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Registrant Name dei_EntityRegistrantName DFA INVESTMENT DIMENSIONS GROUP INC
Prospectus Date rr_ProspectusDate Feb. 28, 2013
DFA VA Global Moderate Allocation Portfolio
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Risk/Return [Heading] rr_RiskReturnHeading DFA VA Global Moderate Allocation Portfolio
Objective [Heading] rr_ObjectiveHeading INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE
Objective, Primary [Text Block] rr_ObjectivePrimaryTextBlock The investment objective of the DFA VA Global Moderate Allocation Portfolio (the “Portfolio”) is to seek total return consisting of capital appreciation and current income. The DFA VA Global Moderate Allocation Portfolio is a “fund of funds,” which means that the Portfolio uses its assets to purchase other mutual funds (the “Underlying Funds”) managed by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP (the “Advisor”).
Expense [Heading] rr_ExpenseHeading FEES AND EXPENSES OF THE PORTFOLIO
Expense Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseNarrativeTextBlock This table describes the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the DFA VA Global Moderate Allocation Portfolio. The expenses in the table do not include any fees or charges imposed by the variable insurance contract. If such fees and charges were included, the expenses in the table would be higher.
Shareholder Fees Caption [Text] rr_ShareholderFeesCaption Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment):
Operating Expenses Caption [Text] rr_OperatingExpensesCaption Annual Fund Operating Expenses (expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Fee Waiver or Reimbursement over Assets, Date of Termination rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssetsDateOfTermination February 28, 2014
Portfolio Turnover [Heading] rr_PortfolioTurnoverHeading Portfolio Turnover
Portfolio Turnover [Text Block] rr_PortfolioTurnoverTextBlock A mutual fund generally pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when mutual fund shares are held in a taxable account. The DFA VA Global Moderate Allocation Portfolio does not pay transaction costs when buying and selling shares of the Underlying Funds; however, the Underlying Funds pay transaction costs when buying and selling securities for their portfolio. The transaction costs incurred by the Underlying Funds, which are not reflected in Annual Fund Operating Expenses or in the Example, affect the DFA VA Global Moderate Allocation Portfolio’s performance. Because the DFA VA Global Moderate Allocation Portfolio is new, information about its portfolio turnover rate is not yet available.
Other Expenses, New Fund, Based on Estimates [Text] rr_OtherExpensesNewFundBasedOnEstimates The Class L10 shares of the Portfolio are new, so the operating expenses shown are based on anticipated fees and expenses for the first full fiscal year.
Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses, Based on Estimates [Text] rr_AcquiredFundFeesAndExpensesBasedOnEstimates Represents the amount of fees and expenses anticipated to be incurred by the Portfolio through its investments in the Underlying Funds and other investment companies for the first full fiscal year.
Expense Example [Heading] rr_ExpenseExampleHeading Example
Expense Example Narrative [Text Block] rr_ExpenseExampleNarrativeTextBlock This Example is meant to help you compare the cost of investing in the DFA VA Global Moderate Allocation Portfolio with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example does not include any fees or charges imposed by the variable insurance contract. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Portfolio for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of those periods. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Portfolio’s operating expenses remain the same. The costs for the Portfolio reflect the net expenses of the Portfolio that result from the contractual expense waiver and assumption in the first year only. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
Expense Example Closing [Text Block] rr_ExpenseExampleClosingTextBlock Because the DFA VA Global Moderate Allocation Portfolio is new, the Example is based on the anticipated expenses for the Portfolio for the current fiscal year, and does not extend over five- and ten-year periods.
Strategy [Heading] rr_StrategyHeading PRINCIPAL INVESTMENT STRATEGIES
Strategy Narrative [Text Block] rr_StrategyNarrativeTextBlock To achieve its investment objective, the Portfolio, under normal market circumstances, purchases shares of the Underlying Funds to achieve a moderate allocation to both global equity and global fixed income securities. Generally, the DFA VA Global Moderate Allocation Portfolio invests its assets in domestic and international equity Underlying Funds and fixed income Underlying Funds to achieve an allocation that provides a moderate allocation to global equity securities, with an allocation of approximately 50% to 70% of the Portfolio's assets to domestic and international equity Underlying Funds and 30% to 50% of its assets to fixed income Underlying Funds. When the Advisor determines that market forces have caused fundamental changes in the relative values of the assets of the Underlying Funds, the Advisor may modify the allocations of the DFA VA Global Moderate Allocation Portfolio. To maintain target allocations, adjustments may be made by purchasing or selling shares of the Underlying Funds or applying future investments and redemptions by the DFA VA Global Moderate Allocation Portfolio in proportions necessary to rebalance the investments in the Underlying Funds.

