Working with Equality Dimensions

Step-by-step guide

To use the Equality Dimension controls and set the display dimensions for equality conditions in your projects:

1. Select a multi segment dimension string.

An “EQ” symbol is displayed with a line through it:

2. Click the EQ symbol to unlock it and equalize and constrain the model elements that are dimensioned.

3. Move one of the elements, and the equality condition is maintained:

The value that is displayed by the dimension string is defined by the instance and type properties of the dimension string. The string can be set to display the actual dimension value, a pre-defined text value, or a formula describing the condition. For example, a formula might be set to read, “6 @ 1700mm.”

To change the text or formula value:

4. Select the dimension string.
5. In the Properties palette, click Edit Type.
6. In the Type Properties dialog, under Other, define the value for the equality text. For example, the text value can be set to read “EQ” rather than “equal”.

To control what is displayed when the string is set to use the equality formula:

7. Adjacent to Equality Formula, click Quantity. 
8. In the Dimension Equality Formula dialog, use the Add and Remove controls to add dimension parameters to the formula.
9. Prefix and suffix characters can be added here as well.

In this example, the formula will read the number of segments, the length of each segment, and the total length.

Note: The witness lines can also be controlled. In this case, since the formula includes the total length, the internal witness lines and tick marks will be suppressed.