To Create an Ordinate Dimension

Ordinate dimensions measure the perpendicular distances from an origin point called the datum, such as a hole in a part. The datum is established by the current location of the UCS origin.

1. Move the UCS origin to the datum.
2. Click Annotate tabDimensions panelDimension.
3. At the prompt, enter o (Ordinate).
4. If you do not want jogs in the ordinate leaders, turn on Ortho mode [F8].
5. Specify a point for the feature location.
6. Specify a leader endpoint.
   NOTE:You can also specify an X- or Y-datum to determine the orientation of the dimension location and dimension text.

   You can use polar tracking to line up the text of the ordinate dimensions.