Measure tools

Every measure tool, in one place.

Take off lengths, areas, volumes and walls on any PDF drawing in real units. Snap to the drawing's own lines, fill a room in one click, and type a command instead of hunting through menus.
Riverbend-Sample.pdf · five rooms measured
Redpen with five rooms of a floor plan filled and measured, 691.48 SF selected, and a total of 2,473 SF in the markups list
S-02.1WalkthroughPro

A room measured in one click.

  1. 01

    Fill the room

    Dynamic Fill: click inside a room and Redpen traces the walls, fills the area and labels it with its result. Enclosed holes become cutouts, and you can drag a corner to adjust the outline.

    A floor plan with four rooms along the top and the waiting room filled grey with red area labels: 439.3 SF, 451.44 SF, 451.44 SF, 439.31 SF and 691.48 SF
    Riverbend-Sample.pdf · rooms filled
  2. 02

    Read the result

    The Properties panel gives the result, 691.48 SF here, and says which scale it was measured at. Dimension lines can be switched on.

    Properties of an area measurement: result 691.48 square feet, measured at the page scale, 1/4 inch = 1 foot
    Properties · Waiting 106
  3. 03

    See the total

    Every measurement is in the markups list, with a total area at the top: 2,473 SF for these five rooms.

    The markups list: total area 2,473 SF over five area markups, 439.3, 451.44, 451.44, 439.31 and 691.48 SF
    Markups list · total area
S-02.2What it doesPro

What it does.

Length, polylength, perimeter
Straight runs, runs with turns, and the outline of a shape, with dimension-style labels.
Area, with cutouts
Area and rectangle area, with cutouts and rectangle cutouts for openings and shafts. Net area never goes negative.
Volume
From an area and a depth, for slabs and footings.
Wall area
From a run and a height.
Angle, radius and diameter
For corners and curved work.
Dynamic Fill
Click inside a room or any closed shape. It traces the walls and turns enclosed holes into cutouts.
Footings
A measure tool for footings, alongside volume.
Snapping
To ends, midpoints, centres, intersections and more. Open on every plan, and it works on every markup, not only measurements.
S-02.3How it goes

Measuring a sheet.

  1. 01
    Set the scale

    Run Autoscale, calibrate against a dimension you know, or pick a preset.

  2. 02
    Measure

    Pick a tool from the Measure tab, or type it in the command bar (/ or Ctrl+K). Snapping keeps each point on the drawing's lines.

  3. 03
    Total and export

    Totals add up by item in the Takeoff panel. Export them to Excel or CSV.

S-02.4Also

Around the tools.

  • Cutouts for doors, windows and openings
  • A depth for slabs and footings
  • Command bar: press / and type a command, or a length like 12'6"<45
  • Totals by item, exported to Excel or CSV
S-02.5Limits

What it does not do.

  • Every measure tool needs a scale. On a sheet that reads Scale: not set, set one first.
  • Dynamic Fill works best on a closed room. If the room is open to the rest of the sheet, close the gap in the wall or draw the area by hand.
  • Snapping follows the lines in vector PDFs. On a scan you can still measure once the scale is set, but points go where you click.
S-02.6Questions

Measure tools: short answers.

Which measure tools does Redpen have?
Length, polylength, perimeter, area with cutouts, volume, wall area, angle, radius, diameter, footings and Dynamic Fill, with snapping. All the measure tools are Pro.
Do I need a higher plan for perimeter, volume or Dynamic Fill?
No. They are all Pro, and Team has Pro on every seat.
Does snapping work on scanned drawings?
Snapping follows the lines in vector PDFs. On a scan you can still measure once the scale is set; points go where you click.
RelatedPDF takeoff Autoscale AutoCount Every tool, by plan

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