How to display dimensions on your drawing in BricsCAD?

ByCADbrief Staff

Short Answer

Yes — to display dimensions on your drawing in BricsCAD, use the standard DIM command and place linear, aligned, angular, or radius dimensions directly in model space or a layout. This is the fastest professional method for visible, associative dimensions. Limitation: dimensions may not display correctly if their layer is off, frozen, or annotative scale is mismatched.

What You Need to Know Before

Warning: dimensions can appear missing even after placement if the current dimension style uses the wrong annotative scale or text height for your viewport scale. A very common failure is dimensioning on a non-printing, locked, or frozen layer, which makes the dimensions seem to “disappear.”

How to Display Dimensions in BricsCAD

  • Command: DIM

  • Shortcut: D

  • Quick Steps:

    1. On the Ribbon, go to Annotate > Dimensions panel, then launch DIM.
    2. Select the object or pick the extension line origin points BricsCAD detects for the dimension type.
    3. Place the dimension line, then verify the correct dimension style and, if used, the Annotative option or scale in Properties.

Variables & Settings

  • System Variable: DIMASSOC (Default: 2)

  • Expert Setting: when DIMASSOC is set to 2, dimensions stay associative with the geometry, so they update when the object changes. If it is set to 0 or 1, dimensions may lose smart behavior or become harder to manage in production drawings.

Why it Fails

  • Cause 1 (Geometry): the selected objects are not coplanar or the extension points are picked incorrectly, so the dimension is created in an unexpected location.
  • Cause 2 (layers/Locks): the dimension layer is off, frozen, locked, or set to non-plot, preventing normal display or editing.
  • Cause 3 (Command/Logic): the current dimension style has unsuitable text height, arrow size, or annotative scale, making the dimension appear too small or invisible in the current viewport.

Quick Fix & Best Practice

  • Quick Fix: run DIMSTYLE, set the correct current dimension style, then check DIMASSOC = 2 and place the dimensions again on a visible annotation layer.
  • Manager’s Verdict: use DIM with a controlled office dimension style for all production drawings; avoid ad-hoc overrides unless you are fixing a one-off detail, because inconsistent dimension settings create plotting and standards problems.

FAQ

How do I show hidden dimension text in BricsCAD?

Check the dimension style text height, layer visibility, and annotative scale first.

Can BricsCAD dimensions update when geometry changes?

Yes, if associative dimensions are used and DIMASSOC is set to 2.

Why are my dimensions too small in layout view?

The dimension style scale or annotative setting does not match the viewport scale.

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