Measurements and Scaling

The Measurements and Scaling tool enable you to specify the dimensions (height and width values) and the distance or area of an object (image or contents within an image).  This tool also enables you to view a specific screen area via image scaling.

To use the Image Dimensions feature in the Measurement and Scaling tool:

  1. Click the Measure/Scale tool on the toolbar.  This opens the Measurement and Scaling tool.  This tool is split into three different functions.  These functions are image dimensions, distance/area and image scaling.  However, you must use the image dimensions function before you can use distance/area and image scaling functions.  Use image dimensions to define the width and height of the viewable image.

 

 

  1. Click the Adjust Width box and enter a numeric value next to the Width box.  

When you click Adjust Width, a measurement bar appears on the active image.  The measurement bar will cover the width of the image. This represents the measurement that you will enter for the width.  For some images, the actual numeric values have already been added automatically into the width and height category since it is incorporated into the data field for that image.

You can also check the actual dimensions of an active image by clicking on the Descriptive Data icon on the Image Workspace Tool.  If you do find measurements in the Descriptive Data, then these should be used for the image dimensions.

  1. You can also use the measurement bar to adjust the width and height of the image.  

Click on either of the small, black boxes at the end of the bar.  The small box will turn white and is now active.  While still holding down the mouse, you are able to move the bar to the length that you want.  

When you set the measurement you are adjusting, the numeric value you enter for the measurement will only refer to the area that the measurement bar now covers.  This is useful if you would like to have an image dimension for only part of the active image.

  1. After you enter a numeric value for width, do the same thing for height.  

Click Adjust Height, and enter your numeric value in the Height box..  Once both the width and the height have a value, click on Set.  This sets your values for the active image.  

When you clicked on Set, you will see a light and dark gray, checkered border covering the right and lower border of the image.  This border tells you that the width and height of the active image has been defined.  This also gives you a relational value to the Metric conversion used for measuring the image.  

  1. To change the type of measurement used for the image, click on the pull-down box next to the word Metric.  This gives you all the measurement choices available ( feet, inches, meters, and centimeters) by which to view the active image.  

You may also click Cancel at any time while using the Measurement and Scaling tool.  This will clear the active image of any measurement bars, or distance and area icons that may be on the image.

The Distance/Area option is helpful if you would like to find the distance and/or area of the object, or of parts of the object, in reference to the measurements given in the image dimension function.  

Use Image Scaling to compare two or more images to each other in relative size in the viewable screen area (as defined by width and height in Measurement and Scaling ) or Image Scaling can show the actual size of an image in reference to the dimensions given in the Measurement and Scaling Tool..

Once you are done using the Measurement and Scaling functions, you may close or exit by clicking on the small circle in the top right hand corner of the window.  

If you open the Measurement and Scaling function while the active image is still in the Image Workspace, then your measurements will still be available for you to use.  If you close the image and return to the Group Workspace, then re-open the image again in the Image Workspace, your changes will not be saved (unless they are automatically entered because that particular image has pre-defined measurements in its data).  

However, if you leave the Image Workspace using the Return to Group Window arrow on the tool, without closing the active window and then return back to the Image Workspace with a new image, the original dimensions on all the images will not be altered.