Drawing Measureby Wattlebase
No drawing open
Files

Open a drawing to start measuring

PDF, PNG, JPG, TIFF or a screenshot. Drag files here or paste with Ctrl+V.

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Customize toolbar

Drag to reorder (or use the arrows), untick to hide a tool. You can also drag tools directly on the toolbar, or right-click it. Keyboard shortcuts keep working for hidden tools.

Calibrate scale · drag to move

You can still zoom (scroll) and pan the drawing to read the dimension.

Help & shortcuts

  1. Open a drawing — File ▸ Open file, Open folder (Files panel on the left), drag files in, or paste a screenshot (Ctrl+V).
  2. Set the scale — Scale tab. Calibrate from a dimension you know (most accurate), type the ratio (e.g. 1:100 @ A1), or read it from the title block.
  3. Measure — use Trace route (T) to follow a drawn line between clicks, Auto-pick (G) for one-click lines and shapes, or draw with Line, Polyline, Curve and Arc.
  4. Review — the Measure tab lists every measurement with totals. Drag a box in Select mode to total or delete a group.
  5. Export — File ▸ Export to CSV, Excel, or a marked-up PNG/PDF. Save measurements to continue later.
Select (V)

Click to select. Drag a measurement to move its dimension line up/down like CAD — the measured points stay fixed; drag the label to slide it along. Drag a box: left→right selects items fully inside, right→left selects anything touched. Drag a point to reshape; double-click to add a point; Alt+click a point to remove it; Alt+drag moves the whole measurement.

Quick menu (right-click a measurement)

A ring of options like SolidWorks: ↑ Move up, ↓ Move down, ← → move left/right, plus Reset position, Delete, Hide and Rename. Click an option, or right-click and flick toward it to run it straight away.

Pan (H)

Drag to move around. Also right-drag, middle-drag or Space+drag in any tool.

Auto-pick (G)

Hover to preview, click to measure a line, curve or shape. Exact on PDFs from CAD; closed shapes also give area. Shift+click adds pieces to the selected pick.

Trace route (T)

Click the start, the end and any points in between — it follows the drawn line between your clicks. Best on busy drawings.

Line (L) · Polyline (P) · Curve (C) · Arc (A)

Draw by hand. Points snap to the drawing; hold Shift for 45° angles. Finish polylines and curves with Enter, right-click, double-click or ✓ Finish.

Calibrate (K)

Click both ends of a known dimension and type its real length. The drawing stays zoomable while you enter it.

Tools
Select / Pan
V H
Auto-pick / Trace route
G T
Line / Polyline / Curve / Arc
L P C A
Calibrate
K
Drawing
Finish polyline / curve / route
Enter or right-click
Remove last point
Backspace
Cancel / deselect
Esc
Lock to 45°
hold Shift
Snapping off (temporary)
hold Alt
Selection & view
Quick menu on a measurement
right-click (or right-click + flick)
Move dimension line / label
drag line / drag label
Select all / delete
Ctrl+A Delete
Add to selection
Shift/Ctrl+click or drag
Nudge selection
←↑→↓ (Shift ×10)
Undo last
Ctrl+Z
Zoom / fit
scroll, + − F
Pan
Space+drag, right-drag
Previous / next page
PgUp PgDn
Open file / help
Ctrl+O ?
  • Accuracy: calibrate from the longest dimension you can find, and zoom in when clicking its ends — the magnifier helps.
  • PDFs from CAD contain the real lines: Auto-pick and Trace route are exact. Scanned PDFs and images are traced from the pixels (typically within ~1%).
  • Printed at a different size? If the title block says “1:100 @ A1” but the PDF is A3, pick A1 next to the ratio.
  • Busy or coloured plans: prefer Trace route and add a point in the middle if it takes the wrong line. Check what is recognised with Detection ▸ Show detected lines.
  • Group totals: drag a box in Select mode — the Measure tab shows the total length (and area) of the selection.
  • Your toolbar: drag tools on the left toolbar to reorder them, right-click it to hide a tool or move it to the other side, or use Customize toolbar (slider icon) — Reset to defaults is always there.
  • Several drawings: open a folder in the Files panel; each file keeps its own scale and measurements while the app is open. Use File ▸ Save measurements to keep them.