Measure Tool

Measures distance, angle, radius, and size of and between lines, points, surfaces, and planes in sketches, 3D models, assemblies, or drawings.

To open the Measure dialog box:

Click Measure (Tools toolbar) or Tools > Evaluate > Measure.

When you select a vertex or sketch point, the x, y, and z coordinates are displayed.

When the Measure tool is not active, commonly-used measurements for selected entities appear in the status bar.
Arc/Circle Measurements Select to specify the distance to display when arcs or circles are selected:

Center to Center

Minimum Distance

Maximum Distance

Measure_ArcCircle_CustDist.gif Custom Distance

Units/Precision Select to specify custom measurement units and precision.
Show XYZ Measurements Select to display dX, dY, and dZ measurements between selected entities in the graphics area. Clear to display only the minimum distance between selected entities.
tool_measure_point_to_point.gif Point-to-Point Enables point-to-point mode to measure the distance between any two points on the model.
XYZ Relative To Select a coordinate system:

Part Origin

Coordinate System instance

User-defined coordinate system.

This option is available only when the current document has more than one coordinate system available.
Projected On Display the distance between selected entities as projected on one of the following:

None

Projection and Normal are not calculated.

Screen

Select Face/Plane

The software calculates the projected distance (on the plane you select), and the normal distance (normal to the plane you select). Projection and Normal appear in the Measure dialog box.

In Detached drawings, if the model is not loaded, all measurements are reported as 2D projected data.
tool_measure_history.gif Measurement History Opens the Measurement History dialog box, where you can view all measurements made during the current session of SOLIDWORKS.
tool_measure_sensors.gif Create Sensor Opens the Sensor PropertyManager, where you can set the software to alert you if the measurement value changes.
expand_dialog_box.gif   Toggles the visibility of the measurement display.