Area Calculation
Having an area calculator would be awesome!
kt
shared this idea
The latest Beta Build 29.3.0.100 offers Area Calculation using Measure Tool, now with extended support for compound paths and overlapping objects.
- Select the objects in your artwork you want to calculate the area for.
- Select the Measure Tool from the Toolbar.
- The calculated area will be displayed in the Info panel, shown automatically.
- Shift + Click on a segment in the existing selection to remove/add it to area calculation.
- Configure measurement options by accessing the flyout menu of the panel. You can customize units, precision, and scale to suit your requirements.
We would like to hear your feedback on the new capabilities — please try it out and let us know in the comments.
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Chris Mitchell
commented
So far, it seems to work really well. I've had a couple of crashes while using it, but other than that the numbers seem to be making sense and I really like how it's been added to the measure tool, well done!
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Not at the moment, but the team is aware of the need and is still exploring the way to allow it.
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Jean-Michel Le Goff
commented
Ok, I get it,
But nos, is there any way to copy this value in the clipboard and paste it as “text” ? Or could it be added in “dimension” as a label?
It could be useful for architectural floor map or for pattern design in fashion -
Jean-Michel, it’s not the Dimension tool, but the Measure tool!
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Jean-Michel Le Goff
commented
oups,
can you share a snapshot?
I can't find it...
and could it be possible to generate a true measure in the document ?
at least is it possible to select and cut/paste the value in a text?
Many Thanks -
Chris, same problem as before — the tool does not support area calculation for compound paths at the moment. Even if there is no hole / cutout. Hence the Beta.
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Chris Mitchell
commented
Hi Egor,
I've attached another file for you to take a look at. I'm not quite sure how to explain how it's working, but if I place a closed and filled shape on top of another, then use the pathfinder's divide tool, then drag the topmost shape off of the one on the bottom, I am able to get the area for that one, but not the one on the bottom (now with the cutout from the divide tool). Does that make sense? I'm hoping at the end of it all, we'll be able to click on any closed, filled area and get the calculation. This is off to a good start though! I'll attach the AI file I was playing with. This file was created in AI Beta 29.3 20.
Thanks again!
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Chris, the team confirms the wrong values is a known conversion error and the fix will land in the next Beta. So far only points get calculated correctly.
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Oh, I see now clearly what is happening.
First, it seems that for now it doesn’t support compound paths AT ALL, making it near useless.
The only path in the EXIT sign is the head, and it’s separated from the base (that is a compound path).Same goes for the blue EXIT — each letter is a compound path (which is normal when you Create Outlines), and even though they have no paths included to have holes, it’s still restricted.
But even if these get released to become simple paths, the calculation is all wrong.
When I measure the I letter in EXIT, it’s 14.394 × 84.667 mm, the area of it should be something like 1218 mm², minus rounded corners...
But it sees 3488.81 mm²...The green head is roughly a 15.665 mm wide circle... so it’s 46.8² × pi, and it should give 192.73 mm²... the panel shows 546.45!
Something is wrong.(Edited by admin) -
Chris Mitchell
commented
Hello Egor,
I've attached an Illustrator file with a couple of notes on it that describes the results I'm having with the new Area Tool. Hopefully this helps. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks again,
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Chris Mitchell
commented
Hello, I think I may be missing something... I've converted some large block text to outlines, added a fill and a 2pt stroke. I click on the closed path, but I get the same area for all the closed paths that I select. The total area for multiple paths does not seem to work at all. (I'm doing this on an M1 Studio Mac). I've attached a brief video showing what is happening.
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Anonymous commented
When will this be available to try. I installed the Beta version but this feature wasn't available.
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Chris Mitchell
commented
Scenario #1-2 seems to be the most appropriate of the two options in scenario 1. It would seem that factoring in the stroke regardless of its alignment may be a bit confusing. By expanding the shape and eliminating the stroke, the user can see precisely the area being calculated.
Scenario #2 nails it. Being able to calculate the area of ANY closed shape would be ideal!Thanks again for all your hard work on this, I can't wait to see it in a future update!
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Alex Musick commented
Scenario #1. Yes, that sounds great, the area of the real expanded area of the shape / closed path.
#2. Yes, any appearance added effects, strokes, blurs etc. should not be included in the area, just the inner fill of the path. -
Konrad Prajsnar commented
I don't mind so much expanding objects, my final designs are expanded and color separated for screen printing, but for the heads up, im dealing with all kinds of complicated paths (eg. attachment). I hope that not that much harder to achieve :)
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Jean-Michel Le Goff
commented
it's working for me, but in the Scenario #2 it will be a little difficult to get the right area if you have to edit the shape and expand it to get the area, in the case of you are asked to create a shape of this given area...
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Hey everyone,
Happy to announce that we have started working on this request. As a first step, we want to make sure we understand your requirements correctly and build the right feature set for this.
Hence we are requesting if you could spare some time to get on a quick 1-1 call with us so we may explore your requirements together. Please feel free to book a session with the following link, we will share an invite on the email address you specify at the time of booking. Thanks!
Block the calendar here: https://outlook.office.com/bookwithme/user/c1b7ecea1cbd42a2a7068cfeb7861bdd@adobe.com/meetingtype/Fn8tXNebh0eyv4xTnvQ-3Q2?anonymous&ep=mlink
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Chris Mitchell
commented
Figuring out the area of irregularly shaped objects is now the only thing I really need to leave Illustrator to accomplish. It would be wonderful if this seemingly simple tool could be added!
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Chris Mitchell
commented
Bringing back the area calculation too would be fantastic! If possible, it would be nice to have it added to the new Dimension tools in Illustrator.
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This one is very important to my studio, i'm calculating area of compound objects. For example, if i have illustration made with 4 colors, i have to calculate area of each color to calculate paint consumption. I'm using RIP on another computer (dedicated to the printer) to achieve this, but its time consuming because i need to export the design first. I know there are some scripts, i've tried some and they can calculate only simple objects.
