Dimension features draw and symbolize themselves based on their assigned style and are also able to regulate the modification of their geometry. By using the editing tools in ArcMap that you use to modify the geometry of other types of features, you can modify a dimension feature's geometry while maintaining the correct configuration of points for a valid dimension feature. When you are modifying a dimension feature, there are a series of vertices you can pick up and move with the Edit tool to alter the dimension feature's geometry. You cannot add vertices or delete any of the existing vertices. The following diagram illustrates what aspect of a dimension feature is modified when one of these vertices is moved:
You can move a dimension feature's text away from its dimension line. The way the text is shown is dependent on the style chosen for the dimension feature. Some styles have line decoration including a leader line. For these styles, if you move the dimension feature's text far enough from the dimension line that it surpasses the leader line tolerance, that leader line will automatically be displayed.
The extension line angle and the other properties of a dimension feature's geometry can be modified by altering the values of some of its fields. The following is a list of the fields you can modify for a dimension feature and how they correspond to its geometry:
Field | Property |
BEGINX | X-coordinate of the start dimension point |
BEGINY | Y-coordinate of the start dimension point |
ENDX | X-coordinate of the end dimension point |
ENDY | Y-coordinate of the end dimension point |
DIMX | X-coordinate of the dimension line height |
DIMY | Y-coordinate of the dimension line height |
TEXTX | X-coordinate of the text point (null if the text has not been moved relative to the dimension feature) |
TEXTY | Y-coordinate of the text point (null if the text has not been moved relative to the dimension feature) |
EXTANGLE | Extension line angle |