Measure and dimension

This guide covers measuring artwork and adding dimensions to technical drawings: the Measure tool, the Info panel, the Dimension tool and its options, the Measure & Inspect tool and Anchor Inspector panel from the Path Precision Tools plug-in, and the Document Info panel.

Command or tool	Windows and Linux	macOS
Window → Info	Ctrl+F8	Cmd+F8
Edit → Keyboard Shortcuts…	Ctrl+Alt+Shift+K	Cmd+Option+Shift+K

The Measure tool shares the Eyedropper tool’s group in the Tools panel. The Dimension tool has its own place, below the Shape Builder tool’s group. The Measure tool, the Dimension tool and the Measure & Inspect tool have no keys. To give a tool a key, use Edit → Keyboard Shortcuts….

The Measure tool, the Info panel, the Measure & Inspect tool and Document Info show lengths in the document’s units. To change them, choose File → Document Setup… and set Units. Dimensions have their own units, described in Set units, precision and style.

Measure a distance with the Measure tool

Choose the Measure tool from the Eyedropper tool’s group.
Drag from the first point to the second. The start and end snap in the same way as the points of a drawing tool. Hold Shift to keep the line on 45° steps, counted from the Constrain Angle. The Constrain Angle is set in Edit → Preferences… → General on Windows and Linux, and in VectorCraft → Settings → General… on macOS.
Read the result beside the end of the line. D is the distance, Angle is the direction counterclockwise from horizontal, and dX and dY are the horizontal and vertical offsets.

The line and the readout stay on the canvas until your next drag. The Measure tool does not change the document. Press Esc during a drag to cancel it and bring back the previous result.

The readout shows only while Measurement Labels is on. Measurement Labels is in Edit → Preferences… → Smart Guides (Ctrl+K) on Windows and Linux, and in VectorCraft → Settings → Smart Guides… (Cmd+K) on macOS. It is on by default. With it off, the tool still draws the line.

Read positions and sizes in the Info panel

Choose Window → Info (Ctrl+F8, or Cmd+F8 on macOS). In the Essentials workspace, the panel opens in a group with History, Actions and Navigator. You can drag its tab into the dock beside Properties, Layers and Libraries.

Readout	What it shows
X, Y	The pointer’s position, measured from the rulers’ zero point
W, H	The width and height of the selection
D, A	The pointer’s distance and angle from the center of the selection. They show only when something is selected
Fill and stroke	The selection’s fill and stroke, with their values in the color’s own mode: R, G and B; C, M, Y and K percentages; K for gray; or L, a and b
Type	With a type object selected, its font and style, size and tracking

The Info panel does not show the Measure tool’s result, which appears only beside the Measure line.

Choose Hide Options from the panel menu to hide D and A, and Show Options to show them again.

The Info panel docked beside Properties, Layers and Libraries while the Lantern Bracket title is selected on the drawing. It shows X, Y, W, H, D and A in millimeters, a fill of R 255, G 210 and B 122 with no stroke, and Source Serif 4 Regular at 28 pt with a tracking of 0

Add a linear dimension

The Dimension tool draws dimensions that are linked to the art they measure. Each dimension is a group of ordinary paths and type. The Layers panel lists it under its value, for example Dimension · 218.7 mm.

Choose the Dimension tool. The Dimension Tool bar opens over the canvas with Linear, Angular, Radial and Tool Options…, and a hint for the kind that is chosen. Click Linear.
Point at a segment. The tool highlights it and marks its ends. With Measurement Labels on, it also shows the segment’s length.
Drag out from the segment, away from the art, and release where you want the dimension line.

To measure between any two points instead, click the first point and then the second. Move the pointer to place the dimension, and click. Hold Shift as you click the second point to keep it on a 45° step from the first. Smart Guides show where each click lands. A point you click on an anchor point is linked to that anchor point.

The new dimension is selected after you place it. Press Esc to cancel a dimension you have started. VectorCraft removes the unfinished dimension from the canvas.

