Why the type matters
The type of a marker decides three things: which tool draws it, what number it adds to the group's row in the sidebar, and how it appears in the Excel export. You cannot change a marker's type after it is drawn and you cannot merge groups of different types, so it pays to pick the right one before you start.
The five types
| Type | Sidebar icon | What one marker is | Group value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detection | One found instance of a symbol, with a cropped thumbnail and a match score | Count | |
| Count (Unit) | One dot you placed by hand | Count | |
| Linear | One run drawn point to point | Total length | |
| Area | One closed polygon | Total area | |
| Annotation | One shape, arrow, text box or image | None |
The type filter in the sidebar toolbar uses the tool names instead: Auto Count Symbol for Detection, Count Symbol for Count, Linear Measurement and Area Measurement.
How each type is created
- Detection groups come from the symbol tools: New Takeoff → Auto Count Symbol, Auto Detect Symbols (scan drawing), Detect New Symbol on an existing group's menu, and Import from Files. Actions → Add Group creates an empty Detection group to fill by hand. See Detect New Symbol.
- Count groups come from New Takeoff → Count Symbol: each click on the drawing places a dot. Vector takeoff also creates Count groups for fittings, named with a · Bends or · T-Junctions suffix. See Counting manually.
- Linear groups come from New Takeoff → Linear Measurement, or from Auto Linear (sample one line) and Auto Detect (pick line patterns) on vector drawings. See Drawing linear measurements.
- Area groups come from New Takeoff → Area Measurement. See Drawing area measurements.
- Annotation groups come from Actions → Annotations , or the dropdown on an existing annotation group. The Live Legend is a special annotation group. See Annotation markers.
What each type contributes
| Detection | Count | Linear | Area | Annotation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Counted in the sidebar | Yes | Yes | As a length | As an area | No |
| Counted per zone in Zones view | Yes | Yes | Length clipped to the zone | Area clipped to the zone | No |
| Rows in the Excel quantities export | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Can be linked to a priced item | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Only through the menu |
| Has its own scale | No | No | Yes, per group | Yes, per group | No |
| Appears in image and PDF exports | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Linear and Area totals follow the drawing's scale system: metres under Metric or Both, feet and inches under Architectural. See The scale system.
What every type shares
Whatever the type, a group has one label, one colour, one opacity, one linked item and one set of notes, and every marker inside it inherits them. The same selection gestures work on every marker on the canvas, and the Delete key removes whichever markers are selected regardless of type.
Detection and Count groups both produce a plain count, so if you are unsure whether the symbol tools will find something reliably, start with Auto Count Symbol and fall back to Count Symbol for the ones it misses. The two counts add up in the cross-drawing summary.
Next steps
- Selecting and moving markers — the gestures that work on every marker type.
- Managing groups — the row controls and the group menu for each type.
- Linking to database items — price a group once it holds the right markers.
- Exporting to Excel — how counts, lengths and areas reach the workbook.