Affinity Publisher 2: measuring tools as a permanent information

[Thomas Reichwein]

Hello Affinty team,
I would like to share an idea that would add a very ingenious possibility to Affinity Publisher 2. If the measuring tool for measuring lengths and areas could be permanently displayed as information and also be used multiple times on one page, this would be very useful for all types of dimension drawings and constructions. These functions are already in Affinity Publisher 2 and just need to be usable multiple times and permanently visible. I have to recreate these measurements in my drawings every time and create them manually using arrows and text fields (like shown in the attachment) and, above all, measure them again and then adjust them if I change/move the objects on the page.
That would a very cool feature (at least for me) - thank you very much!
Cheers,
Thomas

[Hangman]

Hi @Thomas Reichwein and welcome to the forums,

This feature has been heavily requested by many users and would definitely be a great addition to the Affinity suite so hopefully, we may see this in a future release though there are no guarantees of course.

[肉嘎嘎]

I also need this function very much.The measure tool can also be a dimension tool.

[R C-R]

On 10/16/2023 at 11:53 AM, Thomas Reichwein said:

These functions are already in Affinity Publisher 2 and just need to be usable multiple times and permanently visible.

There is currently no function that would 'attach' the dimensional measurement to an object so that if the object's size and/or position on the layout changed that measurement would automatically be adjusted as needed, nor one to select or choose the text characteristics of the dimensional label (like font, font size, etc.), nor anything to set or change the dimensional line properties or positions or shapes, nor the dimensional arrow styles of those lines or if they are inside or outside the line.

CAD apps usually have some version of all those features, so it would be great if they found their way into some future version of AD & the Designer Persona of APub.

[leminilab]

The measurement tool is great: thank you for developing it!
A toggle button to save each measurement as a new layer would be awesome and I would definitely use it for quick measuring needs.
Even if each measurement doesn't stay linked to the shape/point/area. this CAD function would be great but perhaps its development would take away resources from more mainstream features...
 

[JariH]

Second this! 

Please add a tick box to make measurements permanent as graphics on a separate layer/group.

[admiraljuice]

+1 for dimensions to remain on page!

[michael_gr]

We would also need permanent dimensions on our sketches. Very important. Please include also the possibility to change the stroke and arrow size aswell as color for permanet dimensions.

[Clockmaster77]

A real, permanent dimensioning feature should be an extremely useful add-on

[michael_gr]

On 3/1/2024 at 7:33 AM, Clockmaster77 said:

A real, permanent dimensioning feature should be an extremely useful add-on

I don't know why this isn't already part of the software - the non permanent dimension is already working as well

[Dave70]

please ADD it asap. It is the only feature that holds me on using (and paying) adobe Illustrator.

[Vincew]

I can't believe this tool is not a standard item, I have used serif/affinity products for a long time and this was in their previous products. Looks like i can't retire my copy of Drawplus X6 yet for a while. 

Is there an official wanted feature list where we can vote up features we want to see included?

 

[fde101]

5 minutes ago, Vincew said:

Is there an official wanted feature list where we can vote up features we want to see included?

Yes, in the form of every thread in this section of the forum which actually belongs here and follows the guidelines.  Just "like" the post to vote for it, but note that votes don't really mean anything.  Serif decides themselves based on their own internal criteria how to prioritize things.

[michael_gr]

Still no news about the permanent dimension tool?

[jahlive222]

Has anyone found a good work around for efficiently displaying multiple dimensions on a document?

[Kay P]

+1 .

[admiraljuice]

8 minutes ago, jahlive222 said:

Has anyone found a good work around for efficiently displaying multiple dimensions on a document?

I drew out a set of dimension lines with frame text centered on the lines and grouped it all, and saved it as an asset. Then when I need to put dimensions on the page, I just grab that asset, stretch it or squeeze it to fit the object I’m dimensioning, and edit the text with the correct dimension.  I use frame text so it stays the same size when I resize the group. Sometimes when squeezing the group down I need to resize the text frame. Otherwise it’s pretty handy. If working with different scales, I set up multiple artboards with different scales on each, and copy/paste between them as needed, or use symbols so changes to one are reflected on all. 

[Xandre]

The current ruler tool is practically useless when it doesn't remain on the screen when you select anoother tool. it need to be able to stay there; and be optionally snappable, too.

[Pšenda]

2 hours ago, Xandre said:

The current ruler tool is practically useless

Do you mean Measure Tool, or some other one - reading values from Rulers? As for the Measure Tool, why should it be unusable? - it does exactly what it claims, i.e. measures.

3 hours ago, Xandre said:

and be optionally snappable,

In my opinion, the Measure Tool is snappable - the measurement snaps to certain elements and their important parts for measurement.

[jahlive222]

On 11/24/2024 at 8:33 AM, Xandre said:

The current ruler tool is practically useless when it doesn't remain on the screen when you select anoother tool. it need to be able to stay there; and be optionally snappable, too.

I agree!

[fredolone]

I waited so long for a worthy competitor to Adobe. I work with Illustrator for nearly 30 Years and it took so long for the program to be so powerfull as it is.

Yours is powerfull and with a completely new concept from the start.

BUT: Every Designer must work with construction plans … even in print. You programmed everything one need to know with your fantastic measuring tools … which are completely worthless without the ability to stay.

This is the reason why I cannot use your software. The time when we had to draw measurements by hand ended in 1997 with Adobe Illustrator 7 and CADTools. How long will you wait?

Tactics? Failure? Licence issues? Play all the cards you have before you go under in some other takeover …

[R C-R]

1 hour ago, fredolone said:

BUT: Every Designer must work with construction plans … even in print.

Not true. Many designers, both pro & amateur, never create scale drawings or anything else that relates in any way to plans of physical constructions. There are tons of examples of "planless" documents posted in these forums & elsewhere on the web.

Also, if you compare the existing AD measuring tools to those of CAD apps, you will quickly see that AD has a long way to go before even coming close to the features those apps support. Consider inside vs. outside measurements, dynamic updates as objects are resized, automatic mitigation of overlapping meaurements, & so on.

[NonoGG]

+1

[Patter]

+1

[jahlive222]

On 3/26/2024 at 10:27 AM, Dave70 said:

please ADD it asap. It is the only feature that holds me on using (and paying) adobe Illustrator.

Please add!