Property lines and/or seeing a line's length automatically

[TheoryDesign]

Is there a way to see the length of a line or polyline while it is still being drawn without having to hit the "tab" bar to pop up a separate window (in which to manually enter a dimension every time)? It seems like an automatic feature in most other CAD/BIM programs, which eliminates a lot of extra clicks. I'm guessing it is simply a visibility setting but I can't find a reference or answer to this anywhere.

 

My purpose is to outline properties & lots, in case there is a dedicated tool for that which I'm also missing. "Property line" searches don't turn anything up on this.

 

Either way answers to both items greatly appreciated.

[Chopsaw]

2 minutes ago, solver said:

Status bar.

 

The line angle seems to respond to a change in Number Style but not the length.  Is that what you are seeing ?

 

Not very helpful for surveys normally done in Decimal Feet.

 

23 minutes ago, TheoryDesign said:

It seems like an automatic feature in most other CAD/BIM programs

 

Chief has Input Line and Input Arc tools that they recommend for survey use but it depends on your preferences if these are beneficial for you or not.  Sometimes it is easier to just turn on the Length and Angle setting for a cad line and set it up for the beginning and then continue on by dragging a new line using the last edit handle and it will have the label already turned on for you but there does not seem to be a default for this since it is only normally used for plot lines.  If you decide to do this having your start and end indicators turned on are quite helpful for fine tuning.

[Joe_Carrick]

In the Polyline dbx check the boxes:

• Show Length
• Show Angle

They will then be displayed and automatically updated as you edit them.  Note that this can only be done for each individual Line, Arc, or Polyline in its dbx.  There is no default to make that setting - it's stricly on an individual object basis.

 

The format of the display is specified in the CAD Defaults.