Newbie Illustrator question > how to specify the dimensions of an object

[lamina]

Hi all.

I'm pretty new to Illustrator. I've been teaching myself for the past 6 months or so.

I'm stumped.

Alright. I wan to make a grid of lines, in a perfect square.

So, I start with 1 line, 50mm in length, 0 degrees of rotation. I want 8 lines total, so I copy and paste an identical line. I put that line on top of the original, and use the Move command to move it 2mm vertically.

I repeat that until I have 8, 3pt lines, evenly spaced by 2mm.

Now I want to change the line lengths to make it so the box is as wide as it is tall. I grab the handle to the right, and drag it. It shows that it is 14.03mm in height. I try to make it 14.03, but IT SIMPLY WONT LET ME. I can get to 14.02, but never 14.03.

Is there a way to specify the width of an object that I'm adjusting horizontally?

Also, when I scale the darn thing, make it bigger or smaller, I hold the shift key to keep the aspect ratio, but the lines never end up to line up.

I've attached a photo. Sorry for the wall of text, but I've been stumped for a couple of weeks on this one.

 

[UTclassof89]

Click the page with the Rectangle Grid tool and enter the number columns and rows.

 

[lamina]

Click the page with the Rectangle Grid tool and enter the number columns and rows.

Wow. Boy do I feel stupid. I was using lines. Argg.

Thank you, friend.

 

[UTclassof89]

We've all been there!