Measure Square 2017 Commercial

Edition User Guide

2/17/17

Contents
1. About Measure Square Corp ......................................................................................................... 5
2. What Can MeasureSquare Do? ..................................................................................................... 5
3. How to Evaluate 15-Day Free Trial ................................................................................................ 5
4. Contact us...................................................................................................................................... 6
5. Getting Started .............................................................................................................................. 6
5.1. Download and install MeasureSquare .................................................................................. 6
5.2. Register MeasureSquare ID................................................................................................... 7
5.3. Four steps to estimating a project ........................................................................................ 8
5.4. User interface introduction ................................................................................................... 9
6. Plan Import and Trace Rooms ..................................................................................................... 10
6.1. Import a plan ....................................................................................................................... 10
6.2. Set plan scale ....................................................................................................................... 12
6.3. Add multiple floors .............................................................................................................. 13
7. Plan Takeoff (Room Drawing) ..................................................................................................... 14
7.1. Freedraw a room ................................................................................................................. 14
7.2. Draw a rectangular room .................................................................................................... 16
7.3. Create rooms based on existing walls ................................................................................. 17
7.4. Reopen to draw ................................................................................................................... 18
7.5. Add a doorway and a window............................................................................................. 19
7.6. Add a stairway ..................................................................................................................... 22
7.7. Add an elevation ................................................................................................................. 24
7.8. Creating border dividers ..................................................................................................... 27
7.9. Creating internal wall .......................................................................................................... 29
7.10. Creating curved walls ...................................................................................................... 31
 7.11. Divide floor in to regions to receive different products.................................................. 32
7.12. Batch room takeoff using floor divider and split room command .................................. 35
7.13. Batch room takeoff using Draw Wall command ............................................................. 38
7.14. Nest rooms inside another room to create an open floor plan ...................................... 39
7.15. Merge selected rooms .................................................................................................... 40
7.16. Duplicate rooms and floors ............................................................................................. 42
7.17. Insert holes on floors....................................................................................................... 43
7.18. Add a note and handwritings .......................................................................................... 45
7.19. Add a line segment .......................................................................................................... 46
7.20. Review and modify properties of rooms, doorways, elevation etc. ............................... 47
7.21. Search a room on diagram .............................................................................................. 47
7.22. 3D view ............................................................................................................................ 48
7.23. Export plan as AutoCAD file ............................................................................................ 48
7.24. View Options and Edit Tools ........................................................................................... 48
8. Product Assignment .................................................................................................................... 50
8.1. Manage master product database ...................................................................................... 50
8.1.1. Manage product database structure .......................................................................... 50
8.1.2. Add or delete products in master product database .................................................. 52
8.1.3. Relocate a product to another folder ......................................................................... 60
8.1.4. Create multiple product databases ............................................................................. 61
8.2. Create project-level product list ......................................................................................... 61
8.3. Applying flooring products (carpet, vinyl, tile, hardwood, laminate, etc. ) to rooms by
drag-and-drop method ................................................................................................................... 62
8.4. Apply product to stairways ................................................................................................. 63
8.4.1. Apply area items, linear items, and EA items to stairs ................................................ 63
8.4.2. Apply product to treads, riser, and stringer ................................................................ 64
8.4.3. Different stairway covering styles ............................................................................... 65
8.5. Apply a linear base product to room perimeter and single wall segment.......................... 66
8.6. Apply multiple linear products to the same wall base........................................................ 68
8.7. Apply transition on doors or on border of different products ............................................ 69
8.8. Apply subfloor underlayment ............................................................................................. 71
8.9. Associate product with add-on items ................................................................................. 72
8.10. Apply heat welding rod on borders of sheet vinyl and swim lanes ................................ 76
 8.11. Remove product assignment .......................................................................................... 76
8.12. Room view ....................................................................................................................... 77
8.13. Wall stack design ............................................................................................................. 78
8.14. Wall profile ...................................................................................................................... 82
8.15. Room Profile .................................................................................................................... 83
8.16. Apply tile pattern to floor and walls ............................................................................... 85
8.17. Tile Pattern Editor ........................................................................................................... 85
8.18. Arbitrary tile design with tile replacement tool .............................................................. 89
9. Seam Layout and Estimation ....................................................................................................... 90
9.1. Entering layout and estimating mode ................................................................................. 90
9.2. Complete estimating commands on estimating toolbar .................................................... 92
9.3. Estimation Settings for roll goods ....................................................................................... 93
9.4. Review estimation data....................................................................................................... 93
9.5. Estimate by floor ................................................................................................................. 94
9.6. Change layout direction for roll goods ................................................................................ 95
9.7. Seam manipulation ............................................................................................................. 97
9.8. Cut sheet manipulation ..................................................................................................... 100
9.9. Pattern carpet layout setting ............................................................................................ 101
9.10 Estimation for Tiles............................................................................................................ 104
9.10.1 Different Tile Waste Calculation Methods ................................................................ 104
9.10.2 Associating Grout and Computing Grout .................................................................. 106
9.10.3 Freestyle Tile ............................................................................................................. 107
9.10.4 Import, crop, and associate image with tiles and display tile image on diagram ..... 108
9.11 Match pattern carpet and tiles across multiple rooms or regions................................... 110
9.12 Control estimation settings for roll goods ........................................................................ 111
9.12.1 Set Project-level estimation criteria .......................................................................... 111
9.12.2 Set System-level estimation criteria.......................................................................... 113
10 Export Estimation Data to Worksheet .................................................................................. 116
11 Project Printout and Report .................................................................................................. 118
12 Synchronize to M2 Cloud ...................................................................................................... 121
13 License Control ...................................................................................................................... 122
14 System Setting ....................................................................................................................... 123
15 Onsite measure with Disto laser meter ................................................................................ 127
 15.1 Pair Disto meter with Windows and MeasureSquare ....................................................... 127
15.2 Drawing with the DISTO and MeasureSquare................................................................... 130
15.3 Advanced Techniques ....................................................................................................... 137
16 How to Convert C++ Database and Projects to .NET ............................................................ 143
16.12.1 Convert C++ Database to .NET .............................................................................. 143
16.12.2 Convert C++ Projects to .NET ................................................................................ 145
1. About Measure Square Corp

Measure Square Corp. was founded in 2001 with a mission to create the best measure estimating
software on the best computer platforms available. Over the years, generations of its products have
shaped the way that measure estimating is being done, with efficiency, accuracy, and professional
results.

Since the company’s inception, MeasureSquare’s customer base has grown from zero to 3000+
businesses. Customers range from national firms such as Sherwin Williams, Redi Carpet, and FCI to
regional multi-location operations like RiteRug, R.C.Wiley, B.T.Mancini, Acousti Engineering Corp.
and installers for Home Depot and Lowe’s to small retail stores in the United States, Canada, the
United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.

2. What Can MeasureSquare Do?

Designed for commercial flooring contractors, M2 commercial handles takeoff, estimating and
layout on blueprint plans for carpet, tile, vinyl, wood, laminate, and add-on items such as pad, base,
transition, welding, labor items for multi-family and large commercial jobs.

