How to Create Leaders and Annotations in BricsCAD

Quick answer: A leader consists of an arrowhead, a line, polyline, or spline, and an annotation. Either LEADER or DIMLEADER launches the same workflow, specify the arrowhead’s position, build the leader’s line segments, then type the annotation text, or skip the annotation entirely for a leader on its own.

Creating a Leader with an Annotation

1. Launch LEADER or DIMLEADER. You’re prompted for the start of the leader.
2. Specify the arrowhead’s position. You’re prompted for the next point.
3. Specify the endpoint of the first leader segment. You’re prompted for the next point, or to choose Format, Undo, or Annotation.
4. Add more segments as needed, then press Enter or right-click to stop. You’re prompted for the first line of annotation text.

Hold Shift while building the leader to temporarily enable ORTHOMODE, the same behaviour covered on this hub’s Orthogonal mode page.

5. Type the first line of annotation text and press Enter. You’re prompted for the next line.
6. Either press Enter or right-click to finish, or keep adding lines and then press Enter or right-click once you’re done.

Creating a Leader Only

1. Launch LEADER or DIMLEADER. You’re prompted for the start of the leader.
2. Specify the arrowhead’s position. You’re prompted for the next point.
3. Specify the endpoint of the first leader segment. You’re prompted for the next point, or to choose Format, Undo, or Annotation.
4. Add more segments as needed, then press Enter or right-click to stop. You’re prompted for the first line of annotation text.
5. Press Enter without typing anything. You’re prompted for dimension text options: Block, Copy, None, Tolerance, or Mtext.
6. Choose None. The leader is created without any annotation attached.

Frequently Asked Questions

What’s the difference between LEADER and DIMLEADER? Both launch the exact same workflow in this source, specifying the arrowhead, building segments, and optionally adding annotation text.

How do I create a leader without any text attached to it? Follow the same procedure, but press Enter at the annotation text prompt and choose None from the dimension text options that follow.

Does holding Shift while drawing a leader do anything special? Yes, it temporarily enables Orthogonal mode for that part of the construction.

Can a leader use something other than a straight line? Yes, a leader can be built from a line, polyline, or spline, along with its arrowhead and optional annotation.