About creating and editing dimension features

This topic applies to ArcGIS for Desktop Standard and ArcGIS for Desktop Advanced only.

Dimension features are a special kind of text for showing lengths or distances on a map. You can create dimension features by defining them on the map or by using tools to create them from existing features. You can create aligned, simple aligned, horizontal linear, vertical linear, or rotated linear dimension features in a variety of shapes. Dimension features draw and symbolize themselves based on the properties of their assigned style.

To draw dimensions, start with the Create Features window. This is where you choose the feature template used to create the features with and the dimension construction tool used to create them. Click a template and click a tool at the bottom of the window. Each template has a default construction tool, but you can override it and choose another tool.

Once a dimension feature has been created, you can use the editing tools to modify its geometry and the Attributes window to modify its properties.

Note:

A dimension feature class must be edited in its native projection. If you start editing while a dimension feature class is being projected on the fly, a warning message appears to indicate the layer cannot be edited.