posted
I need a way to measure the length of a curved (compound) line in coreldraw. ie. how long is the line in a spiral... I'm not sure if it can be done directly, but I know some genius out there has a way...
-------------------- Mike O'Neill
It has yet to be proven that intelligence has any survival value. - Arthur C. Clarke
posted
Mike, How about printing it out (using an easily calculable scale) then use one of those little wheeled dials you can push along a map to check distances. Not elegant I know but, sometimes analogue gets the job done
-------------------- Arthur Vanson Bucks Signs Chesham, Buckinghamshire, England arthur@buckssigns.co.uk -------------------- Posts: 805 | From: Chesham, Bucks, England | Registered: Mar 2002
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Mike, I was hoping some Corel wizard would jump in here and tell us both how to do what you ask without leaving CorelDraw. You might, for instance, be able to lay a very tight grid over it and count the squares and come close. Sounds tedious.
You can export your file to ai or eps, take it over to Composer, and measure it there.
If you save ai use the ai 1.1 option.
If you don't have access to Composer, I'm sure many people here including me would be happy to import your file and measure it for you. Vic G
PS - are you doing a material calculation?
-------------------- Victor Georgiou Danville, CA , USA Posts: 1746 | From: Danville, CA , USA | Registered: Dec 1998
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sorta like measuring a belt off you lawn mower....hehehehehehe. i havent seen anything in corel that will do that....corel will measuer from point A to B but not on a curve.
-------------------- joe pribish-A SIGN MINT 2811 longleaf Dr. pensacola, fl 32526 850-637-1519 BEWARE THE TRUTH.....YOU MAY NOT LIKE WHAT YOU FIND Posts: 11582 | From: pensacola, fl. usa | Registered: Nov 1998
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A spiral is representing something 3D in almost all occasions. I don't think that you can physically measure it accurately in corel draw. A math genius would know the process of calc. I assume you are trying to figure the length of material for a project, or having some fun with us. Either way, great question..
-------------------- "Don't change horses in midstream, unless you spot one with longer legs" bronzeo oti Jack Davis 1410 Main St Joplin, MO 64801 www.imagemakerart.com jack@imagemakerart.com Posts: 1549 | From: Joplin, MO | Registered: Mar 2000
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Mike, You could: A.Lay a circle of corresponding size over each complete turn of the spiral, do a 3.14 x diameter of each circle and add 'em up. B.Subtract the difference of size of each circle, do a 3.14 x difference. Subtract B from A and get a pretty close approximation. Or call NASA, I think they may use a more accurate trajectory formulae for getting the space shuttle out in orbit.
-------------------- Larry
Elliott Design McLemoresville, Tn.
If you can't find the time to do it right, where you gonna find the time to do it over? Posts: 486 | From: McLemoresville, TN. USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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If you use CorelDraw 10, you can install the "Measure Perimeter" script from IsoCalc http://www.isocalc.com/cooltools/index.htm and that will measure line lengths as you describe. Other than that, I sometimes use Autocad LT to select an object and type in AREA, which will give you both the area and perimeter length of a line or object.
-------------------- Bob Darnell London, Ontario, Canada
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Corel doesn't have any way of measuring the radius of a curve. Depending on the Corel version your using, there is an add in tool that will do just that but only works with version 10.
Check out the download page at IsoCalc. Scroll down the page to find a tool called Measure Permeter. In fact, check out all the tools at their site. Some pretty helpful stuff.
-------------------- Dave Johnson Saltsburg, PA
724-459-7240 Posts: 228 | From: Saltsburg, PA | Registered: Dec 2001
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On second thought, Corel does allow you to measure the length of compound curves if you don't mind doing a bit of work. Enter a line of periods with the text tool that is estimated to be several inches longer than your curve. Select the text (periods) and the curve then use the fit text to path. Corel will fit all the periods it can around the edge of the curve at their actual kerned spacing, it will truncate or remove any excess periods. Count the periods. Now enter two seperate periods at the same point size as the originals, select them and use the object parameter box (width-height) to see the length (width). Multiply this times the number that it took to fit on the curve. Ain't life simple when you look at it from an idiot's point of view.
-------------------- Larry
Elliott Design McLemoresville, Tn.
If you can't find the time to do it right, where you gonna find the time to do it over? Posts: 486 | From: McLemoresville, TN. USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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Hi Mike, I'm not sure I want to admit it in public, but this is what I ended up doing. Print a scaled down version of the spiral, lay a cooked piece of spaghetti ( the string wouldn't stay in place ) along the line, break it off and measure it. It took me about 4 hours to come up with this after the geometry book I have drove me nuts, sometimes it takes a little insanity, but it worked.
-------------------- Rik Russell, RIK THE SIGNWRITER Innisfail, NQ. Australia rikthesignwriter@msn.com Posts: 28 | From: Innisfail, NQ. Australia | Registered: Jun 2003
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-------------------- "Are we having fun yet?" Peter Schuttinga DZines Sign Studio 1617 Millstream rd Victoria BC V9B-6G4 Posts: 521 | From: Victoria BC | Registered: Mar 2002
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