "Layer Scale", which is the property (of Design Layers) that controls the size of page-scale objects. (Layer Scale -- and page-scale objects -- do not exist in AutoCAD AFAIK.) If (say) you're going to be doing most of your drawings at 1:50, set your Layer Scale setting for your Design Layer at 1:50. Then set the size of your marker to 1/4" or whatever you want as an output size. You will still be working on all your objects in "World Scale" (the size of things in the world). One of the nice things about Vectorworks is it manages these two things (the size of things that belong only on the page and the size of things in the world) separately and (mostly) transparently -- once you understand it and quit trying to make your markers work as if they were real things.

 

Somewhat deeper intro into "Layer Scale":

The "Layer Scale" used by VectorWorks comes primarily out of "WYSIWYG" drawing, pioneered on the Mac (and therefore part of Vectorworks' history). "Layer Scale" exists to allow graphic properties of the drawing or model to be represented properly, as though you were drawing at a particular scale on a piece of paper. It is a scaling value used to allow proper representation for PAGE-SCALED (as opposed to WORLD-SCALED) attributes:

    -Line weight;

    -Line style (e.g. length of dashes);

    -Marker (arrowhead) size;

    -Text size;

    -Hatch scaling;

    -Page symbol scaling;

In "WYSIWYG" drawing, in order to properly display these attributes, there has to be an intended output scale so you can see how the drawing will look at that intended format. The practical upshot of all this is that you should set your "layer scale" to be the same as the predominant output scale of your project. This will necessitate the least amount of attribute-scaling in viewports.

But in all design layers, at all times, you are drawing in world scale. An inch is always an inch, a foot is always a foot, no matter the "Layer Scale". "Layer Scale" serves only to set page-oriented graphics.
 

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