A Watch Point to Objects watch window will display deviations between an instrument’s probe position and either a single object or the closest of a set of objects. It can easily be added to any individual object by simply right-clicking on the object in the graphics and selecting Add Watch Window.
Like a query, a watch window will automatically account for probe offsets in its distance comparisons, and probe compensations are applied based upon the Projection Options set in the windows properties
If the object you are comparing to is a line, SA will by default override target offsets to zero, since comparing the center of a probe to a line is far more common than comparing a compensated point to a line.
Adding a watch window to a Frame provides an added benefit if you have a 6D probe in that it will open a 6D watch window. This will report the relative distance and change in orientation of the instruments probe with respect to the selected frame.
When multiple objects are selected, the closest object to the probe’s current position is compared. As the probe moves, the object com- pared against may change, but the Collection and Object name of the object being compared to will be displayed in the Watch Window.
This watch window is a variation on a watch point to objects in that it uses a second reference for offset compensation. The watch will project the current live point position to the reference object(s) by an amount corresponding to the live point offset value in the direction opposite the reference objects normal.
The data for this resulting point is then displayed relative to the measured object(s). This can aid greatly in situations where the curvature of the reference surface makes the center of the reflector a bad choice for comparison.