Related Topics

Rulers
Item Details
Page Setup
Fine Scale
Units Button

Drawing Units


Each document has a common set of "Units" used for all digital representations of size and location of graphic elements. The units do not affect the size of objects as they are drawn on paper. The units only affect numeric reporting of information and numeric entry of drawing data.

The Units parameter applies to a drawing (document). Several drawings may be shown on the desk top with different units. The units parameter shown on the panel applies to the drawing shown in EazyDraw's top window.

Each parameter palette, such as the dashes palette, has it's own defined measuring units. These measuring units are used for entering and inspecting attributes such as line width or dash length and are independent of the drawing units or drawing scale. There is a small Units Button provided on each parameter palette. This icon is found in the upper right corner of the palette, just to the left of the window shade control. Control clicking this icon provides a contextual menu for convenient change the choice of fine scale units for an individual palette.

The Units are defined by the popup menu shown circled. The popup menu shows the current units of the top EazyDraw window on the desk top. The units may be changed by making a new selection with the menu.

The Units available and their conversion factor to 1 inch are shown in the following table.

Feet 1 / 12
Inches 1
Yards 1 / 36
Mils 1000
Centimeters 2.54
Millimeters 25.4
Points 72
Picas 6

The units may be changed at any time. The choice of units does not affect the size of a graphic. If a 1 inch square is drawn and the units are changed to millimeters, the square will remain the same size (in all respects) but it's reported size in the Item Details drawer will become 25.4.

When working with the scale parameters it may be useful to show Rulers on the drawing. The rulers are drawn in accordance with the specified scale and units. They can provide valuable feedback concerning a drawing's size and affect of scale changes. In the example above, after the units change the square remains the same size, but the Ruler will change to reflect the new dimension of 25.4.