Setting up a new region

Before your first click, the right panel asks two things: what this is called, and what you want measured. Getting both right up front saves reworking a group later.

Three kinds of takeoff

Tabs across the top of the panel choose what you are about to measure.

Tab	Measures	Named with
Area	Areas, and perimeter or volume derived from them	Region Name
Linear	Lengths, and band areas derived from them	Line Name
Count	Items	Marker Name

All three share the same two basics. The name starts empty and you type it, and a colour is already chosen which you can change by clicking the swatch beside the name.

Name and colour together define a group, and groups carry the totals you price from. Take off the same material under two names and you get two totals, which is easy to half-price by accident.

Each tab also has a gear button opening Measurement Settings for that kind of takeoff, and the settings differ per kind.

Area

Titled Region, for defining area properties.

The summary strip under the name shows what this group will record, for example 𝐴: m² · 𝐵: 2px. It is the quickest way to confirm a group is set up the way you meant before you start clicking.

Area measurement settings

Area is always measured. Perimeter and volume are opt in and off by default. Boundary Adjust is on by default, covered below. Confirm with Save Settings.

Unit System. Metric (m²) or Imperial (ft²), taken from your Region Settings. It governs display only, never what was measured.

Boundary Adjust. Expands or contracts the measured boundary, set in steps with the - and + controls.

On by default

New groups start with Boundary Adjust enabled at +2px, applying to Outer. Areas are therefore measured with the outer edge pushed very slightly outward, which compensates for a fill settling just inside the boundary line it stopped at. You can see the current value in the summary strip on the panel, shown as 𝐵: 2px.

Leave it alone unless you have a reason not to. Turn it off if you want the detected boundary measured exactly as found, and set it consistently across a job either way, since the setting affects the number.

Apply To chooses which edges move:

Setting	Affects
Outer	The outer boundary only. The default.
Cutouts	The edges of holes only
Both	Both at once

The dialog draws what your choice does and states the effect in words, for example that moving the outer boundary outward makes the area grow. Read that line before saving, since it tells you which way the quantity will move.

Use it when fills consistently land a little inside or outside a boundary across a whole drawing. It is a systematic correction, not a substitute for tuning Color Tolerance on one stubborn area.

Caution

Boundary Adjust changes the measured area, because it changes where the edge sits. A group taken off with it enabled is not directly comparable to one taken off without, so decide before you start rather than partway through.

Perimeter. Calculates the boundary length of the region. Turn on Enable Perimeter for edging, kerbs, skirting or mowing strips. It is reported in three parts:

Shown as	What it measures
Pₑ	External perimeter, the outer edge only
Pᵥ	Void perimeter, the edges of holes only
Pₙ	Net perimeter, the outer edge plus the holes

Picture a lawn with two planting beds cut into it. Pₑ is the edging around the outside, Pᵥ is the edging around the two beds, and Pₙ is everything you would actually order.

Volume. Calculates volume from area and depth. Turn on Enable Volume and give a depth: a 120 m² area at 150 mm gives 18 m³. Set it on the group rather than per region, and every region in the group follows.

Linear

Titled Linear Region, for defining a linear measurement. The summary strip reads lu: m, meaning linear units in metres.

Visual Line Width is a slider controlling how thick the line is drawn on screen, in pixels. It is presentation only. A wider line is easier to see on a busy drawing and changes nothing about the measurement.

Linear measurement settings

Unit System. Metric (m) or Imperial (ft).

Line Width. The width of the linear region on the drawing, in millimetres, with a minimum of 1 mm. A preview shows how many pixels that comes to at the current scale, so you can see whether it will read clearly.

H1: Depth. Optional. If set, an area is calculated as length × H1 and shown alongside the linear metres. This is where the A₁ figure comes from.

Use it when a run drives an area as well as a length, for example edging that is priced by the metre but also needs a face area.

H2: Second Height. Optional second height for an alternate area, giving A₂. Use it when one measured run drives two priced quantities, for example a kerb needing both a face area and a bedding area from the same length.

Note

Line Width and H1: Depth are different things. Line Width is how wide the region is on the drawing. H1 is the depth used to turn a length into an area. Setting Line Width alone does not produce A₁.

Count

Titled Count Marker, for defining count marker properties.

Shape picks the marker: tick, cross, circle, box, triangle, diamond, star or plus. Circle is the default.

Use shape deliberately. On a drawing carrying several count groups, giving each a distinct shape as well as a distinct colour keeps them apart when the sheet is printed in black and white, which colour alone cannot do.

The defaults

Setting	Default
Tab	Area
Name	Empty, you type it
Colour	Pre-selected, changeable
Marker shape	Circle
Perimeter	Off
Pₑ, Pᵥ, Pₙ display	All on, once perimeter is enabled
Volume	Off
H1 and H2	Unset
Boundary Adjust	On, +2px, applying to Outer
Unit System	From Region Settings, metric unless changed

Getting the order right

1. Pick the tab: Area, Linear or Count.
2. Type the name and set the colour.
3. Open the gear and turn on what this group needs.
4. Then start clicking.

That order matters, because these settings apply to work done after setting them. Taking off thirty regions and then enabling volume does not retrospectively give the earlier ones a depth.

If you do get it the wrong way round, Edit Group on a saved layer changes settings for the whole group at once, so it is recoverable, just slower than deciding first. See Groups, work in progress and saved layers.

If you see Set the drawing scale first, that is the app declining to measure without a scale. See Setting the drawing scale.