I have been experimenting with the Settings panel, and in particular with the “Dimensions” settings. I noted some inconsistencies, and I question the purpose of some input fields.
- Tab “Text”: There is a field “Model space scale” at the bottom. When I change the scale, I can retrospectively alter all Text blocks in my model. Which is good, I can now print my model at various scales and vary the text size appearance to match. The scale factor is independent of the dimension style. Note that this field appears to affect Text blocks only, not the text belonging to a dimension or a leader. There is also a tickbox “Enable annotation scaling”, but I have not been able to find a purpose for that. All Text blocks get updated to the new scale by clicking in the model area of your screen.
(Edit: the font selection field has no impact on Text blocks! Not at creation or retrospectively. All text blocks seem to have Arial as default, but can be altered at creation or in the properties window. Maybe this could be reflected by changing the caption “Font” to “Dimension font”)
- Tab “Sizes”: The first observation is that the aforementioned “Model space scale” input field remains visible, but has no relevance to the other input fields, which are settings for the text belonging to dimensions and leaders. In fact, this field at the bottom of the panel remains visible for all dimension setting tabs, but it still only has an effect on Text blocks. However, changing the scale value here only takes effect on placing the next Text block! Then suddenly ALL text blocks update to the new scale!
To confuse matters, there is also a “Model space scale” input field a bit higher up ( plus a select button, linked to the input field). The scale factor entered here affects only text belonging to dimensions and leaders, not the text blocks. Changing the scale in this field updates all dimensions and leaders instantly. However, the same is achieved by updating the “Text height” input field! Both fields are style specific so I cannot see any advantages of having both fields.
Concluding, my suggestion for change is to make the “Model space scale” common for all text blocks, dimension text and leader text, independent of style. The nice selection button for commonly used scaling factors button could be added here. The separate scale field as in 2. above can be removed, a style specific height field is sufficient. (Text blocks have individual properties for font and height). Updating of all text should be instantaneous if possible, or at least at the first click.
The question of the purpose of “Enable annotation scaling” remains.
Max.