Distance

The Distance tool measures the distance between two points on the plot. It shows the X and Y distances, the angle and the straight-line distance. Use it to check a feature size or a spacing on the canvas.

Where to find it

• Menu: Edit > Distance.
• Keyboard: Ctrl+M.
• The panel opens in a tab next to Project and Properties. The tab shows the plugin name.

Quick start

1. Press Ctrl+M to open the tool.
2. Click Measure. The status bar shows the start prompt.
3. Click the start point on the canvas.
4. Click the end point on the canvas.
5. Read the DISTANCE box in Results. The Dx, Dy and angle boxes show the parts of the line.
6. Right click to leave the measurement.

Screenshot placeholder: images/Distance-1.png — the Distance panel with the measuring line drawn between two pads on the canvas.

Parameters

Parameters

Parameter	Description	Default
Snap to center	Previews and measures at the center of the visible pad or drill under the cursor. It also snaps to the boundary. The mouse pointer does not move. Turning it on turns off grid snapping.	Off
Multi-Point	Measures over several segments. Each click adds a point. Right click finishes. Backspace removes the last point. Changing this checkbox restarts the measurement.	Off
Big cursor	Shows a big cursor on the canvas.	On

Coordinates

Parameter	Description	Default
Start point	The coordinates of the start point. Read only. The unit label shows mm (or inch in an inch project).	—
End point	The coordinates of the end point. Read only.	—

Results

Parameter	Description	Default
Dx	The distance over the X axis. Read only. Hidden in Multi-Point mode, shown dimmed.	0
Dy	The distance over the Y axis. Read only. Dimmed in Multi-Point mode.	0
Angle	The angle of the measuring line, in degrees. Read only. Dimmed in Multi-Point mode.	0
Angle 2	The same angle, shown as -180 to 180 degrees. Angles above 180 degrees show as negative values. Read only. Dimmed in Multi-Point mode.	0
DISTANCE	The point to point straight-line distance. Read only.	0
Segment	The current preview segment. After the measurement, it shows the last committed segment. Read only.	0
Points	The number of committed points. Read only.	0

Buttons

Button	Description	Default
Measure	Starts a measurement. The button shows Working... during the measurement.	—

Advanced

• Click behavior. The first click sets the start point. The second click sets the end point. In Multi-Point mode, each click adds a segment.
• Right click. In single mode, a right click before the end point cancels the measurement. In Multi-Point mode, a right click finishes it and shows the results.
• Dragging. A drag of the mouse does not add a point.
• Snap to center. The snap uses the centers of the footprints and drills in the Gerber and Excellon objects. Turning it on turns off the grid snap, because grid snapping makes it hard to hit a pad or drill.
• Big cursor. The state is saved as a preference, tools_dist_big_cursor. Snap to center is saved as tools_dist_snap_center.
• Units. The values are in mm (or inch in an inch project).
• Tcl. There is no Tcl command for this tool.

See also

• Object Distance — measure the distance between two objects.
• Align Objects — align objects by picked points.
• User Interface