Areas, surfaces and voids

Areas measure surfaces on a calibrated sheet: flooring, paint, fireproofing, roofing or allowances. A void uses the same class as an area and subtracts from that class total.

Access and path

Path: project → an active sheet → Cabling / piping → Area mode. A viewer may inspect; an editor or project administrator is required to create or delete an area. Accuracy depends entirely on the sheet scale.

Draw an area and its voids

1. Check the scale against a known dimension. If scale is missing, vertices can be stored but no reliable surface can be calculated.
2. Select Area, then enter a stable class such as Floor — open area. Grouping uses the exact name, so avoid spelling variants.
3. For a positive surface, leave Void / deduction cleared. Click each outline vertex; use Enter or double-click to close. Backspace removes the last vertex and Esc cancels the drawing.
4. For a stairwell, shaft or exclusion, select Void / deduction, keep the exact same class and trace its outline.
5. Check the area key, such as P1-Z001, the square-foot value and the net class total. Imperial or metric settings change display units; the geometry remains the same.
6. Repeat on each active sheet, then review the project total before exporting.

Interpret the results

An area requires at least three vertices. Positive surfaces add together; voids subtract within their class. A void with a different name creates a separate negative total instead. Changing scale recalculates values from the same vertices, so review every area after recalibration. Class totals are project-wide: use consistent class names across sheets, and keep exclusions in the same class as the surface they deduct from.

Disabled sheets are excluded from takeoff and deliverables. The Excel workbook contains an Areas tab, and the cabling and piping PDF can overlay polygons and voids on the plan. There is currently no standalone area CSV in the interface.

Limits and recovery

Vertices of a saved area cannot yet be moved in the interface. If the outline, class or type is wrong, delete the area and draw it again. Avoid self-crossing outlines, duplicate vertices and voids that extend outside their area; they may yield an unexpected result even when the coordinates are valid.

If an area shows ? or is absent from a total, first check the scale, the sheet's active state and the void's class name. Then compare it with the ruler or a simple known area. For linear paths and spare quantities, use Cabling and piping instead.