Measure Tool

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

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 appear.

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

Center to Center

Minimum Distance

Maximum Distance

Custom Distance

Units/Precision Specifies custom measurement units and precision.
Show XYZ Measurements Displays dX, dY, and dZ measurements between selected entities in the graphics area. Clear the option to display only the minimum distance between selected entities.
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 Displays 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.
Measurement History Opens the Measurement History dialog box, where you can view all measurements made during the current session of SOLIDWORKS.
Create Sensor Opens the Sensor PropertyManager, where you can set the software to alert you if the measurement value changes.
  Pins the Measure dialog box to the graphics area.
Press Esc to close the dialog box only if the dialog box is unpinned.
  Switches the visibility of the measurement display.
  Input box Lists up to six selections.
Increase Font Size Increases font size in the dialog box.
Decrease Font Size Decreases font size in the dialog box.