Take measurements of your Map in Surfer

1. Select the map and click Map Tools | Map Tools | Measure.
2. Click on the map and draw the line or area you want to measure. As you draw, the length and area are displayed in a Measure window that appears.
3. Double click to end drawing.
4. Press ESC on the keyboard to end measure mode. The item drawn is removed from the map. The Measure window is still open. You can copy/paste the results from that window, change the measurement units, or close it by clicking the red X in the upper right corner. You can also add the measure area geometry to a Base layer by clicking Options | Save Geometry to Base Layer.

Alternatively, you can draw polylines, polygons, rectangles, rounded rectangles, or ellipses in a base layer over the map. Surfer automatically calculates the length and area for polylines and polygons in a base layer. This works well if you want to measure lengths and areas and want the measured area or line to be displayed on the map. Exact steps are:

1. Select your existing map and click Home | Add to Map | Layer | Empty Base.
2. Select the new empty Base layer in the Contents window.
3. In the Features tab, click either Insert | Polyline or Insert | Polygon. You may also use a spline polyline, rectangle, rounded rectangle, or ellipse.
4. Draw your object over the map. Create as many objects as you wish.
5. When you are done, press ESC on the keyboard to exit drawing mode.
6. Select one of the drawn objects and in the Properties window, click the Info tab. 
7. Set the Coordinate system to Map or Local and the length and area results are displayed.
8. If you wish, you can change the units the geometry fields are displayed in by clicking on the value, then choosing your preferred units from the list.

Updated September 2023