Every hole has a default orientation, depending on the placement references. You can override the default orientation by selecting an orientation reference that changes the direction of the hole. The hole is still placed based on the placement references, but the orientation is changed.

You can orient the hole parallel to or perpendicular to the orientation reference. When the orientation reference is planar, the hole can only be perpendicular to the hole orientation reference.

When you change the hole orientation, the hole depth and other dimensions are measured in relation to the placement point, and along the direction of the either the default orientation, or the orientation reference if one is defined.

In the following example, a hole is shown with no orientation reference, oriented parallel to a datum axis, and oriented perpendicular to a datum axis.