zzTakeoff Glossary — Features, Tools & Functionality

New to zzTakeoff, or onboarding someone who is? This glossary defines the features, tools, and functionality you'll run into across the platform — in plain language, grouped by what you're trying to do.

CORE CONCEPTS

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Workspace: Your organization's main environment inside zzTakeoff. A workspace is where your team collaborates, manages projects, and controls who has access. Company-wide settings, shared templates, and custom properties live at the workspace level.

Project (also called a Job): A specific job or construction estimate inside a workspace. A project holds the uploaded plan sheets, all takeoff data, and the resulting quantities for that job.

Plan Sheets (Pages / Drawings): The drawings or blueprints uploaded into a project — typically PDF construction drawings — that you measure from. Each single page can be referred to as a page, sheet, or drawing.

Takeoff: The process of measuring and counting items directly from plan sheets to generate quantities for construction materials and labor. "A takeoff" also refers to an individual measurement object you create — such as one area, line, or count.

Quantities: The measured results generated from takeoffs — square footage, linear feet, counts, volumes, and so on — used for estimating materials, labor, and project costs.

Scaling (Page Scale): Setting the correct measurement reference for a plan sheet so takeoffs are accurate. You define a known dimension (or pick a standard architectural scale) and zzTakeoff converts on-screen distances into real-world sizes. Always confirm the scale before measuring.

Section: A distinct shape or run within a single takeoff. One takeoff can contain multiple sections — for example, one "Carpet" area takeoff drawn across several rooms — and each section can override properties inherited from its takeoff.

Properties: The data fields attached to a takeoff — name, color, measurement type, wall height, depth, cost type, and more. Properties feed formulas and reports, and cascade from the takeoff down to its sections and items.

Custom Properties: Workspace-defined fields you add alongside the built-in properties — for example a "Wall Height" input or a Yes/No checkbox — which behave exactly like built-ins and can be referenced in formulas.

Cost Type: A classification on takeoffs and items — such as material, labor, equipment, subcontract, or other — used to organize where estimate dollars come from.

WBS (Work Breakdown Structure): Organizational codes applied at the takeoff level that can be inherited across assemblies, formulas, and items (with override capability), so quantities roll up into the structure your estimate uses.

TAKEOFF TOOLS

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Area Tool: Measures the total area of a space by tracing its perimeter — click sequential points around a boundary, then close the shape by clicking the starting point or pressing Enter. Totals are calculated automatically and stored for estimating.

Linear Tool: Measures lengths — walls, pipe runs, trim, wiring — by clicking along a path on the plan. Variations can add width, depth, or wall height to also produce areas and volumes from one drawn line.

Segment Tool: A linear-style tool that measures in individual straight segments, useful when you want each piece counted and reported separately (segment counts) rather than as one continuous run.

Count Tool: Counts individual items — fixtures, outlets, doors, footings — by clicking each one on the plan. Each click places a symbol (circle, square, diamond, star, and more) and increments the point count.

Arc Tool: Adds curved segments to line and area measurements. Press A while drawing, then click points to define the curve; the arc previews and adjusts as you move your cursor. Multiple arcs can be used within a single measurement.

Area Cutouts: Tools for subtracting openings or exclusions from a measured area — measure multiple cutouts within the same area and zzTakeoff automatically calculates the net area.

Auto-Snap: Drawing assistance that snaps your clicks to nearby lines and points on the drawing, making tracing faster and more precise.

Ortho: Drawing assistance that constrains lines to horizontal and vertical directions, keeping walls and runs square while you trace.

Vertices / Points: The clickable nodes that define a takeoff's shape. You can edit an existing takeoff by dragging points, or adding and removing vertices — totals recalculate automatically.

Hotkeys (Keyboard Shortcuts): Keyboard shortcuts that speed up drawing and navigation — for example, A activates the Arc tool mid-drawing and Enter closes a shape. A current list is maintained in the zzTakeoff documentation.

