Need to use precise measurements in Illustrator

Thanks, everyone, for sharing your insights. It’s really interesting to learn more about the tools we all use every day. I’ve also come to realize that, when it comes to graphic design, extremely high levels of accuracy rarely make a visible difference.

Zenen,

Here is what Teri (Pettit) wrote long ago about actual accuracy, still live here in our forum thanks to Doug, who posted it here,

Certain rival vector graphics applications, such as CorelDRAW for example, will allow objects to be sized out to 6 decimal places and positioned on the canvas to the same numerical input (that app’s default setting only goes to 3 decimal places). However, precision to 6 or more digits seems to be a bit iffy. A 6” tall object will often end up being 5.99993” or something like that. The same can go for coordinate positioning. It’s easy to waste a lot of time getting object sizing and positioning right on the money. I don’t know if Adobe Illustrator would be affected the same way. But it’s clear every vector graphics app has its limits on how large a canvas can be, how deep you can zoom into the canvas and how precise object sizing and coordinate positioning can be. Nothing is infinite in these apps.

Zenen,

At least for this case, you can forget all about many decimals and just leave it to Illy (job description Adobe Illustrator) to get it right as I always do.

You can just insert 513/64 in the Transform palette and enjoy her giving you the exact size regardless of the number of decimals shown.

It also applies to many cases with an infinite number of decimals such as 25/3 for 8 1/3 (eight and a thirdendeal).

In this case the same applies to the entering of your six decimals as described by Abhishek.

You can even check out the accuracy of either way on the Work Area.

​@Zenen Eguia 

Hi ​@Abhishek Rao,
I'm needing to input an exact measurement of 8.015625 ft into the Transform panel to adjust the size of a canvas. As you mentioned, Illustrator rounds the displayed value to the nearest available precision, showing 8.016 ft instead. I also exported the file to PDF and verified the dimensions there, but the measurement is likewise rounded to 8.016 ft. The original value does not appear to be retained in any visible output.

Illustrator 30.8.2
OS: macOS Tahoe Version 26.6.2

Thanks for your help!

​@Zenen Eguia You may want to add your vote here:

https://illustrator.uservoice.com/forums/333657-illustrator-desktop-feature-requests/suggestions/32532658-consistent-and-or-customizable-number-of-decimals

Hi ​@Zenen Eguia,

Thanks for reaching out!

Illustrator currently displays up to four decimal places in the Transform panel, and there isn't a preference to increase the number of displayed decimal places beyond this limit.

However, you can enter precise measurements directly in the Transform panel (Window > Transform), even though the displayed values may be rounded.

You can refer to helpx documentation here:
https://helpx.adobe.com/uk/illustrator/desktop/get-started/learn-the-basics/enter-values-in-panels-and-dialog-boxes.html

Could you please confirm your Illustrator version and operating system? Also, are you looking to display more than four decimal places or experiencing inaccuracies when entering precise measurements?

If your requirement is to display additional decimal places, I encourage you to submit a feature request on our Illustrator UserVoice page and share the link here so others can upvote it.

Looking forward to your response!
Abhishek