The measurement tools

Six tools commit a quantity, and they all live on the Home tab, right after Select. Every measurement you commit gets a subject, lands in the Quantity Takeoff tree, and rolls up into live totals. Here's the lineup.

Linear — length along a path

Wall runs, pipe, conduit, curb, baseboard. Click to drop vertices along the path; the running length updates in the label and the status bar as you go. Right-click to finish. Reports in linear feet.

Two linear measurements with dimension labels and LF quantities in the takeoff tree

Segment — each leg on its own row

The same click-along-a-path motion as Linear, but every leg commits as its own row rather than one running total. Reach for it when the estimate prices runs individually — each bay of handrail, each pipe drop — instead of one lump LF figure.

Perimeter — distance around a shape

Slab edge forms, roof edge, fencing. Same drawing motion as Linear, but the shape closes and reports the full distance around it in LF.

Area — surface inside a boundary

Flooring, paint, drywall, paving. Click around the boundary; a live SF readout tracks the polygon as it forms, and a tooltip reminds you of the mechanics: click to add vertices, double-click to close.

Area polygon mid-draw with a live square-footage label and drawing tooltip

Three committed tinted areas with square-footage chips in distinct colors

Volume — area with depth

Concrete slabs and footings, excavation, fill. Draw it like an area, give it a depth, and it reports cubic quantity. A 112 SF break-room slab becomes yards of ready-mix without leaving the sheet.

Count — how many of a thing

Doors, fixtures, receptacles, workstations. One click, one marker, and the tally climbs — all markers under one subject stay grouped in the tree. Counts also power AI detection when you'd rather not click 400 times.

Nine red count markers over workstations with count rows in the takeoff tree

Dimension — a check, not a quantity

Dimension is a markup tool rather than a seventh measuring tool, and it is deliberately not in the list above: it measures, but it commits nothing to the Quantity Takeoff tree. Snap one across a room or a grid bay to confirm a width, or to prove the sheet's stated scale is true before you trust it. The quiet workhorse of accurate takeoffs — just not a row on your estimate.

Drawing mechanics worth knowing

• Click-click or drag-to-draw. Click to place each vertex, or press and drag to draw in one motion — both work on the drawing tools. Use whichever your hand prefers.
• Right-click finishes a run. For multi-point tools, right-click commits what you've drawn. Areas close with a double-click.
• Subject at commit. When you finish, Groundwork asks for a subject ("Framing", "Open Office Flooring"). Name things the way your estimate reads — subjects become the rows you'll price.
• Snap and the status bar. While drawing, the status bar shows snap state and a live readout of the measurement in progress, so you always know what you're about to commit.

Floor plan with areas, linears, and counts, and a fully populated quantity tree