Does anyone know of a pluggin to read square inches of a selected area?

[Dee Holmes]

We have been manually calcutating this by selecting each spot color and using the calculator for the mulitplication.

The accounting dept. needs this to charge for plates. Before us putting down the square inches, they used to measure to finished product. But plastic stretches usually 1/4 inch. So it's up to us to give square inches of each color now.

There has to be a simpler way.

We output from Quark, but if there's a plugin for Illustrator, I'll do my work at 100% from there.

[Wade_Zimmerman@adobeforums.com]

Good suggestion that would be a useful tool and since AI has calculating capabilities I think it should be possible.

[Dee Holmes]

So, I guess that's a no.

[Dee Holmes]

I meant no work around. Sorry if it sounded rude, Wade. [:I]

[John_Kallios@adobeforums.com]

This could be scripted, and it should be a very simple plugin for someone to create (given the person knows how to create the plugin), is this something your company is willing to pay for?

I do not possess the skills for this but I imagine someone may be willing to do this for a modest fee.

[Dee Holmes]

Like Rick Johnson? I'd convince them to pay. Our department needs this desperately. They don't know how much this is taking away from all our other work.

[Phosphor@adobeforums.com]

Hot Door's CADtools <http://www.hotdoor.com/cadtools>.

Scroll down and look at item #9—the CADtracker Palette.

[Dee Holmes]

But, I'm not going to justify an outrageous amount of money either. So, anyone seriously considering doing this for us, please respond. I know Rick's plugins aren't very expensive.

[Phosphor@adobeforums.com]

If, as you say, you have a regular need for this, the US$249 for the CADtools plugin would be paid for quickly.

[Dee Holmes]

So, you're saying just the CAD plugin is $249?

Not judging, just getting facts.

[Phosphor@adobeforums.com]

Have you poked around the site, or are you waiting for me to do that for you?

:)

[Dee Holmes]

Sorry, Phosphor, missed your post #6. Must have been posting at the same time. Going now.

[Phosphor@adobeforums.com]

Synchronized insomniac forum addicts!

;)

[Dee Holmes]

Don't be mean. I'm trying to follow alot of stuff I'm not even supposed to know yet.

[Phosphor@adobeforums.com]

And in case you or the bosses are sticklers for accuracy, the CADtracker can calculate out to 13/10,000,000 of an inch! (At least version 2 does...)

[Wade_Zimmerman@adobeforums.com]

CAD Tracker tells you the square footage of the scaled plan I guess you could set it ti one inch equals one inch but i think you would need a script.

And I think Rick would be someone who could do this perhaps Doug Habben.

[Dee Holmes]

Sorry if I'm being simple,John, but all I want is to draw a box and have it tell me how many square inches it is. Be it 2.57884 x 2.867 or whatever. I don't want to have to get the box as close to my art as possible and then go to the dimenisions. And then multiply it on the calculator. And then I have to write it on the job jacket.

But if I have to get the CAD plugin for $200, then I guess they can pay me the overtime. $200 I expect a whole program, not a pluggin.

I've heard of Doug Habben, must be from this forum. As I have only heard of Rick Johnson from this forum. Rick is the one everyone goes to for pluggins, but I do remember Doug mentioned berore. Hmmm.....

[Dee Holmes]

Phosphor,

Didn't like the CAD site, sorry. Never dealt with it before. I think that would make it more diffucult than it is already.

Thanx, anyway.

The info pallet gives you the dimentions of the objects you select, so why not add the square inches as well.

[Phosphor@adobeforums.com]

Wade and Dee...

You're not getting what the CADtracker Palette does.

It will tell you the area of whichever object(s) you select.

It's dead simple. It only seems difficult because it's outside your present sphere of understanding. But trust me, it is easy to determine total area. The CADtracker Palette read-out updates as you select objects.

Got a drawing of an amorphously-shaped swimmimg pool?

Select the outline and the CADtracker Palette will tell you the area2 contained within that odd outline, in whichever unit of measurement you specify, out to four place to the right of the decimal point.

How difficult is that?

If you have a bunch of areas, just SHIFT + select them.

The screen shot below ought to show what I'm talking about. It shows total perimeter for both shapes, as well as total area (not for the bounding box, but the shapes themselves.)

If you want to continue to do the math manually, be my guest. But for my time and money, doing what I do, this technology is a savior.

[Wade_Zimmerman@adobeforums.com]

No I understood it I did not see a way for it to do other than scale but this does show that it would do the real measurements of the drawing. Dee this does work for you.

I think why I did not see this is that I do not have the plug in to fool with.

Dee plugins are often in a sense a program that work with in a program.

In this case you only need part of it but it does what you want.

And Dee as hard as this is to believe I actually learnt something from Phosphor what next! 8)

I also see that Cad Tracker is part of CAD Tools which is a program that allows you to do CAD drawings within AI so there is another benefit to it if you have to deal with an isometric drawing from a client or you have a diagram that needs dimensions etc.

I admit Dee the other uses are probably not what you need.