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Add a takeoff legend and print sheets

The legend is a box on the sheet listing each condition with takeoff there, its color and its sheet total; Print turns chosen sheets into a PDF at original size. Reviewers then read quantities without the app; the legend needs an estimator seat.

What it's useful for

  • A project manager marks up a printed set by hand and wants each sheet's totals printed on that sheet.
  • You send a subcontractor only the sheets you've drawn on, with the takeoff colors and a legend to read them by.
  • Every sheet of a long plan set needs a legend in the same corner, and Add to all pages places them in one step.

Add a legend to the sheet

Each row shows a condition's color, name and total on this sheet in the condition's unit, such as square yards (SY). A condition is a named, colored measurement group with a unit. The totals update as you draw.

  1. On the Takeoff tab, click Legend.
  2. Pick Add to this page, or Add to all pages for every sheet in the same PDF.
  3. Drag the legend by its body to a clear spot on the sheet.
  4. Drag the corner handle to resize the box and its text together.
  5. To take it off, click Legend and pick Remove from this page.
A legend is added to the sheet listing each condition's total, such as 20,521.5 SY of overlay, then dragged lower and resized from its corner.

Print sheets to PDF

The PDF keeps each sheet at its original size. The legend prints as part of the takeoff markup layer.

  1. On the File tab, click Print, or press Ctrl+P (Cmd+P on a Mac).
  2. Tick the sheets to include; the current sheet starts ticked.
  3. To shorten the list, pick Drawn only or Drawn + markup instead of All pages, then click Select all.
  4. Untick takeoff markup or comments & markup to leave that layer off.
  5. Click Create PDF, then print or save it from the tab it opens in.

Limits and checks

  • The legend shows totals for its own sheet, not the whole project.
  • On a sheet with no scale, area and length rows show a dash instead of a quantity; counts still show.
  • The legend lists each condition's measured quantity in its own unit. Bid item quantities appear on the estimate, not in the legend.
  • Add to all pages covers the sheets of the current PDF only, not other plan sets in the project.
  • The legend prints only when takeoff markup is ticked in the Print dialog.
  • Adding, moving or removing a legend needs an estimator seat.

Questions

Does the legend print?

Yes. The legend prints with the takeoff markup layer, so keep takeoff markup ticked in the Print dialog. Untick it and both the takeoff and the legend are left off the PDF.

Can I print only the sheets I've drawn on?

Yes. In the Print dialog, pick Drawn only, or Drawn + markup to include sheets that have comments or markup, then click Select all and Create PDF.

What size is the printed PDF?

Each sheet keeps its original size in the PDF. It opens in a new tab, where you print it or save it.

Last checked against the app on