Area Tool

[teotasic]

Hello dear PDF XChange support team,

I have a question: Is it possible for the "Area" tool to display the width and length of the area instead of calculating its content? Normally, these pieces of information should be available to calculate the area.

Thank you for your assistance.

[Tracker Supp-Stefan]

Hello teotasic,

The Area tool can have an irregular shape. So if you need the width and height of a portion of a PDF's page - please use the distance tool instead.
The measurement tools are defined in the PDF ISO specification - and what is displayed for them is also dictated there - so we can not really alter them from the specification.

Kind regards,
Stefan

[teotasic]

Dear Stefan,

Thank you very much for your information. However, in my work, I need to measure numerous rectangular areas.

While the distance tool works, it is unfortunately time-consuming.
I have to draw a rectangular area, measure it, write a description, and define what is within that area.
I have been trying to find a solution for a while now to streamline all these steps into one. It would be a significant time saver. Is there perhaps a way, like writing a plugin, that could make this possible?

[Tracker Supp-Stefan]

Hello teotasic,

Thanks for the feedback and I can see why you need this. However the Area tool must calculate the area and not the dimensions of the shape, so this is not likely to change, and you will have to stick with the distance measurement tools if you need to know the sides of your rectangles, sorry!

Kind regards,
Stefan

[teotasic]

Hello Stefan,

Thank you for your prompt response and your understanding of my request. I understand that the Area tool is designed for calculating areas and not for measuring the dimensions of shapes. I appreciate your explanation.

Is there perhaps a possibility to develop an additional plugin specifically designed for measuring the side lengths of rectangular shapes? This could be a solution that meets my requirements without affecting the functionality of the Area tool.

I would appreciate hearing your thoughts on this.

Kind regards,
Teo Tasic

[Tracker Supp-Stefan]

Hello teotasic,

The annotation objects are defined in the spec - so developing a tool that is not in the ISO specification won't really work.
However - have you tried the "Perimeter" tool? You can e.g. measure both edges of your rectangle and get their total length as the value of the perimeter tool?

Kind regards,
Stefan

[teotasic]

Hello Stefan,

I appreciate your help; the idea could be a good solution. I tried it, and it works. I would like to ask if there is a way to have the scaling always set to the previous setting when selecting the Perimeter tool again, similar to how it works with the measuring tool?

Best regards,
Teo Tasic

[Tracker Supp-Stefan]

Hello teotasic,

Open the comment Styles Palette, adjust a specific style - e.g. in my sample below I've renamed and adjusted the Purple one for 1 mm to be equal to 0.01m (1cm) in 'real' terms which is effectively 1:10 scale and I will see results in meters at the end with a two digit (1 cm) precision:

image.png

Then the next time you select and start using that style - it should default to the specified scale, colour, opacity etc.

Kind regards,
Stefan