Dimension Line > Circle Arc (Annotate Menu)

This command can be used to draw a curved dimension line that is basically a circle arc with two end symbols, e.g. arrowheads or points.

The center point of the circle arc can be entered using the mouse, by clicking anywhere in the drawing.

The circle arc radius can be entered with the mouse, by clicking anywhere in the drawing at a point through which the circle should run.

The circle arc's start angle can be entered using the mouse, by clicking anywhere in the drawing. The position of this point relative to the center point determines the start angle.

The circle arc's end angle can be entered using the mouse, by clicking anywhere in the drawing. The position of this point relative to the center point determines the end angle.

The arc's appearance is determined by the current arc direction. This is specified using the command Toggle Arc Direction (F2), with the F2 key or the button in the panel. If the arc direction is positive, the arc is drawn from the start angle in a mathematically positive sense (i.e. counterclockwise). If the arc direction is negative, the arc is drawn from the start angle in a mathematically negative sense (i.e. clockwise) (see graphic).

The resulting arc is shown during input, and changes if the current arc direction is changed.

When choosing the Change Parameters (+ESC) command, the "Dimension Line" dialog appears where this command's parameters can be specified.

Dimension lines are not automatically assigned to the current layer. Instead, the command Layers > Defaults is used to decide whether they should be assigned to the current layer, or another specified layer. The same goes for pens, which can be assigned using the command Pens > Defaults.

The arc direction saved in the curved dimension line remains unchanged if the current arc direction is changed later. If a curved dimension line's arc direction is to be changed, use the command Transform Objects to > Invert.