Key features:

o Batch import and scale blueprints from PDF, CAD, and other formats
o Takeoff floors, regions, walls, and ceilings with product assignments
o Specify flooring products, add-on line, and labor items by drag and drop method
o Estimate product quantities and seam layout with optimize cut waste and seam locations
o Generate a clean cut sheet and seam diagram for installers
o Print to blueprint scale with details, email or export report in Excel, PDF.

3. How to Evaluate 15-Day Free Trial

Follow the instructions below to deploy MeasureSquare program

o Step 1: Verify system requirements

o Windows 7, 8, or 10 (32/64 bit)
o Step 2: Download program and register for 15-day free trial account
o Download 15-day Trial here
o Register M2 ID and trial account
o Step 3: Watch video tutorials and sign-up for a demo
 o Sign up for a free webinar with live Q&A by calling or emailing us.
o Watch our self-learning video tutorials
o Step 4: Subscribe
o Monthly payment, no contract
o Updates and support included
o Onsite and web training available: http://www.measuresquare.com/training

4. Contact us

North America: Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom:

Customer support hotline: 1-626-683-9188 Australia Office (Australia, New Zealand)

M-F 8am-5pm Pacific Time PO Pox 2144, Woorim, Bribie Island, QLD, 4507, Australia

AU: +61 7-3166-9128 info@measuresquare.com.au

Submit your questions from the web:
http://www.measuresquare.com/support.ht NZ: +64 9-889-1965 info@measuresquare.com.nz
ml
www.measuresquare.com.au
Email support staff:
www.measuresquare.co.nz
support@measuresquare.com
UK Office (Great Britain)
Unit 13b Brindley Court, Dalewood Road Lymedale
MeasureSquare Business Park, Newcastle Under Lyme Staffordshire, ST5
9QH, UK
221 E Walnut St, Suite #110
+44 0125-491-6139, 0161-298-1965
Pasadena, CA 91101 info@measuresquare.co.uk
www.measuresquare.co.uk

5. Getting Started

5.1.Download and install MeasureSquare

Follow instructions below to download and install MeasureSquare on your PC

 Download a 15-day Trial from here

  After the download is complete, double-click the MeasureSquare installation file to start
installation wizard. Click Next to start installation. Follow instructions to finish installation.

 After installation is completed, double-click icon on your desktop to launch

MeasureSquare program

5.2. Register MeasureSquare ID

When launching MeasureSquare for the first time, you are prompted to register a MeasureSquare
ID.

Why you need to create a MeasureSquare ID (M2 ID)

M2 ID works like an Apple ID in that you use it to identify yourself and sync diagrams with other iOS
devices, such as iPad and iPhone, and it enables you to store data on M2 Cloud when using sync
function of M2 program. You can also synchronize projects between the M2 Cloud and
desktop .NET MeasureSquare.

M2 ID also enables you to use network features such as

 Synchronizing projects and product database to M2 cloud

 Sharing projects and product catalog

How to register M2 ID?

 Open MeasureSquare program and click Register for free trial to create a M2 ID and
password
  Enter a valid email address and contact information. Click Register.

 After signing up, check your email and proceed to activate your M2 ID by clicking the
activation link from the confirmation email sent to your registered email address.
 After activation is completed, open MeasureSquare program again, sign in with your M2 ID
(email used to register) and password, and click Login button.

5.3. Four steps to estimating a project

Step 1: Import Plans and Trace Rooms

 Import PDF plans and establish scale (PDF and image files are supported)
 Set up product schedule with color coding for surface products (carpet, sheet vinyl, ceramic,
VCT, wood, laminate), with add-on line items
 Trace room areas, perimeters, walls/ceilings

Step 2: Assign products and Add-on Details

 Visually drag and drop products and add-ons to room area, walls including pad, base,
transition, welding, labor charges, etc.
 Add details such as borders, doors, stairways, islands, cabinets, tile patterns, flash cove
 Use multiplier for multiple floors
 Verify product assignments in 2D and 3D on floors and walls.

Step 3: Layout/Estimate
  Calculate product and add-on item quantities, linear length, and waste ratio in seconds
 Optimize seam location, layout direction, cut waste, and match pattern carpet across rooms
 Re-estimate instantly with product changes

Step 4: Generate a Quote and Report

 Print estimation report, cut sheet, seam diagram, and floor plan with product color coding
for clients and installers.
 Create quotation, work order, and invoice forms
 Export estimation to PDF and Excel

5.4. User interface introduction

MeasureSquare contains several key components:

1. File menu (TOP LEFT) – allows users to start a new estimate, open an existing project, save
an existing project, print reports, change settings, and synchronize to M2 Cloud in
MeasureSquare.
2. Quick Access Tool Bar (TOP LEFT) – the most frequently used tools can be placed in this
toolbar, providing the user with easy and quick access to those tools.
3. Workflow Tabs (TOP LEFT) –organizes a set of tabs representing estimating workflow from
Project Info, Takeoff, to Worksheet. Some of these tabs appear only when a certain type of
object is selected, providing specific tools for items such as the Freedraw Tool tab.
4. The Ribbon (TOP MIDDLE) – contains groups of toolbars namely Project Info preparation
tools, Takeoff tools, Estimating tools, Zoom In/Out, and so on.
5. Product/Services List (Master Database) and Project Item List Panel (LEFT)– on the left-
hand side and contains main products and services list, project items list, and some tab
functions at the bottom including Tile Patterns, Profiles, and Templates.
6. Drawing and Layout Area (CENTER) – area window for drawing room and material layout,
seam cut layout, cut sheet on lower section.
7. Property View window (RIGHT) – is located on the right-hand side of the screen and
automatically indicates the room/door/window/stair properties, Estimation results, and
Room View list.
 File menu

6. Plan Import and Trace Rooms

Often builders, architects and designers send floor plan files electronically in PDF or CAD or image
files, such as jpeg, tiff, etc. The program provides various importing functions to bring these files
into the program and users can then takeoff the areas from the imported image background.

6.1. Import a plan

1. From Takeoff tab, select the Import icon, and select import file type from the submenu:

Supported file formats are:

General image formats: JPG, TIF, GIF, BMP etc.

Adobe file format: PDF

2. Select image properties

 Image size: by default, Image Size is 7980 x 5700. To fine tune the image size, user can
change either Image size pull-down or Resolution. Please note that the higher the
resolution is, the larger the image and project file are.
 Color Format: Color images will be converted to gray scale by default. If one wants to
preserve original color of the image, select “Colorful” option from pull-down list.
 File Format: Blue prints can be converted in to either Tiff or PNG format.

3. At the preview screen, one can:

 Crop or rotate an image
 Select one or multiple pages to import from the right panel
 Select desired resolution by dragging the DPI bar
 Scale the image
 6.2. Set plan scale

MeasureSquare provides two methods to set up blueprint scale:

Method 1: Select blueprint scale

1. From Takeoff tab, select Import, and select import file types
2. At the preview screen, find Blueprint Scale pull-down list->select desired scale
3. Select which pages to import from right panel->click Import to Current Layer

4. Verify the scale with Dimension

Method 2: Use two points to scale a plan

1. From Takeoff tab, find Scale icon -> left-click to start measuring a known size on the
plan such as the doorway or the longest wall-> enter actual size->OK.

