- April 13, 2021
- Scott Nguyen, Integrated Sales and Support
Using the Measure Tools, Foxit PDF Editor and Foxit PDF Reader make it easy to measure distances and areas of objects in PDF documents. That’s useful when you’re creating manuals, instructional guides, and computer-aided design (CAD) drawings. We covered how to do so in this post.
Some users who rely on measurement accuracy have told us that they sometimes receive a PDF drawing in which the scale is off from what the image states in the document. That can happen for reasons such user error, or when drawings aren’t directly exported from an Auto CAD program. This can be a big problem in any setting where precise measurements are critical.
If this happens, you may need to customize the scale in order for your PDF file to accurately reflect the measurements in use. To do so, you need to select File > Preferences > Measuring and use the Use Scale and Units From Document (When present) option. Then all the following measurements will use the embedded scale ratio you set.
To calibrate the scale ratio for your document for an accurate result, you can choose either of the following methods:
- With the Use Scale and Units From Document (When present) option selected:
- Click Calibrate in the Scale Ratio group and then click the two points of the line whose actual length has already been known. (Tips: When drawing, you can hold down SHIFT to snap the two points horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. You can also click Snap to Paths in the Snap group to capture the path in the page.)
- When the second point is selected, the Calibration dialog box pops up.
- Type the actual length that the line represents and choose the appropriate unit, which will set a new scale ratio.
- Then in the Scale Ratio group or the pop-up Calibration dialog box, click Store Scale in Page to apply the new scale ratio to the current page, or click Apply to All Pages to apply it to all pages. The new scale ratio will be embedded into the page or all pages respectively, replacing the original embedded scale ratio.
- As the scale ratio is embedded into the document, the measurements in the document change accordingly.
- With the Use Scale and Units From Document (When present) option unselected, define a custom scale ratio in the Scale Ratio group, or click Calibrate in the Scale Ratio group to define a new scale ratio. The defined scale ratio will only be applied to the current page.
If you want to see the current measuring result, including real distance, angle, horizontal and vertical position, etc., check Show result information.
Now, you can get customize the measurements that you need to ensure that content in your PDF documents reflects the scale being shown in any image or diagram.
Foxit PDF Reader, Version 11.2.1.53537
When I click Comment>Measure>Distance I don’t get the options to set Scale Ratio.
The whole ribbon is missing.
Hi Jospeh. You’ll find the options to set Scale Ratio on the right-side. You can expand the panel by clicking on the little arrow on the right.
Hi Joseph. You’ll find the options to set Scale Ratio on the right-side. You can expand the panel by clicking on the little arrow on the right.
How do you change the scale if you put the wrong one in? There are no options for that. Once it calibrates that option goes away.
Hi Jim, please contact our support team for your issue. You can submit a ticket via our Support Portal to get assistance with your issue or call 1-866-693-6948. To create a Foxit account, please visit: https://appstore.foxit.com/site/signup
Measure -> PERIMETER (not DIstance) and then Scale Ratio option on the right side will be visible 🙂
It’d be great to be able to change the font/size of the measurement text sometimes. If I’m doing a 14500mm and a 250mm measurement on the same page, one is going to be either ridiculously large or small.
Is there any way to do that?
Also, the ability to colour the text individually of the arrows would be nice.
To change the font and size of the measurement text in Foxit Reader, you can follow these steps:
1. Open the document in Foxit Reader.
2. Go to the Comment tab and select the Measurement tool (e.g., Distance Measurement or Area Measurement).
3. Click on the starting point and then the ending point to create the measurement.
4. Once the measurement is created, right-click on the measurement line or area and select “Properties” from the context menu.
5. In the Properties dialog box, go to the “Appearance” tab.
6. Under the “Text” section, you can change the font, font size, and font color for the measurement text.
7. Make the desired changes to the font and size to adjust the appearance of the measurement text.
8. Click “OK” to apply the changes.
Please note that these changes will apply to all measurements of the same type on the document. If you want different font styles or sizes for different measurements, you need to create separate measurement annotations with different settings.