How to use the Measure Distance Tool. Simply click once on one point, then click again on the second point. The distance should then be displayed. You can click more than two points in order to build up a continuous route. Use the miles / km / nautical miles / yards switch to measure distances in km or in miles or nautical miles. You can view the measurement's elevation, distance away, angle, and more. See more granular measurements with Ruler View The Measure app on iPad Pro 12.9-inch (4th generation), iPad Pro 11-inch (2nd generation), iPhone 12 Pro, and iPhone 12 Pro Max adds a ruler overlay to line measurements, showing you the object's dimension in granular increments.
Modeless Commands
Next, measure the distance between the marking and the end of the straw, which will give you a rough idea of how thick your pads are. Subtract 0.2 inches from your result to account for the pads’ backing plate. With the distance calculator distance.to you can easily determine distances between world-wide locations. Simply enter any desired location into the search function and you will get the shortest distance (air line) between the points, the route (route planner) as well as all important information. Thankfully the changes to the free eDrawings Viewer in 2019 eliminated all this confusion. Measure Tool Lock. The second factor that can still prevent a user from being able to measure an eDrawings file is that the user who publishes the eDrawings file has the ability to lock the measure tool protecting their design data.
You can set or change some settings and functions at any time using a shortcut key for the command called a modeless command.
To enter a modeless command:
- Click the display.
- Type the modeless command (shortcut key) for the command you want.
Restriction: Use a space between the command and the argument. For example: N GND or GD 50.
- Click Enter.
Table 2‑2 lists the modeless commands. In the table:
<X,Y> = coordinates
<s> = text
<n> = number.
Pads Viewer Measure Distances
Table 2‑2. Modeless Commands
Shortcut key | Description |
C | Complementary format. Type Cand press Enter to change the display to a complementary format, which views thermals and antipads on plane layers. Type C a second time and press Enter to restore the normal noncomplementary view. |
D | Display last current layer on/off. |
DO | Drill outline on/off. |
E | Cycles through the End Via modes:
|
I | Database Integrity Test. |
L <n> | Change the current layer to <n>. |
<n> can be a number or name, for example (L 2) or (L top). | |
N <s> | Highlights nets one by one. To place the highlighted net <s> at the top of the stack, repeat the command, for example, N GND. |
N- | Unhighlights each highlighted net in reverse order. |
N | Removes all highlighting from the nets. |
O <r> | Displays an outline of pads and traces. See also:To Use Outline View Mode |
PO | Pour outline on/off. |
PN | Toggles pin number display on or off. (Makes pin numbers visible in the design or makes them invisible if they are visible). |
Q | Quick Measure. Snaps to the design grid when Grid Snap is on. Measurements are gridless when Grid Snap is off. You can also measure precise Euclidean distances between polar grid nodes using this command. |
QL | Quick Length. Area select the route items you want to measure; such as route segments, nets, or pin pairs. Type QL; and press Enter. A report of the route item lengths for routed, unrouted, and total length appears in the default text editor. |
R <n> | Reduce display width to <n>, for example, R 50. |
RV | Toggles Make Like Reuse operations to compare or ignore value and tolerance attributes. See also:To Make a Like Reuse in Verb Mode, To Make a Like Reuse in Object Mode |
SPD | Display generated plane data for split/mixed planes. This command controls an option in the Split/Mixed Plane tab of the Options dialog box. |
SPI | Display plane thermal indicators. This command controls an option in the Split/Mixed Plane tab of the Options dialog box. |
SPO | Display plane polygon outlines for split/mixed planes. This command controls an option in the Split/Mixed Plane tab of the Options dialog box. |
T | Toggle Transparent Mode. See also:To Use Transparent View Mode |
UM | Sets Design Units to mils. |
UMM | Sets Design Units to millimeters (metric). |
UI | Sets Design Units to inches. |
X | Text outline on/off. |
W <n> | Changes width to <n>, for example W 5. |
Ctrl+PageDown |
|
Table 2‑3. Grids
Shortcut key | Description |
G <x> {<y>} | Grid global setting. The second parameter is optional. Sets the Design and Via grids simultaneously, for example, G 25, G 8.3 or G 16-2/3, G 25 25. |
