How to Use the Measure Tool in Adobe Illustrator

Have you ever been creating a form or drawing in Adobe Illustrator and wondered exactly how far away objects are from each other? You might be tempted to print your file and get out the tape measure, but luckily you can measure right from within Illustrator using the measure tool. This guide will get you started.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Computer
• Adobe Illustrator
• Open Illustrator document

1. Draw a few shapes in your document. Make sure you have enabled a fill or stroke so that the objects show up on the screen.

2. Make sure that your objects are NOT selected.

3. Find the measure tool in the toolbar. The measure tool might be temporarily hiding under the eyedropper tool.

4. Open up your info panel (window/info).

5. Click on your measure tool, then click on the first object. Holding your left mouse button down, drag to the second object. Now look at your info panel. You will see exact numerical information about your objects.

Tips & Warnings

• You can change the unit of display (from pixels to inches or whatever) by going to "Edit, Preferences."