2. Verify the scale with Dimension

 6.3. Add multiple floors

Residential houses, apartments and commercial buildings may be constructed in multiple floors, the
program provides the function to add and edit multiple floors.

Add a new floor: click green + icon next to main floor tab and enter floor name. Click OK.

Delete layer: click “x” icon to select delete a floor.

Switch among layers: Triangle icon to pop-up a list of floors, select a floor to switch to that floor.
The highlighted one denotes current floor.
Change layer tab: Open the property window on the right to re-name layer tab

7. Plan Takeoff (Room Drawing)

MeasureSquare provides various methods to takeoff a plan.

7.1. Freedraw a room

To capture irregular shaped rooms and open areas such as hallways and corridors, use the Freedraw
tool to trace around the perimeter of the area.

 Click Draw icon and left click any corner of a room area to start room tracing.
 Click room corners clockwise or counter clockwise to trace perimeter of a room
 Right-click to close a room shape

Freedraw runs in continuous mode to capture multiple numbers of room areas until cancelled by a
right-click. Left-click room corners to trace a room.
 Advanced alignment tips

From Freedraw->Alignment tab, users can configure alignment settings based on personal
preferences.

 45/90 Angle Lock: lock current drawing line to either 45 or 90 degrees.

 Show Drawing Crosshair: shows drawing crosshair of whatever point your cursor is
hovering over
 7.2. Draw a rectangular room

Method 1: Use Draw Rect (Rectangular Room) command to capture rectangular shaped rooms
or area.

 Left-click a corner of rectangular area, move to the opposite corner of the rectangular area,
left-click again to finish.
Method 2: Use Rect By Size (Room by size) command can be found from the Draw Rect drop-
down menu and is for inserting a rectangular-shaped room or area by entering length, width and
room label. Once all the values are input, click “OK.” Hover with the red outline of the rectangular
room to where you want to place it, and then left click to have the room applied to the takeoff.

7.3. Create rooms based on existing walls

MeasureSquare allows users to create a room based on existing walls of connected rooms. As the
example shows below, if the user starts from a corner point, traces the room counterclockwise,
then the green line intersects with existing walls that can form a closed shape, MeasureSquare will
automatically predict the room shape based on existing walls and create a pink contour. Right-click
to convert the pink contour to regular walls. If the pink contour does not look correct, ignore it and
continue to draw.
 7.4. Reopen to draw

One can revise the shape of an existing room using “Re-open to draw” command.

 Right-click on a room->select reopen to draw

 Red diamonds symbols show up on each side of the wall, left click on one or more red
diamonds to delete selected walls.
  Left-click on red rectangular symbols on the end of a wall to start drawing.

 Right click to finish.

7.5. Add a doorway and a window

 Method 1: insert a door with default size

Step1: From Takeoff tab left-click Door command , mouse over walls with door signs, and left-
click to drop the door.

Step2: Continue on adding same sized door and with same transitions to all similar door locations in
a batch.
Likewise, one can apply same methodology to add a window to a room by clicking on Window
command and dropping a window to desired location.

 Method 2: takeoff doors:

The sizes of doorways vary in commercial projects. Using Takeoff Door command can efficiently
handle doors with different sizes.

Step 1: Select “Takeoff Door” command

Step 2: Left-click left door jamb then right door jamb to create the doorway.
Likewise, one can apply same methodology to takeoff a window to a room by clicking on Takeoff
Window command to create windows.

• Properties of doors/windows

To edit details of the stairway, double-click on the door or window to open Property View panel on
the right, and then change its properties.
 7.6. Add a stairway

MeasureSquare supports standard stairs, pie-shaped stairs, spiral stairs and landings. Users can
customize unique stairs by combining different styles of stairs and landings.

 To add a standard stairway, click Stairway and click drawing area to drop a stairway.

 To edit a stairway, double-click on stairway to open Property View window on right and
find Stairway related properties.
 To design L-shaped, U-shaped, winder stairs, or spiral stairs, one can first select different
styles of landing from the stairway submenu:

 To connect landing with stairway, user should drag stairway over a landing and allow the
program to automatically “dock” them together.

 To build/create a custom stairway, such as a spiral staircase, select the Quarter-turn with
Curved Treads option from the stairway submenu. Left click to place it on the drawing area.
Select another Quarter-turn with Treads, bring cursor close to first one until the pieces
automatically dock together. Continue this process until your custom staircase is complete.
 

 To view 3D stairways, left-click stairway so that it’s highlighted in red and then select View
3D from the Ribbon.

7.7. Add an elevation

When doing a takeoff of a plan, users may come across fixtures such as stand-alone walls, counter
tops, shower thresholds, stages and so on, which can be accommodated by the Elevation function.

 To add an elevation, click the Elevation command ; trace its contour in a room. If drawing
along the room walls, users can right-click to auto-complete elevations when the final lines
are highlighted pink (much like when drawing rooms in free-draw mode)
 To edit an elevation, double-click on it and change its height or name in the property view
panel on the right.
 Double click an elevation to
modify its properties, such as
name and dimensions

 To design wall niche, draw the elevation on the wall with wall expanded. Double-click on it
to open property panel on the right, enter the depth of wall niche, and check “Is Recess”
box to create a recess on wall.

Below is 3D view of wall niche:

 To design a stage, use elevation key to draw contours of steps and main stage. Double click
each step to change elevation height. Finally assemble steps with main stage.

 At product assignment stage, product items can be applied to these fixture takeout areas
and their perimeters.

 Save elevation as template, frequently used fixtures can be saved as template in Elevation
Template List. Right-click over a fixture drawing->Add Elevation Template. Type in the
 template’s name and it will be saved in the Templates list. Templates can be dragged-and-
dropped from template list to desired location.

Advanced elevation tips

 One can create elevations both inside and outside of a room.

 An elevation can be created on top of another elevation to form complicate shapes, such as
stages or elevated seating.

7.8. Creating border dividers

Many flooring projects have border designs and material specs on those border areas.

Create a single border on the floor:

 Right-click on the room

 Select Create Border Dividers command and enter border Width in the field
 Mark proper checkboxes on Cut Style and Border Type (default recommended).

 To apply products to borders, simply drag and drop a product from database to the
border. (Alternatively, you can select the product you want applied to the border from
the Product drop-down menu in the previous step in the Create Border Dividers window)

 To add multiple borders, right click on room -> Create Border Dividers -> click Add
 Border button until you have the desired number of borders listed. In the following
example, three borders have been created.

 To remove borders, right-click in room and click Remove All Dividers.

7.9. Creating internal wall

To takeoff/draw internal walls from existing base wall,

 Left-click on the desired room, go to Takeoff tab and click on Room Edit->Draw wall

 Move cursor on the desired wall to locate start point, left click to start drawing,
continue on for multiple wall segment.
Here is an example of internal wall takeoff and its 3D view.
 7.10. Creating curved walls

To design a curved wall, left-click a room to highlight it and select the Set Arc command. Drag red
diamond handle in the middle of a wall to turn a straight wall into an arc as shown below.
 Advanced arc tips

One can create an arc while using Freedraw. Firstly, left-click the starting point of the arc, then hit “R”
key on your keyboard. Left-click on a middle point on the arc. It immediate converts previous straight
line to an arc. Left-click the end point of the arc to finish the arc.

