Getting and Exchanging Data from Drawings - Mastering AutoCAD for Mac - page 483

5. When you've come full circle to the eighth point shown in Figure 18.1, press ↵. You get
the following message:
Area = 39570.00 square in. (274.7917 square ft), Perimeter = 76'-0”
6. Type X ↵ to exit the Measuregeom command.
The number of points you can pick to define an area is limitless, so you can obtain the areas
of complex shapes. Use the Blipmode feature to keep track of the points you select so you know
when you come to the beginning of the point selections. Blipmode places tiny X s, or blips , on the
screen each time you click a point. These blips are just visual aids and can be removed with a
redraw or regen of the screen.
FIND THE COORDINATE OF A POINT OR A DISTANCE IN A DRAWING
To find absolute coordinates in a drawing, use the ID command. Choose Tools  Inquiry  ID Point,
or type ID ↵. At the Specify point: prompt, use the Osnap overrides to pick a point; its X, Y, and
Z coordinates are displayed on the Command prompt.
To find the distance between two points, choose Distance from the Inquiry submenu on the Tools
menu, or type MEA ↵ D ↵, and then click two points. AutoCAD will display the distance in the
drawing as Delta X, Delta Y, and Delta Z coordinates and as a direct distance between the selected
points. The distance is also displayed in the Command prompt. You can also type Dist ↵ and pick
two points to get a simplified distance measurement.
Using Hatch Patterns to Find Areas
Hatch patterns are used primarily to add graphics to your drawing, but they can also serve as
a means for finding areas. You can use any hatch pattern you want because you're interested in
only the area it reports back to you. You can also set up a special layer devoted to area calcula-
tions and then use this layer to add the hatch patterns for calculating areas. That way, you can
turn off the hatch patterns so they don't plot, or you can turn off the Plot setting for that layer to
ensure that it doesn't appear in your final output.
To practice using hatch patterns to find an area, do the following:
1. Set the current layer to Floor.
2. Turn off the Door and Fixture layers. Also make sure the Ceiling layer is turned on. You
want the hatch pattern to follow the interior wall outline, so you need to turn off any
objects that will affect the outline, such as the door and kitchen.
3. Click Hatch on the Tool Sets palette. You can also choose Draw  Hatch or type H ↵ to
open the Hatch And Gradient dialog box.
MEASURING BOUNDARIES THAT HAVE GAPS
If the area you're trying to measure has gaps, set the Gap Tolerance setting in the Hatch And Gradient
dialog box to a value higher than the size of the gaps. If you don't see the Gap Tolerance setting, click
the disclosure triangle in the lower-right corner of the Hatch And Gradient dialog box.