Adjusting and Managing Measurements

Overview

Every takeoff measure you place in Ensign X can be fine-tuned, recoloured, or removed without starting over. This page covers the controls and options that apply across all measurement tools — unit, linear, area, perimeter, volume, and cutout.

Adjusting measurements after placement

Dragging corner points (white circles)

Each measure displays white circles at its corner points — the positions where you originally clicked. Click and drag any white circle to reposition that corner. The measurement updates live as you move it, so you can see the effect immediately.

This is useful for correcting a corner that was placed slightly off the line of a wall or route.

Adding pivot points (yellow circles)

Yellow circles appear along the edges between corners. Drag a yellow circle outward to create a new pivot point, effectively splitting that edge into two segments. This lets you add detail to a shape — for example, following an L-shaped wall that you initially drew as a straight line.

You can repeat this as many times as needed. Each new pivot point creates further yellow circles on its adjoining edges, so you can progressively refine the shape.

Moving an entire measure

Click on a measure and drag the body of the shape (not one of the circles) to reposition the entire takeoff on the drawing. The shape, dimensions, and logged measurement remain unchanged — only its location on the PDF moves.

Changing properties after placement

You can change the colour and other visual properties of an existing takeoff item:

1. 1

   Click on the measurement on the drawing to select it.

2. 2

   Click the Properties button (the small cog icon at the bottom of the screen or in the context panel).

3. 3

   Adjust the colour, pixel size, or any other available property.

4. 4

   Press Confirm to apply the changes.

This is useful when you realise you have used the wrong colour for an item and want to change it for visual clarity without re-measuring.

Colour selection

When you set up any takeoff item, the dialog includes a colour picker. The colour you choose determines how the takeoff lines and markers appear on the drawing.

Best practices

• Use different colours for different services or item types so you can distinguish them at a glance — for example, green for lighting, purple for small power, red for containment.
• Pick colours that contrast with the drawing background. After background removal, most drawings have a white background with dark lines — bright colours work well.
• Avoid the drawing's own colours. If the drawing uses red lines for heating pipework, do not use red for your heating takeoff — choose a contrasting colour instead.
• Stay consistent across drawings within the same project to avoid confusion.

Colour settings are purely visual — they do not affect the measured values or the data that exports.

Pixel size

The pixel size control sets the visual weight of your markers (for unit counts) or line thickness (for linear and area measures).

If you find the size is wrong after pressing Start, right-click to finalise what you have, reselect the tool (it remembers your last settings), adjust the pixel size, and press Start again.

Product code, hours, and cost fields

Every takeoff dialog includes optional fields for product code, hours, and cost. You have two approaches:

1. Fill them in during takeoff — useful if you already know the specification. The values carry through to the estimating module and CSV export, saving data-entry time later. For database items, these fields are pre-populated with the stored trade price and installation hours.
2. Leave them blank — and assign product codes, hours, and costs later in the estimating module.

Either approach is valid. Many users prefer to focus on measuring during takeoff and deal with pricing in the estimating module, where they have access to discount management and labour-rate calculations.

Deleting a measurement

To remove a placed measurement entirely:

1. 1

   Click on the measurement on the drawing to select it.

2. 2

   Press the Delete button in the toolbar, or press the Delete key on your keyboard.

3. 3

   Confirm the deletion when prompted. The measurement is removed from both the drawing and the service panel.

Quick reference — click methods

For all tools, press and hold the mouse wheel to pan around the drawing without interrupting your measure. Roll the mouse wheel towards the screen to zoom in, and towards yourself to zoom out. Your mouse cursor is the centre point for zooming.