OK, I got some further clarification.
Technically the 'Inferred' dimension code is working correctly, well sort of. The problem is that if your first pick is either the 'Center Mark' symbol or the EDGE, the system thinks that you've selected two 'linear' references and if you've NOT told the system explicitly what it is that you're creating, i.e. you're in the 'Inferred' mode, it's logical to think that it's an angle, even IF the value is zero. For the vast majority of cases, when creating 'linear' dimensions, you are actually dimensioning between either two Points or a Point and an Edge (when we say 'Point' we mean a 'snap point' not necessarily an actual Point object). Now prior to NX 9.0 and the introduction of the so-called 'Rapid' dimension function, what happened was that we would let you select whatever you wanted and we would attempt to sort out whether you really needed to pick an edge or a point and while it work OK for most cases, there were a lot of instances where you had to resort to using an explicit dimension function to actually get what you wanted. That was because we couldn't always guess what it was that you SHOULD have selected, the Point or the Edge. A good example of this is when you wanted a Perpendicular dimension. It was virtually impossible prior to NX 9.0 using the 'Inferred' dimensions to create a 'Perpendicular' dimension, which is not a problem at all with the new 'Rapid' dimension even in it's 'Inferred' mode. The irony here is that while many people create 'Horizontal' and 'Vertical' dimensions, in reality they SHOULD have been creating 'Perpendicular' dimensions instead since that is what was really being dimensioned, the PERPENDICULAR distance between a Point and a linear Edge.
So the solution that is being worked on is that if your first selection is either a linear edge or 'Center Mark' symbol, we will force the second selection to be a snap point, unless you've explicitly said that you wanted an angular result. BTW, as mentioned already, that is the recommended approach that you should be using today. In other words, if you wish to dimension to a 'Center Mark' symbol and you've already selected a linear edge, place your cursor over the small 'crosshairs' portion of the symbol instead of one of it's radial lines (you'll know that you've got the correct 'point' because you will actually see the little 'feedback' icon showing that you've selected the 'Point' snap point of the symbol. That way the system will know that you're dimensioning it as if it were a 'Point' which is what you're doing anyway if you've already selected a linear edge as your first pick. Now if you pick the 'Center Mark' symbol first, then you need to pick the snap point, this will be the end-point in most cases, for your second pick. But if you really need a perpendicular dimension, which is going to be most of the time anyway, then pick the linear edge first and then the 'crosshairs' of the 'Center Mark' symbol for the second pick.
Anyway, I hope this explains better what's happening and how this will eventually be resolved, as well as being advised as to how to use the 'Rapid' function today to get what you consistently need to be getting when selecting 'Center Mark' symbols
John R. Baker, P.E.
Product 'Evangelist'
Product Engineering Software
Siemens PLM Software Inc.
Industry Sector
Cypress, CA
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