CAD-Style Measurement Tool
Wiringly includes a professional, CAD-style point-to-point Measurement Tool that allows you to place precise dimension lines on your design canvas. These dimension lines persist in your design and are automatically rendered in both the Schematic and Formboard views (ideal for 1:1 scale harness build templates).
The Measurement Tool dynamically updates its display to match the active canvas unit selected in your header (mm or in), instantly scaling values using the project scale ratio.
1. Placing a Dimension
Follow these steps to place a new dimension line:
- Select the Measure ruler tool button in the Design ribbon group.
- First Point: Hover over the canvas and left-click to select the starting anchor point.
- Second Point: Move your cursor to the ending point and click a second time.
- Pull-Out Offset: Move your cursor perpendicular to the measurement line to set the offset (pull-out distance) of the dimension line.
- Confirm: Click a third time to lock the dimension line in place.
2. Smart Snapping & ALT Key Override
To maintain perfect alignment, the tool scans the canvas to snap coordinates to:
- Devices: Bounding box corners and center points.
- Bundle Points: Exact coordinate positions.
- Canvas Images: Corners, centers, and nearest outer boundary edges (even if the reference image is rotated).
Press and hold the ALT key at any point during placement to disable snapping. This allows you to select arbitrary coordinates and drag dimension lines completely freely.
3. Editing and Custom Annotations
- Custom Labels: Double-click any placed measurement text label to open an inline input box. You can type a custom annotation override (e.g.
(Ø55)or[AUX 1]) and press Enter to save it. To restore the computed numeric distance, simply clear the input box and press Enter. - Repositioning: Hold ALT with the Measure tool active to reveal interactive handles (blue handle dots at the endpoints, green handle dot at the dimension line center). Drag these to adjust coordinates or modify the offset.
4. Deleting Measurements
If you need to remove a measurement, you have two options:
- Double-Click: Double-click anywhere directly on the dimension line or extension lines to instantly delete it.
- Right-Click: Right-click anywhere on the measurement (line or label text) to open the context menu and remove it.
To make double-clicking and right-clicking easy, an invisible 8px interactive hit-area is placed on top of all dimension and extension lines, giving you a generous target area.