Last updated July 28, 2026
HowFar measures the distance between two points and shows the answer in a dialog box, converted into several units at once. Where AutoCAD’s DIST command gives you a figure on the command line in the drawing’s own units, this gives you the same measurement expressed several ways, in a window you can read properly.
It is by Richard Sandgren, version 1.0, copyright 2000, and at 25 kilobytes of code it is one of the more substantial single routines in this library.
It writes files to your machine
Worth knowing before you run it, because nothing on the download page mentions it. The routine creates two files: its dialog definition, built the first time it runs, and a settings file that remembers your preferences between sessions.
That is a reasonable design — generating the dialog at runtime means the download is one file instead of two, and the settings file is what lets it remember which units you wanted. But it does mean the routine needs somewhere it can write, and that a first run behaves differently from later ones.
If it fails on first run, a write permission problem is the first thing to check.
Full AutoCAD only
It is dialog-driven, and dialog boxes are built with DCL, which AutoCAD LT has never supported. LT 2024 brought AutoLISP to LT without bringing DCL with it, so this cannot run there at any release.
See what runs on AutoCAD LT for the general position. On full AutoCAD there is no issue.
Careful about the settings it borrows
The routine changes two system variables while it works — the linear units precision and ortho mode — and puts both back afterwards, including from inside its error handler. Cancel it partway through and your settings still come back, which is better behaviour than several simpler routines here manage.
The precision change is the interesting one. Measuring a distance and displaying it to your drawing’s usual precision would round the answer; temporarily raising the precision gets you a truthful figure. That is a thoughtful detail in a tool whose whole job is telling you a number.
Command reference
The file defines a single command, HOWFAR. The included install note says to type it after loading and it will prompt for two points before the dialog appears.
How to load it
Unzip Howfar.zip and load HowFar.lsp with APPLOAD, or add it to the Startup Suite. The archive also contains a short install note worth reading, since it explains the runtime-generated files. Our AutoLISP guide covers loading.
Step-by-step usage
- Type HOWFAR.
- Pick the first point. Use an object snap for a measurement you intend to rely on.
- Pick the second point.
- The dialog opens with the distance shown in its various forms. Close it when you have what you need.
On a first run, expect a moment’s pause while the dialog file is written.
Compatibility notes
2000, which makes it one of the newer routines here. It is written with proper error handling and system variable restoration, which suggests an author who knew what he was doing, and that generally correlates with code that keeps working.
The dialog dependency is the limiting factor rather than the age. It measures rather than draws, so nothing in your drawing is at risk from trying it.
Download
| Name: | HOWFAR |
| Description: | A useful and powerful extension of the distance command. |
| Type: | AutoCAD AutoLISP Routine |
| Author: | Richard Sandgren |
| File Size: | 7 Kb |
| Cost: | Free |
| Worked on: | AutoCAD |
| Download File: | Howfar.zip |
Related routines
- ADDLENGTH — totals the length of many objects rather than measuring one distance.
- PDIST — running distances along a polyline.
- LLP Suite — includes its own HowFar command among 81 others.