How to put distance measure before drawing a shape?

I have drawn a rectangle, and I want to add separations on it with line (in order to subdivise the rectangle area in several sub rectangles.
I want my lines start at specific distance each from the others. How can i put distance measures BEFORE points exist ?
Best regards.

I’m not completely sure I understand what you want to do, but here are some ideas:

First off, the dimension tool needs endpoints to attach to. So you can’t put that cart in front of the horse. But that might not be what you really need anyway…

I you want a collection of evenly spaced lines, you should try the divide capability of the move copy tool. That is, move a copy of one edge line over to the opposite side of the rectangle and then type /n where n is the number of divisions you want, e.g. /5. Don’t click the measurements box, just let go of the mouse and type. If you get the number wrong, you can immediately type another divisor until you like the result.

No way to put a free distance since one point in the “space” ?

You can simply select and Move/Copy the corner edge, specifying the distance at which you want the copy placed. You can then repeat that Copy as many times as you wish using the * operator.

The point is, you can move copies of an entity itself as easily (or more easily) than measuring, marking, and then drawing duplicates of that entity.

In general, I think, it’s always easier to copy existing geometry than recreate it, even down to the level of a single edge that’s the right length and the right orientation in space. That represents a lot of information that you can reuse for free.

-Gully

You may be confused between the dimension tool vs the tape measure tool.

The dimension tool attaches dimension symbols to existing objects. It needs existing vertices for both ends. What may mislead you is that after you click the first vertex, the tool shows a temporary dimension symbol as you move the cursor around. But you can not make this dimension permanent unless there is a vertex at the second point where you click.

The tape measure tool creates guide points and guide lines at specified distances from existing vertices or edges. After you click the starting vertex or edge, it displays a tooltip with the distance to the cursor from the start. You can click anywhere to create the new guide. But it does not create a dimension symbol or display the distance after you create it.

But, as Gully and I have both pointed out, it is often not necessary to create guides, as you can use the multiply or divide capabilities of the move tool to place multiple edges (and more complex objects) where you need them.


I dont know why it keeps including the the measurement in the gif, but as you can see. After you place the copy of the line segment. Just hit the backspace key and the 100.334" will clear out then immediately type in /7 or the number of lines you think you need. Then hit enter, if your not satisfied hit backspace key again and change the amount till your needs are meet…Peace…

Ok, I understand. It works.
Thanks.

No need to “clear” the text field. Whatever you type clears whatever was there and replaces it. Just start typing and hit Enter when you’re done. The rest takes care of itself.

-Gully

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