7.11. Divide floor in to regions to receive different products

It is common in commercial floor design that an open area is designed with patterns and different
colored products. In such a case, a floor area is divided into connected regions using Divide Floor
command from Takeoff tab.
First capture whole area with Freedraw on its inside wall perimeter, then use Divide Floor command to
place floor dividers along each of the border lines of products or patterns.

If there are curves on a dividing line, simply connect two ends of an arc with straight line. Several arcs
may be used to simulate a spline curve), and complete the dividing line.
To turn segments of dividing line into an arc, select the dividing line that needs to match the curves,
Click Set Arc command, and then pick each middle handle of a segment to convert it into arc.
Continue on creating the second set of border lines, and turn them into curves. With divided regions,
different colored products can be applied to the regions (as in this flower region case).

Tip: To delete the floor divider, right-click on the floor divider and select delete.

7.12. Batch room takeoff using floor divider and split room command

Often commercial flooring involves floor plans with rooms and open areas connect to each
other and share walls. Individual takeoff on each room is inefficient and aligning them with
shared walls is tedious as well.

Using Floor Divide and Split commands substantially speeds up the process:

 Use Freedraw to capture inside perimeter of floor area with batch of rooms connected
to each other with shared walls
 Click on Floor Divider
 Connect shared walls (longest walls first, it may cross several rooms), this process divides
whole area into divided rooms and open areas regions
 Click on Room Edit->Split Room , it converts divided regions into individual rooms
with shared walls properly aligned automatically

The steps using above example are shown below:

(1) Trace whole floor area with multiple rooms on their inside wall perimeter. Zoom in close
to details while drawing.
 (2) Click on Floor Divider command Divide longer shared walls first (that crosses
multiple rooms), then continue on dividing individual rooms.

Place floor divider on middle section of walls.

Here is the completed office area with dividing lines.

(3) Click on Room Edit ->Split Room command. Then divided regions turn into
individual rooms which are aligned on their shared walls and can be independently
operated.
 7.13. Batch room takeoff using Draw Wall command
There is a faster way to do batch room takeoffs in just one step. By using the Draw Wall command, users
can divide and split the room at the same time.

 First, right-click in the room -> Room Edit -> Draw Wall.

 Left click on wall to select starting point, and move cursor down and left click again to select
ending point. In both instances, the wall should be highlighted green when you move the cursor
over it, and the wall being draw in between should be highlighted blue.

 After left clicking the second wall, the walls should be highlighted bright pink and blue as shown
below.
  Right-click or double left-click to finalize the wall drawn. You can repeat this process as many
times as you need to quickly divide a room multiple times.

7.14. Nest rooms inside another room to create an open floor plan

There can be “nested rooms” or kiosks inside a bigger open area where these room areas need to be
taken out of the bigger area. Placing rooms inside another room does not automatically deduct the area
underneath, the Punch Out Room command is used to specify the nested room so that the program
deducts the nested area during the estimating process.

To takeoff inside rooms,

 Hold down Ctrl key and left-click to select multiple rooms

 select Room Edit -> Punch Out Room command on Takeoff Tab
 7.15. Merge selected rooms

There are situations that several connected rooms need to be merged into a single room. This can be
done by selecting rooms to be merged, and click on Merge command on Room Tool tab to
complete.
Below is the merged area after application. All shared walls and internal walls of each merged room are
removed after merging.

Advanced merge room tips

If two rooms are connected with a doorway, when merging, the doorway will disappear so that the
product will flow from one room to another. It is a very handy tool when estimators want to show the
customer there is no seam between the bedroom and the closet when estimating the carpet.
 7.16. Duplicate rooms and floors

In situations where product usages of duplicated rooms or duplicated floor layers need to be calculated,
material usages need to be optimized. For example, save carpet/vinyl cut waste, and so forth.

 To duplicate rooms:

Left-click to select a room, and then go to the Property View panel on the right-hand side.
Change the value of the Duplication number under the Room section and then hit Enter. The
number of the rooms will be displayed in parentheses after the Room name label. In the
example below, Room 1 has one duplicate (a total of two Room 1s), indicated by the red (x2)
after the room label, so the amount of products used was doubled in the Region -> Report
section of the Property View menu when the duplication was set to 2. (If the duplication were
set to 3, then the product amount would be multiplied by 3, and so forth)
 To duplicate floor layers:

Left-click in the empty white drawing space of the drawing area to select the layer, and then go
to the Property View panel on the right-hand side. Change the value of the Duplication number
under the Layer section and then hit Enter. The number of duplicate layers will be displayed in
parentheses after the Floor layer tab name on the bottom of the screen. In the example below,
Main Floor has one duplicate (a total of two Main Floors), indicated by the red (x2) after the
floor layer label.

7.17. Insert holes on floors

Another tool to create holes or takeout areas is to use Insert Hole command. To access hole-related
functions, go to Rm Edit. Select Insert Hole, and then directly trace hole-area shape within the existing
room area.

 Insert Hole: free-draw a hole shape

 Select Move Hole command from the same Room Edit menu. Drag to move the hole and drop it
to place it elsewhere in the room.
o If dropped right within room boundary and intersected with another hole, the hole
merges with the other hole to form a new shape.
 Select Delete Hole command from Room Edit menu, and left-click on a hole to remove it.

Comparison of Hole Insertion commands with Elevation command.

Both Hole & Elevation deduct area from underlying floor area or wall. The differences are

 Product items cannot be applied to holes and their perimeter

 Holes cannot intersect or touch with room boundary

7.18. Add a note and handwritings

To add a note to the plan, click Note command, enter a brief description and drop the note to the
desired location.

Frequently used comments can be saved to the program so that users can select an existing comment
and insert it to the diagram.

By clicking on Handwriting option, user can insert handwriting into diagram area
 7.19. Add a line segment

In many commercial flooring designs, there are straight or curved lines where the linear length needs to

be accounted for. The Segment tool can be used to capture such a linear footage. Linear length
products can be drag-and-dropped to such a line or curved segments.

For a curved line, use straight line segments to capture each curved segment that can be modeled by an
arc, click to highlight the segments, and then use Arc tool to convert the corresponding segments
into arcs. See example below.
 7.20. Review and modify properties of rooms, doorways, elevation etc.

The Property panel retains properties of objects in the drawing area. It displays the object name,
dimension of object, product assignment etc.

Click on Property View tab to open property of highlighted object in the drawing area, such as room,
doorway, stairway, elevation, line segment and so on. In addition to reviewing the properties of selected
objects, user can also:

 Change dimension/size of selected object such as room size or width of doorway

 Change product assignment of selected object

Click Property
View tab to review
or modify selected
object in drawing
area

7.21. Search a room on diagram

Click on icon or use Ctrl-F to pop up a dialog window, and enter full or partial room name to find
any matched rooms with highlight color.
 7.22. 3D view
Product design and assignments on floor are easy to inspect and verify with a 2D layout. As products can
be applied to walls, the 3D visualization feature enables viewing and rotating of floor and wall
assignments in 3D to help verify and communicate this information with customers.

