Dimension Linear

The dimlinear command places a horizontal or vertical dimension between two extension-line origins. The dimension line always runs either perfectly horizontal or perfectly vertical — it cannot be placed at an arbitrary angle. Use Dimension Aligned when you need a dimension parallel to a diagonal line.

Anatomy of a linear dimension

  |←————— 5.00 —————→|
  |                   |
  ●  (ext line 1)     ●  (ext line 2)
  p1                  p2

• Extension lines — drop from each measured point perpendicular to the dimension line.
• Dimension line — horizontal (measures X distance) or vertical (measures Y distance).
• Value — the projected distance along the chosen axis, not the true point-to-point distance.

Placing a linear dimension

1. Type dimlinear in the terminal or click the Dimension Linear toolbar button.
2. Click the first extension line origin (p1), or type X,Y and press Enter for an exact coordinate.
3. Click the second extension line origin (p2). Coordinate entry works here too.
4. Move the cursor to position the dimension line. Orientation is detected automatically from cursor position.
5. Click to place, or type an offset distance and press Enter for precise placement.

Automatic orientation detection

When no orientation is forced, the command reads the cursor position relative to the two measured points:

Cursor position	Detected orientation	What is measured
Above or below the points	Horizontal	Δ X between p1 and p2
Left or right of the points	Vertical	Δ Y between p1 and p2

Press H to lock horizontal or V to lock vertical at any time during the placement phase. Once locked, the orientation does not change as you move the cursor.

Typed offset distance

Type a number during placement to fix the dimension line at an exact distance from the measured points:

Key	Action
0–9, .	Append digit to the offset distance
Backspace	Delete the last typed character
Enter / Space	Place at the typed distance

The cursor side (above/below for horizontal, left/right for vertical) determines the sign — the dimension line appears on the side the cursor is currently on.

Keyboard reference

Key	Action
0–9, ., -	Start X coordinate entry (p1/p2 phases), or offset distance (placement phase)
,	Lock X and move to Y entry (p1/p2 phases)
H	Lock horizontal orientation (placement phase only)
V	Lock vertical orientation (placement phase only)
Backspace	Delete last typed character
Enter / Space	Confirm typed coordinate or offset
Escape	Cancel

Dimension Linear vs Dimension Aligned

	Dimension Linear	Dimension Aligned
Axis	Always H or V	Parallel to the measured line
Measures	X or Y component only	True Euclidean distance
H/V keys	Yes — lock orientation	No — always follows p1→p2
Best for	Orthogonal layouts, floor plans	Diagonal features, angled cuts

Chaining dimensions

To add more dimensions continuing from the last extension line, use Dimension Continue immediately after placing this one.

DXF — DIMENSION entity

Linear dimensions are saved as DIMENSION entities with rotationDeg set to 0 (horizontal) or 90 (vertical). Extension line origins, dimension line position, text position, measured value, arrow style, text height, and all display flags round-trip without loss.