How to do a takeoff from a PDF
A takeoff is just a structured count and measurement of what's on a drawing. With CountTooling you do it straight on the PDF — no printing, no exporting to another tool first. Here's the whole workflow.
1. Upload your plan PDF
Open the app and drop in your plan set. Each page becomes a sheet you can mark up. If a sheet came in sideways, rotate it so it reads the right way up.
2. Set the scale
Before any measurement means anything, calibrate the drawing. Pick the Set Scale tool, click two points a known distance apart (a dimension line, a door width), and enter the real-world length.
- Working with a sheet that has details at a different scale? Add a scale zone around that region and give it its own scale.
- Repeating areas (typical floors, identical units)? Drop a multiply zone so everything inside it is counted the right number of times.
3. Count your fixtures
Choose a counter — or make your own with a custom icon and color — and click each fixture on the plan. The tally updates live as you go. Group related counters together to keep a busy sheet organized.
4. Measure the runs
Switch to Line or Polyline to trace pipe, conduit, or any linear run. CountTooling reads the real length off the scale you set. Use arcs for curved runs and drops where a run changes elevation. Need a quick one-off distance? The Measure tool gives it to you in two clicks.
5. Annotate
Add highlights and notes to flag anything that needs attention, and turn on the grid with snapping for clean, aligned lines.
6. Review the summary
The on-canvas legend shows your counts and lengths by type as you work. Open Show Report for the full breakdown across pages and canvases.
7. Export and share
When you're done:
- Export PDF with your markup, the takeoff report, and any highlights and notes baked in.
- Copy to PipeTooling to drop the counts straight into a bid, or copy a summary for email — tab-delimited and ready to paste.
That's a complete takeoff — counted, measured, reported, and shared, without leaving the browser.