Select any number of rooms on floor to show in 3D (if no room is selected, the whole floor will be
displayed). Click the View 3D command on the Takeoff Tab to enter 3D mode,

Left-click Exit to return back to the 2D mode

7.23. Export plan as AutoCAD file

Users can export project file as AutoCAD file by using Export to CAD file command . However, only
the room shaped will be converted. Other details such as product assignments, stairways, doorways,
and windows cannot be converted.

7.24. View Options and Edit Tools

Zoom to fit: zoom to fit all drawings and plan image into current window view

Zoom in: increase the zoom level

Zoom out: reduce the zoom level

 View Option: select and configure room drawing and product assignment display options

Grid: show grid lines in drawing area. The grid size can be set in Start menu->system settings-
>measurement tab.

Pan: turn on pan mode, left click and hold to shift drawing objects in current view

3D View: open room drawing in 3D view; allow rotating and panning drawing in 3D.

Show Wall: Display wall and ceilings in expanded view

Pattern Start Position: Select pattern or tile grid starting point by clicking on a room corner or any
point inside a room/region.

Rotate: Rotate selected object such as rooms, stairways, and elevations.

Undo: undo last action

Redo: redo last action

Copy: copy selected drawing object(s) such as room, segment, count item, plan image and so on

Cut: Cut drawing object(s) such as room, segment, count item, plan image and so on

Paste: Paste copied drawings or image.

Delete: delete selected object(s).

Seam Lock: Lock seams in selected rooms.

 Plan Lock: Lock locations rooms in current floor.

Image Lock: Lock blueprint image.

8. Product Assignment

After the rooms on the floor plan are captured from the takeoff process, the next step is to apply proper
products and related installation add-on items to these room areas as specified by material schedule list,
so they can be calculated by program.

This chapter covers all of the different ways of assigning different types of products and add-on items to
floors, walls and ceiling areas, on their area, perimeter lengths, or vertical walls.

8.1. Manage master product database

The Product and services database is where the user can create products, installation add-ons, and labor
service charge items that are to be applied in takeoff and product assignments process, and then later to
be laid out and estimated. This database should be set up properly before starting any real project that
is to be bid.

8.1.1. Manage product database structure

Default Product/Services database organizes products with a two-level folder structure:

 First level folders, second level folders

 Any specific product item must be placed under a second-level folder
 User can create third or more levels of folders if needed

Users have the flexibility to organize their product items in many ways based on their takeoff estimating
practice. For example, use first-level folders for major product types, and second-level folders for sub
product types and installation add-on types. Within second-level folders are the products (or more sub-
folders). See below for a sample setup below.
To open product database, right-click on the Product/Services folder on the left-hand side menu. Then
select View/Modify Details. (Or, go to File -> Product Database)

Add first-level folder: Left-click on Product/Services folder (root folder) to select it, and then click on
New Folder icon on the top menu panel. Enter folder name in the pop-up window that appears.

Add second-level folder: Left-click on first-level folder to select it, select New Folder icon, and enter
folder name to a create second-level folder.
To create the third level folder, left-click to select a secondary level folder, select New Folder icon, and
enter folder name.

8.1.2. Add or delete products in master product database

MeasureSquare provides a standard product database with generic products, such as broadloom carpet,
pattern carpet, ceramic tile, vinyl sheets, hardwood, laminate and installation materials & labor charges.
User can modify existing items or add new items to the database.

 To access master product database, find Product/Service panel and click “+” to expand
subfolders and contents.
 To modify product database, right-click Product/Services folder and select View/Modify
Details.

 To modify a specific product, right-click a product in the catalog list and select View/Modify
Details.
 To add a new product, first right-click Product/Services folder and select View/Modify details.
Then right-click a target folder and select New Product. At pop-up window, enter product name
and select a product type. Click OK.
 Item Info:
o No. /SKU is required to uniquely identify a product item.
o Color: controls product color displayed on diagram screen
o Trade: used for data grouping in worksheet or quotation sheet
o Vendor, Manufacturer: Vendor/distributor, manufacturer
o Import Image: product image URL from local file folder.
o Unit Name: based on Layout Type, select from option list
o Product Type: select first from Carpet, Vinyl, Tile, Hexagon Tile, Triangle Tile, Hardwood,
Laminate, Labor, Freight and Add-on Item. Mouse over any item from Layout Type option
list to see its corresponding product applications. Depending Layout Type, entry form for
estimating info is different.

 Estimating Info: specifies estimating requirements for this product item. This information is
used by the program in layout estimating product usages.

 Pricing Info: specifies cost and sales prices, selling method by container unit or not (box, carton,
etc. if so, container unit cost and sales prices)
o Sales Price (per Unit): sales price to customers (used in Quotation, Invoice)
o Cost Price (per Unit): cost price to this business user (used in Quotation, Invoice, Work
Order, Purchase Order)
o Unit/Box (qty of Unit per Container): Qty per container unit (for example, SF per box)
o Sell by checkbox: check box if sell by container, and select or enter container unit
o Box Sales Price: sales price by container
 o Box Cost Price: cost price by container

 Product Add-ons: associated add-on items to be applied together with this product. Click on
green “+” icon to associate add-ons to this product.

 To delete a product from master database, right-click a product->select Delete.

Layout Estimating Info Parameter Settings

Type

Carpet

Vinyl

 Unit Name: select from SY, SF, LF

 Roll Width: roll width, key entry
 Roll Length: standard roll length

For Pattern Carpet:

 Horizontal Repeat: pattern repeat in roll width direction

 Vertical Repeat: pattern repeat in roll length direction
 Horizontal Drop: pattern shift in roll width direction
 Vertical Drop: pattern shift in roll length direction
 Either Horizontal Drop or Vertical Drop parameter can be set (or set to 0.0) but
they CANNOT be set at the same time.
 Pattern Carpet Calculation Method Options:

 Round up to Pattern Size: if this feature is checked, then the program will round up
to the carpet pattern size.
 Pattern Match Width: if Round up to Pattern Size is unchecked, then the pattern
match width option will be accessible. Users can choose to have pattern match
width set to factors of 0, 0.5, or 1.
 Pattern Match Length: if Round up to Pattern Size is unchecked, then the pattern
match length will be accessible. Users can choose to have pattern match length set
to factors of 0, 0.5, or 1.

Tile

Hexagon
Tile

Triangle
Tile

 Unit Name: select from SF, SY

 Size: tile piece width x length, enter the length or width by keyboard. Decimal
numbers can be entered, for example, 12.49” (Width and length DO NOT have to
be equal).
 Thickness: tile thickness/height in decimal format (needed for grout calculation)
 For Hexagon Tile and Triangle Tile:

 Size: since the program only accepts isosceles hexagon and triangle shaped tile,
enter the length of one side of the tile.

Waste Calculation Method Options:

 Waste Add-on: calculate tile usage by adding this preset waste add-on percentage
to net floor area covered.

 Half reuse: program will re-use cut waste if 50% of a tile piece is left.

