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  • Published 8 Nov 2019

Delete the Measure Tool

Problem
The Measure tool doesn't work like the other tools and has very limited functionality

Proposal

<ul> <li>Use the existing measure/ angle line but added from "Add", (i.e. shift A) <li>Make it an ordinary object - same constraints, snapping, add to any layer etc. as other objects</ul>

Result<ul>

<li>It would be much more useful <li>Results in a cleaner interface <li>Coherent behaviour <li>Better for experienced or new user<ul>
Thanks Stretch

50%

Development Status: Open

Upvote 2 Downvote 2
stretch
8 Nov 2019

4 Comments

stretch Author

Hi Dion

Thanks for that. The developer has obviously done a lot of work since I last saw that add-on. I've installed it - works fine on 2.82. Very useful and kudos to the developer for the excellent work.

I think there is still a case for making Blender measurements ordinary objects though. Mostly if I need the tool it's a case of measuring the distance between two objects and possibly leaving a reference there while working. Currently if measuring the distance between the two points on the target objects are not in the same plane but you need, say, the distance in X between them it's difficult to achieve with the measure tool and doesn't work as expected i.e. pressing X to lock the measurement to X then snapping from point to point. Also the measurement tool is effectively working on a hidden layer which seems a bit odd given we already have a great layer system in 2.8.

Measure-It Arch is great for annotating drawings with measurements if that is the aim but I think a coherent measure tool in Blender would be good for it's purpose - making quick simple measurements during modelling.

Cheers
Stretch

1
Josephbburg

* @stretch * Maya has a measure object, and it is convenient for some things (but it's also the only way to do it in Maya).

In Blender, I usually have a bone with a stretch-to constraint that compares its pose-mode length to its object-mode (rest) length using a driver. That's actually a better solution for rigging than Maya's measure objects.

I'm not sure what your use-case is, so I'm assuming that won't help you too much.

1
junkmail

* @Josephbburg * that is a hack. a more mature measure tool would make such foolery unnecessary