To display the approximate area of a given surface enable " Face Info: Area". With " Edge Info: Length" activated any 'edge' element selected in the 3D View displays the corresponding information - an edge can be an actual edge selection or paired vertices at either end of an edge Note also that "Mesh Display" properties are assigned per-object, they are not 'global' settings so have to be enabled per-item as measurement information is needed. Upon activation the active element(s) will display the corresponding information in the 3D View.Įdge Info: Length - displays the end-to-end length of a selection determined as the distance between terminating vertices.Įdge Info: Angle - displays the pitch, roll and yaw average relative to a selections general orientation only.įace Info: Area - displays the total surface area of a face, triangle or Ngon selection - requires whole selection (does not display until surface is fully selected).įace Area: Angle - displays the degrees or radians angle between bounding elements - selecting a triangle quad (face) or Ngon, measurement will display at connection between terminating vertices.ĭesign note: if no selections are made in the 3D View when an option is activated, the next time an element is selected the appropriate information will be shown. With the panel now open scroll down to the " Mesh Display" and under the " Edge Info:" or " Face Info:" sub-sections left-click select the checkbox(es) for any single or combination of options - " Length", " Angle", " Area" etc.
To display " Mesh Display" properties, with an Object selected in the 3D View, " Tab" into Edit mode and select an element (edge, face or at least two corresponding vertices), then press " N" to open the 3D Views " Transform" tool shelf. Similarly switching " Units" to " Imperial" the values attributed to " Mesh Display" data change appropriately to show 'imperial' based measurements - again although still decimal it's important to note Blender CANNOT display true fractions so display is broken down into decimally placed numbers Edge Length, Edge Angles & Face Area ^ Shown above for example selected edges are displayed as " 2m", the " m" referring to "Metres" ("meters") Switching " Units" to " Metric" changes the way " Mesh Display" data appears - although similarly decimal in nature as units, placement in and around the decimal point has meaning with respect to the unit being represented.
It's non-representational (it means nothing beyond itself) and is decimal in nature so " Mesh Display" values appear as simple decimally placed numerical values, i.e. 2.5" not 2 1/2" - Blender cannot display true Imperial fraction symbology.Ĭlick here for more information on Blenders Metric and Imperial Units system.īlenders default " Units" system is " None", which uses a fixed reference, 'unit'. Note also that values are shown as decimal values, Imperial in particular displays as decimal fractions, i.e.
Additionally, measurement in both " Degrees" and " Radians" are not affected by " Units" choice. This will depend on the version of Blender used. With the above in mind then, using the default Scene Cube this might mean an individual edge selection in Edit Mode displayed as being " 2", " 2m" or " 2.187yd" long a face as an area of " 4", " 4m 2" or " 4.374sq yd" and so on depending on whether the " Units" system is set to " None" (default), " Metric" or " Imperial" respectively for linear measurement.ĭesign note: when " Imperial" units are set the length of an edge selection as exampled above may read as " 6.562'" (6.562 feet) or either " 6' 6.52"" (6 feet, 6.52 inches) or " 6' 6.7"" (6 feet, 6.7 inches), if " Separate Units" are active, rather than " 2.187yd" as shown. In other words when using " Mesh Display" four main points should be kept in mind 1) they are assigned per-Object 2) only appear in Edit mode 3) are based on active selections and 4) displayed relative to the "Units" system.ĭesign note: measurement information being based on selection prevents render and resource overload where too much ancillary text and line data is drawn to screen at the same time as other UI and Scene data. Overall " Mesh Display" is essentially a visual aid, it serves no purpose beyond being informational. What is Mesh Display ^Īs briefly mentioned in the introduction, " Mesh Display" is a property group, a collection of options associated with the 3D View than can be enabled as a means to turn on/off the display of certain types of distance and angle related measurement data.
#Blender change font size how to#
knowing how to manipulate the Scene, activate options etc.
A basic understanding of Blender is assumed for the user to get the most from the below material, i.e.