An electro-optical handheld distance measuring device for contactless distance measurement, comprising at least • a laser distance measuring module that has a laser source for emitting an optical measuring light beam in the direction of an object, and a receiver for detecting reflected components of the optical measuring light beam, and • an evaluation and control unit for determining a distance on the basis of the received components of the optical measuring light beam, characterized in that • criteria for parameters are defined and stored which are such as to characterize a stipulated distance measurement triggering gesture made by a user to cross the measuring light beam in an encoded fashion with the aid of a test body, whereby the stipulated distance measurement triggering gesture comprises o bringing the test body into a determined close range so that said body also interrupts the measuring light beam, o keeping the test body in the measuring light beam in the close range during a predefined period range and o subsequently necessarily removing the test body from the measuring light beam and from the close range, • the evaluation and control unit is designed to execute a gesture measurement triggering mode in which the detection of reflected components of the optical measuring light beam is performed automatically and continuously at a defined minimum rate by the receiver, and the evaluation and control unit automatically ∘ evaluates the continuously detected reflected components of the optical measuring light beam with regards to the parameters that are dependent on a gesture crossing the measuring light beam in an encoded fashion with the aid of the test body, ∘ uses the parameters to check whether these correspond to the defined criteria and, in the event of correspondence with the criteria, the gesture made by the user is identified as the distance measurement triggering gesture, and ∘ triggers a distance measurement relating to the object in response to an identification of the distance measurement triggering gesture, whereby the evaluation and control unit is designed to execute the gesture measurement triggering mode in such a way to check as a function of a profile of • an intensity, and/or • a change in intensity of continuously detected reflected components of the optical measuring light beam whether the parameters correspond to the defined criteria. • a laser distance measuring module that has a laser source for emitting an optical measuring light beam in the direction of an object, and a receiver for detecting reflected components of the optical measuring light beam, and • an evaluation and control unit for determining a distance on the basis of the received components of the optical measuring light beam, characterized in that • criteria for parameters are defined and stored which are such as to characterize a stipulated distance measurement triggering gesture made by a user to cross the measuring light beam in an encoded fashion with the aid of a test body, whereby the stipulated distance measurement triggering gesture comprises o bringing the test body into a determined close range so that said body also interrupts the measuring light beam, o keeping the test body in the measuring light beam in the close range during a predefined period range and o subsequently necessarily removing the test body from the measuring light beam and from the close range, o bringing the test body into a determined close range so that said body also interrupts the measuring light beam, o keeping the test body in the measuring light beam in the close range during a predefined period range and o subsequently necessarily removing the test body from the measuring light beam and from the close range, • the evaluation and control unit is designed to execute a gesture measurement triggering mode in which the detection of reflected components of the optical measuring light beam is performed automatically and continuously at a defined minimum rate by the receiver, and the evaluation and control unit automatically ∘ evaluates the continuously detected reflected components of the optical measuring light beam with regards to the parameters that are dependent on a gesture crossing the measuring light beam in an encoded fashion with the aid of the test body, ∘ uses the parameters to check whether these correspond to the defined criteria and, in the event of correspondence with the criteria, the gesture made by the user is identified as the distance measurement triggering gesture, and ∘ triggers a distance measurement relating to the object in response to an identification of the distance measurement triggering gesture, whereby the evaluation and control unit is designed to execute the gesture measurement triggering mode in such a way to check as a function of a profile of ∘ evaluates the continuously detected reflected components of the optical measuring light beam with regards to the parameters that are dependent on a gesture crossing the measuring light beam in an encoded fashion with the aid of the test body, ∘ uses the parameters to check whether these correspond to the defined criteria and, in the event of correspondence with the criteria, the gesture made by the user is identified as the distance measurement triggering gesture, and ∘ triggers a distance measurement relating to the object in response to an identification of the distance measurement triggering gesture, • an intensity, and/or • a change in intensity of continuously detected reflected components of the optical measuring light beam whether the parameters correspond to the defined criteria.