Street Atlas USA
®
2010 User Guide
16
Measuring Distance and Area
Use the Measure tool
on the toolbar to measure linear distance and area on the map
based on the units chosen in the Display tab of the Options dialog box.
The snap function snaps (attaches) the point of a measurement line to a point on a road or
another measurement object. This ensures a more accurate measurement of distance or
area. To measure area, you must completely enclose the area by snapping your finish point
to your starting point.
Notes
•
The Measure tool is
hidden by default
. To show it, right-click the toolbar to open the
menu and click Measure Distance.
•
The Measure tool is the best way to measure short distances on the map. If you want to
measure the distance of a road, try
creating a route
. If you want to measure a large
area on the map, use the
area object tools
in the Draw tab.
•
To disable the auto-snap function, hold down the ALT key on your keyboard while using
the Measure tool.
•
Measure objects (lines and areas) are saved with the current map file. When you create
a new map file, the measure objects do not display. If you want the same measure
objects on your new map file, you must recreate them.
•
To view information about a measurement line, right-click it and click Info. The
measurement information is automatically displayed in the Info tab.
To Measure Distance or Area
Use the following steps to measure linear distance or area on the map.
1.
Verify you have the correct units of measure selected in the Display tab of the
Options dialog box. For more information, see
Setting Units of Measure Preferences
.
2.
On the toolbar, click the Measure tool
. The pointer changes to
.
3.
Click point-by-point to draw a measurement line on the map. A text box displays
next to your pointer indicating the total distance of the measurement taken.
Note When you pass over a point in a road, measurement line, or measurement
area to which you can snap, a yellow circle defines the snap point. Click to snap
the point of the measure line to the road or measurement object's point coordinate.
4.
To end a measurement line, double-click the last point of the measurement line.
OR
Click the last point of your measure line or area and then click the Measure tool on
the toolbar.
The measure line is a two-pixel wide yellow line and the total length of the line is
displayed in a label at each endpoint of the line.
5.
To end a measure area, hover over the starting point until the yellow snap circle
displays, and then double-click the last point to the starting point. The closure area
is transparently shaded, and the area and perimeter measurements display.