1. Purpose
Bulk-dimensions the selected family instances (fixtures, diffusers, lights...) against the cached ARC/STR geometry — walls, columns, and beams stored in the Excel cache — no manual point-picking. Use it after Dim cache: with the cache ready, one fence-selection dims a whole level.
2. Quick video (≤ 2 minutes)
[Video in production — follow the steps below for now.]
3. Steps
- Make sure Dim cache has been built from a view that covered the walls you are about to dimension, so the Excel cache holds them (the tool reads AutoDIMDataBase.xlsx from your Desktop — no file-picking). [image 01: AutoDIMDataBase.xlsx on the Desktop]
- In the view, fence-select the family instances to dimension. [image 02: family instances selected]
- Click Auto dim cache in the VP_LAYOUT tab, Layout panel — the tool reads the cache, matches the nearest cached wall, column, or beam, and draws dims to each family. [image 03: automatic dims to the cached geometry]
4. Real-world example
A typical floor has 40 diffusers needing dims to the nearest wall, column, or beam for site work. The cache was built yesterday; fence all 40, run the command — 40 dim strings appear in half a minute, two days of manual work done.
5. Common errors
| Symptom (tool message, Vietnamese) | Fix |
|---|---|
| "Vui lòng chọn FamilyInstance point trước khi chạy AutoDIM." | Nothing selected — fence-select family instances, then rerun |
| Cache read error (the Excel error line) | Dim cache was never built — run step 1 first, then dim again |
6. See also
- Dim cache — mandatory step 1: build the Excel cache.
- Dim family point — hand-dim family pairs when no cache exists.
- Dim grid on floor — dimension grid lines before fixtures.