The Protractor tool helps measure or create angles. You’ll find the Protractor tool (
) in the following toolbars:
- Construction toolbar
- Large Tool Set toolbar
- Tools menu
- Tool palette (macOS)
The Protractor does not have a default keyboard shortcut.
To measure an angle, select the Protractor tool () and follow these steps:
- The color of the protractor matches the plane you are measuring from. Hover over different parts of your model, or use the arrow keys to pick the plane you want to use when measuring an angle. You can hold down the Shift key to lock the protractor to a specific plane.
Click to set the vertex of the angle that you want to measure.
- (Optional) Tapping Alt (Microsoft Windows) or Command (macOS) frees the protractor from the inferred plane. The angle of the protractor will remain the angle of the original plane, but now you can move the protractor and inference other geometry.
Click where the angle that you want to measure begins.
Tip: You can click and drag from the vertex to the first point to define the axis of rotation. This helps if you need to rotate using a non-standard axis.- Press Esc at any point to start over.
- Move the cursor to measure the angle.
A few things can help you find the right angle measurement:
- SketchUp can handle up to 0.1 of a degree of angular precision.
- Keep an eye on the Measurements Box. As you move the cursor, the angle value appears there.
- Use the protractor’s tick marks. Each one indicates 15 degree increments.
- The distance from the center of the protractor matters. When you are closer, your cursor will snap to the tick marks. When your cursor is farther from the protractor’s center, you can measure in smaller increments.