 Cut and fit: program will re-use cut waste wherever it can fit. For each cut waste, it
will be used only once. To see tile cut layout in the diagram, go to Takeoff tab-
>View Option-> check Tile Cut.

Set texture:

 For layout type set as Tile, its texture image can be displayed on floor and wall in
2D and 3D.

Hardwoo
d

Laminate

 Unit Name: SF, SY

 Width: plank width

 Thickness: wood thickness (not used in any calculation)

 Max Length/Min Length: control plank length range from max length to min length
for random plank layout

 Waste Add-on: percentage waste to add on top of covered net floor area

Waste Calculation Method:

  Calculate product usage by adding this preset waste add-on percentage on top of
net floor area covered

Add-on Use of Add-on items are products used to help install main floor covering materials such as
Items underlayment, transition, base, molding, bull nose, trims, etc.. They can be measured by
area, length or by each count. Also called installation products or sundries.

After creating a new product, find Product Add-Ons section and check “Is Add-on” box. The
product will be recognized as Add-on and ready to be associated with primary flooring
product such as carpet, hardwood, tile, vinyl, etc.

 Unit Name: select from area, length or each count units: SF, SY, LF, EA

 Width: width of product only needed with length-based unit (for example, height
of base, width of transition)

 Waste Add-on: percentage waste to add on top of calculated quantity

Add-on Method Formula/Logic Application

Unit

SF/SY Product Area qty equates to Drag-and-drop OR

Usage associated product qty Material Association

Original Area qty equates to net Drag-and-drop OR

Quantity covered area by Material Association
associated product
(instead of product
usage qty)

LF Floor Length qty equates to Drag-and-drop OR

Perimeter perimeter (LF) of floor Material Association
covered by associated
product

Seam Length qty equates to Material Association

Length total seam length of
associated product

Qt/LB/L Tile Grout Grout usage is based on Material Association

volume of grout gap, (only associate with
tile thickness, and tile tile pattern, not with
sizes individual tile
product)
 EA Assignment Apply to room corners Drag-and-drop
Times (inside, outside corners
or at room level)

Here are some sample UNIT type vs Addon Method combinations:

Labor, Similar to the setup of Add-on Item but with additional characteristics of labor and
Freight freight (for non-tax and data grouping in Worksheet, Quotation)

Except Layout Type be set as Labor, Freight, rest of setting options are the same as Add-on
Item.

8.1.3. Relocate a product to another folder

Users may want to re-organize existing products by re-locating a product to another folder. The easiest
way to do this is to re-name the path of the product.

 While in master database->left-click a product->enter correct path. For example, change

“carpet\broadloom” to “carpet\pattern match”. Click Save.
 The product will be moved to pattern match folder.

Alternatively, user can drag and drop a product from a folder to another.
 8.1.4. Create multiple product databases

Commercial users may create and maintain multiple databases for different manufactures. Retailers
who have multiple locations may want to maintain products databases based on different regions. To
handle such situations, MeasureSquare allows users to create and maintain multiple product databases.

 To create a new product database, left-click triangle icon. The Product Catalogs window will
appear. Select Create a Product Database icon -> enter product database name and click OK. It
will create an empty product database.
 To switch among different databases, left-click the drop-down menu beneath the
Product/Service heading of the left-hand menu and select the desired product database name.

8.2. Create project-level product list

For commercial projects, users often create project-level products based on finished schedule instead of
using existing products in a master database. In this case, users can right-click Project Item folder->
select New Product.
User can then specify the product type and product name on pop-up window. After clicking OK, users
can fill in the detailed product information in the Item Info window, and then click Save.

Please note that project-level products are saved per project.

8.3. Applying flooring products (carpet, vinyl, tile, hardwood, laminate, etc. )
to rooms by drag-and-drop method

 On left product services panel or project item list panel, navigate and open any folder to locate
product item
 Left-click to drag an item, and move it over to room drawing window and over room to be
assigned to (observe mouse cursor turn into apply material icon)
 While cursor is over the room, the border of the room is highlighted (indicating it is selected and
ready to be applied), release left-click button anywhere inside the room to apply
  Dragged item can be repeatedly applied to any other rooms by left-clicking in additional rooms
or areas
 Right click to cancel product assignment mode (so that apply material cursor disappears)

Major flooring products (carpet, vinyl, tile, wood, laminates) can be dragged and dropped to the same
room area once, and will be replaced automatically if another major product is applied over it.

However, underlayment material items can be applied to the same room area multiple times (for
example, pad, adhesive, etc. can be applied to the same floor)

8.4. Apply product to stairways

8.4.1. Apply area items, linear items, and EA items to stairs

Product items can be applied to stairways in the following ways:

 Area items (carpet, wood, etc) can be dragged and dropped to treads and risers.
 Linear items (step bullnose, quarter round, stringer, etc) can be applied by dragging and
dropping to step width or one side or both side of stringers.
 EA items (per step charge or per stairway charge, etc) can be dragged and dropped to step
count (by number of steps) or applied to stairway as a whole.
To apply length-based product items, drag and drop product into stairway. You should see the
highlighted blue lines before you apply the linear product.

To apply EA count items to stairs, drag and drop the product from the product database on the
left-hand menu into the stairway. The Assign Count Product window will appear and you can
keep the default number (all the steps) or enter another value. Click OK when done, and the
applied EA items will be indicated by a circle along the count number beside it.

8.4.2. Apply product to treads, riser, and stringer

To apply product to treads and risers, users can drag and drop area-based products such as
carpet and wood to treads and risers of the stairway.

To apply length-based product to stringers, users can left-click on the stairway to select it
and go to the right-hand property view panel. Then select the product to be applied using
the drop-down menus beside Left Stringer Product and Right Stringer Product.
8.4.3. Different stairway covering styles

Stairway covering products can also be assigned from the Stairway Property View menu on the
right-hand side menu. Select the staircase and go to the Property View panel on the right. Users
can select different measuring styles for the selected stairway using the drop-down menu
beside Covering Style, choosing from Waterfall, Tread and Rise, Tread Only, Rise Only, or
Fullwrap. The size of the roll cut changes depending on which covering style users select. Users
can also customize Steps Per Break right below Covering Style.

 Waterfall: typically use bullnose to wrap over the curve of steps. This method is usually
more expensive since not as many seams are used and thus more product material is
used.
  Tread and Rise: area product in separate pieces for tread and rise. This method is more
efficient, using more cuts and thus less product material.
 Tread Only: area product covers only the tread.
 Rise Only: area product covers only the riser.
 Fullwrap: area product covers each step with double area of tread and riser.

8.5. Apply a linear base product to room perimeter and single wall segment

Some add-on installation products (such as cove base, moldings, transitions, quarter-round, etc.) are
length-based and applied to wall base or room perimeters. In product specification, these items
have LF (or MR in metric) as unit of measurement and their layout type is Add-on Item in product
database.