In addition to its allocation strategy of providing exposure to the domestic and international equity and fixed income markets through investment in the Underlying Funds, the DFA VA Global Moderate Allocation Portfolio further diversifies its investment portfolio by allocating its assets among Underlying Funds that represent a variety of different asset classes. As of the date of this Prospectus, the DFA VA Global Moderate Allocation Portfolio invests in: (1) domestic equity Underlying Funds that purchase a broad and diverse portfolio of securities of U.S. operating companies of all market capitalization sizes and a domestic equity Underlying Fund that primarily invests in publicly traded REITs; (2) international equity Underlying Funds that purchase a broad and diverse portfolio of securities of companies in developed and emerging markets of all market capitalization sizes which may include frontier markets (emerging market countries in an earlier stage of development); and (3) fixed income Underlying Funds that may purchase U.S. and foreign debt securities such as obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. and foreign governments, their agencies and instrumentalities, bank obligations, commercial paper, repurchase agreements, obligations of other domestic and foreign issuers having investment grade ratings, obligations of supranational organizations and inflation-protected securities. Certain fixed income Underlying Funds in which the DFA VA Global Moderate Allocation Portfolio invests will concentrate their assets in the banking industry under certain market conditions. The Underlying Funds in which the DFA VA Global Moderate Allocation Portfolio invests as of the date of this Prospectus are described in the Portfolio's Prospectus in the section entitled "Investments in Underlying Funds." Periodically the Advisor will review the allocations for the DFA VA Global Moderate Allocation Portfolio in each Underlying Fund and may add or remove Underlying Funds without notice to shareholders.

Certain Underlying Funds may use derivatives, such as futures contracts and options on futures contracts for foreign or U.S. equity securities and indices, to gain market exposure on their uninvested cash pending investment in securities or to maintain liquidity to pay redemptions. Certain fixed income Underlying Funds use foreign currency contracts to hedge foreign currency risks. Also the Underlying Funds may lend their portfolio securities to generate additional income.

Certain of the Underlying Funds are available for investment only by insurance company separate accounts that fund variable life and variable annuity contracts.
Risk [Heading] rr_RiskHeading PRINCIPAL RISKS
Risk Narrative [Text Block] rr_RiskNarrativeTextBlock Fund of Funds Risk: The investment performance of the DFA VA Global Moderate Allocation Portfolio is affected by the investment performance of the Underlying Funds in which the DFA VA Global Moderate Allocation Portfolio invests. The ability of the DFA VA Global Moderate Allocation Portfolio to achieve its investment objective depends on the ability of the Underlying Funds to meet their investment objectives and on the Advisor's decisions regarding the allocation of the DFA VA Global Moderate Allocation Portfolio's assets among the Underlying Funds. The Portfolio may allocate assets to an Underlying Fund or asset class that underperforms other funds or asset classes. There can be no assurance that the investment objective of the DFA VA Global Moderate Allocation Portfolio or any Underlying Fund will be achieved. When the Portfolio invests in Underlying Funds, investors are exposed to a proportionate share of the expenses of those Underlying Funds in addition to the expenses of the Portfolio. Through its investments in the Underlying Funds, the DFA VA Global Moderate Allocation Portfolio is subject to the risks of the Underlying Funds' investments. Certain risks of the Underlying Funds' investments are described below.

