AutoCAD allows you to get to the desired data in different ways. In this lesson I’ll show you how to use basic functions to measure distance and determine area.

I have already opened a suitable example and you can find it among the exercise files. So I’m going to move the cursor over to the Utilities section right away and click on the icon labeled Measure. If I then select the Distance option from the menu, AutoCAD will automatically run the Measuregeom command which means I can start measuring. It is enough to select two points with the mouse, so that a whole series of information appears on the screen. Although they are of a temporary nature, you can clearly see how much the measured distance is, and there are also its X and Y components. If you want to see the angle between two elements, select the Angle option. On this occasion, I will first select the line that represents the edge of the window and then the vertical segment that is below it. At that moment, the required data, the exact value of the measured angle, will appear on the screen.

The area of the entire room can be calculated in a similar way. To that end, it is necessary to first select the Area option from the menu and then individually select the points located at the corners. I will go around the entire room in this way and at the end press Enter so that the requested information appears on the screen. Since I opted for the imperial system of units, the area will be expressed in square inches and feet (square inch, square ft.) and there is also information related to the volume of the entire room.

With spatial models, there is a possibility to determine the volume (Volume), and there are also options that allow you to measure the radius of the curve (Radius) or some other characteristic size. If you just want to terminate this command, simply select the Exit option from the menu. There is a separate icon for each of these functions, which means you can use them according to your current needs.

On the other hand, if you used one of the previous versions of AutoCAD, you surely remember that a function called Distance was used for such tasks. It is still available, and you can start it by pressing D+I+Enter. After that, you just need to click on the corresponding points and check the content of the command line. All the measured sizes will be displayed there, so it will not be difficult for you to find the one you need.

In addition to the functions I just showed you, you can also use the Properties command to display data related to the dimensions of individual elements. To show you how to do it, I will first select one line and then run the mentioned command. As soon as a new frame appears on the screen, I have to scroll down to the bottom of the list because that’s where the data I need is. As you can see, the length of this line is 4 feet and it is tilted exactly 225 degrees from the X axis. Distances along the main coordinate directions are also displayed there, which means that all important information is also available in the Properties frame.

You can get an even more concise view if you use the function called Quick Properties. To that end, I will click on the button located in the lower right corner of the screen and activate the Quick Properties option from the auxiliary menu. After that, another icon will appear on this palette, so it won’t be difficult for me to turn on this feature. If I then select a line, its characteristics will immediately appear on the screen. At the moment, I am most interested in the information related to the length, which is at the bottom of the list. Unfortunately, this information is not always available, and in order to prove it to you, I will click on the complex line that represents one wing of the wardrobe. As you can see, there is no information about its length among the displayed characteristics, so I have to apply a slightly different approach. So I’m going to run the Explode command first and break this element down into its constituent elements and then click on one of the lines again. Now I can clearly see how long it is, so I can activate the Undo function and go back to the previous state.

If you want to quickly calculate something, you won’t need a manual calculator because you can do it all in AutoCAD itself. You need to press the Q+C+Enter keys to start the Quick Calc function so that a box with a series of new functions appears on the screen. In addition to basic mathematical operations, you can also use different units of measurement in it. In order to prove it to you, I will enter two measured values in this field and calculate their sum in one go. Rounding will be done according to the selected system, so don’t be surprised when you see the result. If that doesn’t suit you, start the Units command and set the desired precision by changing the Precision parameter.

Among other things, Quick Calc also allows you to directly perform all the necessary measurements, because there are shortcuts to the corresponding functions at the top of the frame. This means that in addition to angles and distances, you can precisely determine the position of a point even if it is located at the intersection of other elements. The old version of Calculator is still available to you via the command line. You can use it at any time, regardless of whether you have already started another function before. To prove it to you, I’m going to start drawing a new line and immediately use the shortcut to launch Calculator. To that end, I need to first enter the apostrophe character (‘) and then the rest of the shortcut C+A+L+Enter. As soon as Expression appears on the command line, I can enter the appropriate mathematical expression and press Enter to get the result. In this case, AutoCAD will automatically use the obtained size for the length, so I won’t have to enter it separately.