Differences among linear products:

 Wall base products will take up a certain amount of space on the room walls, determined by the
set width. When viewing rooms in 3D view, wall base products will be visible on the bottom
section of walls in rooms they are applied to.
 Other linear products such as trim, transitions, bullnose, and so forth show up as dashed lines in
the program. They don’t show up in estimations as taking up any space on the walls, and are not
visible in 3D view. They are just measured by the linear feet (LF). Transitions go in between
doorways to transition between different flooring products between rooms.

Assign LF (MR) add-ons to wall base:

 All wall perimeter: Drag and drop to highlighted perimeter of a room (when mouse over the
room)
 Single wall segment: Drag and drop to ONE highlighted wall segment (when mouse over the wall
segment)
 8.6. Apply multiple linear products to the same wall base

Normally, only one visible linear product will be applied to wall base (such as cove base, moldings,
transitions, quarter-round, etc.), but multiple labor charges or installation accessories can be applied to
the same wall base. M2 allows users to apply multiple general linear products to the same wall base.

 To create a general linear product, select “Linear” or “Labor” as product type and select “LF” as
the unit name.
 To apply general linear product to a wall base with a visible base product, drag and drop the
additional linear product(s) to the room. A window will pop up prompting you to either Append
or Replace above existing linear item(s). Click Append.
 Repeat this process for additional linear products.
 8.7. Apply transition on doors or on border of different products

Transition items are linear-based products with Unit of Measure (UOM) LF (MR in metric) and Layout
Type as Transitions Item in material spec, are often applied at these situations:

 Drag-and-drop on doorways (or, from Properties window of doorway, click on Green “+” icon)
 Drag-and-drop on any dividing line of same room area (so divided areas may transit from one
product to another product
 Drag-and-drop to any wall segment next to another room area

Tips: Transitions can be dragged and dropped to the door. Or one can add the transition from
Properties window of a doorway.
 2. Or, left-click the Transition menu and select product from pull-down list

Tips: Transition items are graphically displayed with dashed lines on wall segments being applied.
See example below with red transition applied around perimeter of the countertop and on wall base of
the large open space.
 8.8.Apply subfloor underlayment

Underlayment is a vital factor to the success of the flooring on top of it. A sturdy and smooth surface
underneath every finished flooring material is a must. Without smooth and solid subflooring, the
finished flooring can fail or look very bad in a short span of time. However, some underlayment is
merely used for sound proofing or as a moisture barrier.

Underlayment products are specified with area-based Unit of Measurement SF or SY (SM in metric) and
Layout Type as Underlayment in estimating spec part of product database.

 Underlayment is a type of SF trade. Multiple underlayment can be added to a room. (eg

padding/carpet removal labor charge, anything that needs to be calculated by the SF that is not
the actual flooring product)
 Assigning underlayment item is the same as applying other area-based add-on products by drag-
and-drop to any room area.
 Multiple different area-based items can be applied to the same area on top of each other. A
room with flapped corner indicating there is an underlayment assigned.
 Flapped corners in lower right-hand corner the image below indicate that there is two or more
underlayment items assigned to the room.
 To assign multiple underlayment items to a room, drag and drop additional underlayment
products into the room, and select Append in the pop-up window that appears.
 Tips: Underlayment items can be associated with a major flooring product under its add-on list
in product database, and get automatically applied when that major flooring product is applied.

Add-on association:

When you have a certain combination of floor product and underlayment items you use often
for projects, you can consider making the underlayment items an add-on item. To do so, right-
click on the underlayment item and select view/modify details, and then check the box next to
“is addon”. Then right-click on the floor product you wish to associate the underlayment item
with, select view/modify details, and click on the green + button. Select the underlayment item
from the Set Addon Window that appears, and click Save.

8.9.Associate product with add-on items

In flooring estimating, installing major covering materials requires installation add-on items as well as
labor costs to get the job done. This can be accomplished by associating add-on items and labor items
with major covering product.

Steps to Associate Product Add-ons:

 Step1: Select the add-on item, check Is Add-on check box in product detail window
 Stegp2: Select the primary item, and then click green “+” button (as depicted below)
 Step 3: Pick up the required add-on item, and specify add-on method. Click OK to save
selections.

 Step 4: Selected add-on item then shows under Product Add-ons section
  Step 5: Select Add-on method from the pull down list.

Add-on Method Formula/Logic Application

Unit

SF/SY Product Area qty equates to Drag-and-drop OR

Usage associated product qty Material Association

Original Area qty equates to net Drag-and-drop OR

Quantity covered area by Material Association
associated product
(instead of product
usage qty)

LF Floor Length qty equates to Drag-and-drop OR

Perimeter perimeter (LF) of floor Material Association
covered by associated
product

Seam Length qty equates to Material Association

Length total seam length of
associated product
 8.10. Apply heat welding rod on borders of sheet vinyl and swim lanes

Heat welding rod is measured by linear length and is normally applied under border lines of different
color sheet vinyl (by drag-and-drop manually, see screen below)

Swim lanes of sheet vinyl cuts in same floor area. It must be set with sheet vinyl item as an associated
add-on item by seam length method. Refer to section in product database setup chapter.

When properly assigned, linear length usage of heat welding rod is calculated automatically in later
layout estimating stage

8.11. Remove product assignment

 Remove area item from floor or walls: Drag and drop area eraser to highlight area with product
assignment.
 Remove LF item from wall perimeter or wall segment: Drag and drop Linear Eraser to
highlighted room perimeter or segment from lower section of product list panel.
 Remove EA item: Drag and drop EA eraser to target object to remove all count items.
 8.12. Room view
Rooms view retains expansion status at the room and floor level. It displays Room labels Attachment
labels, line segments alphabetically under Room View.

Select Room View command on right panel to open list of rooms.

To select multiple rooms in the Room View by holding down on the CTRL key on the keyboard and
clicking on the desired rooms. The corresponding rooms in the floor plan will be selected. Conversely,
rooms selected in the floor plan will also be selected in the Room View.

To switch among layers in Room View, click on folder with layer’s name

8.13. Wall stack design

Advanced wall design with details can be achieved from wall stack design commands.

Step 1: Display expanded walls in drawing area by turning on View Wall command on Takeoff tab. To
display walls on right, select Show walls on right side in view options menu. (Alternatively, users can
also right-click on the wall and check View Wall to show walls on all sides of the room. Users can also
check View Show Walls on Right Side for the walls to be visible to the right of the room)

Step 2: Make wall selection. Select a single wall from wall by left-click on a wall in expanded view.
Selected wall will be highlighted in blue in the 2D diagram.
Step 3: Divide wall into stacks for selected wall(s).

 To add a wall stack, right-click on wall->Add Horizontal Wall Stack or Add Vertical Wall Stack-
>left-click to place dividers on the wall to create stacks.
 To remove a wall stack, right-click on wall->Delete Wall Stack. X icon will appear beside your
cursor. Left-click on divider.
 To adjust size of a stack, left-click any wall stack and drag divider to adjust its size (section
height), or enter wall stack dimensions in right Property View panel.
 1. Select Add
Horizontal/Vertical Wall
Stack
2. Move mouse cursor to
locate a divider
3. Left-click to place divider
to the wall

Step 4: Select main covering product for selected section. Select item from Primary products from pull-
down list in property panel on the right.

