Inches, units, and the sketch grid

Checked against the official sketching guide (Measurement units) and product notes through SolidCraft v0.25.1 on 28 October 2026 (America/Denver). Desktop builds may move ahead of the hosted web app; when they disagree, prefer the official docs.

Switch the design to inches

In the Browser, open Document Settings and set Units to inches for the current design.
For new designs, set the units preference (Preferences) so the next empty design opens in inches.

Changing units updates how sketch annotations, live drawing lengths and Measure are shown. It does not resize existing geometry. Inches display at least three decimal places and keep a meaningful fourth digit; Preferences can raise display precision further.

Typed lengths and explicit units

Bare numbers in the dimension tool use the current design units. You can still type an explicit unit anywhere:

In an inch design: 0.125, 1 in, or 25.4 mm are all valid.
Expressions and parameters work the same way (2*width, pitch = 0.0625).

While drawing, value boxes accept the same forms. Angular dimensions keep angular units.

No user-configurable grid spacing (yet)

SolidCraft shows a sketch/viewport grid, but there is no Preferences or Document Settings control for grid increment, major/minor ticks, or a labeled scale bar. You cannot set the grid to 8 lines per inch (0.125 in) or 16 per inch (0.0625 in) today.

That gap is tracked upstream as GitHub issue #375 (grid spacing control / scale readout). This guide does not invent a grid setting that is not in the product.

An earlier hands-on note on the hosted web app also saw a fixed ~0.50 mm visual grid while Snap was on — treat that as a display aid, not a spacing you can dial in. Re-check on your desktop build if you rely on grid snaps.

Workarounds for 8/inch or 16/inch layout

Aim for dimensions and construction geometry at the increment you need, instead of hoping the background grid matches:

Dimension to the increment. After switching to inches, place lines or points and dimension them to 0.125 (8/inch) or 0.0625 (16/inch), or define a parameter such as grid = 0.125 and reuse it.
Construction layout lines. Turn on Construction (X), draw reference lines or a small rectangle at that spacing, then constrain or pattern from them. See project & construction.
Typed lengths while drawing. Start a line or rectangle, type the length (or width/height) before confirming so the first stroke already lands on your increment.
Snap to your geometry, not the grid. Use point, midpoint and intersection snaps (and Shift for midpoints) on the construction you placed — see sketch snapping.

Try it

Open a sketch in the web editor (or desktop), set Document Settings › Units to inches, and dimension a construction line to 0.125. Official reference: Measurement units.