To navigate to the Measuring Tool, open up the specific Project you wish to use the Measuring Tool with, then lokk n the left hand side of the screen. Here you will see a number of Menus/Headers, look for the Measuring Tool and click it.
Once you've opened up the Measuring Tool you will be greeted by this page:
I know this may` look quite daunting and confusing at first but let's cover each aspect of the UI in, their uses and break down the different components for each section of this page.
Canvas (Purple/Middle) – This is the area you will spend most of your time interacting with. This is where you will be see your uploaded image, drawing your Mark Ups, etc.
Menus (Red/Left) – This is the area where you will be switching between menus and see their corresponding details. This includes menus such as User Tools, Pages, Export, etc.
Toolbar (Blue/Top) – This is where you will find all your Tools that you will use to interact with the Canvas and create your Mark Ups.
Layers (Yellow/Bottom) – When you create your BOQ's/Charges they will appear in this area and this is where you will switch between them to assign Mark Ups to the individual BOQ's/Charges.
Settings (Pink/Right) – This is the area where you will see your Scale, Contingency Margin settings, Current Selected Tool Settings, etc.
Status (Green/Bottom Right) – This area is where you will see what Resolution your Page was uploaded at and the details of your currently selected BOQ/Charge.
Let's have a quick look at the different Menu Options we have on the left hand side:
BOQ Tool – This is where you will see all the details relating to the current BOQ/Charge that you have selected in the Layer section and can update the Project Tools attributes.
User Tools Library – This is where you can select a pre-existing Tool and either update its attributes or create a brand new User Tool and add it to your User Library.
Pages – This is where you will be able to see all pages uploaded to this specific project and swap between them.
Totals – This is where you will be able to see all the Total Calculations for the current page that you're on.
Export – Once you've completed a project, this is where you will go to Export your finalised Mark Ups to prepare them for delivery to your Client(s).
Tasks – This is where you can add Tasks for this Project. Tasks are Page specific and can also be used like a checklist so it's great for making notes.
Back – This exits the Measure Tool and takes you back to the Projects Charges Table.
If you want to understand each menu item further look for their respective guides where we break each one does in more detail.
Next, let's have a look at the Toolbar at the top of the Page. This is where you will find all the different types of Tools you can use to interact with the Canvas and Mark Ups. Let's go through what each option does:
1 – Canvas Info – This is an info icon, hover over this icon to learn about some shortcuts you can use when interacting with the Canvas.
2 – Point To Point (P) – This is the main Tool you will use when using Measure Tool Types. This allows you to place 2 separate points and it will connect the 2 points with a straight line and calculate the Surface Area (depending on the Tool Type you are using).
3 – Rectangle (R) – Similar to the Point To Point Tool, you can select 2 points, except this time it will create a rectangle between the 2 points you placed. You will be able to universally manipulate this rectangle.
4 – Items (I) – This is the Tool you'll use when you're using an Item Tool Type. You will be able to place an "Item" and the system will create a total count based on how many "Items" you've placed.
5 – Pan (V) – The Pan Tool is used so you can click & drag to move around the Canvas. Alternatively you can also use the Middle-Mouse Button as a shortcut to save having to change to this Tool.
6 – Select (S) – This Tool is the one you will use when you want to select or highlight any Mark Ups on the Canvas.
7 – Cut Out – This Tool only works with the Surface Area Tool. Once you've drawn a Surface Area on the Canvas and you select this Tool you can use it to create a minimum of 3 points and it will connect each point together, anything within these 3 points will be removed from the Surface Area.
8 – Rectangle Cut Out – Similar to the Cut Out Tool, you place 2 points within a Surface Area that has been drawn and it will create a rectangle and remove anything from the Surface Area within the rectangle.
9 – Enable Area – This Tool will enable you to highlight a certain area of the Canvas and grey out the rest of the Canvas. This is good for when you have multiple buildings/levels on a single page but are only working on one building/level. Once you've Enabled an Area, this button will become "Disable Area". Simple click this when it is "Disable Area" to remove the Area you have drawn.
10 – Ruler (M) – This Tool allows you to select 2 points and it will display the distance between the 2 points (only after the Scale has been set).
******11 – Toggle Flip Axis –
12 – Flip Page Shapes – Flip everything on the Canvas on a Vertical Axis (not Incl. the Background Image).
13 – Flip Selected Shapes – Flip the selected Shape on a Vertical Axis.
14 – Deconstruct – Will "break" any selected rectangle object so that you can move all 4 points independently rather than universally.
15 – Combine – This Tool will combine 2 overlapping Shapes into a single Shape.
16 – Break Out Line – This Tool will allow you to select a Line of a Shape and extract or Break that Line out to be it's own independent Shape.
17 – Move Shape(s) To Back – This will move the selected Shape behind all other Shapes.
18 – Move Shape(s) To Front – This will move the selected Shape in front of all other Shapes.
19 – Delete Selected Shapes (Del) – This will delete the selected Shape.
20 – Undo (Ctrl + Z) – This will undo your last Canvas Edit.
21 – Redo (Ctrl + Shift + Z) – This will redo your Last Canvas Edit.
