Measure
Inspect distances, segment lengths, and object metrics on the canvas. Read-only.
The Measure tool inspects geometry without modifying anything. Drag between two points to read a distance, or hover any path edge or object to read its length and statistics. The detailed numeric breakdown lives in the Measurement panel; the canvas shows the overlay.
Activate
- Hotkey:
Ctrl+M - Toolbar: Creation Toolbar
How to use
Drag to measure a distance
- Click and drag between two points on the canvas.
- While dragging, the start, end, length, dx/dy, and angle update live on the canvas and in the Measurement panel.
- Release. The on-canvas overlay clears.
To repeat the measurement on screen, drag again. The Measurement panel does not retain a frozen value between drags.
Hover to inspect a segment or object
- With the Measure tool active, move the cursor over a path edge, an object boundary, or anywhere on the object.
- The hovered segment is highlighted with its endpoints; the Measurement panel shows length and the parent object's width, height, center, area, perimeter, closed/open, node count, line count, and curve count.
The hover updates continuously as you move the cursor; you do not need to click first.
Modifiers and interactions
- Shift + drag: constrain the drag to fixed angles (horizontal, vertical, and 45° diagonals).
- Esc or switching tools: clear the measurement state.
Units
Distances respect the Display Unit (mm or inches) and the unit toggle at the top of the Measurement panel. Switching units re-displays the values immediately.
What gets modified
Nothing. Measure is read-only.
Related
- Measurement panel: the full numeric readout (object metrics + segment metrics)
- Settings, Units & Grid
- Coordinate systems
- Shape Properties panel: exact numeric dimensions of selected objects