Associating Dimensions with Objects

Associating Dimensions with Objects
You’ve seen how dimensions and the objects they’re associated with can move together so the
dimension remains connected to the object. In the process of editing a drawing, dimensions may
lose their association with objects; so, you may need to re-create an association between a dimension and an object. The following steps show you how this is done:
1. Choose Dimension  Reassociate Dimensions. You can also type Dimreassociate↵ at the
Command prompt.
2. At the prompt
Select dimension to reassociate
Select Objects:
select the dimension that you want to reassociate with an object, and then press ↵.
3. At the Specify first extension line origin or [Select object] : prompt,
an X appears at one of the dimension’s definition points.



4. Use the Endpoint osnap, and click the end of the object you want to have connected to the
definition point indicated in step 3.
5. An X appears at the dimension’s other definition point. Use the Endpoint osnap again, and
click the other endpoint of the object you want associated with the dimension. You now have
the dimension associated with the endpoints of the object.
In step 3, you see an X at the location of a dimension definition point. If the definition point is
already associated with an object, the X appears with a box around it. The box is a reminder that the definition point is already associated with an object and that you’ll be changing its association. In this situation, you can press ↵ to switch to the dimension’s other definition point.


Also in step 3, you have the option to select an object. This option enables you to associate the
dimension with an entire object instead of with just one endpoint. If you type S↵ at that prompt in step 3, you can then select the object you want to associate with the dimension. The dimension
changes so that its definition points coincide with the endpoints of the object. The dimension
remains in its original orientation. For example, a vertical dimension remains vertical even if you
associate the dimension with a horizontal line. In this situation, the dimension dutifully dimensions the endpoints of the line but shows a distance of zero.
TIP You can remove a dimension’s association with an object by using the Dimdisassociate command. Type Dimdisassociate↵ at the Command prompt, select the dimension(s), and then press ↵.