About Switching between Linear and Ordinate Dimensions

You can convert one or more model ordinate dimensions or ordinate dimension Annotation Elements to linear dimensions by clicking Toggle To Linear on the shortcut menu that appears when you right-click the ordinate dimension on the Model Tree. On conversion to linear driven dimension:

• Creo Parametric recreates the dimension as a linear dimension by using the reference of ordinate baseline Annotation Element and the reference of the ordinate dimension.

• The new linear dimension automatically uses the annotation plane used by the ordinate baseline to define the direction.

• After conversion, if Creo Parametric creates an invalid reference when you change the annotation orientation of the baseline, then the orientation of the new linear dimension is frozen.

• The baseline Annotation Element is not deleted or suppressed during the conversion. You can manually delete the baseline Annotation Element, if required, after the conversion is completed.

Similarly, you can convert linear dimensions to ordinate dimensions using Toggle To Ordinate. To convert multiple linear dimensions to ordinate dimensions, a common reference must exist between the dimensions. This common reference becomes the reference of the ordinate baseline Annotation Element while the orientation of the first selected dimension becomes the orientation of the ordinate dimension. Creo Parametric automatically places the ordinate baseline annotation by using the witness line and annotation plane of the first selected dimension annotation.

If all the selected dimensions are ordinate dimension Annotation Elements within the same Annotation feature, Creo Parametric will create the ordinate baseline Annotation Element in that Annotation feature when the dimensions are converted to ordinate.

If the selected dimensions do not belong to the same Annotation feature or are standalone annotations then, on conversion, Creo Parametric creates a new Annotation feature with a baseline Annotation Element.

The restrictions for conversion are listed as follows:

• You cannot convert linear dimensions to ordinate dimensions or ordinate dimensions to linear dimensions if the Annotation Elements are propagated locally or are contained in DSFs.

• You cannot convert driving dimensions (to linear or to ordinate) or ordinate driving dimension Annotation Elements as driving dimensions do not have references that can be used to define dimensions.

• When you cannot convert an ordinate dimension whose baseline references an embedded datum and an ordinate dimension that resides in a different Annotation feature to linear dimensions as the resulting dimension would reference the embedded datum of the baseline as one of the references. Creo Parametric does not allow you to reference embedded datums so the conversion fails.