Drawing Dimensions/Annotations - a Newbie question

[John_W2]

I am just starting the transition to Solid Edge, having almost 20 years of Pro/E/Creo, plus 5 years of Solidworks under my belt.
I am working through some of the tutorials included with Solid Edge.
I am currently part-way through the 'Creating Detailed Drawings' tutorial.
In it, I am instructed to create an annotation for a bunch of counterbored holes by selecting the appropriate symbols and typing in the dimensions. I am also instructed to type in a prefix to specify the total number of these holes.
Am I being instructed to do it this way, by typing in dimensions and quantities that have already been defined in the model, simply to demonstrate how it is possible to do so, or is this the 'correct' way to produce the annotation?
In the other CAD systems, I am used to using model dimensions, quantities, etc. directly in the drawing. Typing in quantities and/or dimensions is almost a sacking offence.
Is there a way in Solid Edge to generate the annotation using the model data, the way it is done in Creo or SolidWorks? Have I just not gone far enough through the training yet? I hope the answer to both questions is a resounding 'Yes!'

I would appreciate some reassurance that I am not missing something here.

Cheers,

John

 

[kjoiner]

Hi John,

Look for the "dimension prefix" dialogue box. It has several buttons that can automatically pull the dimensional data from various type holes (counterink, counterbore, tapped etc.)

Also, for automatically getting hole counts, use %QC (counts holes on the same plane); %QA (counts all the holes of one type). These are available in the symbols and values button also on the dimension prefix dialogue box. Use the ones called "hole reference"

It is also possible to type in special characters using the callout function, but I find that to be a lot of work and prone to typos. I prefer to place a dimension the supplement it with the extra information as needed.