MEASUREMENTS & GEOMETRY

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Measurement Type: A setting on each takeoff that controls what it calculates. A plain area gives square footage; variations add wall height, depth, or slope to produce wall areas, volumes, and slope-corrected quantities from the same drawing.

Wall Height: A property that extends a measurement vertically — an area with wall height also reports wall area (perimeter × height); a line with wall height gives you the face area of a wall from a single drawn run.

Depth: A property that turns flat measurements into volumes — an area with depth yields cubic quantities for things like slabs, footings, and excavation.

Sloped Measurements: Measurement types that correct plan-view (flat) measurements for slope — essential for roofing, ramps, and grading. Slope can be entered as pitch (rise/run), degrees, or grade percentage, or derived from elevations.

Pitch / Rise & Run: The steepness of a slope expressed as rise over run (e.g., 6/12). zzTakeoff uses it to convert flat measured lengths and areas into true sloped quantities.

Hip / Valley Measurements: Specialized linear measurement types for roof hips and valleys, including versions that account for two different slopes meeting at the line.

Manual Measurements: Measurement types that let you type quantities directly (area, linear, counts, volume) instead of drawing them — handy for items known from schedules or specs rather than the drawings.

Net Area: The measured area minus its cutouts — what remains after subtracting openings, voids, or excluded zones.

Measurement Slots (Measurement 1–3): Each takeoff carries up to three measurement values (for example area, perimeter, and count) that can be shown in labels and legends and referenced in formulas.

MARKUP & ANNOTATION

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Annotations (Markups): The umbrella term for drawable elements that communicate rather than measure — clouds, arrows, notes, highlights, and callouts placed on plan pages.

Dimension: A tool that displays the measured distance between two points directly on the drawing, with sloped and hip/valley variants for true-length dimensions.

Triangulate: A tool for locating a point from two known distances — draw from two reference points and the tool shows where the distances intersect.

Pitch Marker: An annotation that displays a slope on the drawing as a pitch, an angle, or both.

Scale Marker: The on-page object created when a page is scaled — it records the reference distance used, including whether it was AI-detected and human-verified.

Cloud: The classic revision cloud — a bubbled outline drawn around part of a drawing to flag it for attention.

Highlighter & Highlighter Box: Freehand and rectangular highlighting for emphasizing parts of the plan, with adjustable color and opacity. Highlighter boxes can also carry hyperlinks.

Note: A text box placed on the drawing with font, color, and background options — like a sticky note on the plan. Notes can include hyperlinks.

Callout: A text box with a leader line (ending in an arrow or circle) pointing at a specific spot on the drawing.

Arrow: A simple directional pointer for drawing attention to a location on the plan.

Rectangle & Ellipse: Basic shapes for boxing or circling regions of the drawing, with fill, border, and opacity options.

Label: An on-drawing tag attached to a takeoff that can display its name, section, geometry, measurements, and items — so quantities are readable right on the plan.

Legend: An auto-generated table placed on the drawing summarizing takeoffs and their quantities — sortable, with customizable columns and headers.

Bookmark: A saved view of part of a page that you can return to or reference — bookmarks can also be displayed elsewhere via the Image tool.

Hyperlink: A clickable link placed on a drawing that jumps to another sheet or page (or a custom target) — useful for cross-referencing details and schedules.

Image: Places an image on a page — from a URL, another page, or a bookmark — for example to show a detail view alongside the plan.

QR Code: Generates a scannable code on the drawing linking to the current page or a custom URL.

Overlay (Plan Comparison): Layers one page over another with color-coding for additions and removals — the fast way to spot what changed between drawing revisions.

ESTIMATING & PRICING

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Item: The final product linked to quantities — a material, labor, equipment, subcontract, or other cost line. Items carry details like cost, price, units, SKU, item number, and description, and can come from internal databases or external sources.

