The measuring tool allows you to measure objects in your PDF document, as well as calculate area. This can be useful if you’re dealing with figures or drawings drawn to scale, such as architectural blueprints. Or, use the measure tool when there are printing implications.

How to use the measure tool:

  • Choose Tools > Measuring and select either Distance PDF Gold measureline Measure Tools, Perimeter PDF Gold measurebrokenline Measure Tools, or Area PDF Gold measurearea Measure Tools. This will open the measure dialog. You can also access the Measure tools through the Measure toolbar, if active.
  • To measure Distance, click on a start point and draw a line to the end point, then click again.
  • To measure Perimeter or Area, draw at least two lines, double-clicking the end point of the second-to-last-line which automatically closes the figure.

The Measure Dialog:

The View Tab

  • Measurement tells you the distance and angle of the line you’ve created as defined by your start point. The total Perimeter or Area for your measurement so far is displayed below.
  • Cursor Location displays the X and Y coordinates of your cursor in relation to your start point (i.e. your start point is defined as X=0,Y=0)

The Setting Tab

  • Perpendicular Measurement sets your measure lines at right angles. This does not affect lines already drawn, however. You can turn this option off and on within the same measurement.
  • Units Settings is where you can set the units scale for your measurement. For example, a large wall map of New York City may have a scale of 0.7 in = 1 mile.
  • Snap Settings allow your measure points to snap to points, edges, or arcs in your document. Adjust the snap sensitivity to determine how close the pointer has to be to snap to an item. Change Snap color to set the color of the point when it snaps to an item.

The Markup Tab

  • Use Markup: Type in a markup or comment to appear in the measurement’s hovertext.
  • Measuring Color sets the color of your measurement lines.
  • Leader is where you can determine the length of the line at the beginning and end of the measurement. Click Set Length as Default to keep the same settings. Offset determines how far away the mouse pointer is offset from the measure line.

 

Measure Tools