Units & Measurements

When you create a new file in Valence 3D, by default its units are centimeters. This means that 1 grid unit equals 1 centimeter. You can change this using the Scene Inspector.

Scene Inspector

Ultimately, it's up to you to determine what scale you want to work in. You can configure the default units a new file is created with in the File Settings. There are a couple things to consider when working in this way:

Import Units

1. When I import a file, what units should I choose?

Import Sheet

When you import a 3D model, you'll be presented with an Import Options modal sheet that displays an option where you can set the Import Units of the file being imported.

If your valence file is set to use centimeters and you choose meters then valence will automatically convert the units for you so the model will be imported and scaled by 100 to convert meters to centimeters.

To solidify this concept, let's say you're importing a cube that is 1 unit in size. If you choose centimeters as the Import Units then it will show up as 1 grid unit in size (assuming the valence file's units are centimeters). However, if you selected feet as the Import Units, then it will show up bigger than a grid unit since 1 foot is roughly 30.48 centimeters. You can test this by exporting a 1 unit cube from Valence as an OBJ and then importing back into Valence (import units to feet).

Export Units

2. When I export a file, what units should I choose?

Export USD Sheet

When you export a 3D file out of Valence using the Export Options, you'll be presented with a modal sheet that displays an option where you can set the Export Units of the file being exported.

If your file is set to use centimeters and the Export Units are set to centimeters then Valence will not scale the output (unit scalar = 1.0). However, if you set the Export Units to millimeters then valence will scale the output by 10x (unit scalar = 10.0).

Measurements

To measure a mesh or multiple meshes, you can toggle measurements in the Command Palette.

Tap this button to toggle measurements on or off.

Measurement Preview

When measurements are toggled on, Valence will show visual measurement indicators on bounding boxes in the scene that enclose the items in your selection.

The blue local bounding box shows tight measurements of the Active Component.
The pink world bounding box shows axis-aligned measurements of the entire selection.