Market Risk: Even a long-term investment approach cannot guarantee a profit. Economic, political and issuer specific events will cause the value of securities, and the Underlying Funds that own them, to rise or fall. Because the value of your investment in the DFA VA Global Moderate Allocation Portfolio, there is a risk that you will lose money.

Foreign Securities and Currencies Risk: Foreign securities prices may decline or fluctuate because of: (a) economic or political actions of foreign governments and/or (b) less regulated or liquid securities markets. Investors holding these securities may also be exposed to foreign currency risk (the possibility that foreign currency will fluctuate in value against the U.S. dollar or that a foreign government will convert, or be forced to convert, its currency to another currency, changing its value against the U.S. dollar).

Foreign Government Debt Risk: The risk that: (a) the governmental entity that controls the repayment of government debt may not be willing or able to repay the principal and/or to pay the interest when it becomes due, due to factors such as political considerations, the relative size of the governmental entity's debt position in relation to the economy, cash flow problems, insufficient foreign currency reserves, the failure to put in place economic reforms required by the International Monetary Fund or other multilateral agencies, and/or other national economic factors; (b) governments may default on their debt securities, which may require holders of such securities to participate in debt rescheduling; and (c) there is no legal or bankruptcy process by which defaulted government debt may be collected in whole or in part.

Small Company Risk: Securities of small companies are often less liquid than those of large companies and this could make it difficult to sell a small company security at a desired time or price. As a result, small company stocks may fluctuate relatively more in price. In general, smaller capitalization companies are also more vulnerable than larger companies to adverse business or economic developments and they may have more limited resources.

Emerging Markets Risk: Numerous emerging market countries have a history of, and continue to experience serious, and potentially continuing, economic and political problems. Stock markets in many emerging market countries are relatively small, expensive to trade and generally have higher risks than those in developed markets. Foreigners are often limited in their ability to invest in, and withdraw assets from, these markets. Additional restrictions may be imposed under other conditions. Frontier market countries generally have smaller economies or less developed capital markets and, as a result, the risks of investing in emerging market countries are magnified in frontier market countries.

Interest Rate Risk: Fixed income securities are subject to interest rate risk because the prices of fixed income securities tend to move in the opposite direction of interest rates. When interest rates rise, fixed income security prices fall. When interest rates fall, fixed income security prices rise. In general, fixed income securities with longer maturities are more sensitive to these price changes.

Credit Risk: Credit risk is the risk that the issuer of a security may be unable to make interest payments and/or repay principal when due. A downgrade to an issuer's credit rating or a perceived change in an issuer's financial strength may affect a security's value, and thus, impact a fixed income Underlying Funds' performance.

Risks of Banking Concentration: Certain fixed income Underlying Funds in which the DFA VA Global Moderate Portfolio invests will concentrate their assets in the banking industry under certain market conditions. Focus on the banking industry would link the performance of the Underlying Funds to changes in the performance of the banking industry generally. Banks are very sensitive to changes in money market and general economic conditions. The profitability of the banking industry is dependent upon banks being able to obtain funds at reasonable costs and upon liquidity in the capital and credit markets to finance their lending operations. Adverse general economic conditions can cause financial difficulties for a bank's borrowers and the borrowers' failure to repay their loans can adversely affect the bank's financial situation. Banks are subject to extensive regulation and decisions by regulators may limit the loans banks make and the interest rates and fees they charge, which could reduce bank profitability.

Income Risk: Income risk is the risk that falling interest rates will cause a fixed income Underlying Fund's income to decline.

