Measuring runs with lines and polylines

Just need to check a distance? You don't have to draw anything: at any time, pick the Measure tool (or press D), click two points, and read the distance — nothing is added to your takeoff. See Quick one-off distances at the bottom of this guide.

Once the scale is set, CountTooling can turn any line you draw into a real-world length. That's your linear takeoff — pipe, conduit, trim, anything that runs.

A measured run drawn across the plan; its real length appears in the legend alongside the counts.

Every run belongs to a line type — a named template with a color and a straight-or-curved style. Make one for each kind of run you're measuring (waste, vent, conduit) so the totals break down by type.

The Create Line Type dialog: ① name it, ② choose straight or curved, ③ pick a color.

Straight lines

The Line tool is a two-click straight run: click the start, click the end. The length is read off the page scale and added to the total for that line type. Tap the tool again to start a fresh line.

Polylines

For a run that bends, use the Polyline tool and click each vertex along the path; finish to close it out. The total length is the sum of every segment, so a service line that weaves across the sheet measures correctly in one shape.

Arcs and drops

Real runs aren't always flat or straight:

Arcs — line types can be set to curve, so a sweeping run is measured along its arc, not a straight chord.
Drops — give a line a start or end drop to account for vertical rise or fall between floors. The vertical footage is added into the length, so risers and stacks count. Set them in Line Properties (right-click the line), with ±1/±10 buttons for quick entry:

Line Properties for a waste line: a 3-foot start drop added to the run, with quick ±1/±10 adjusters.

Reading drops back

On the sheet, a drop is a small ringed marker at the end of its run — but the ring alone doesn't say how much. Two ways to read the number without opening anything:

Point at it. With the Move tool, hover over any drop marker — or tap it on a touch screen — and a chip pops up naming the line type and the drop, in the unit you entered it: "3 ft drop", "6 in drop". A click pins the chip in place; clicking, scrolling, or pressing any key dismisses it. Where two runs meet end-to-end, the shared point carries its drop once, so the chip always shows one unambiguous value.

Tapping a drop marker peeks its size: a chip names the line type and the drop distance.

Label them all. The Drop sizes button in the header (next to the Hide-marks eye; in the menu drawer on a phone) writes every drop's size right on the sheet, in the same small white chips the length labels use. It's off by default so a dense plan stays clean, only appears once the project actually has drops, and your choice is remembered on this device.

The Drop sizes toggle on: every drop marker carries its size on the sheet, and the header button lights up.

Both are reading aids, not markup: they never ride into exports, prints, or reports, and they work in view-only links too — so a GC or inspector can read your risers without asking.

Keep lines clean

Snap to 45° angles (press J) locks every segment to horizontal, vertical, or a 45° diagonal — the angles real pipe and conduit runs actually take — so your takeoff looks as tidy as the plan.
Turn on the grid with snapping when you want lines to follow a regular module.

Quick one-off distances

Just need to check a dimension without adding it to a takeoff? The Measure tool gives a distance in two clicks. If those two points fall inside a scale zone, it uses that zone's scale automatically.

With counts and runs both on the plan, you're ready to review and export.