Perpendicular/Shortest Distance

Calculate Distance between Objects

Use the Perpendicular/Shortest Distance option to calculate the perpendicular distance between two existing design objects. If the perpendicular distance is not available, then the shortest distance will be calculated. The reported distance displays in the Report Window and can be outputted to a nominated text file.

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Instructions

On the Analyse menu, point to Details, and then click Perpendicular/Shortest Distance to display the Perpendicular/Shortest Distance panel.

Check Save distance to a file to output the reported distance to a text file (.txt).

Report File

Enter a name for your text file.

Click OK.

Select the necessary design objects. If the selected objects consists of multiple line segments or points, then you will need to confirm whether to use the entire object or just the selected segment/point.

The calculated lengths and the coordinate information for the selected objects displays onscreen as well as through the Report Window and, if applicable, written to the nominated text file. If the nominated file already exists, then you will need to confirm whether you want to append the new information or overwrite the file's original contents, that is, replace it with the new information.

You will need to confirm whether to retain or discard the intersection points. Choosing to retain the intersection points will result in two points (named PT0 and PT1) being created in the currently active layer. If a current working layer is not defined prior to selecting the Perpendicular/Shortest Distance option, then the Allocate Layer panel displays.