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Changing units in the info window


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Am I the only person who needs to use different units in a single drawing set? With all the changes and additions to VW over the last few decades, why is something that seems so basic still apparently missing? Please, someone tell me I'm totally wrong and it has been added.

 

Here is my problem. When I'm dimensioning a site plan, feet and inches works great. But if I'm dimensioning a drawer in the same drawing set, am I expected to use something absurd like 0'-6 1/4"? I'd like to simply have my dimension read 6 1/4". So do I have to have a completely different file based on the units I'm using? Talk about the tail wagging the dog. Please don't tell me to use dual dimensions and just "turn one off." That is not an answer. The correct answer is to be able to select units in the Object Info Palette. When will this be implemented? Is it there now and I'm just missing it? It would be great if someone could point me in the right direction.

 

Thanks,

MH

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The more proper solution might be to be able to set the units in the dimension style, then you could create a style using document units and a style using different units (e.g. inches instead of feet-inches, or metric instead of inches).

 

That way one might avoid accidental unit changes through the OIP for a dimension, and it would also update all dimensions if the unit is changed in the style instead of hunting down manual overrides.

 

But I do agree there should be a possibility to have dimensions using a different unit than the document setting for smaller or larger parts of a drawing.

 

You could check the dimension setting for leading and trailing zeros to be on or off, that should eliminate them if they are set to off (i.e. show leading/trailing zeroes is not ticked).

Edited by Art V
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I agree with Art.  In my documents which I submit to dept of buildings I need to have all plans pertaining to zoning in feet with decimal fractions and everything else in standard feet and inches.  Tis causes to have either have 2 sets or flipping dim preferences either way preventing from publishing whole set in one go.

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Thanks, Art. I'll try to create a style and see if I can get that to work. It would be nice as a Viewport preference, too, just as scale is.

 

To Kevin, I flip a coin and then set my units to either "feet and inches" or "inches." It doesn't matter because ultimately I'll have to change it in my Document Preferences and print one page at a time. Perhaps I wasn't clear in my OP, but I'm not only talking about dimensions under one foot. I'm talking about creating drawings that the builder will be most comfortable using. Most woodworkers prefer inches, for example, so my dimensions would read 43" and not 3'-7". All the other dimensions would follow suit. Someone running a milling machine would prefer 43.00" because that would inform him of the tolerances involved. A house framer may prefer the 3'-7", but drawings should always consider the person using the tape measure on-site. At present, Vectorworks is missing this very fundamental feature. It's probably not sexy enough to promote as a "new feature," so it is not addressed at all. In my mind, however, proper dimensioning should have been near the top of the original MiniCAD features list and have stayed there. 

 

Thanks to all for the replies!

MH

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1 hour ago, MHBrown said:

Perhaps I wasn't clear in my OP, but I'm not only talking about dimensions under one foot. I'm talking about creating drawings that the builder will be most comfortable using. Most woodworkers prefer inches, for example, so my dimensions would read 43" and not 3'-7". All the other dimensions would follow suit. Someone running a milling machine would prefer 43.00" because that would inform him of the tolerances involved. A house framer may prefer the 3'-7", but drawings should always consider the person using the tape measure on-site.

 

Ah, that makes way more sense. The ability to deliver the information in the appropriate form for each trade would be very desirable.

 

Kevin

 

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Actually my experience is that framers and other trades also tend to work in inches, it being a bit easier and less confusing to call out to a co-worker 283 verses 23 ft 6 inches.

So it annoys me to draft in ft/in but it's for plan review and approval. So I agree ,therefore, the ability to hand off a plan set to a contractor in inches would be appreciated all around.

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