Editing Existing Takeoffs

Editing existing takeoffs allows you to refine and correct the automatic results generated from uploaded drawings. Automatic takeoffs provide a strong starting point, but accuracy is achieved by adjusting boundaries, cleaning up elements, and organizing quantities to match your estimating standards.

This article explains how to edit automatically generated takeoffs inside the takeoff tool in Contractor Foreman.

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Accessing the Legend

All automatically generated takeoff elements are managed from the Legend tab on the left panel.

The Legend organizes detected elements into folders such as:

• Spaces
• Objects
• Walls

Each folder contains editable elements created during the drawing upload process.

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Editing the Footprint

The Footprint represents the overall building boundary detected by the system.

In this example, the footprint does not properly include the front porch. The goal is to adjust the footprint so it reflects the correct building area.

1. Activate the Select Objects tool on the right side of the screen.
2. Click the footprint to select it.
3. Once selected, the perimeter is highlighted, and control points appear along the boundary.
4. The footprint name, area, and perimeter values are displayed for reference.

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Removing Control Points

To exclude an area such as a porch:

• Click on the control points you want to remove.
• As points are deleted, the footprint perimeter updates automatically.

This allows the footprint to represent only the desired building area.

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Adding and Adjusting Control Points

To include additional areas such as a porch or exterior steps:

1. Zoom in for accuracy.
2. Click along the footprint edge to add new control points.
3. Drag each point to the correct location on the drawing.
4. Remove unnecessary points to keep the boundary clean and manageable.

This flexibility allows precise control over what is included in the footprint.

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Editing Walls

To edit wall takeoffs:

1. Turn off the Footprint in the Legend.

2. Enable the Walls folder to display detected wall lines.

Some detected elements may not belong in the wall category, such as decking or railings.

To remove them:

• Use the Select Objects tool.
• Click and drag to select the unwanted elements.
• Press Delete on your keyboard.

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Adjusting Wall Lines

Wall geometry can be refined directly on the drawing.

• Select an existing wall line to reveal its control points.
• Drag points to align the wall precisely with the drawing.
• Add new points by clicking along the line and dragging them into position.

This allows you to clean up wall alignment, center walls, or refine openings for better accuracy.

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Adding New Walls to the Correct Category

When adding new walls, ensure they are created within the Walls category:

1. Right-click inside the Walls folder in the Legend.
2. Select Draw Line.
3. Click to place points and draw new wall segments.

Creating walls this way ensures they remain grouped correctly and are not placed in a separate user-added category.

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Creating Different Wall Types

Not all walls are estimated the same way. For example, concrete or structural walls may need to be tracked separately from framed walls.

To do this:

• Draw the wall line as usual.
• Rename the wall in the Legend (for example, Concrete Wall), doble click on the name.

Renaming and categorizing walls helps maintain clarity and improves estimating accuracy.

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Result

Editing existing takeoffs allows you to:

• Correct inaccuracies
• Adjust boundaries
• Refine walls and areas
• Customize takeoffs to match your estimating standards

Automatic takeoffs provide the foundation. Editing is where precision is achieved, by supervising, refining, and improving what the system has already created.