Setting and verifying scale

The most important aspect in creating successful takeoff is setting the correct scale for project documents. It is critical that you follow the procedures for setting and verifying scale described in this topic to ensure that the scale set for each plan is correct.

This section contains the following topics:

Understanding scale

When a document plan opens in document viewer, the program extracts the scale from the document properties file and sets the scale in preparation for takeoff. This process is designed to ensure that the scale for the plan is set correctly. If the scale is not set correctly, the scale that you use may not match the plans and any measurements from the drawing are unusable.

Always verify the scale!

You should not assume that the document scale set by the publisher or an extracted scale is correct. This includes any scale that you create and set manually. It is strongly recommended that you always verify and set the correct scale for each page before sending any plans to takeoff.

There are several instances where the extracted scale is incorrect:

The scale cannot be extracted
The extracted scale is incorrect
The scale is set incorrectly by the author
A manually set scale is incorrect
There is no scale set for the plans.

Note: The scale is set to the default of 1/8''= 1' when the scale cannot be extracted.

Setting the system of measurement

You can set the system of measurement to be either imperial or metric. Note that this action converts all existing and future measurements into the selected measurement system.

To set the system of measurement,

Click the gear icon at the top of the document tree. Note that the current system is checked in the tree:

Setting the scale

You must set the correct scale for each page before drawing any takeoff or annotation on the plan. Note that each page can have only one scale.

Notes:

If no scale is indicated on the plans, you can calculate the scale using a known linear. See Calculating the scale to determine the scale for the plan.
If you know the scale notated on the plans to be inaccurate, you can use the set scale wizard to set the scale to your own measurements.
If the vertical and horizontal scale for a plan is not the same, the plan cannot be used for performing takeoff.

To set the scale,

1	With the first plan displayed in the viewing pane, locate and note the scale for the drawing. Note that this is value is commonly located near the title block in the bottom right corner but it can be in any location.
2	Click the compass icon in the top menu bar to open the set scale menu:
3	Click the arrow on the Scale Type menu and select the type for the drawing: Architectural Civil Metric Note: Make sure you use the correct Scale Type selection. The measurement options are different for each scale type.
4	Click to open the Ratio menu: Note: In the drop-down menu for preset scales, The scale currently set for the plan is in bold. A custom scale is marked with an asterisk *.
5	Using the measurement you recorded from the drawing in step 1, select the correct scale for the drawing from the predefined architectural, civil and metric units of measurement. If you are using a custom scale If your measurement is not in the list and you need to create a custom scale, Select Custom Scale from the list to display the custom scale options menu: Enter your custom scale in the boxes.
6	Once you have entered either a preset or custom scale, do you want to apply the scale to all of the plans in the document set? Note: Only select this option if you have verified that all the plans in the set have the exact same scale. If yes, click Apply to all sheets and the click Save. The scale is set. Continue to Verifying the scale to verify that the scale is set correctly for each plan. If no, click Save and continue to the next step.
7	If you are setting the scale for each page individually, return to step one and follow the procedure for setting the scale for each plan. When the scale is set for all plans, continue to Verifying the scale to verify that the scale is set correctly for each plan.
8	Continue to Verifying the scale to make sure that the document has the correct scale.

Calculating and setting the scale using the set scale wizard

The set scale wizard lets you set the scale using your own measurement. Use this feature when you know that the scale marked on the plans is incorrect or cannot be trusted as accurate.

To set the scale using the wizard,

1	Click the compass icon in the top menu bar to open the set scale menu:
2	Click the arrow on the Scale Type menu and select the type for the drawing: Architectural Civil Metric Note: Make sure you use the correct Scale Type selection. The measurement options are different for each scale type.
3	Click on the ruler icon to display the set scale wizard: Result: The Set Scale Step 1 menu is displayed:
4	In the menu, enter the measurement of the known-length linear in the correct format. Tip: For reference, you can click the information i icon to display a list of the formats that you can use, as shown in the following: 123' 4-5/6" (minus between whole and fraction is optional) 123.402' 123ft 4-5/6in 123.402ft 123.45m 12345cm 123450mm Note that you can also use legacy functionality, where the last two digits are read as inches. The total number is displayed in feet and inches as shown in the following examples: 1210 = 12' 10" 824 = 10' 00'' 88 = 7' 04'' 806 = 8' 06''
5	Once you enter the known measurement, the Measure button is activated. Click Measure. Note: If the Measure button is not activated then the measurement format you used is incorrect. Re-enter the measurement format.
6	Using the mouse, draw the known distance on the plan and then click Set Scale. Result: The scale for the drawing is calculated and set and is marked with an asterisk * at the top of the page and in the list of predefined scale options.

Calculating the scale

In some instances the scale for a plan is not indicated or the scale on the plan is not correct. When this occurs you must manually calculate the scale using the measurement of a known linear on the plan.

To calculate the scale,

1	Open the plan in the viewing pane.
2	Locate a known linear on the plan. Notes: Use the longest linear you can find. A longer linear returns better results. If you know that the scale on the plan is incorrect, disregard any scale notated on the drawings.
3	Click to activate the Linear Dimension tool in the toolbar:
4	Using the mouse, click and draw a line along the length of the selected linear. Result: The center of the measurement tool line displays the actual measurement of the selected linear:
5	Make a note of the measurement. Return to the Set Scale menu and enter the measurement that you determined in this procedure.

Verifying the scale

You must verify the scale before applying takeoff items and sending the plan to takeoff.

Always verify the scale!

It is strongly recommended that you always verify that the scale is correct for each page before sending any plans to takeoff.

To verify the scale,

1	Open the plan in the viewing pane.
2	Locate a linear on the plan where you know that the length is accurate. Note that a longer linear returns more accurate results.
3	Click to activate the Linear Dimension tool in the toolbar:
4	Using you mouse, click and draw a line alongside the known linear. Note that the length of the line is displayed in the center of the line:
5	Verify that the number in the center of the dimension tool matches the scale set for the plan. Do the dimensions match? If yes, the scale is set correctly and the plan is ready for takeoff. Continue to Working with web takeoff. If no, and the numbers do not match, return to Calculating the scale.