AutoCAD allows you to get to the desired data in different ways. In this lesson I’ll show you how to use basic functions to measure distance and determine area.

I have already opened a suitable example and you can find it among the exercise files. So I’m going to move the cursor over to the Utilities section right away and click on the icon labeled Measure. If I then select the Distance option from the menu, AutoCAD will automatically run the Measuregeom command which means I can start measuring. It is enough to select two points with the mouse, so that a whole series of information appears on the screen. Although they are of a temporary nature, you can clearly see how much the measured distance is, and there are also its X and Y components. If you want to see the angle between two elements, select the Angle option. On this occasion, I will first select the line that represents the edge of the window and then the vertical segment that is below it. At that moment, the required data, the exact value of the measured angle, will appear on the screen.

The area of the entire room can be calculated in a similar way. To that end, it is necessary to first select the Area option from the menu and then individually select the points located at the corners. I will go around the entire room in this way and at the end press Enter so that the requested information appears on the screen. Since I opted for the imperial system of units, the area will be expressed in square inches and feet (square inch, square ft.) and there is also information related to the volume of the entire room.

With spatial models, there is a possibility to determine the volume (Volume), and there are also options that allow you to measure the radius of the curve (Radius) or some other characteristic size. If you just want to terminate this command, simply select the Exit option from the menu. There is a separate icon for each of these functions, which means you can use them according to your current needs.

On the other hand, if you used one of the previous versions of AutoCAD, you surely remember that a function called Distance was used for such tasks. It is still available, and you can start it by pressing D+I+Enter. After that, you just need to click on the corresponding points and check the content of the command line. All the measured sizes will be displayed there, so it will not be difficult for you to find the one you need.

In addition to the functions I just showed you, you can also use the Properties command to display data related to the dimensions of individual elements. To show you how to do it, I will first select one line and then run the mentioned command. As soon as a new frame appears on the screen, I have to scroll down to the bottom of the list because that’s where the data I need is. As you can see, the length of this line is 4 feet and it is tilted exactly 225 degrees from the X axis. Distances along the main coordinate directions are also displayed there, which means that all important information is also available in the Properties frame.

You can get an even more concise view if you use the function called Quick Properties. To that end, I will click on the button located in the lower right corner of the screen and activate the Quick Properties option from the auxiliary menu. After that, another icon will appear on this palette, so it won’t be difficult for me to turn on this feature. If I then select a line, its characteristics will immediately appear on the screen. At the moment, I am most interested in the information related to the length, which is at the bottom of the list. Unfortunately, this information is not always available, and in order to prove it to you, I will click on the complex line that represents one wing of the wardrobe. As you can see, there is no information about its length among the displayed characteristics, so I have to apply a slightly different approach. So I’m going to run the Explode command first and break this element down into its constituent elements and then click on one of the lines again. Now I can clearly see how long it is, so I can activate the Undo function and go back to the previous state.

If you want to quickly calculate something, you won’t need a manual calculator because you can do it all in AutoCAD itself. You need to press the Q+C+Enter keys to start the Quick Calc function so that a box with a series of new functions appears on the screen. In addition to basic mathematical operations, you can also use different units of measurement in it. In order to prove it to you, I will enter two measured values in this field and calculate their sum in one go. Rounding will be done according to the selected system, so don’t be surprised when you see the result. If that doesn’t suit you, start the Units command and set the desired precision by changing the Precision parameter.

Among other things, Quick Calc also allows you to directly perform all the necessary measurements, because there are shortcuts to the corresponding functions at the top of the frame. This means that in addition to angles and distances, you can precisely determine the position of a point even if it is located at the intersection of other elements. The old version of Calculator is still available to you via the command line. You can use it at any time, regardless of whether you have already started another function before. To prove it to you, I’m going to start drawing a new line and immediately use the shortcut to launch Calculator. To that end, I need to first enter the apostrophe character (‘) and then the rest of the shortcut C+A+L+Enter. As soon as Expression appears on the command line, I can enter the appropriate mathematical expression and press Enter to get the result. In this case, AutoCAD will automatically use the obtained size for the length, so I won’t have to enter it separately.