22 – Zoom To Page (Shift + +) – This will zoom the Image out so you can see the entire Image on the Canvas.
23 – Zoom to Width (Shift + -) – This will zoom the Image in so the entire Canvas will be filled by the Image.
24 – Zoom Out (Ctrl + -) – Zooms the Image out by one step.
25 – Zoom In (Ctrl + +) – Zooms the Image in by one step.
26 – Zoom Slider – This allows you to manually slide the zoom slider so that you can more accurately set the Image size on the Canvas.
Next on the Toolbar is the Annotations and Legend Tools.
1 – Free Text – This allows you to draw a rectangle and write a note within said rectangle.
2 – Point To Point – This allows you to draw a Point To Point line. You can also close the Shape to create a Highlighted Area.
3 – Rectangle – This allows you to draw a Rectangle Shape which can be manipulated universally.
4 – Ellipse – This allows you to draw an Ellipse Shape.
5 – Call Out – This allows you to place 2 points which will create an arrow which leads a Rectangle Shape where you can write a note within.
6 – Legend Toggle – This allows you to toggle the Legend on/off for the current Page.
7 – Show Measurement Column Toggle – This allows you to toggle the Measurement Column on the Legend on/off for the current Page.
8 – Move Legend – This enables you to move the Legend around the Canvas.
9 – Legend Size Slider – This allows you to increase/decrease the overall size of the Legend.
10 – Legend Column Size Slider – This allows you to increase/decrease the size of the Description column on the Legend.
11 – Apply Legend Settings To All Pages – This applies all your current settings of the Legend on the Current Page to all uploaded Pages.
Now let's take a look at the Settings on the right hand side of the screen.
First is the Scale portion. This is where you will first set the scale when you first upload a page, reset the scale if needed, adjust the Unit Types, update the Precision, update the Contingency Margin (%) or apply your current Scale settings to all you uploaded pages.
Below the Scale options is the Selected Shape(s) section.
This is where you will see the current totals of the selected measured areas as well as the Height settings for the Selected Shape(s). This is where you can also update the Selected Shape(s) Height settings.
The final section is the Active Tool section. This is where you will see all the current details of the Tool you currently have selected, such as, the Tool name, type, colour(s), and Product information relating to the Tool.
Underneath the Settings section is the Status section. This portion of the page is where you will see the current Pages Resolution, the currently selected BOQ's Environment, Sub-Location 1, Total Units and the date it was created.
The final section is the Layers section. This is where you will see each Sub-Location 1, BOQ's, and other important details/functions, let's go over them now.
1 – Collapse All/Expand All – This option will Expand or Collapse all Sub-Location 1 Headers.
2 – Show Inactive/Hide Inactive – This option will show or hide any Inactive BOQ's in the Layer section.
3 – Toggle Edit Annotation – This will toggle on/off the Annotations Toolbar options and your ability to interactive with Annotations.
4 – Add New BOQ – This button will allow you to Add a New BOQ to begin drawing on the Canvas.
5 – Save Page – This will save your current work which will update the BOQ's with your most current measurements and if you were to exit the Measuring Tool, when you open it again you will pick up from the last save point.
6 – Current Page Status – This portion of the Page will show you the current status of the Page. This means if you're setting the scale you will see a "SETTING SCALE" header to let you know. Otherwise you will see the associated Sub-Location 1 for the Page.
7 – Hide Background Layers – This setting will hide all other Layers except for the Active Layer.
8 – Grey Background Layers – This setting will Grey out all other Layers except for the Active Layer.
9 – All Layers – This setting will display All Layers.
10 – Layers View – This will display all Sub-Location 1's and BOQ's with their Editing Functions.
11 – Totals View – This will display the measurement and financial totals for each Sub-Location 1 and BOQ.
12 – Sub-Location 1 Header – Each Sub-Location 1 will be broken up by a header, here you can collapse or expand individual Sub-Location 1's. If you have selected a BOQ within a Sub-Location 1, that Sub-Location 1 will be highlighted by a slight Grey.
13 – Currently Selected BOQ – The currently selected BOQ will be highlighted by a Black Bar so you know exactly which BOQ/Layer you're working on.
14 – BOQ's – Here you will see all other BOQ's associated with the current Project.
15 – Add New BOQ to Sub-Location 1 – This button will allow you to Add a New BOQ with this specific Sub-Location's details pre-filled out.
16 – Edit Sub-Location – This will allow you to edit this specific Sub-Location 1's details.
17 – Deactivate Sub-Location – This will allow you to Deactivate this specific Sub-Location 1 (and all associated BOQ's).
18 – Clone Sub-Location – This will allow you to Clone this specific Sub-Location 1 (and all associated BOQ's).
19 – Update BOQ – This will open up a pop-up window which allows you to see and edit details associated with the selected BOQ.
20 – Deactivate BOQ – This will allow you to Deactivate the selected BOQ.
21 – Clone BOQ – This will allow you to Clone the selected BOQ.
There is a lot to take in all at once, take things slow and be patient with yourself as you try to learn the system. We recommend checking out the other guides where it breaks down each portion of the Measure Tool, their functions and uses down in much more details.
Have Fun and Happy Measuring!