Constraint creation

The Constraint... command allows dimensional constraints (driving dimensions) to be created or relations between the document elements.

Creation Stages / Use:

Click the icon or select the 2D sketch > Constraints > Constraint... command from the drop-down menu. In a Draft document select the Sketch > Constraints > Constraint... command from the drop-down menu.

Select the first geometry. If you position the dimension, you obtain a length dimension (for a linear segment), the radius for an arc, the diameter for a circle, coordinates dimensions for a point.
If you select a second entity, you obtain the distance, the angle, ....
Position the dimension.

A relation is created by selecting one or more sketch elements, then selecting from the proposed constraints in the popup menu that displays by right-clicking.

To create a dimension centered on an axis, before putting in your dimension, choose the command Centered dimension from the popup menu that displays by right-clicking, then select an axis.

Modifications / Additional information:

The modification of the value of a dimension is carried out by double-clicking on the dimension text when no command is launched (neutral mode) or when the commands Constraint or Revolution dimension are launched.

The type of extremity of a dimension depends on the selected element: the selection of an extremity of an element creates a dimension with a point type extremity and the selecting of an element creates a dimension with an arrow type extremity.

As the dimensions and constraints are created, TopSolid changes the color of the sketch elements in order to indicate whether they are fully constrained. An under constrained element is displayed in magenta, a completely constrained element is displayed in blue.

The same is true for the dimensions. When an over-constrained dimension is detected, TopSolid automatically disables the dimension being created and displays it in gray. The commands Enable and Disable in the popup menu of a dimension allow the types of dimensions to be modified. In case of over-constraint, the dimensions or relations in question are displayed in red.

The Ask the dimension value mode allows to modify the value just after positioning it.