The Measuring Tool allows you to easily measure the distance between two points in your layout. This tool behaves like the three main tools (Layout, Vector Editor, and Loop Editor) in that it will stay active until you select another tool.

New Length

Enter a number in here if you want scale the selected graphic to a scale factor formed from the New Length and Total Length.

Total Length

This is the total length of the ruler.

Horizontal

This is the horizontal span of the ruler.

Vertical

This is the vertical span of the ruler.

Auto Square

This option will cause the ruler to snap to perfectly horizontal and vertical when appropriate.

Snap to Path

This convenient option will cause the ends of the measurement ruler to snap the edges of existing objects.

Defining the Ruler

When you first select the tool, you need to define the initial "ruler", and then you can move the two endpoints of the "ruler" around until you see the measurement you need.

First, click the left button where you want one end of the ruler to be. Then, drag the mouse over to where you want the other end of the ruler to be, and release the left mouse button. You will then see the complete ruler. The horizontal, vertical and diagonal measures will appear at the top status bar.

Adjusting the Ruler

At this point you can readjust either end point just clicking close to the desired end point, and dragging it to a new position. You can also bring in guidelines to help you position the ruler more exactly, because when you move the end points, they will automatically snap to any guideline or gridlines that are close enough.

To finish with the Measuring Tool, simply click on another "modal" tool such as the Layout Tool, or press Esc.

Please Note: to measure in PowerFlow, use Ctrl+Tab and then draw a line. The distance will be shown in a box below the line.