Ruler tool

The Ruler tool helps you design your show file in the Wireframe views of the CAD mode, providing a visual aid for coordinate reference and measurement. By default, the Ruler is aligned with the document origin and displays coordinate information along the top and left side of the view. Its scale matches the default grid scale.

As shown in the graphic below, the Ruler has different colors to represent different axes (X=Red, Y=Green, Z=Blue).

The Ruler dynamically updates as you zoom in and out. When you zoom in on your drawing, the precision of the ruler increases, displaying fractions and decimals; when you zoom out, the precision decreases to the point where both the grid and ruler disappear. The ruler matches the unit type currently set in your file, either Metric or Imperial. When working with larger venues, it is recommended that you increase the grid spacing so that the ruler will be visible when zoomed out further. The ruler matches the unit type.

The Ruler displays values with the negative sign to the left of 0’0” when in Plan, Front and Right view, or to the right of 0’0” when in Back and Left view.

Ruler icons

On the Quad tab (as shown above), each of the three drawing quadrants can have a different drawing origin, or View Origin. When you define a new view origin, you can move the zero position of the ruler (-0 0+) to correspond to this point.

Based on the origin in the active quadrant and the corresponding position of the Ruler, the icon in the upper left corner of the Ruler changes.

Icon	Description
	The Ruler’s zero position (origin) is aligned with the Document Origin, which is set by default to be the center point of the WYSIWYG venue defined for the event.
	By default, all views are set to the Document Origin. However, you can set the origin for each view, thereby defining a View Origin. This icon appears when you have defined a View Origin for the current view and have aligned the Ruler’s origin to it.
	This icon appears when you have set a new User Origin for the file by clicking Tools > Set User Origin.
	This icon appears when you have clicked Move Ruler (Set View Origin) from the Ruler menu and are in the process of defining your new origin.

The following graphic shows a Quad tab in which the Ruler origin is different in each view:

To turn the ruler on and off

By default, the Ruler is turned On when you open a new WYSIWYG file. You can turn the ruler on and off while working in your file by using the Toggle Rulers icon on the CAD Options toolbar.

To show the CAD Options toolbar, right-click on the toolbars area and click CAD Options.
On the CAD Options toolbar, click the Toggle Rulers icon.

The Toggle Rulers button.

Result: The Ruler appears or disappears.

Note: You can also toggle the ruler on or off by using the Draw Defaults tab in Document Options. Click Options > Document Options > Draw Defaults.

To turn the Ruler off, clear the Show Rulers checkbox.
To turn the Ruler on, select in the Show Rulers checkbox.

Click OK.

To change the ruler’s style

You can change the appearance of the ruler. The ruler can be white, the view color or the view color with a boarder.

In CAD mode, from the Options menu, choose Application Options.

Result: The Application Options window appears.

In the Application Options window, select the desired ruler style from the Ruler Style drop-down list.

Click OK.

Result: The ruler’s appearance changes to that of the selected style.

To change the ruler’s origin

By default, the ruler is aligned with the document origin, which means that the zero mark (-0 0+) starts at the Document Origin. However, you can move the Ruler from this default position to the origin of the current view. Note that doing so does not affect the origin or ruler of any other view.

In the Quad tab, click the quadrant in which you want to move the Ruler.
Click the icon in the upper left corner of the Ruler (or right-click on the actual Ruler) and select one of the following options:

Display Ruler at Document Origin: Select this option to realign the Ruler’s zero point with the Document Origin, which is set by default to be the origin of the WYSIWYG file. When the ruler is displayed at the Document/User origin, the background color of the ruler follows the selected Ruler Style option in the General tab of Application Options.
Display Ruler at View Origin: Select this option if you want to realign the Ruler to the View Origin of the current view, if different than the original Document Origin. To indicate this change, the background of the Ruler changes to match the axis colors.
Move Ruler (Set View Origin): Select this option if you want to choose a new origin for the ruler. Then click the cursor on the point in your drawing that you want to designate as the zero mark for the Ruler. Once the Ruler is moved, you can use the previous two menu items (Display Ruler at Document Origin and Display Ruler at View Origin) to switch the ruler’s position from the default position to the user defined position.

Note: By moving the ruler, you are indirectly setting a new origin for the currently selected view. You can also change the Origin in a CAD view’s View Options > Draw Options tab, or by clicking Tools > Set User Origin.