We’ve added a new feature that helps you find the perimeter of a shape in PowerPoint with correct units and scale.
We were working on a floor plan for a warehouse the other day and wanted to figure out how much fencing went around an area. We needed to know: how long is that? What is the distance required to go AROUND it? This has many applications.
For example, you may be working on a plan and need to know how much fencing goes around an enclosure area. Or how long the strings of Christmas lights need to be. Or what the distance of a race course on a map will be. There are dozens of uses for finding the perimeter of a shape!
Google Maps provides some helpful functionality for this with their Distance calculator features. But if you’re working in PowerPoint, this can be very hard to find! Let’s dive in to how to figure this out in PowerPoint with the help of SimpleDim.
Or, watch the video here:
What Perimeter and Circumference Are
Let’s go back to geometry for a moment. What are Perimeter and Circumference exactly?
They both measure the linear distance around the outside edge of something. For example, let’s say we have a square with each side equal to 20 feet:
The perimeter is the distance around the outside edges; each edge is 20′; there are four edges; so the perimeter is 20 + 20 + 20 + 20 or 80! For a square, the perimeter calculation is 4 * (Edge length). A rectangle’s calculation is 2L + 2H; for other parallelograms or prisms or polygons, the sum of all the edges will give the perimeter.
For circles or ellipses, the distance around the outside is called the “circumference.” For a circle, this is calculated as 2 * π * r, where r is the radius of the circle. The perimeter of an ellipse is more complicated. From Wikipedia, we can see it goes into integral math for the solution:
Nonetheless it can be calculated to an approximation.
Triangles are another shape with challenges. Equilateral triangle perimeters are calculated as 3 * L (side length). Isosceles triangles may be calculated as 2 * L1 + B. Other triangles may need to be calculated from the positions of their vertices on a plane if the side lengths are not known.
Freeform shapes are very useful to know perimeters of. These will allow you in Powerpoint to make your own custom shapes covering different parts of a diagram or plan, and then find the perimeter. Need to know the distance of a track around a lake? No problem! There are formulas to calculate the distance between each vertex on the shape and add up the distances to give you the perimeter.
Likewise, simple line lengths are useful to know, too. They are calculated by taking the coordinate positions of the end points and calculating distance by making the line the hypotenuse of a triangle as shown below::
Fortunately, SimpleDim takes all of this calculation and turns it into one easy button for you: Find Perimeter.
Find Length Of A Line Or Path
“Find Perimeter” also has another function: when used on an open shape such as a line or freeform line, it will tell you the length of the path!
You could use this for finding distances of many things: specific paths, routes, walkways, irregular shapes… virtually any specific segment is something you could find the length of.
This makes SimpleDim a very useful tool for planning and diagramming over screenshots, PDF plans, and other drawing types.
How To Use Find Perimeter In SimpleDim
Using “find perimeter” in SimpleDim is easy.
First, set a scale. Then click on and select a shape. The command takes rectangles, triangles, ellipses, lines, and freeform drawings.
Then click the SimpleDim tab on the ribbon. Find the “Find Perimeter” button and click it!
Look for the P (for Perimeter) or L (for Length) value to appear in a textbox above the selected shape.
It’s that easy.
And if you want to resize the shape, the perimeter measurement will update too. Select the shape, grab a vertex, and move it to where you want it and the measurement will automatically update.