Derivatives Risk: Derivatives are instruments, such as futures and foreign exchange forward contracts, whose value is derived from that of other assets, rates or indices. Derivatives can be used for hedging (attempting to reduce risk by offsetting one investment position with another) or non-hedging purposes. Hedging with derivatives may increase expenses, and there is no guarantee that a hedging strategy will work. While hedging can reduce or eliminate losses, it can also reduce or eliminate gains. The use of derivatives for non-hedging purposes may be considered more speculative than other types of investments. When the Underlying Funds use derivatives, the Portfolio will be directly exposed to the risks of that derivative. Derivative instruments are subject to a number of risks including liquidity, interest rate, market, credit and management risks, and the risk of improper valuation. Changes in the value of a derivative may not correlate perfectly with the underlying asset, rate or index, and the Portfolio could lose more than the principal amount invested.

Securities Lending Risk: Securities lending involves the risk that the borrower may fail to return the securities in a timely manner or at all. As a result, the Underlying Funds may lose money and there may be a delay in recovering the loaned securities. The Underlying Funds could also lose money if they do not recover the securities and/or the value of the collateral falls, including the value of investments made with cash collateral. Securities lending also may have certain adverse tax consequences.

Other risks of the Underlying Funds are described in the DFA VA Global Moderate Allocation Portfolio's prospectus in the section entitled "Additional Risks of the Underlying Funds."
Risk Lose Money [Text] rr_RiskLoseMoney Because the value of your investment in the DFA VA Global Moderate Allocation Portfolio, there is a risk that you will lose money.
Bar Chart and Performance Table [Heading] rr_BarChartAndPerformanceTableHeading PERFORMANCE
Performance Narrative [Text Block] rr_PerformanceNarrativeTextBlock Performance information is not available for the DFA VA Global Moderate Allocation Portfolio because it has not yet commenced operations. Updated performance information for the Portfolio can be obtained in the future by visiting www.dimensional.com.
Performance One Year or Less [Text] rr_PerformanceOneYearOrLess Performance information is not available for the DFA VA Global Moderate Allocation Portfolio because it has not yet commenced operations.
Performance Availability Website Address [Text] rr_PerformanceAvailabilityWebSiteAddress www.dimensional.com
DFA VA Global Moderate Allocation Portfolio | Class L10
  
Risk/Return: rr_RiskReturnAbstract  
Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment) rr_ShareholderFeeOther none
Management Fee rr_ManagementFeesOverAssets 0.25% [1]
Shareholder Services Fees rr_Component1OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.10% [1],[2]
Other Expenses rr_Component3OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.36% [1]
Total Other Expenses rr_OtherExpensesOverAssets 0.46% [1]
Acquired Fund Fees & Expenses rr_AcquiredFundFeesAndExpensesOverAssets 0.28% [1],[3]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses rr_ExpensesOverAssets 0.99% [1]
Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement or (Recovery) rr_FeeWaiverOrReimbursementOverAssets 0.54% [1],[4]
Total Annual Fund Operating Expenses After Fee Waiver and/or Expense Reimbursement or (Recovery) rr_NetExpensesOverAssets 0.45% [1]
1 Year rr_ExpenseExampleYear01 46
3 Years rr_ExpenseExampleYear03 261
[1] The Class L10 shares of the Portfolio are new, so the operating expenses shown are based on anticipated fees and expenses for the first full fiscal year.
[2] "Shareholder Services Fees" are paid to third parties that provide administrative and shareholder services to investors.
[3] Represents the amount of fees and expenses anticipated to be incurred by the Portfolio through its investments in the Underlying Funds and other investment companies for the first full fiscal year.
[4] The Advisor has agreed to waive all or a portion of its management fee and to assume certain expenses of the Portfolio. The Amended and Restated Fee Waiver and/or Expense Assumption Agreement for the Portfolio will remain in effect through February 28, 2014, and may not be terminated by the Advisor prior to that date. Under certain circumstances, the Advisor retains the right to seek reimbursement for any fees previously waived and/or expenses previously assumed up to thirty-six months after such fee waiver and/or expense assumption.