Typing exact values

Start a gesture, type the number, press Enter. The pointer doesn't need to be anywhere in particular.

To type a value

  1. Start a gesture: arm a tool and place the first point.
  2. Type a digit, a minus sign or a full stop. The value appears on the bottom shelf.
  3. Press Tab to move to the next field if there is one.
  4. Press Enter to commit. Enter with nothing typed commits wherever the gesture already is, and Escape throws the typed draft away.

To choose the unit

A bare number is read in the unit shown in Measure in on the tray shelf: millimetres, feet or metres. Add a unit and it's honoured, so 6ft, 180cm, 1m80 and 5'11" all work, and angles take a degree sign.

To fill several fields at once

Separate the values with a comma or semicolon. For a rectangle, 2000,2000 gives a 2 m square. Leave a piece empty and that field keeps its live value.

What each tool asks for

  • Walls, curtain walls, beams, rafters, purlins, trusses and railings: Length, then Tab for Angle.
  • Doors and openings: From start. Windows: From start, then Centre height.
  • Zones: an edge Length.
  • Massing Rectangle: Width, then Depth. Circle: Radius. Polygon: Length, then Angle. Arc: Bulge, then Radius. Extrude: Distance.
  • Rotate: an angle. Scale: a factor, or a size such as 2m.
  • Plan Line and Polyline: Length, then Angle. Plan Circle: Radius. Offset and Fillet on linework: a distance and a radius.

On a length field measured in millimetres, Tab can offer the nearest brick coordinating size. It shows on the shelf before you accept it.