The lantern bracket with two lavender dimensions, 218.7 mm along the arm and 98.8 mm down the wall plate, while the Dimension tool drags a third dimension of 148.9 mm out from the brace. The floating Dimension Tool bar has Linear selected, and the Properties panel’s Dimension section shows Millimeters and precision 1

Linked dimensions follow the art:

When you move or reshape the art, its dimensions update their positions and values.
When you move a dimension by itself, it moves to its new distance from the art and stays linked.
When you delete the art, VectorCraft removes the dimensions linked to it in the same undo step. It does the same when you add or remove anchor points on a measured path, or open or close it. A circle’s dimensions are kept when its anchor points change.
A dimension you copy and paste, or duplicate, keeps its value but is no longer linked.

Dimension angles and radii

To dimension an angle:

Click Angular in the Dimension Tool bar.
Point at a corner, where two segments of a path meet at an anchor point. The tool highlights both segments.
Drag out from the corner, and release to place the arc and its value.

You can also click two straight lines, which may belong to different paths, then move the pointer and click to place the dimension. Angles are labeled in degrees.

To dimension a circle or an arc:

Click Radial in the Dimension Tool bar.
Point at a circle, or at a segment that is a perfect arc. The tool marks the center and shows a dashed radius toward the pointer.
Drag outward, beyond the circle, and release to place a radius dimension. Drag inward, inside the circle, to place a diameter dimension instead.

A click on a circle or an arc places its radius dimension at once.

The Dimension tool with Radial chosen in the floating Dimension Tool bar, and a new 26.8 mm diameter dimension across the scroll ring between the arm and the brace. A 25.8° angular dimension marks the corner between the brace and the arm, and the Properties panel’s Dimension section shows the new dimension’s settings with Apply to All and Set as Default

Set units, precision and style

Double-click the Dimension tool, or click Tool Options… in the Dimension Tool bar, to open Dimension Tool Options. Save sets the style of the dimensions you draw next. Dimensions you already placed keep their style. Reset restores the defaults, and the line under the options shows the label that 1 inch on the page would get. VectorCraft keeps the tool’s kind and style with its preferences.

The Dimension Tool Options dialog set to Millimeters, precision 1 and scale 1, with 1 pt dimension lines and filled arrows, 0.75 pt extension lines with a 4 pt offset and a 6 pt extension, and the value in Inter Semi Bold at 13 pt, away from the line and centered. The line under the options reads Preview (1 inch on the page): 25.4 mm

Option	Default	What it does
Units	Points	Inches, Millimeters, Points, Picas, Pixels, Centimeters, Meters, Feet or Yards
Precision	2	Sets the number of decimal places, from 0 to 6
Scale	1:1	Sets the drawing size to the real size. At 1:10, 1 unit on the page is labeled 10. Type a ratio from 1:1000000 to 1000000:1, or choose one from Presets, from 1:200 to 10:1
Hide Units	Off	Leaves the unit off the label
Line Weight, Line Type (Dimension Lines)	0.5 pt, Solid	Sets the dimension line’s weight, from 0.1 pt to 100 pt, and type: Solid, Dashed or Dotted. The color button beside them sets its color, black by default
Arrow Style	Filled	Filled, Open, Tick or None
Arrow Scale	100%	Sizes the arrowheads, from 1% to 1000%
Line Weight, Line Type (Extension Lines)	0.5 pt, Solid	Set the extension lines’ weight, type and color in the same way
Offset (Extension Lines)	4 pt	Sets the gap between the art and the start of each extension line, from 0 pt to 10000 pt
Extension	6 pt	Sets how far the extension lines run past the dimension line, from 0 pt to 10000 pt
Hide Extension Lines	Off	Draws the dimension without extension lines
Font Family, Font Style	Source Sans 3, Regular	Set the font of the value
Font Size	12 pt	Sets the size of the value, from 1 pt to 1000 pt. The color button beside it sets its color, black by default
Position	Away from the Line	Away from the Line puts the value on the far side of the dimension line from the art. Between Line and Object puts it between the two
Offset (Dimension Text)	4 pt	Sets the gap between the dimension line and the value, from 0 pt to 10000 pt
Alignment	Center	Places the value at the Left, Center or Right of the dimension line

To change dimensions you already placed, select one dimension on its own and use the Dimension section of the Properties panel. It has Units, Precision, Line Weight and the line color, Arrow Style, Font Size and the text color, Position and Alignment. A change applies to the selected dimension.

