Dimension Text Settings

To open the Dimension Text Settings dialog box, you must first select the Dimension Text item (not the entire Dimension line).

Select Dimension Text

To select a Dimension text, do one of the following:

Use the Quick Selection cursor

Click on a corner of the text with the Checkmark with Arrow cursor

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Note: To select a Fill Area text, make sure you have enabled Textbox handles at View > On-Screen View Options.

Open Dimension Text Settings

Select a dimension text (see above), then do one of the following:

click the Text icon in the Info Box

double-click the Dimension Tool icon in the Toolbox

use the Ctrl+T shortcut

click the Edit > Dimension Text Settings command. (This command is only available when a Dimension Text is selected.)

Change Position of Dimension Text Item

See Edit Text Box and Pointer Line.

Dimension Text Content Panel

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Measured Value

This field displays the measured value of the selected dimension.

The unit and accuracy of the dimension value can be set separately for each type of dimension value (e.g. length, angle, area) at Dimensions Preferences (Options > Project Preferences > Dimensions).

See Dimensions Preferences.

 Custom Text

Choose this option if you want to add custom data to the dimension text. By default, the <MeasuredValue> Autotext item is displayed in the edit field as soon as you click the Custom Text radio button.

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Note: For Level Dimensions, the <toPZValue> Autotext item is shown, representing “Project Zero” as the dimension origin.

In the Custom Text field, enter any custom text before and/or after the Autotext (or in place of it).

You can add multiple lines of custom text, separated by the Enter key.

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Such line breaks are shown in the Info Box with the Paragraph sign.

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Regardless of any additional custom text that you may have added, the Autotext remains associative - that is, if you edit the dimension line, the Measured Value will be adjusted accordingly.

Insert Autotext as Dimension Text

From the pop-up field to the right, you can choose from additional Autotexts to add to the Dimension text field. The contents of this list depend on the type of dimension (e.g. Linear or Elevation dimension):

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Autotext means that the Dimension text will display the current value of the chosen Autotext reference: for example, if you have defined a reference level called Sea Level, you can choose to Sea Level here as the Autotext, and Dimension Text will display the elevation dimension to that level.

If you choose a text in quotation marks (e.g. “1st Reference Level”), this text itself will be displayed, not its value.

Note: To define your project’s reference levels, use Options > Project Preferences > Reference Levels.

See Reference Levels Preferences.

Add Superscript to Dimension Text

Use the Start/Finish Superscript Autotext if you want the Custom text to include superscript text; click this option to insert a caret before the superscript text, and click it again (or insert a line break) to finish the superscript with a second caret.

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Note: If your dimension’s Measured Value already includes a superscript - because you are using Extra Accuracy defined in Options > Project Preferences > Dimensions - then add a space before inserting the Start Superscript caret. Otherwise, the caret itself will appear in the dimension text.

The Displayed Value field shows you what the dimension text will look like on screen.

Undo Changes to Dimension Text Content

To undo changes of all modified dimension text items at once, go to Document > Annotation and click the Revert All Custom Text to Measured Value command.

See Dimension Text Settings for information on editing style and font type of dimension text.

Dimension Text: Text Style Panel

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See the same controls as described for the Text Tool here: Text Style Panel.

The Dimension Text tool has these additional controls:

 Always Readable

ARCHICAD will automatically “flip” the text to make it legible on screen (as opposed to upside down) regardless of the view’s orientation. This automatic “flip” occurs if the text is at an angle between 90 and 270 degrees.

Opaque

Check this box if you want a background color that differs from the screen’s background color. Open the pop-up palette to choose a color.

Frame

Display your text box with or without a frame.

Rotation Angle

Enter a rotation angle for the text. Use the pop-up to define how this angle value should be interpreted when the element is placed:

 Relative to Orientation (the angle will be measured relative to the Oriented View);

See also Set Orientation.

or

 Absolute to Coordinate System (the angle will be measured from the (0,0) point of the project coordinates).

Undo Changes to Dimension Text Position

To reset the position of a selected text item, check the Revert to Automatic Position box at the bottom of the dialog box.

Dimension Text Pointer Panel

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Use these settings for the optional pointer line of the Dimension Text.

Click the Pointer button to assign a pointer line and activate the rest of the settings on this panel:

Define a Line type and Pencolor for the Pointer.

Choose whether the pointer should have a straight or a curved pointer line.

Enter the Pointer Starting Angle (the default is 90 degrees). Click the lock icon to prevent the angle from being modified graphically (e.g. by accident).

Note: The Lock Angle control affects the range of graphical editing. If it is ON, the Pointer Line’s starting angle remains fixed, limiting the edit possibilities.

See also Edit Text Box and Pointer Line.

Choose where the pointer line should connect with the label: in the middle, at the top or at the bottom; or at the bottom with the text underlined.

Choose a style and pencolor, and enter the size of the Arrowhead.

Hide Arrowhead from: Check this box if you want to hide the pointer line arrowheads on views which exceed a certain scale (enter the desired scale in the field to the right).

To hide Arrowheads on all views, set the scale to 1:1.

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