I don't like the way solidworks 2016 trys to pre-dimension selected items in a sketch. Lets say I'm cutting 2 holes in a block. I just selected both holes and made them equal to each other. Since both holes are still selected when I activate the dimension tool solidworks automatically sets the distance between the holes. Now I don't want to know the dimension between the holes I want to set the dimension from the edge of the block. So now I have to hit escape to de-select the holes and then reactivate the dimension tool. I have just changed over from 2013 and with that version everything would automatically deselect and you could start dimensioning anyway you wanted to. Is there a way to have the dimension tool deselect everything when activated?
Bill, not sure if there is a setting to do this automatically but you could do a couple of things:
- Assign "Select" to a keyboard shortcut. (go to Tools -> Customize -> Keyboard)
This will allow you to use a different keypress besides ESC to deselect items that are already selected.
- Left click on a blank area of the workspace before clicking the dimension command.