Creating an arrow annotation

You can create an arrow to help annotate the contents of a viewport, and you can place the arrow anywhere on the viewport. Typically, you would use a combined arrow and text annotation to connect a text annotation to an object in a viewport, but you may want to add individual arrows if a text annotation applies to multiple locations or if you want full control over the anchor points and position without editing the arrow after you create it.

Related Topics
What are arrow and text annotations?
The Annotation Manager
Manipulating annotations in the current viewport
Editing arrow annotation attributes

  1. From the main menu bar, select ViewportCreate AnnotationArrow.

    Tip: You can also create an arrow annotation by clicking in the Viewport toolbar.

    An anchor symbol appears in the viewport. The default anchor point changes as you create new annotations in the session. If this is the first arrow annotation, the anchor point is in the lower left corner of the viewport.

  2. If desired, click Change Anchor in the prompt area and do one of the following:

    • Choose a new anchor point in the viewport.

    • Select a viewport corner or center point from the list in the prompt area.

    • Click Pick From Model in the prompt area, and select a node or vertex or enter the coordinates of the desired anchor point.

      Note:

      If you anchor an annotation to a node or vertex, Abaqus/CAE uses the model coordinates of the selected point; the annotation will not follow model deformation in the Visualization module.

  3. Choose one of the following options to position the endpoint of the arrow:

    • To position the endpoint on the current anchor point, click On Anchor in the prompt area.

    • To position the endpoint anywhere on the viewport, move the cursor to the desired position, and click mouse button 1.

    By default, Abaqus/CAE creates an arrowhead at the first endpoint; the second endpoint does not have a symbol.

  4. Repeat Steps 2 and 3 to anchor and position the second endpoint of the arrow annotation.

    Abaqus/CAE opens an Arrow Editor dialog box.

  5. Complete the information in the Arrow Editor dialog box to finalize the arrow annotation.

    For more information, see Editing arrow annotation attributes.

  6. Click Preview to view your changes in the viewport.

  7. To finish creating your arrow annotation, click OK.

    Abaqus/CAE updates your changes in the viewport, closes the editor, and begins creating another arrow annotation starting at Step 2.

  8. To stop creating arrow annotations, click mouse button 2 in the viewport or the button in the prompt area.