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Make a roll plot booklet with your takeoff

The Roll Plot Converter stamps sheet-sized frames along a roll plot and exports one PDF of the original linework with your takeoff on top and per-sheet quantities between match lines. Crews get numbered 11×17 or letter sheets; stamping needs an estimator seat.

What it's useful for

  • A reviewer wants each printed sheet to show the takeoff and the square yards between its match lines.
  • A utility crew needs a 16-foot water main roll as 11×17 sheets that fit in the truck, with the measured runs marked.
  • A foreman wants the corridor on letter paper at half scale for a clipboard.

Stamp frames along the roll

A frame is one printed sheet: what sits inside it prints. Frames print landscape; a frame turned 90° prints portrait.

  1. Open the roll plot and click the Sheets tab.
  2. In the Roll Plot Converter group, pick a Paper size: 11×17 or 8.5×11.
  3. Pick a Print scale: the sheet's own (full size) or a reduction such as 1" = 80' (half size).
  4. Click Frames; an outline of one printed sheet follows the cursor.
  5. Click to stamp the first frame.
  6. Click near the end of the last frame to snap the next one beside it with ½" of overlap.
On the Sheets tab, the Print scale list is opened and left at full size, Frames is armed, and three frames are stamped along a roll plot with a match line at each overlap.

Rotate, move and remove frames

A dashed match line previews where frames overlap. Once a later roll has frames, a red tag at the last frame names that roll's first frame.

  1. Press [ or ] (or click 45° L or 45° R) to turn the selected frame or the next stamp.
  2. Drag a frame's number to move it; hold Alt to place it without snapping.
  3. Click a frame's number, then press Delete or Backspace to remove it.
  4. Press Ctrl+Z (⌘Z on a Mac) to undo a frame edit.
  5. Press Esc or click Frames again to put the tool away.

Export the booklet

  1. On the File tab, click Roll Plots, or click Export in the Roll Plot Converter group.
  2. Untick any roll to leave it out; rolls list in sheet order with their sheet numbers.
  3. Tick or untick Legend on every sheet, Key sheet before each roll, Takeoff markup and Comments & markup.
  4. Click Create booklet; the PDF opens in a new tab.
File, then Roll Plots opens the export dialog listing two rolls with their frames and sheet numbers, and Create booklet builds the PDF, shown from the key sheet to the first numbered sheet.

What each sheet shows

Each sheet is the original PDF cropped to its frame, with linework and text kept as vectors. Overlaps read MATCH LINE - SEE SHEET n; a roll's end sheets say CONTINUED ON or CONTINUED FROM the neighboring roll's sheet. Takeoff markup prints as a 200 dpi image over the linework.

The bottom strip holds a graphic scale, the printed scale, such as SCALE 1" = 80' (REDUCED FROM 1" = 40'), and SHEET n OF N. The legend gives each condition (a named, colored measurement group with a unit) its quantity between the sheet's match lines. A key sheet shows the whole roll with its frames numbered and roll totals.

Limits and checks

  • Paper is chosen before stamping and locks once a roll has frames. Click Clear to remove the frames before switching sizes.
  • Frames only show while the Frames tool is armed.
  • Stamping, moving and clearing frames needs an estimator seat. Exporting is open to every seat, like Print.
  • Rolls on different paper sizes print at different sizes in one PDF. The dialog warns you when the rolls you picked mix sizes.
  • The printed sheet is only as good as the source PDF: a scanned roll prints as the scan. When the PDF can't be used directly, such as an encrypted file, the sheet prints from an image of the page.
  • Per-sheet quantities count only what lies between that sheet's match lines, so takeoff outside every frame is on no sheet. Compare the sheets with the key sheet's roll totals; where three frames overlap at a corner, the split is approximate.
  • Before measuring a print, check its scale against the graphic scale or a station interval.
  • The legend lists the conditions visible on that sheet, so one seen only past a match line shows 0. Past what the strip fits, it ends with +N more.
  • On a sheet with no scale, print scales are percentages and sheets print NOT TO SCALE. Area and length legend entries read NO SCALE; counts still show.
  • A roll holds up to 200 frames.

Questions

Can I print a roll plot on 8.5×11 paper?

Yes. Pick 8.5×11 under Paper before you stamp. Frames print landscape, and a frame turned 90° prints portrait. The paper locks once the roll has frames; click Clear to switch.

Are the printed sheets to scale?

At the sheet's own scale they print full size; a reduced print says REDUCED FROM and the original scale. Each scaled sheet has a graphic scale. Check it, or a station interval, before you measure.

Can a viewer seat export the booklet?

Yes. File, then Roll Plots is open to every seat, like Print. Stamping, moving and clearing frames needs an estimator seat.

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