Distance Measurements
Measurement Options
Using the Measurement Log
There are two measure tools in Pointools View, point information and point to point measure. You can access these
tools from the toolbar, the menu or by using the keyboard shortcuts.
Pointools currently allows measurement operations to use points of point clouds and endpoints of drawing entities.
To take a point measurement ie position:
| 1. | Select the Point Measure tool, this opens the Measure dialog. |
| 2. | Move the mouse cursor over the points, a thick cross hair indicates a valid point under the cursor. You can use the Alt key to navigate whilst using this tool. |
| 3. | Click on the point, the point's position is shown in the viewport as a tag. |
To take a distance measurement:
| 1. | Select the Distance Measure tool, this opens the Measure dialog. |
| 2. | Move the mouse cursor over the start point, a thick cross hair indicates a valid point under the cursor. You can use the Alt key to navigate whilst using this tool. |
| 3. | Click to set the start point. |
| 4. | Use the same method to select the finish point |
| 5. | The measurement is shown in the viewport as in the image below. |
The following option are available in the Measure dialog
Show
Controls which measurements appear in the viewport. Note that this only refers to measurements that have been
logged. The following options are available:
Coord Units
Changes the units in which coordinates are displayed. Note that this does not affect the distance units.
Distance Units
Changes the units in which distances are displayed.
Precision
Changes the precision to which both distances and coordinates are displayed.
Tag
This is a 'tag' or code that is applied to the following measurement.
Clear tag after measurement
Clears the measurement tag field after the measurement is made returning focus to the text-box so you can type in a
new tag without clicking on it to place the cursor.
Save Options
The logged measurements can be saved as a Tab or Comma-Delimited text file. This can easily imported into
databases or spreadsheets for further analysis or output.
Tag
A tag can be applied to each measurement making it easier to identify. Enter the tag in the text box before making the
measurement. To clear the text after the measurement in preparation for the next measurement check the Clear tag
after Measurement option. This also returns focus to the text box after a measurement so you don't have to click in
the text box to enter the new tag.
Filter
Filters coordinate values from the second point of a point to point measurement. This can be used to get delta X, Y or
Z measurements.
Log measurements
Enters the following measurements in the measure log.
Clear
Clears the measurement log.
Save
Saves the measurement log.
To log measurements being made check the Log Measurements option. This will log any subsequent measurements in
the measure log. You can redisplay any logged measurements by selecting them in the log. Hold down the Shift key to
make multiple selections.
Measurements are saved in Pointools project files (.ptl).
The following Measurement Log options are available:
Clear
Clears the log.
Save
Saves the measurements to an delimited ascii file. This is a common format that can be read by most spreadsheets
and databases. The Measure File Output dialog box has the following options:
Format
Choose between comma-delimited or tab-delimited ascii files. Both types are commonly understood by
software importing delimited field data.
tag
Includes the tag field in the output.
distance
Includes the distance field in the output.
pnt 1
Includes position of point 1 fields in the output.
pnt 2
Includes position of point 2 fields in the output.
dx
Includes delta-x field in the output.
dy
Includes delta-y field in the output.
dz
Includes delta-z field in the output.
Comments
Includes field names and units as the first row.
Precision
ets the numerical precision of the output.