# \-How do I dimension this?

**URL:** <https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/how-do-i-dimension-this/17113>\
**Category:** Modeling Questions\
**Created:** [January 28, 2022, 10:25pm UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/how-do-i-dimension-this/17113 "2022-01-28T22:25:35Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 7

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**Author:** ![NathanD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/dec6dc/32.png) [@NathanD](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/u/NathanD)\
**Post date:** [January 30, 2022, 3:23am UTC](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/how-do-i-dimension-this/17113/7 "2022-01-30T03:23:11Z")

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> [@2D Drawings not in Ortho](https://discourse.shapr3d.com/t/2d-drawings-not-in-ortho/16898/3):
>
> I have this problem from time to time too. The only workaround I’ve thought of is to make a copy of the assembly elsewhere in the design space and rotate it to be parallel to the grid. It is bothersome if I make change and have to go thru the process again. But major changes require all new drawings anyway because deleting or adding a component breaks the previous drawing. (That’s a different issue so I digress)

@realdrogo this is what I have found to do as well. I have created drawings from a _ **copy** _ of a specific body or assembly that has then been positioned off to the side in line with the X axis.

But you’re correct, the drawings don’t like having their parent body changed. You can make the smallest change and it’s a roll of the dice how the drawing will react.

Hopefully at some point we can select a surface or plane that determines a drawings base view regardless of it’s orientation in the 3D space.

@ricko3k aside from aligning the bodies square, the two dimensions you annotated could be displayed as absolute instead of horizontal/vertical.

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