Measurements, the Easy Way!

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Making measurements has never been an easy process. I have seen people using 3rd party tools, creating a bunch of "measuring squares" or even creating documents specifically to measure something. Fireworks CS4 has made this a lot easier now. All you have to do is select the measuring auto-shape tool or use the measurement tooltip ability.

Step 1. Create or Open a document

Start off by opening or creating a document. For this tutorial we will use a very basic document that has two rectangles on the canvas.

Step 2. Enable Rulers

To enable the Rulers, go to View > Rulers ( CMD/CTRL + Option/Alt + R )

Step 3. Place the rulers

Drag out two guides from the ruler. One at the bottom of the first rectangle and the other guide to the top of the second rectangle.

Step 4. Measuring with a Tooltip

Now hover your mouse in the middle of the two rectangles and hit ( Shift ). This will display a specialized tooltip that has the distance between the two rectangles displayed in a tooltip.

Step 5. Using the Measurement Auto Shape Tool

Select the Measure Shape ( U ), located in the Vector section of the tools panel. Drag out a shape, as you start dragging you will notice the measurements are displayed. Once you let go of the mouse the auto shape measurement is displayed with a line.

Step 6. Finalizing the Auto Shape Process

You can now drag out another auto shape to complete the document. As you can see, this will be very useful for building applications specs and other precise documentation.