User Guide

Canvas 12 User Guide
To display dimensions when you use drawing tools:
Choose Layout | Display | Show Size. When you select a drawing tool and drag the pointer in an
illustration, the object’s vertical and horizontal measurements appear at the pointer.
The Show Size option can also be toggled in the Display Options manager in the
Configuration Center.
To turn off the dimensions display:
Choose Layout | Display | Hide Size.
Using the Dimensioning tools
You can easily add formatted dimensions to documents with the Dimensioning tools. These tools can
measure horizontal, vertical, oblique and perpendicular distances; measure diameter, radius, angle,
area, and perimeter; and mark the centers of arcs and ovals.
The dimensioning tools are grouped in a single palette (see "Tool palettes" on page 23). The Linear,
Chain, and Baseline tools allow you to create horizontal, vertical, or oblique dimensions, depending
on the position of the cursor upon creation.
In addition, when using the Chain and Baseline Dimensioning tools, you define the first two points as
you would for a Linear dimension. Then, just click on every point you want to add to the dimension,
and the tool creates the dimension object automatically. The result of using the Chain or Baseline
Dimensioning tool is one single object. The current limit for Chain Dimensions is 16.
Baseline dimensions are a series of measurements made from a common starting point.
Chain dimensions are a series of measurements in a row.
Create dimension objects that conform to industry standards, including ANSI, DIN and JIS. You can
also customize the standard settings — the size of lines, gaps, text, and tolerances—and then save
these settings as new standards (see "Using industry standards for dimension objects" on page
364).
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