Reference Grid Annotations
- Last UpdatedFeb 17, 2025
- 7 minute read
Sets the display properties and visual style of reference grid annotations.
When a view is created that contains a reference grid within the drawlist, the view displays the reference grid annotations. The appearance of the reference grid annotations are inherited from the View Visual Style which is pre-defined by the administrator.
Labels and dimensions are generated automatically for grid planes that are not perpendicular to the plane of the view (these appear as a single line when drawn). If all the grid planes in the view are perpendicular to the view plane, then a sub-set of the annotations is generated.
Note: To be automatically annotated, reference grids must be visible. Use representation rules with NoHLRFlag set to True to ensure that they are not hidden by other model elements- see Representation Rules for Reference Grids.
Reference Grid (REFGRD, GRIDEL, GRIDFA, GRIDPL, GRIDCY) elements may be added to an IDList and can be the sole element, they are added in the same way as other 3D model elements. REFGRD elements may or may not extend to the view boundary. AUTOSCALE commands function with REFGRD elements in the same way as other 3D model elements when calculating the VSCA and THPOS attributes of the VIEW.
When a grid is rotated with respect to the view, the label text follows the angle of the leader line (rather than being horizontal). For readability, the text is constrained to lie between -89 and 90 degrees (measured clockwise from the horizontal).
Reference grid annotations can be added and removed from the view, dependent on the side of the view that the annotations are positioned.
Select a view that contains reference grid annotations, on the Format 2D tab, in the Grids group, click Annotations to remove the grid annotations from all sides of the view. Repeat the command to display the grid annotations on all sides of the view.
The Annotations drop-down list allows you to individually define the display options for the reference grid annotations on each side of the view.
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Left |
Select from the drop-down list to remove the grid annotations from the left side of the view. Repeat the command to display the grid annotations on the left side of the view. |
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Right |
Select from the drop-down list to remove the grid annotations from the right side of the view. Repeat the command to display the grid annotations on the right side of the view. |
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Top |
Select from the drop-down list to remove the grid annotations from the top of the view. Repeat the command to display the grid annotations on the top of the view. |
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Bottom |
Select from the drop-down list to remove the grid annotations from the bottom of the view. Repeat the command to display the grid annotations on the bottom of the view. |
The reference grid annotation properties of a view can be modified to alter the display using the Properties window. Refer to Properties for further information.
The visual style property and grid annotation properties can be modified to define the display of the reference grid annotations.
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Visual Style |
Select from the drop-down list to modify the visual style for the view. |
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Grid annotation |
Select By Style from the drop-down list to inherit the annotation offset position from the selected visual style. Select Yes from the drop-down list to position the annotation offset from the attached grid line p-point.
Select No from the drop-down list to position the annotations offset from the view frame.
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Label offset |
Select By Style from the drop-down list to inherit the annotation offset distance from the selected visual style. Input a dimensional value in the field or select a distance from the drop-down list to modify the distance between the attached p-point and the annotation. |
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Dimension offset |
Select By Style from the drop-down list to inherit the dimension offset distance from the selected visual style. Input a dimensional value in the field or select a distance from the drop-down list to modify the distance between the attached p-point and the dimension line. |
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Closing dimensions |
Select By Style from the drop-down list to inherit the annotation closing dimension settings from the selected visual style. Select No from the drop-down list to define that dimension lines from the view frame to the first and last gridline do not display. Select Yes from the drop-down list to display dimension lines from the view frame to the first and last gridline.
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Overall dimensions |
Select By Style from the drop-down list to inherit the annotation overall dimension settings from the selected visual style. Select No from the drop-down list to define that overall dimension lines from the first to last gridline do not display. Select Yes from the drop-down list to display overall dimension lines from the first to last gridline.
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Overall dimension offset |
Select By Style from the drop-down list to inherit the overall dimension offset distance from the selected visual style. Input a dimensional value in the field or select a distance from the drop-down list to modify the distance between the attached p-point and the overall dimension line. |
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Vertical dimensions |
Select By Style from the drop-down list to inherit the vertical dimension settings from the selected visual style. Select No from the drop-down list to define that vertical dimension lines between the elevation gridlines do not display. Select Yes from the drop-down list to display vertical dimension lines between the elevation gridlines
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Sides |
Allows you to individually define the display options for the reference grid annotations on each side of the view. Input a value in the field to define the display options for the reference grid annotations on each side of the view. For an orthogonal view, you can define the annotation display for Top, Bottom, Left, Right, None, All. For example, input Right Bottom to display reference grid annotations on the right and bottom of the view.
For a non-orthogonal view, you can define the annotation display for Left, TopLeft, TopRight, Right, BottomRight, BottomLeft, None, All. For example, input Right Bottom BottomLeft BottomRight to display reference grid annotations on the right, bottom, bottom left and bottom right of the view.
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Grid annotation mode |
Allows you to modify the display of reference grid annotations. Select Off from the drop-down list to define that reference grid annotations do not display. Select Labels from the drop-down list to display only labels. Select Dimensions from the drop-down list to display only dimensions. Select All from the drop-down list to display both labels and dimensions Select By Style from the drop-down list to inherit the reference grid annotation settings from the selected visual style. |
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Face label template |
Allows you to modify the template used to define the display of grid reference annotations on the X and Y axis. Click
You can browse and select the required template. Click Select to apply the selected template. Click Cancel to discard any changes and close the Select window. |
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Elev label template |
Allows you to modify the template used to define the display of grid reference annotations on the Z axis. The functionality of the Elev label template is identical to the Face label template field. Refer to Face label template for further information. |
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Elev label style |
Select from the drop down list to modify the visual style used for labels on the Z axis. |
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Elev label style |
Select from the drop down list to modify the visual style used for labels on the X and Y axis. |
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Dimension style |
Select from the drop down list to modify the visual style used for dimensions. |
to display the 
When the reference grid annotation modifications are complete. It may be necessary to update the view. Refer to Update and Regenerate Reference Grid Annotations for further information.