# Takeoff tools

> Every measuring and markup tool in the workspace viewer, how scale works, subjects, dimensions, the Markups List and exports.

Source: https://automatedconstruction.io/tidy/docs/features/takeoff-tools
Section: Features

The takeoff viewer lives inside a [workspace](https://automatedconstruction.io/tidy/docs/features/workspaces). It runs in your browser, works on large drawing sets, and saves every edit as you go.

## The tool bar

The floating tool bar on the left of the drawing has two rows. Hover it to see the labels.

**Markups**

| Tool | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| Select | The resting tool. [[Esc]] always comes back here. Choose a **Mouse** or **Crosshair** cursor. |
| Select text | Select and copy text printed on the drawing |
| Highlight, Freehand, Text, Cloud, Rectangle | Standard markups |
| Legend | A live table of quantities placed on the sheet |
| Callout | Right-click any markup or measurement and choose **Add callout** |

**Takeoff**

| Tool | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| Scale | Set or calibrate the sheet's scale |
| Area | Click corners to outline a space. Gives area and perimeter. Press and drag on empty space for a quick rectangle. |
| Length | Click points along a run. Finish with [[Enter]] or a double-click. |
| Count | Click once per item |
| Magic Fill | Click inside a room. Tidy traces the walls around it and saves the area. |
| Detect rooms | Traces every room that has a room-number tag on the sheet in one go |
| Symbol Sweep | Box one clean example symbol. Tidy finds the matches on the page, including rotated and mirrored ones, and you click **Commit** to count them. |
| Cut Out | Subtract an opening from an area |
| Dimension | Draw a dimension line. It is a note and adds nothing to totals. |
| Find | Search text on the drawing ([[Ctrl]] + [[F]]) |
| Observations | Show or hide observation pins |

> [!tip]
> Magic Fill and Detect rooms work best on vector PDFs (drawings exported from CAD). Detect rooms skips spaces with no room tag, like corridors, so use Magic Fill on those. When a trace would leak or the linework is too dense, Tidy refuses rather than saving a bad shape.

## Scale

Scale is set per sheet and shared with everyone in the workspace.

1. Click **Scale**, or the **No scale** badge.
2. Pick a **Preset** (for example 1/8" = 1'-0") or enter a **Custom** scale. If the sheet prints its scale, a **Detected on sheet** button fills it in for you.
3. Or click **Calibrate**, click two points of a known length, and type the real distance.
4. Click **Apply Scale**.

If you start measuring with Area, Length, Cut Out, Magic Fill or Dimension on a sheet with no scale, Tidy stops you and asks for the scale first. Count and Symbol Sweep do not need a scale.

When the agent sets a scale, an amber **Agent-set scale, check it** notice appears. Open it to see the evidence, then **Confirm scale** or **Set it myself**.

## Subjects

Every measurement has a **Subject**, such as "ACT-1" or "GWB ceiling". Other takeoff tools call this a condition. Subjects give shapes their colour and group the totals, and your budget links to them.

When you arm a tool, a properties bar shows **Next area** (or length, or count). Set the Subject, colour, unit and dimensions there before you draw. **Set as default** remembers those settings for that tool.

## Height, depth and thickness

Add **Dimensions** to a measurement to get more quantities from the same shape.

| Shape | With dimensions you also get |
| --- | --- |
| Area | Volume = area x (height + depth) |
| Length | Wall area = length x (height + depth), and volume with a thickness |
| Count | Vertical length = count x (height + depth), for example 40 piles x 30 ft = 1,200 ft |

Values accept `9`, `9 ft`, `6"`, `9'-6"` or `2.5 m`.

## The Markups List

The panel at the bottom lists every measurement and markup with its type, subject, page, area, length, label, author and date. Totals show even when it is collapsed.

- Click a row to jump to the shape. Double-click a subject or label to edit it.
- A sparkle badge marks a shape the AI drew. A robot badge with **Revert** marks a shape someone drew that the agent later changed.
- **Recently deleted** lets you restore shapes.

## Saving and undo

Every edit shows at once and saves in the background. The save pill says **Saved**, **Saving**, or **Offline** with a count of unsaved edits that sync when you reconnect. [[Ctrl]] + [[Z]] undoes up to 100 steps, even after a reload. Teammates' changes appear live.

## Bluebeam markups

There is no import button. Open a PDF that was saved from Bluebeam Revu and Tidy brings in its markups and measurements automatically, with their subjects, colours and scale. Bluebeam dimension markups are not brought in.

## Exports

Click **Download** to choose:

| Option | What you get |
| --- | --- |
| Download With Markups | A PDF whose takeoffs and markups open as editable annotations in Bluebeam Revu and Adobe Acrobat |
| Download Without Markups | Clean sheets |
| Flatten Markup | Markups burned into the page |
| Takeoff & Markups (Excel) | One tab per subject, with page, area, length, label, author and date |

You can download all sheets, this sheet, or the sheets you selected.

## Keyboard shortcuts

| Keys | Action |
| --- | --- |
| [[Esc]] | Back to Select, clear the selection |
| [[Enter]] | Finish an area or length |
| [[Delete]] | Delete the selection |
| [[Ctrl]] + [[C]] / [[X]] / [[V]] / [[D]] | Copy, cut, paste, duplicate (works across sheets and workspaces) |
| [[Ctrl]] + [[Z]], [[Ctrl]] + [[Shift]] + [[Z]] | Undo, redo |
| [[H]] or hold [[Space]] | Pan |
| [[+]] / [[-]] | Zoom |
| [[Ctrl]] + [[2]] | Split the view into two panes |
| [[Ctrl]] + [[F]] | Find text |

## Related

- [Run a takeoff](https://automatedconstruction.io/tidy/docs/guides/run-a-takeoff)
- [AI takeoff](https://automatedconstruction.io/tidy/docs/features/ai-takeoff)
- [Build a budget](https://automatedconstruction.io/tidy/docs/guides/build-a-budget)
