Probe features manually. Use auto-accept and auto-calculate to control how PowerInspect calculates the measurement.
When you Probe geometric items manually, the Feature Probing dialog records the points and controls the measurement of the feature. The dialog shows the name of the item and the effective diameter of the probe.
The information area displays instructions as you probe the feature. The Number Of Points field indicates the current status of the measurement:
- Red. You must take more points to complete the measurement.
- Orange. You must complete probing before PowerInspect can calculate the feature. This applies only when auto-calculation is disabled.
- Green. You have probed the required number of points to calculate the feature measurements.
Use auto-calculation to probe features manually
Auto-calculation lets you use a probe path to manually probe a feature. The Number of Points Taken indicator has a red background until you probe the minimum number of points required to calculate the feature. The number of required points depends on the type of geometric item.
After you probe the minimum number of points auto-calculation requires to calculate the feature, the counter background changes to green. As you probe more points, PowerInspect calculates the feature and shows the points in the CAD view. However, probing is not complete until you probe all points in the point path.
Without auto-calculation, the Number of Points Taken indicator remains orange until you take all points. After you probe the final point on the probe path, PowerInspect closes the Feature Probing dialog, calculates the geometric item, and displays the measured feature in the CAD view.
Use auto-accept to probe features manually
Auto-accept saves a measurement as soon as you probe the minimum required number of points. PowerInspect then continues with the next item in the inspection sequence.
To use auto-accept, you must select both Auto-Accept Enabled in each item's definition dialog and the Auto-Accept option in the Feature Probing dialog.