There will be times where you need to get the measurements of an object. Several different ways of getting the dimensions. In today’s tutorial, we will learn how to measure in Illustrator. You could change the measurements in your illustrator Preferences. There is an easier way that I would show later.
Panels that you could get your dimensions
- Window – Info
- Window – Transform
- If you use the Selection Tool (the black arrow) and select the object, you will see the dimensions in the info and transform panels. Change the size, and the numbers change.
- I am currently working in pixels, and I want to change my measurements to either inches, centimetres, or points. At the beginning of the video, I mentioned we could change our sizes in Preferences. Instead, we can change this quickly in Rulers. The keyboard shortcuts to turn on rulers in your document, click on Command R (Mac) or Control R (PC). Or for those who like menus, go to View – Rulers – Show Rulers.
- Place your mouse anywhere in the rulers either at the top of the side of the rulers. Right-click on your mouse to change the measurements. For those who use a laptop, use two fingers on the trackpad, position your cursor in the rulers and hold down a second or two to see the sizes come up.
- In Illustrator, there is a measuring tool that we can also use too. Maybe you want to see the dimensions of the angle of a box, or perhaps you want to know the amount of space between two objects.
- Grab the measure tool in the toolbox at the side. The icon will look like an upside-down E or a comb. With the first click, click and drag and stop at the endpoint. The information will show in the infobox.
- Select the object that you want to measure or the distance that needs measuring. If you drag your mouse from left to right or top to bottom, the outcome will be a positive number. Do the opposite, and it will be a negative number.
Watch our video tutorial:
4 thoughts on “How to Measure in Illustrator”
What the meaning of measuring tool and illustrations
Sometimes, one needs to measure an object either in pixels or inches. Yes, you could select the object and get the measurements, but if the panel or rulers are not opened, you won’t see the measurements. I hope I answered your question?
My Illustrator toolbox doesn’t have the measurement tool. do you know where can I find it? I’m use Win. Or doesn’t Win version not have it?
In the video comments, this is addressed there. But essentially, you need to turn your tools from basic to advanced. Go to menu > Windows > Toolbar and switch from Basic to Advanced. Or if you see three dots … in the toolbar, click on that. An All Tools panel will pop open. Click on the hamburger menu in the top-right corner of the All Tools panel, and change from Basic to Advanced toolbar, and the measurement will show up
You will see a sudden rush of more tools at your disposal!