Dimension Angular
The DimensionAngular command places an angular dimension arc annotation on the drawing. It measures and labels the angle between two lines, the span of an arc, or a sector of a circle.
How to activate
Click the Dimension Angular toolbar button in the Annotate panel, or type DimensionAngular in the terminal.
Three input modes
The first click determines which mode is used:
Two lines
- Click the first line. The cursor position determines which side of the line is used.
- Click the second line. The two lines must intersect (the intersection is computed automatically; it does not need to be visible on screen).
- Click to place the dimension arc. Move the cursor to choose the radius and which angular sector is labelled — the annotation follows the cursor to whichever side of the vertex you are on.
Parallel lines cannot form an angular dimension; the command ignores the second click if the lines do not intersect.
Arc
- Click an arc. The dimension is created immediately from the arc’s start angle to its end angle, using the arc’s center as the vertex.
- Click to place the dimension arc at the desired radius.
Circle
- Click a circle. The first angle endpoint snaps to the nearest point on the circle.
- Click a second point on the circle to define the second angle endpoint.
- Click to place the dimension arc.
Keyboard reference
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
Escape | Cancel and return to the first pick |
Behaviour details
- The dimension arc is always drawn on the side of the vertex where you place it — move the cursor across the vertex to flip to the supplementary angle.
- The measured angle is shown in degrees and updates live as you move the cursor during placement.
- The resulting annotation is a full
DimensionAngularentity stored on the current layer. Its appearance properties (arrow size, text height, extension line length) can be adjusted in the Properties panel. - Angular dimensions export to both JSON and DXF, written in DXF as standard
DIMENSIONentities.
Editing the label — simple mode
Double-click a placed angular dimension to open the text editor in simple mode. The editor is pre-seeded with the current rendered value so you can position the cursor and edit it directly.
| Feature | Behaviour |
|---|---|
| Bold / Italic / Font / Height | Apply to the entire label at once |
| Per-character formatting | Not supported |
Enter | Commits the value and closes the editor |
| Multi-line | Not supported |
See Text Editor — simple mode for the full reference.
Related commands
- Dimension Linear — horizontal or vertical dimension
- Dimension Aligned — dimension aligned to two points
- Dimension Radius — radius dimension for arcs and circles
- Dimension Diameter — diameter dimension for circles
Unit format and precision
The Unit Format property chooses how the angle is written: Decimal Degrees (the default), Deg/Min/Sec, Gradians, or Radians. Precision follows the format; for Deg/Min/Sec it lists only the precisions that read differently. Ext Line Offset sets the gap at the start of each extension line and is taken from the DimensionStyle when the dimension is drawn.
Dimension style
New angular dimensions copy the current DimensionStyle, including arrowheads, extension lines, text formatting, angular precision, alignment, gap, and frame. The values are copied at creation time rather than live-linked.