How to measure distances and angles?
Inkscape does not yet have a dedicated Measure tool. However, the Pen tool can be used in its stead. Switch to Pen (Shift+F6), click at one end of the segment you want to measure, and move the mouse (without clicking) to its other end. In the statusbar, you will see the distance and angle measurement. Then press Esc to cancel. The angle is measured by default from 3 o’clock origin counterclockwise (the mathematical convention), but in Preferences you can switch this to using compass-like measurement (from 12 o’clock, clockwise). Starting from 0.44 we also have the Measure Path extension that will measure the length of an arbitrary path.
