Affinity Designer: measure line/path length

[ra.skill]

On 8/4/2020 at 5:58 PM, johnnyfive said:

I think for most people it's this one. It has been available in Adobe Illustrator for a long time under the Document Info tab.

 

+1 for a tape measure tool.

[MJSfoto1956]

I too am frustrated that the length of a simple line segment cannot be measured in Affinity, even though the math behind is pretty basic stuff. i.e. Diagonal = sqrt(Height^2 + Width^2) is all you need to know. Draw your line segment. Select the line object. In the info box note the height and width of the object's bounding box. Plug the height and width dimensions into the above formula and you will have the diagonal.

Please add this feature!

[Oval]

Still only a workaround: You can measure curves in AD.

[JET_Affinity]

On 12/21/2020 at 6:40 PM, MJSfoto1956 said:

I too am frustrated that the length of a simple line segment cannot be measured in Affinity, even though the math behind is pretty basic stuff. i.e. Diagonal = sqrt(Height^2 + Width^2) is all you need to know. Draw your line segment. Select the line object. In the info box note the height and width of the object's bounding box. Plug the height and width dimensions into the above formula and you will have the diagonal.

Please add this feature!

Simply providing the measure of straight segments would be already sub-standard. No, it's not as simple as the Pythagorean Theorem, but we're one-fifth into the 21st century. Length (and area, frankly) should be shown for any path, as it is in competing software.

JET

[Daini42]

As of version 1.8.5.703 there is a window called "Transform" that will display the width and height of a selected object.

It also gives the X and Y position relative to the ruler, so you could drag the 0 point of the ruler to the side of object one, and select object two, the X or Y will give you the distance between these two objects.

It is limited in that a line drawn on an angle will not show it's true length nor show radius of a circle, but it's a start 😊

[ra.skill]

1 hour ago, Daini42 said:

As of version 1.8.5.703 there is a window called "Transform" that will display the width and height of a selected object.

Great news!

That’s one step closer to what I need. Next is a measuring tool that provides length of curves and angled lines. 

[Dazmondo77]

9 hours ago, Daini42 said:

As of version 1.8.5.703 there is a window called "Transform" that will display the width and height of a selected object.

I could have sworn this has been available since version 1.0 from 2014??!?!?! now I'm confused

[MEB]

9 hours ago, ra.skill said:

Great news!

That’s one step closer to what I need. Next is a measuring tool that provides length of curves and angled lines. 

Version 1.9 has some improvements here when you have a line selected. See screenshot below (Transform panel):

[dominik]

8 hours ago, MEB said:

Version 1.9 has some improvements here when you have a line selected. See screenshot below (Transform panel):

Hi @MEB,

out of curiosity since we are in the Designer for Windows forum and your screenshot is from a Mac. Is this coming to the Windows version 1.9, too? Even though we are aving a release candidate, already.

d.

[walt.farrell]

13 minutes ago, dominik said:

out of curiosity since we are in the Designer for Windows forum

No, this is the platform-agnostic Feedback forum. 

Good question, though

Edit: see screenshot below.

[dominik]

Just now, walt.farrell said:

No, this is the platform-agnostic Feedback forum. 

Oh, sorry. It was a long day.

After all, I assume it will come to Windows, too, and I am looking forward to it. No matter if it's in 1.9 or later 🙂

d.

[walt.farrell]

7 minutes ago, dominik said:

Oh, sorry. It was a long day.

After all, I assume it will come to Windows, too, and I am looking forward to it. No matter if it's in 1.9 or later 🙂

 

It's in 1.9 on Windows, too.

[dominik]

8 minutes ago, walt.farrell said:

It's in 1.9 on Windows, too.

Now I'm starting to get confused. Before I posted I tried this with my latest Windows beta and it did not show up.

After your post I looked again and discovered it. It turns out, it is only visible when a straight line is selected with the V (Move) Tool. It does not show up with the Pen Tool active on a straight line.

d.

PS: forgot to add the time between 'looking forward to' and 'being happy about' has never been so short than today 😉

[MEB]

40 minutes ago, dominik said:

Hi @MEB,

out of curiosity since we are in the Designer for Windows forum and your screenshot is from a Mac. Is this coming to the Windows version 1.9, too? Even though we are aving a release candidate, already.

d.

Yes, these changes are available in both platforms.

[Move Along People]

-

[dominik]

54 minutes ago, haakoo said:

Also visible with nodetool when selecting all nodes

And there is even more: if one selects two adjacent nodes that are connected by a straight segment and they are part of a multinode stroke the new node length display also shows up. And can be modified with the mouse or by manual input.

d.

[Move Along People]

-

[dominik]

25 minutes ago, haakoo said:

And when using the 3 points selector you can rotate or change length and the direction

Yes indeed. I really start liking this new addition. I can imagine this could be helpful to create an exact floorplan.

d.

[ra.skill]

What is the “L” field for??

Does this represent length??

Does this mean we can measure curved lines??

[ashf]

1 hour ago, ra.skill said:

What is the “L” field for??

Does this represent length??

Does this mean we can measure curved lines??

L is for length.
This works only for straight lines, doesn't work for curved lines.
 

[ra.skill]

3 hours ago, ashf said:

L is for length.
This works only for straight lines, doesn't work for curved lines.
 

Thank you 😊 

Gutted they haven’t added curve measurement yet. Soon I hope. 

[Oval]

For those that did not read the Help: L—Length. Replaces Shear (S) when a straight line is selected using the Move Tool. Allows you to precisely adjust the line's length. The Anchor point selector changes its appearance for straight lines.

And the workaround: You can measure curves in AD.

[ra.skill]

On 2/7/2021 at 3:02 PM, ashf said:

L is for length.
This works only for straight lines, doesn't work for curved lines.
 

So, out of curiosity..... what does the L field show when a curved stroke is selected??

[ashf]

6 minutes ago, ra.skill said:

So, out of curiosity..... what does the L field show when a curved stroke is selected??

L isn't shown if the selected object is not a straight line.

[ra.skill]

1 minute ago, ashf said:

L isn't shown if the selected object is not a straight line.

I see, thank you 🙏🏻 good to know.