Dimension

Add dimensions to plans, signs and job visuals with one click: sizes, spacings, angles, radii and curve lengths, at any scale, in metric, imperial or print units.

See it in the shop · Version 2.5.5 · Needs PowerScripts 3.8.32 or later

Open the PowerScripts panel (Window > Extensions > PowerScripts) and choose Dimension from the Tools scripts. The script has five tabs: Options, Appearance, Auto Dimension, Scales and Layers.

1. Select a shape.
2. Choose your Units (for example mm) and Decimals.
3. Under Static Dimensions, press the top button to add a width dimension above the shape.

• Artwork Scale: the scale your artwork is drawn at, so dimensions show real-world sizes. Type it, pick one of your scales from the list (set up on the Scales tab), or use Calc Scale: draw a line over something you know the size of, press Calc Scale and type its real length with units (for example 915mm).
• Decimals: how many decimal places.
• Round Off: round to the nearest multiple, for example 0.25 rounds 16.22 to 16.25, and 100 rounds 3479 to 3500. 0 means no rounding.
• Units: points, picas, ciceros, inches, feet, feet and inches, yards, miles, mm, cm, metres or km. Show Units adds the unit to the label.
• Fractions: for inches and feet, show fractions (/2 up to /64) instead of decimals.
• Add Outline: an outline round the lines and text, so they read on busy or dark backgrounds.
• Scale Appearance: make the lines, end caps and text bigger or smaller (for large or small artwork) without changing the measurements.

• The nine buttons on the left add dimensions round the selection: top, bottom, left, right and the corners (both sizes). The middle button writes the size in the centre of the shape (the Center Label format on Appearance).
• Individual shapes: dimension each selected shape. Untick to dimension the whole selection as one.
• The four buttons on the right measure the spacing between shapes, across or down. To centers measures centre to centre. Include Overlaps also measures shapes that overlap.
• The bottom row:
  • Convert line to dimension: draw a straight line (with as many anchor points as you like) and turn it into dimensions, one per segment. With smart guides on, it's a quick way to measure anything.
  • Convert line to dimension with your own text: the same, but you type the label (it starts with the real measurement).
  • and Angles: draw a three-point line like a V and turn it into the inner or outer angle.

Measure from one edge (left, right, top or bottom) to every selected shape, like a run of measurements from a datum line.

• Align multiple dimensions: line up the dimension lines and text of several dimensions.
• Extend projection Lines: run the projection lines all the way to the shapes, for spacings and base lines.
• Text to the outside: put left and bottom labels on the outside of the line.

Select a shape and press the button: its outline is broken into parts and dimensioned automatically. Tick what to include: Straight Lines, Detect Radius (rounded corners and arcs get a radius) and Curve Lengths (the length along curves). Fine-tune it on the Auto Dimension tab.

• Input scale as: show the Artwork Scale as a Percent or a Ratio (for example 1:20).
• Offset from shape: the gap between the shape and the dimension line.
• Decimal Separator: a point or a comma.
• Text Format: how the label is written. {number} is the measurement and {unit} its unit. For example ~{number}{unit} gives “~22inch”, and {number} ({unit}) gives “22 (inch)”. You can show two units at once, for example {mm}mm / {in}".
• Center Label: the text for the size in the middle of a shape: {w} is the width, {h} the height, and / starts a new line.
• Font, Font Size, Label Offset (the gap between line and text). With a Label Offset of 0 the line breaks round the text, and Scale text to fit when offset = 0 shrinks text to fit.
• Stair Offset: the step between stacked dimensions.
• Line Width, Dimension Color (tick Spot Color Name to make it a named spot colour), Dashed Lines (or Copy dash style from first selected shape).
• Outline Width, Outline Color: for Add Outline.
• End Cap Style, Endcap Length, Endcap Width: arrows, circles, diamonds, slashes or none, and their size.
• Add projection lines and Projection Line: the short lines from the shape to the dimension, and their length.
• Include Trailing Zeros: show 12.50 instead of 12.5.
• Beep when done.

• Min dimension length: skip parts shorter than this.
• Offset from shape: the gap for automatic dimensions.
• Curve Label Prefix and Radius Label Prefix: text before curve lengths and radii (for example R).
• The radius settings: how even a curve must be to count as a radius, when two radii are close enough to share a label, and when an arc is too short for a radius label.
• Label Position (above or beside the line) and Stop Line at (the curve or the centre) for radius labels.

Your list of scales for the Artwork Scale drop-down, for example 1:10, 1:20, 1:50. Reset to default scales puts the standard list back.

• Add dimensions to a specified layer: put all dimensions on their own layer, with the Layer Name (!dimensions by default, so it sorts to the top).
• Automatically unlock dimensions layer and Lock dimensions layer after creation: keep the layer locked between uses so dimensions don't get moved by accident.

1. Draw a straight line (smart guides help it snap to your artwork).
2. Press Convert line to dimension.

1. Draw a three-point line like a V, snapping to the shapes.
2. Press the inner or outer angle button.

1. Draw a line over something you measured, press Calc Scale and type its real size.
2. Add dimensions as usual: they show real-world sizes.

Raise Scale Appearance instead of changing every size setting.

Tick Add Outline, and change the colours on the Appearance tab if you like.

• Save your house styles as presets (see Using Presets), for example “Signage 1:20 mm”.
• Every dimension button has an action, so you can run them from keys with Hotkeys and Quick Keys.
• To scale a photo to size before you start, see Calculate Scale.

• Dimensions are ordinary Illustrator artwork: change them by hand if you need to.
• Units in Text Format can be any of: {pt}, {pc}, {ci}, {mm}, {cm}, {m}, {km}, {in} (or {"}), {ft} (or {'}), {yd}, {mi}, and their full names ({millimeters}, {inches} …).

• 2.5.5: Fixed: the size label in the middle of a shape now uses the Decimal Separator setting, like the other labels.
• 2.5.4: Updated for PowerScripts 3.8.32.
• 2.5.3: Updated for the new version of PowerScripts.
• 2.5.0: Scales list, spacing between shapes, aligned dimensions, base line dimensions, extended projection lines and a decimal separator option.
• Older changes: PowerScripts Release Notes