AutoCAD AREA Command: Calculate Area and Perimeter
Calculates the area and perimeter of a region defined by points or a closed object.
- Command
- AREA
- Aliases
- AA
- English name
- Area
The AutoCAD AREA command calculates the area and perimeter of a region you define by picking corner points, or of a closed object you select. The result appears on the command line as Area and Perimeter.
With the Object option you can select a circle, ellipse, closed polyline, region or spline and read its area directly. For rooms and lots, drawing the boundary as a closed polyline and measuring it with Object is the most reliable method.
Add area and Subtract area let you combine several areas or remove openings, such as subtracting shafts from a floor slab. The last area is stored in the AREA system variable and the perimeter in PERIMETER.
How to use it
- Type AREA or AA and press Enter.
- To measure by points, pick the corners of the region in order and press Enter.
- To measure a closed object, choose O (Object) and select it.
- Switch to A (Add area) or S (Subtract area) to work with several areas.
- Read the area and perimeter on the command line.
Options
- Object
- Calculates the area and perimeter of a selected closed object.
- Add area
- Turns on add mode; each measured area is added to the running total.
- Subtract area
- Turns on subtract mode; measured areas are removed from the total.
- Arc
- Adds an arc segment to the boundary when measuring by points.
- Length
- Adds a segment of a given length in the previous direction when measuring by points.
- Undo
- Removes the last point picked.
Notes and tips
- Area is reported in square drawing units; for a drawing in millimeters, divide by 1,000,000 to get square meters.
- An open polyline is measured as if its ends were joined by a straight line, so draw boundaries closed for accurate results.
- The area of a hatch object is also shown in the Properties palette.