From the course: AutoCAD 2015 Essential Training

Measuring distances and areas

From the course: AutoCAD 2015 Essential Training

Start my 1-month free trial

Measuring distances and areas

“

There are many different ways to measure objects in AutoCAD, and in this video you will learn some of them. Open the architectural sample file in the Chapter 10 folder and then go up here to the Utilities panel and open up this flyout. Let's begin by measuring a distance. This executes the Measure Geom command. I'd like to measure the distance here from this point to this point. When I click the second point, the information is sort of frozen there on the screen for a moment while we examine it. This information isn't really a dimension in that it doesn't print. It's just for your information only. Here we can learn that it's four feet from here to here, and that the vertical distance is given here, and the horizontal distance is given here. We can measure the angle, next, by clicking on the line and a second line. Here we see the angle between those two objects. Alternatively, we could calculate the area of the room. And this is done simply by clicking each corner point of the room. Now I'll press Enter and it will give us the area information right here in square inches, and, more usefully, in square feet. Incidentally, there's also the perimeter listed here. Obviously, in a 3D model you could calculate a volume, and you can calculate the radii or angles of lines as I've said. I'll click exit. So each one of those options is broken out into a different icon here for convenience. You can alternatively use the older Distance command. Type d-i for dist, enter, and then just click two points to measure the distance between them. It gives you the information down here on the command line. Aside from the measurement commands that I have already presented, you can measure objects by querying their properties. So for example, I will select this line, and then type p-r for properties, Enter. That opens up this palette, and we need to scroll down in the list by dragging this bar. And you'll see over here that we have information about the length, is four feet, the angle with respect to zero degrees, which is going horizontally to the right, and we have the deltas, that is, the change in these three different axes. The Properties palette is rather large, and that's why we have another alternative called Quick Properties. You can access that by adding another button to the status bar. Click Customization and choose Quick Properties, and that adds this icon right here. Toggle the mode on and then click on an object. This gives us what we call quick properties about the object. Just a few important pieces of information. Included among them sometimes is measurement information, such as the length. It depends, though, on which type of object you click on. So, for example, if I come down here and click on this polyline, it doesn't give us measurement information in this case. If I wanted to know the length of that polyline, I could explode it and then click on one of its lines, and then I can learn how long that is. After learning that, I could then undo. If you ever need to calculate something, you don't need to pull out a pocket calculator. You can just use the AutoCAD, and type q-c for quick calc, and you have this calculator here. Now, aside from the obvious calculator functions, you can also manipulate imperial units, and this can be handy. So, for example, let's say I want to add some distance, like five foot three and an eighth plus three foot three and a third. It will tell me the answer over here. However, it will round the answer to the precision of your units. Just be aware of that. If we go to units, we can see how precise you're getting information right here. Also in quick calc, you can measure angles, distances, get the coordinates of a specific point, or the coordinates of a point implied by the intersection of two lines. The older calculator is built into the command line. So you can be, let's say, in the middle of the line command, drawing a line, and then realize, oh, I want to add up a couple of things. To use this command-line version of the calculator. You press apostrophe or foot symbol to indicate that you want a transparent command, that is, a command that operates on top of the current command. It does not interrupt what you're doing. So I've called for a transparent command, and then I'll type c-a-l for calculator and press Enter. Now it says expression, and I could then add two numbers. I'll just add three plus seven, press Enter, and it gives me that information right here. And not only that, but it entered it into the line command as a distance. So that's an alternative way to calculate things on the fly. So there you have it, many different ways to measure objects in AutoCAD.

Contents