Dimension style "families" are groups of dimension styles based on a "parent" style with variations for different types of dimensions. When you create a new dimension style, it automatically becomes the parent style of a dimension style family. Members of dimension style families are related to one another by name. The "child" dimension styles - dimension styles based on a parent style - are automatically named with a numeric suffix that indicates the dimension type, as shown in the following example.
| ISO-25 | ISO-25 parent dimension style |
| ISO-25$0 | Linear child of ISO-25 (both rotated and aligned types) |
| ISO-25$2 | Angular child of ISO-25 (both 2-line and 3-point types) |
| ISO-25$3 | Diameter child of ISO-25 |
| ISO-25$4 | Radius child of ISO-25 |
| ISO-25$6 | Ordinate child of ISO-25 |
| ISO-25$7 | Leader child of ISO-25 (also used for tolerance objects) |
Dimension style families provide a set of permanent variations on the parent style. When you create a dimension, AutoCAD LT chooses the appropriate family member of the current dimension style for the dimension you're creating. If there are no family dimension styles defined, the parent style is applied.
In the Dimension Styles dialog box (DDIM), only the names of parent dimension styles are listed. To view a list of all dimension styles, use DIMSTYLE.
You can use dimension style overrides to change to a single dimension or to modify the current dimension style. Once you apply an override to the current dimension style, the override applies to all dimensions you create subsequently.
See Also
Listing and Comparing Dimension Styles and Variables