nsk@Measure

The \nskMeasure command provides a concise, intuitive, and efficient way to measure distances between nodes within your diagrams, enhancing your ability to precisely control spacing and alignment without manual calculations.

Usage Overview

\nskMeasure serves two purposes:

• Compute: Measure distances between specified nodes along either horizontal or vertical axes.
• Retrieve: Recall the most recently measured distance directly into your document.

Syntax

The general command syntax is:

\nskMeasure[axis=<axis>, from=<node.anchor>, to=<node.anchor>]

Parameters

Example

To measure the horizontal distance from the east anchor of node A to the west anchor of node B:

% Compute the distance horizontally
\nskMeasure[axis=horizontal, from=A.east, to=B.west]
 
% Typeset the measured distance
Distance: \nskMeasure

Step-by-Step Example

Consider two adjacent blocks, A and B. Suppose you want to precisely measure and document the horizontal gap:

\begin{nskFigure}
  \nskBlock[id=A, text-center={A}]
  \nskBlock[last-pos={right=3cm}, id=B, text-center={B}]
 
  % Measure horizontal gap between nodes A and B
  \nskMeasure[axis=horizontal, from=A.east, to=B.west]
 
  % Annotate the measured distance below the blocks
  \node[below=1cm of $(A)!0.5!(B)$] {Distance between A and B: \textbf{\nskMeasure}};
\end{nskFigure}

This example will typeset a neat, documented distance right in your diagram, promoting clarity and precise diagrammatic control.

Advanced Usage

For vertical measurements:

\nskMeasure[axis=vertical, from=TopBlock.south, to=BottomBlock.north]
Vertical gap: \nskMeasure

This flexibility lets you easily handle complex layouts requiring meticulous spacing adjustments.

Integration Tips

• Automatic Alignment: Use measured distances to automate and ensure consistent spacing across diagrams.
• Dynamic Adjustments: Incorporate measured values into layout macros or conditionals to dynamically adapt your diagrams.

Troubleshooting

The utility is designed to robustly handle typical diagram scenarios. However, take note:

• Mandatory Anchors: Ensure that both from and to parameters include explicit node anchors (.north, .south, .east, .west, .center).
• Unrecognized Keys: Unrecognized key-value pairs in the options will produce warnings and be ignored gracefully.

Technical Details

Internally, \nskMeasure:

• Computes the absolute distance along the specified axis using lower-level pgf coordinate calculations.
• Stores the result directly in a $\LaTeX$ length macro (\nskDistance) accessible throughout the document.

Reference