Formula: A calculation rule applied to a takeoff that converts measurements into item quantities — for example turning square footage into sheets of drywall. Formulas reference takeoff properties in brackets (like [Area] or [Wall Height]) and support math and unit conversion.

Formula Builder: The tool for writing formulas, including conditional logic in the form if([Property] condition value, result_if_true, result_if_false) — so quantities can change automatically based on properties. Formula results must be numeric.

Assembly: A group of formulas (and their items) applied together as one unit — measure once and generate every related quantity, like a wall assembly producing studs, plates, drywall, and insulation from a single line.

Template: A reusable, saved configuration of a takeoff tool or assembly — presets for materials, dimensions, formulas, and settings you can apply in any project. Right-click a configured takeoff and "Save as Template" to reuse it everywhere; templates can be shared company-wide.

Inputs / Variables: Adjustable values on formulas and assemblies (like stud spacing or wall height) that you set when applying them, so one assembly flexes across different conditions.

Yes/No Switches (Checkboxes): Custom properties that act as checkboxes in formulas — Yes evaluates as 1 and No as 0 — for turning parts of a calculation on or off per takeoff.

Waste %: An item-level factor that grosses up calculated quantities to account for cutting loss, breakage, and overage.

Round Up To Nearest: An item-level setting that rounds calculated quantities up to purchasable increments — full sheets, whole boxes, even bundle counts.

Lists (Product Lists): Workspace databases of products/records that items can link to via dropdown selection, keeping pricing and product data consistent across estimates.

AI & AUTOMATION

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AI Page Renaming & Renumbering: AI reads the title blocks on your plan set to rename pages and identify sheet numbers — with user-guided assistance and batch processing — eliminating manual page setup.

AI Scaling (Batch Scaling): AI-assisted scaling that sets drawing scales in seconds, supporting metric and imperial units and standard architectural scales, including scaling many pages in one pass. AI-detected scales can be human-verified.

Auto Count: Automation that finds and counts repeated symbols on a drawing for you — select an example and let the software locate the matches, instead of clicking every instance.

COLLABORATION & SHARING

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Real-Time Collaboration: Multiple team members can work in the same workspace, project — even the same takeoff — simultaneously, with changes appearing instantly for everyone.

User Presence: Indicators showing who else is currently in the project and what they're working on, alongside tracking of changes made.

Shared Templates & Assemblies: Company-wide libraries of templates, assemblies, and custom items that sync in real time across the team, standardizing how everyone takes off work.

Cloud-Based Access: zzTakeoff runs in the browser with projects stored in the cloud — access your takeoffs from anywhere, on any machine, with no files to pass around.

IMPORT, EXPORT & REPORTS

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Excel / CSV Export: Exports takeoff data and quantities to Excel or CSV for use in spreadsheets and estimating systems.

PDF Export: Exports marked-up plan pages and results as PDF for sharing with clients and field teams.

PlanSwift Migration: Import support for bringing existing PlanSwift work into zzTakeoff, easing the switch from desktop takeoff software.

Bluebeam Import: Import support for Bluebeam data, so existing markups and takeoff work can carry over.

Reports: Built-in summaries of takeoff quantities, material calculations, and labor — organized, filterable views of project data ready for export.

INTERFACE & NAVIGATION

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Top Navigation Bar: Home of the workspace dropdown (switch projects, edit project info, open workspace settings), search, layout controls, notifications, account management, and help resources.

Left Sidebar: Project and plan navigation — browse project folders, access and organize plan sheets, group drawings, and move between pages.

Plan Viewing Area: The main canvas displaying your drawings, with zoom and pan controls, takeoff selection, and support for extracted or cropped pages.

Takeoff Tools Panel: The palette holding the measurement tools (area, linear, segment, count) plus annotation tools — your starting point for every measurement.

Reports & Data Area: Where quantity summaries, material calculations, and takeoff data are organized and prepared for export.

Page Groups: Organizational grouping for plan sheets in the sidebar — keep architectural, structural, and MEP sheets tidy in large plan sets.