L3DD’s focus on actually building objects makes it important to be able to accurately measure distances and angles in three dimensions.  In addition to the precise lengths and angles shown in L3DD’s Plan View, the user can make accurate measurements directly in the 3D View.  The results are displayed in the  ‘Rad Dis Ang’ panel in the Status Bar.

Radius   In L3DD the ‘radius’ of a point is the straight-line distance from the origin to the point.  A radius is measured by first clicking with the left mouse button on L3DD’s dark-blue background and then on a vertex diamond, vertex handle, edge handle or face. An edge is identified in the Status Bar by the two adjacent vertex numbers (separated by a dash).  The radii of edges and faces are measured to their median center points.

Intervertex Distance   To measure the straight-line distance between any two vertices, left-click on the background and then on each vertex handle (or diamond) in turn.  Both vertex numbers are displayed in the Selection Panel in the Status Bar -- the first one selected is the one in brackets.  The straight-line distance is displayed in the rightmost panel, the ‘Rad Dis Ang’ Panel.  The first illustration shows a soccer ball that has been cut in half.  A distance of 226.358 units has been measured across the interior of the ball, between two vertices.

Interfacial Angle   The solid angle between any two faces can be measured by left-clicking on the background and then on each face in turn.  The faces need not be adjacent.   The two face numbers and their interfacial angle are displayed in the Status Bar.  The second illustration shows an interfacial angle of 142.62 degrees that has been measured between two adjacent faces of a soccer ball cut in half.

Interedge Angle To measure the angle between two adjacent edges, left-click on the handles of each edge in turn.  The edges must meet, but they do not have to belong to the same face.  The third illustration shows an interedge angle of 120 degrees, measured on a hexagonal face of a soccer ball.