Apply to All gives every dimension in the document the selected dimension’s style, its scale included, in one undo step.
Set as Default makes the selected dimension’s style the style of new dimensions.

The Properties panel does not show the scale. Set it in Dimension Tool Options.

Inspect anchor points and objects

The Path Precision Tools plug-in adds the Measure & Inspect tool and the Anchor Inspector panel. Choose them from Object → Plug-ins → Path Precision Tools. To keep the Measure & Inspect tool in the Tools panel, add it from the All Tools drawer, as Cut, join and refine paths describes.

The Measure & Inspect Tool measures a drag as the Measure tool does, with D, Angle, dX and dY, Shift for 45° steps and Esc to cancel. The result stays until your next drag. Point at a path’s outline without clicking to read the path at that spot:

Readout	What it shows
Open path or Closed path	Whether the path is closed, and its number of anchor points
Segment, Path	The length of the segment under the pointer, and of the whole path
Area	The area the path encloses, in square units
Tangent	The direction the path runs at the pointer, in degrees
Radius	The radius of curvature at the pointer, or straight on a straight segment
Anchor	Over an anchor point: its number, whether it is smooth or a corner, and the angle the path makes there (90° at a square’s corner, 180° where the path runs straight on), or open end at the end of an open path
In, Out	Over an anchor point: the length and direction of each of its handles

Readouts use the document’s units. The tool does not draw anything into the document.

The Measure & Inspect tool on the lantern bracket. A measurement from the scroll ring’s center to the top of the brace reads D 108.92 mm, Angle 10.1°, dX 107.24 mm and dY -19.05 mm, and the pointer over the hook reads Open path with 3 anchors, its segment and path lengths, area, tangent, a straight radius, anchor 2 as a corner at 180.0° and its Out handle of 7.06 mm at -90.0°

The Anchor Inspector panel edits anchor points with typed values. Select anchor points with the Direct Selection tool (A). The panel shows how many are selected, and the X and Y position of the first one. In and Out set the length and angle of its handles. The panel also has Make Smooth, Make Corner, Equalize Handles, Remove Points, Keep Shape, Add Points and Close Path. Cut, join and refine paths describes these.

The Anchor Inspector panel docked beside Properties, Layers and Libraries, with one anchor point of the hook selected with the Direct Selection tool. The panel shows its X and Y position, an In handle of 0 mm, an Out handle of 7.0556 mm at -90°, and the Make Smooth, Make Corner, Equalize Handles, Remove Points, Keep Shape, Add Points and Close Path buttons

List what a document holds with Document Info

Choose Window → Document Info. The panel lists the document in these categories:

Category	What it lists
Document	The name, color mode, units, the number of artboards and each one’s size, the raster effects resolution, and the numbers of swatches, character styles, paragraph styles and pattern swatches
Objects	The number of objects of each kind, such as paths, compound paths, groups, clipping masks, text objects, images and gradient objects, and Path Length, the total length of the paths
Graphic Styles, Brushes, Spot Colors, Pattern Objects, Gradient Swatches, Symbols	The name of each one, with the count in the heading
Fonts	The fonts the document’s type uses
Font Details	Each font’s file and whether its license allows embedding. A missing font shows which font is drawn in its place
Linked Images, Embedded Images	Each image’s name and size in pixels, and for a linked image, its file
Repeat Objects	Each Repeat object’s name, kind and number of instances

The Document Info panel docked beside the canvas. Under Document it lists the name lantern-bracket.vectorcraft, RGB color mode, Millimeters, 1 artboard of 395.1111 mm × 282.2222 mm, 72 ppi raster effects and 51 swatches, and under Objects 136 paths with a path length of 20660.5328 mm

The panel menu changes what the list shows:

Selection Only lists only what the selected objects hold.
Choose a category to show it alone, or All Categories to show every category.
Save… writes the categories the panel shows to a text file named after the document, such as lantern-bracket Info.txt. File → Package… writes the same report.

The Document Info panel menu open with Fonts checked, and the list behind it showing only the Fonts category: Fonts (3), with Inter Semi Bold, Source Sans 3 Regular and Source Serif 4 Regular