posted
I'm used to working in CorelDraw that had a great feature for when I was making up customer drawings. I could use a sort of measurement tool that would allow me to show and print on the drawing the measurements of the text, sign, graphic or anything. I figure that there has to be a tool like this in Adobe Illustrator but I'm buggered if I can find it. Help
posted
If your looking for drafting type tools, Illustrator does not have them, there is a plug-in though called CadTools (www.hotdoor.com) that works great, but it is a chunk of change for it, but I design with it, and can say it has a lot of great features Corel's drafting tools lack, the cost though, iit's a bit steep if you are hardly ever using it.
-------------------- Rick Chavez Hemet, CA Posts: 1538 | From: Hemet,CA U.S.A. | Registered: Jun 2001
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posted
I do a lot of dimensioning in illustrator & I just draw the lines with a thin stroke width (.25 pt.) then I add dots (small circles) at the intersections & type in the dimension. I often work at 1/10th scale so it is easy to keep track of actual dimensions. If it doesn't fit the paper, I finish the drawing first, then resize as needed, keeping track of the percentage of reduction, so I can not a scale on my drawings. Or I go to kinkos & enlarge onto bigger paper after noting the scale that it will become on my drawings.
posted
It actually isn't a fortune, if you think of the time saved drawing in an actual scale. It still suprises me though, that a lot of sign designers still don't have it-it really is a great plug-in-I used to do what Doug did-(or do it in Corel-then tranfer it over to my Mac), and with complex drawings, getting the lines and balls out, it was a hassle, now all I do is pick a scale for a certain layer-click and drag, instand measurement, or specify a size box, and boom, drawn to the scale on that particuar layer.
-------------------- Rick Chavez Hemet, CA Posts: 1538 | From: Hemet,CA U.S.A. | Registered: Jun 2001
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posted
I use CadTools all the time...works pretty good...but isn't it a shame Adobe makes you spend, spend, spend on 3rd party features that come included "in the box" from Corel???
They are s-l-o-w-l-y getting better though...CS has some decent distortion functions, FINALLY.
-------------------- Todd Gill Outside The Lines Potterville, MI Posts: 7792 | From: Potterville, MI | Registered: Dec 2001
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I think Adobe has invested so much into the pdf and print that it makes no sense for them to throw in drafting tools, especially when a 3rd party developer will do a better job. In comparison to CadTools, Corels tools are weak, but better than nothing........
-------------------- Rick Chavez Hemet, CA Posts: 1538 | From: Hemet,CA U.S.A. | Registered: Jun 2001
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posted
I have used CadTools thru a couple of upgrades and I like it a lot. I wouldn't think of designing without working to scale. I can take the Illustrator file directly into Grafix Advantage a bring it up to size for a pattern and it's always the correct measurements.
-------------------- Jon Harl 5731 Meridian Ave. San Jose,CA 95118
jonharl@comcast.net Posts: 99 | From: San Jose, California | Registered: Jan 2004
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posted
I agree that adding dimension lines manually is a chore, but I would guess for a majority of sign folks that this is required on only a small minority of the sign proofs that we do.
Another seemingly rather obvious point, but one I will make anyway, is that once you draw & print to scale, & identify the scale, then you may draw in a few simple height & width dimensions... but (assuming use something standard) you don't need to clutter up your drawing with the heights of every line of copy. You can use your architect scale to measure anything on the page.
posted
CadTools does more than that, you actually draw to a scale, so you click on the box tool, it asks for a specific size--or the cad tracker to change a sign size to an exact width or height. or change your scale on the fly or on different layers when showing mounting detail on a different scale, a really cool tool for dimensioning out copy for application of vinyl or hand lettering, why bust out a scale onsite, when you can do it before the install.
-------------------- Rick Chavez Hemet, CA Posts: 1538 | From: Hemet,CA U.S.A. | Registered: Jun 2001
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quote:Originally posted by Rick Chavez: ...a really cool tool for dimensioning out copy for application of vinyl or hand lettering, why bust out a scale onsite, when you can do it before the install.
Rick, coming from a few years of intense all day drafting before computers... I'm sure I would love the cad-tools programs. I've admired some incrediblly complex sign plans you have posted, but my comments are more for a typical sign shop:
If you draw up a nice looking layout by eye, measuring only when concerns like material conservation require it, printing it out to scale without any dimension lines gives you the option of scaling it later & saves the time (for those of us without cad-tools)of figuring it out in advance.
quote: a really cool tool for dimensioning out copy for application of vinyl or hand lettering, why bust out a scale onsite, when you can do it before the install.
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