Settings
Settings has six tabs. Most people set them once and never return, so this page exists for the day you need to find something specific.
| Tab | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Performance | Rendering quality, memory and cache |
| Region Settings | Default values for new drawings |
| Advanced | Export limits, diagnostics and data management |
| License & Activation | Your license and device activations |
| Support | Reporting an issue |
| About | Version, system and legal |
Performance
Section titled âPerformanceâRendering
Section titled âRenderingâQuality controls how much detail drawings are displayed with. Higher quality makes fine lines and small text easier to read and easier to click accurately. Lower quality is faster and lighter on memory.
This does not affect your quantities. It changes what you can see, which changes how accurately you can work, but the measurement itself is governed by the drawing scale.
Raise it when a drawing is dense or you are clicking small targets. Lower it if a large sheet feels sluggish.
Open drawings in Crisp view starts every drawing with Crisp already on, rather than turning it on by hand each time. Worth enabling if your drawings are routinely soft or faint.
Default View sets which view a drawing opens in.
Performance Indicator
Section titled âPerformance IndicatorâShow in app footer displays a live performance readout in the footer. Useful when diagnosing whether a big drawing is straining your machine, and easy to ignore otherwise.
Performance Cache
Section titled âPerformance CacheâControls cached drawing data. Clearing it frees space at the cost of drawings taking longer to open the next time, since they have to be prepared again.
Region Settings
Section titled âRegion SettingsâDefaults applied to new work. Changing them here does not alter anything you have already measured.
| Setting | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Color Tolerance | How closely colours must match for the tool to treat two parts of the drawing as the same area. Range 1 to 50. | 8 |
| Max Pixels | An upper size limit on a single region, which stops a runaway fill from consuming a whole sheet. | Maximum |
| Region Opacity | How solid your takeoff looks over the drawing. Lower it to read the drawing underneath. | 0.9 |
| Unit System | The active unit for all layers. | Metric |
Region Opacity is display only and never changes a quantity.
Unit System changes how quantities are shown, never what was measured, so you can switch between metric and imperial freely.
The same settings are reachable while you work, from Region Settings in the editor. Changing them there affects the current drawing; changing them here sets the default for new ones.
Advanced
Section titled âAdvancedâExport & Upload Limits
Section titled âExport & Upload LimitsâMax Export, Max PDF Upload and Max PTW Import cap the size of files going out and coming in. Raise them if you work with unusually large sheets and hit a limit; the defaults suit ordinary drawings.
Diagnostics & Support
Section titled âDiagnostics & SupportâEnable detailed logging records more about what the app is doing. Leave it off for normal work, and turn it on if you are reproducing a problem for support, since the extra detail is often what identifies the cause.
Export Support Bundle produces a single file of diagnostic logs. It contains no drawings and no takeoff. See Troubleshooting.
Data Location
Section titled âData LocationâWorkspace path shows where your projects are stored, with an option to copy the path to the clipboard. This is the folder your backup needs to cover. See Projects, drawings and your workspace.
Danger Zone
Section titled âDanger ZoneâClear local license data removes the license key from this device and clears all local license information.
License & Activation
Section titled âLicense & ActivationâEverything about your license and which machine it is tied to.
License details shown here include the License Key, License Type, Plan, Status, Expires On, Time Remaining and License ID. Status is colour coded, so an expired or cancelled licence is obvious at a glance.
Device Slots and Seats show how many machines your license covers and how many are in use. Registered Device shows the activated machine, with its Hardware ID and Hostname.
Moving to another computer
Section titled âMoving to another computerâDeactivate this device frees the seat so you can activate elsewhere. It removes the license key from this device and clears the local license information.
Deactivate the old machine first, then activate the new one. If the old machine is lost, broken or already disposed of, contact support, since you cannot deactivate from a computer you no longer have.
Re-check license
Section titled âRe-check licenseâRe-check license with server refreshes your license status immediately rather than waiting for the next automatic check. Use it after a renewal or a plan change so the app picks up the new state straight away.
License File Location shows where the license is stored on this machine.
Support
Section titled âSupportâReport a problem without leaving the app.
Provide a Contact email so we can reply, Describe the issue, and attach files if they help. Attachments can be removed before sending.
The more specific the description the faster this goes. âArea stopped changing after I erased twice on the paving groupâ is far more useful than âquantities are wrongâ. If the problem is reproducible, turning on Enable detailed logging first and attaching a support bundle usually settles it in one round.
Version and updates
Section titled âVersion and updatesâShows the version you are running. Check pixeltakeoff.com for a newer version looks for an update, and Stop reminding me about this version on launch silences the prompt for a version you have decided not to take yet.
Nothing is downloaded or installed automatically. You stay in control of when you update, which matters when a job is mid takeoff.
Operating system, Hostname, and the Electron, Chromium and Node versions the app is built on. Support may ask for these, and they are included in a support bundle anyway.
End User License Agreement, Privacy Policy, Terms of Service and Third-Party Notices.
Common questions
Section titled âCommon questionsâI changed Color Tolerance but an existing area did not change. Correct. Settings apply to new work, and existing regions keep the settings they were measured with. Erase and refill the area if you want it remeasured.
Which setting do I change if drawings are slow? Lower Quality on the Performance tab, and consider clearing the Performance Cache. Hiding groups you are not working on helps too.
Can I move my license myself? Yes. Settings â License & Activation â Deactivate this device, then activate on the new machine. Support is only needed when the old machine is no longer available.
Does changing Unit System affect my measurements? No. It changes how they are displayed. The underlying measurement is unchanged, so you can switch back and forth safely.