AutoCAD 2009 Subscription Bonus Pack 1: A closer look at the Measure tools

The new MEASUREGEOM command, available in the AutoCAD 2009 Subscription Bonus Pack 1, is a single command with five measurement options: Distance, Radius, Angle, Area, and Volume. You can access these options from the command line or from the buttons, which are available on the Subscription: Measure ribbon tab and toolbar.

The Distance option behaves similar to the old DIST command but with a more friendly display and the added ability to specify multiple points. If you specify two points, AutoCAD displays the distance, delta x, delta y, and angle in the xy plane, visually in the drawing editor.

If you select the Multiple option, you can continue picking points and, with each pick, AutoCAD displays the cumulative distance.

Using the Radius option, you can select a circle or arc to display its radius and diameter.

The Angle option behaves similar to the DIMANGULAR command, enabling you to select an arc, circle, or line or to specify a vertex. However, instead of creating a dimension, it simply displays the angle.

The Area option behaves similar to the old AREA command. You can specify points or select objects to display the included area and you can use the Add or Subtract options to determine cumulative areas.

So what’s the difference? The new Area option dynamically highlights the areas, using different colors for adding and subtracting, as you select objects or pick points. You can see what you’ve selected!

You can use the Volume option to specify boundary points with visual feedback similar to the Area option then specify a height to determine the volume. Additionally, you can determine the volume of selected solids or regions similar to the MASSPROP command.