Useful Links

Centerline Annotations

Centerlines are annotations that mark circle centers and describe the geometry size on drawings.

You can insert centerlines into drawing views automatically or manually. The SOLIDWORKS software avoids duplicate centerlines.

If you dimension to a centerline, the extension lines are shortened automatically.

Inserting Centerlines Automatically

To insert centerlines automatically:

In a drawing document, click Options > Document Properties > Detailing.
Under Auto insert on view creation, select Centerlines.
Click OK.
Insert a drawing view.

Centerlines appear automatically in all appropriate features.

When you enable Large Assembly Settings or when the number of components exceeds the threshold for large assemblies, centerlines are not inserted automatically.

Inserting Centerlines Manually

To insert centerlines manually:

In a drawing document, click Centerline (Annotation toolbar), or click Insert > Annotations > Centerline.
The Centerline PropertyManager appears.

You can select either the tool or an entity first.
Select one of the following:
- Two edges (parallel or non-parallel)
- Two sketch segments in a drawing view (except splines)
- A face (cylindrical, conical, toroidal, or swept)
- A view in the graphics area
- A feature, component, or drawing view in the FeatureManager design tree
Click .

Example: Applying Center Mark Dimensions

To insert centerlines throughout a feature, select one cylindrical face. Each segment is an individual object and can be deleted separately.

To insert a centerline in one feature, select a face.

To insert centerlines in all appropriate features, select the view in either the graphics area or the FeatureManager design tree.

To insert a centerline from the middle of the left side to the middle of the right side, select the top and bottom edges.