Measure areas, angles and counts
The rest of the measuring tools: area and volume, distance, angle, arc, count and symbol search.
- 1
Draw an area
Pick Area, click the corners of the area one at a time and double-click or press Enter to close it. Give it a name in Area name, Concrete slab for instance.
Worth knowing. Area, Fill area, Measure and Arc need the scale to be set. Angle, Count and Find symbol work without it.
- 2
Fill in a depth if you want volume
Type the thickness in metres in the box Depth or thickness in m, so 0,15 for a hundred-and-fifty-millimetre slab. Leave it empty and you only get square metres.
- 3
Let Fill area find the outline for you
Pick Fill area and click a little way inside a closed region. The area is drawn to the outline that is found, with the same name and depth as Area.
Worth knowing. If you are told no clear area was found, the line is broken somewhere. Click more clearly inside, or draw the area by hand with Area.
- 4
Measure a distance without saving a run
Pick Measure, click two points and double-click or press Enter. Click more points if you want to measure along several stretches.
Worth knowing. Measure never changes the scale. That is what the Scale tool does.
- 5
Measure an angle
Pick Angle and click three times: first at the point of the angle, then along each leg. The angle is shown in degrees.
- 6
Measure an arc
Pick Arc and click three points along the arc: start, middle and end. The radius and the arc length are worked out for you.
- 7
Count what is neither run nor object
Pick Count, type what you are counting in the box What are you counting? and click once per thing. Press Done when you have finished.
- 8
Let Find symbol count the rest
Pick Find symbol and drag a box round one symbol. The others like it on the sheet are hunted down and counted as a group.
Worth knowing. If no hits are found the box is too wide. Frame the symbol more tightly and try again.
- 9
Change colour so the measurements can be told apart
The Colour row in the panel sets the colour of the area or the count: Blue, Green, Brown or Purple. The same colour can be changed afterwards from the row in Drawn and measured.
Next steps
- Lay insulation and cut out openingsMeasure the insulation as an area, and take away the bits that are not to be there.5 min
- Hide what you do not want to see right nowTake finished layers off the screen without touching the quantities.3 min
- Set the scale on the drawingTeach the tool how long a metre is on the paper, so every length you draw comes out right.5 min
Do the steps on a real drawing
Open the tool and follow the walkthrough on the sample drawing that is already there. No login needed.
Open the toolStuck on a step? Get in touch and we will gladly look at your drawing.