GD <x> {<y>} | Dot grid setting, for example, GD 8-1/3, GD 25 25, or GD 100. The second parameter is optional. |
GP | Polar grid on/off. Use the polar grid for Radial Move, circular component arrays, and to create radial drawings. |
GP r a | Move to a point specified by polar coordinates (radius and angle). |
GPR r | Move to a point specified by the radius, using the existing angle. |
GPA a | Move to a point specified by the angle, using the existing radius. |
GPRA da | Move to a point specified by the current angle (da) value, using the existing radius. |
GPRR dr | Move to a point specified by the current radius (dr), using the existing angle. |
GR <xx> | Design grid setting, for example, GR 8-1/3, GR 25 25, G 25. |
GV <xx> | Via grid setting, for example, GV 8-1/3, GV 25 25, or GV 25. |
More Examples Of Grid Use
Tip: - 8 = (eight); - 8-1/3 = (eight and a third); - 8.33 = (eight point 33)
Table 2‑4. Search
Shortcut key | Description |
S <s> | Search for reference designator/pin <s>, for example SU 1.1 or SU 1. |
S <n> <n> | Search absolute at <n> <n>, for example S 1000 1000. |
SR <n> <n> | Search relative X and Y, for example SR -200 100. |
SRX <n> | Search relative X, for example SRX 300. |
SRY <n> | Search relative Y, for example SRY 400. |
SS <s> | Search and Select by reference designator, for example SS U10. Tip: Spaces may be important in modeless commands. For example, SS W1 and S SW1 have different meanings. SS W1 tells PADS Layout to search and select W1, while S SW1 tells it to search for SW1. |
SS <s>* | You can search and select using an asterisk, *. Type SS, a space, the character you want to search by, and an asterisk. For example, to search and select all components beginning with a C, type SS C*.All components with a reference designator starting with C are selected. Tip: This command is useful for placing parts. For example, you can select all resistors using SS R* and then choose Move Sequential from the pop-up menu to place the selected parts. |
SX <n> | Absolute move to <n>, current Y, for example SX 300. |
SY <n> | Absolute move to <n>, current X, for example SY 400. |
XP | Search for and select route segments using pixels instead of segment width, allowing you to adjust a trace whose corners are less than the width of the trace. |
Table 2‑5. Angles
Shortcut key | Description |
AA | Any angle. |
AD | Diagonal angle. |
AO | Orthogonal angle. |
Measure Distance In Pads Viewer
Table 2‑6. Undo
Shortcut key | Description |
UN [<n>] | Multiple undo command (1-100), <n> is optional. (Ex. UN 2) UN will undo 1 time. |
RE [<n>] | Multiple redo command (1-100), <n> is optional. (Ex. RE 2) RE will redo 1 time. |
Table 2‑7. Design Rule Checking (DRC)
Shortcut key | Description |
DRP | Prevent. |
DRW | Warn. |
DRI | Ignore Clearance. |
DRO | Turn off DRC Mode. |
Table 2‑8. Routing
Shortcut key | Description |
E | Toggle between end via and end no via modes. |
LD | Toggle between horizontal and vertical routing layer direction on the current layer. |
PL <n> <n> | Paired Layer command, where <n> can be layer numbers or layer names. (for example, PL 1 2 or PL top bottom). |
SH | Toggles Shove mode on or off. |
V <name> | Select via type, for example V standard via. |
VA | Automatic via selection. |
VP | Use partial via. |
VT | Use through hole via. |
T | Toggle Transparent Mode. |
Table 2‑9. Drafting Objects
Shortcut key | Description |
HC | Circle shape draw mode. |
HH | Path shape draw mode. |
HP | Polygon shape draw mode. |
HR | Rectangle shape draw mode. |
Table 2‑10. Mouse Click Substitutes
Shortcut key | Description |
M | Activate shortcut menu for current mode (right mouse button). |
Spacebar | Perform a left mouse button click (to add corners, select items, complete, etc.) at the current cursor location. |
Table 2‑11. Various
Shortcut key | Description |
? | Show this help topic. |
BMW | Basic Media Wizard. BMW creates a macro with associated files based on your last PADS Layout session or your current session. BMW records a session using the next.log file to simplify the process of reproducing a problematic PADS Layout session. This is also a command line option. See also:Start-up Options BMW is associated with another modeless command, BLT. See also: To Use the Basic Media Wizard |
BLT | Basic Log Test; it finds and runs the BMW macros to test or replay the media. See also:To Run the Basic Log Test |
F <s> | Open file <s>, where <s> is the path and name of the file to open. |
PADS Layout User's Guide, PADS2007
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