Adding dimensions to drawings in Vectornation by Zaweba

Drawings that leave your hands often need sizes written on them. A sign maker wants to see the width of a panel. A workshop wants the radius of a corner. A client wants proof that a logo fits the space. The Dimension tool in Vectornation by Zaweba puts those measurements on the artwork as proper dimension lines, in a style you control.

Three kinds of dimension

The tool draws linear, angular or radius dimensions. Linear dimensions show a straight distance, such as the width of a box or the gap between two holes. Angular dimensions show the angle between two lines, which is what you need for a chamfer, a sloping edge or a fan of spokes. Radius dimensions show the radius of an arc or circle, the usual way of describing a rounded corner or a round hole.

Pick the kind that matches what you are describing, then click on the artwork to place it. Dimensions sit on the canvas like any other object, so they can live on their own layer, be hidden for a clean export, or be printed with the drawing for a workshop.

Styling the dimensions

You can choose arrow ends or tick ends. Arrows are common on general drawings and diagrams; ticks are traditional on architectural style plans and can look tidier when dimensions are close together. You can also set the offset, which is how far the dimension line stands away from the edge it measures, the text size, and the number of decimals.

Decimals deserve a thought. Too many and a drawing looks fussy and suggests a precision the job doesn't need. Too few and a cutter or fabricator may not have enough to work from. Choose what the person reading the drawing needs and keep it the same across the sheet. The same goes for text size: small enough not to crowd the art, large enough to read when printed.

Dimensions that follow the artwork

Since version 0.9.0, dimensions follow the art they measure. If you resize the panel, move a hole or stretch a shape, the dimension updates to match instead of being left behind with an out-of-date number. That turns dimensions from a last-minute chore into something you can add early and keep throughout the design, confident that the figures still describe the drawing in front of you.

It also changes how you review a design. Instead of measuring again after every edit, you can watch the numbers change as you adjust, and stop when the width reads right.

Jobs it helps with

Shop drawings for signs and displays, cutting plans for laser or plotter work, simple product sketches, floor layouts for an exhibition stand, and packaging panels with their key sizes marked are all good fits. For quick checks you don't want to keep, use the Ruler tool instead, which shows distance, angle, width and height without adding anything to the drawing.

Keeping drawings readable

Put dimensions on their own layer so they are easy to hide when you export artwork for print. Line dimensions up where you can, with the same offset along an edge, so the eye reads them as a set. Don't dimension the same size twice. And before you send a drawing, check that snapping placed each dimension on the right points, because a dimension measured from the wrong corner is worse than none.

With these few options and dimensions that keep up with your edits, Vectornation is comfortable for the kind of light technical drawing that design work so often needs alongside the artwork itself.