---
title: Showing Dimensions
description: Control when dimensions appear, how wall length and area are measured, and whether angles and extension lines show.
---
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3. [Dimensions](https://support.smartdraw.com/reference?hsLang=en-us#dimensions)
# Showing Dimensions
You can set options related to **Dimensions** in the **Design** tab.
This dialog lets you decide when dimensions should show, how to measure length and area, and more.
### Showing Dimensions
You can choose to display the dimensions of your walls and objects: **Never**, **Only When Selected**, or **Always**.
### Showing Dimensions for Connecting Line or Wall Segments
You have three different options when displaying the length of wall segments or multiple connected polygon lines.
#### **Measure the Distance Between End Points**
Instead of displaying the total length of all line segments, you can also measure and display the distance between end points.
#### **Total Length of Line**
Displaying the total length of the line will add the width of each line segment and display the total.
#### **Display the Length of Each Segment**
You can also choose to show the length of each segment individually instead of the total.
### Display Options
This section lets you set preferences about other display options related to dimensions.
### Showing Extension Lines
Extension lines show the length of wall segments offset from the wall itself so they're easier to read.
You can toggle displaying **Extension Lines** under the **Display Options** of the Dimensions dialog.
The Extension Lines will appear in blue extended away from the wall segment they show the length for.
### Showing and Setting Angles Between Walls
To see the angles between walls in your drawing area select the **Line Angles** box under the **Display Options** of the **Dimensions** dialog.
To change any specific angle, click to select it and type in the new degree value. Any connected walls will adjust accordingly.
### Set How Wall Distance is Measured
The **Measure Wall** section controls whether SmartDraw displays the dimensions of a room based on the **outer edges** or the **inner edges** of the walls. This option only applies when you're working with a fully enclosed space drawn using wall segments. If your selection isn't a closed shape or wasn't created with walls, this setting will appear grayed out.
Walls have a thickness. By default, interior wall are set to be 4" thick and exterior walls are set to 6". This a setting you can adjust under [**Set Wall Thickness**](https://support.smartdraw.com/adjust-wall-thickness?hsLang=en-us) area of the SmartPanel (the panel left of your work area).
**Adjust Wall**
 When you change how to measure walls:
- **From Exterior**: The dimensions displayed reflect the distance from **outer edge to outer edge** of the walls. This measures the entire footprint of a room or structure.
- **From Interior**: The dimensions reflect the distance from **inner edge to inner edge.** This measures the **usable interior space** within the walls.
The default setting to measuring walls is **From Interior**.
For example, assume your walls are 4" thick and you set **Measure Wall** to **From Exterior**, SmartDraw will show a room as 20 feet wide. However, toggling to measure **From Interior**, you'll see 4" inches subtracted from each side (8" total) to account for the wall thickness on both sides of the room and the same room will show as **19 feet 4 inches wide**.
This setting is useful for ensuring your floor plan displays the right kind of measurements depending on whether you're planning a construction (exterior) remodel or layout/interior design (interior).
### Showing the Area of a Room or Shape
To see the area of a shape choose "**Of the Shape**" in the **Show Area** section.
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