Step 5: Apply finishing trim, décor or bullnose to edges. Drag and drop linear product such as finishing
trim to edges of wall stacks.
Step 6: Set product layout direction and alignment options for selected stack. Right-click on wall stack ->
Layout & Seam -> Set Pattern Position to select pattern starting point. Or from the same Layout &
Seam menu, select Set Layout Direction and then use mouse cursor to draw an arrow pointing to
desired layout direction to change tiling direction on the floor.
 8.14. Wall profile
There are situations that wall design and product assignments are shared among other walls of the same
room or walls of other rooms. This feature allows wall section and assignments be copied from one wall
and be pasted to other walls.

Copy and paste wall profile

 Copy Wall Profile. Left-click to select a wall of expanded room view, and select Copy Room
Profile.
 Apply Wall Profile. From expanded wall view of target room, left-click to select one empty wall,
select Apply Wall Profile command.
 Apply Wall Profile with Height. From expanded wall view of target room, select one or multiple
walls (with Ctrl-key), left-click to select one empty wall, select Apply Wall Profile with Height.
Copied wall stack height is maintained on target wall (instead of scaled proportionally as in
Apply Wall Profile)
Wall profile library

If a wall profile is to be reused for future projects, one can save it to the wall profile library.

Save a wall profile

 Display expanded walls by turning on View Wall, left-click a target wall, and open wall profile
library.
 Select Add Wall Profile and enter name of the profile.

Apply a wall profile form the library

 Display expanded walls by turning on View Wall.

 Similar to product assignment, user can drag and drop a saved wall profile to target wall.

8.15. Room Profile

In commercial flooring projects, many room areas share same floor and wall design and product
assignments across all floor layers. This feature substantially speeds up the product assignment process
when hundreds of similar rooms are in place.
  Copy Room Profile Left-click a room -> Room Option->select Copy Room Profile. This command
copies
 Room floor product assignments (include tile pattern, layout direction), wall base
assignments, border design and assignments (if exist)
 Wall stack design (layer sections), wall product assignments, bull nose, trims, decors

 Paste Room Profile Apply copied room profile to selected room. At pasting, if rooms to be
pasted to are with different wall height, wall section heights are automatically scaled
proportionally.

 Paste Room Profile with Height Apply copied room profile to one or any number of selected
rooms. At pasting, if rooms to be pasted to are with different wall height, original wall section
heights are

Room profile library

If a room profile can be reused for future projects, one can save it to the room profile library.

Save a room profile

  Left-click a target room, and open room profile library.
 Select Add room Profile and enter name of the profile.

Apply a room profile from the library

 Similar to product assignment, user can drag and drop a saved room profile to selected rooms.

8.16. Apply tile pattern to floor and walls

From Tile Pattern panel, drag and drop desired tile pattern to floor area or expanded wall area. At pop-
up preview window, select combining tile items from each component tile cell with desired size and
color.

Pattern specified with specific composing tiles is listed under project item list, and can be applied
directly to any other areas such as floor and wall areas.

8.17. Tile Pattern Editor

Commercial users can design their own tile patterns with Tile Pattern Editor.

Step 1: To open Tile Pattern Editor, right-click on a tile->select Design Tile Pattern.
Step 2: Select tiles that form desired tile pattern. Click Add Tile to open product database and select
one.

Step 3: Place tile and adjust its orientation. Left click to drop tile into desired location, use Rotate
command to adjust its orientation.
Step 4: Place more tiles to form desired pattern. Repeat step 2 and 3 to place more tiles into drawing
area. To line up with existing tiles, click tile corner point or edges of existing tiles.
Step 5: Preview and save the finished design on Pattern Preview Area. If there’re several available
pattern units, select one of them from Available Pattern List to preview the full layout on Pattern
Preview Area. Select desired one and save it to master database or to current project.

Step 6: Apply Tile pattern to room or walls. Drag and drop a tile pattern to target room or wall. Upon
pop-up, select tiles that fit into the pattern, specify grout product and click OK to confirm selection.
 Tips: Use Pattern Start Position to select pattern or tile grid starting point by clicking on a room

corner or any point inside a room/region. Or select Layout Direction and then use mouse cursor to
draw an arrow pointing to desired layout direction to change tiling direction on the floor.

8.18. Arbitrary tile design with tile replacement tool

Users can design random tile pattern with tile replacement tool.

 Apply a tile in the desired areas.

 Right-click on accent tile in product database, select replace tile in diagram.
 Highlight any floor area (or expanded wall area) assigned with tile or tile pattern, left-click to
replace existing tile with accent tile.
 Tips: Only tiles with the same size as existing tiling can be used as accent tiles.

9. Seam Layout and Estimation

With room takeoff and material assignment in place, the next step is layout estimating. This section
introduces the steps on how to generate an accurate estimate on material usage (such as linear length,
square footage, boxes of tiles, etc.), seam layout and cut sheet for roll goods like carpet and vinyl.

9.1.Entering layout and estimating mode

Click Estimation icon , the program enters into layout estimating mode, and pops up with a list of
items that are already assigned to this project.
Click on OK button to proceed. Then project item list on left panel shows product usages. The estimation
tab on the right panel displays estimated quantities of project items, waste %s, linear footage and
number of tile counts, etc., are listed. In the main diagram window, rooms with roll goods are laid out
with seams.

Estimating Mode Window Framework:

 Estimation Data Panel: material usages (SY/SF), linear length (LF), net floor area, floor
perimeter (less door openings), and waste ratio.
 Diagram Window: Seam layout diagram on top of rooms
 Cut Sheet Window: Stock cut view from laid roll of carpet/vinyl (double click over the cut
sheet window on the bottom can separate it from work area)
 Estimation tool bar: refer to the tool bar tips
 Seam & Layout Tool Bar: refer to the tool bar tips

Here is a list of operations that can be performed under layout estimating mode:

(1) Review estimating data.

(2) Review item assignments by room vs. estimating data.
(3) Change layout directions for roll item or tile goods
(4) Seam Manipulation. Adjust seam location on diagram, add or remove different seams
(5) Waste reduction. Optimize waste for roll good items (carpet, vinyl)
(6) Review and adjust cut sheet: optimize cuts and waste on cut sheet
(7) Adjust stairway cuts or layout direction to optimize waste
(8) Adjust tile grid location or snap starting point to any point on floor
(9) Pattern carpet matching. Adjust pattern carpet first cut, or pattern repeat margins for cuts,
 optimize cuts for hall ways
(10)Set “Estimate by layer” mode.

9.2.Complete estimating commands on estimating toolbar

 Estimate: layout with optimal waste. Automatically choose horizontal and vertical
layout direction with smaller waste.
 Horizontal Layout: layout estimating with horizontal direction (East/West)
 Vertical Layout: layout estimating with vertical direction (North/South).

 Set Layout Direction: change layout direction for an individual room

 Switch Layout Direction: Switch from layout estimating mode to room drawing
mode so no seam layout or cut label is displayed. To switch back to estimating mode,
click on the same icon again which keeps previous seam locations.
 Reset Layout Direction: Clear all manual adjustments recalculate products quantities
and re-layout cuts based on default estimating settings.

Estimating settings:

 Auto Estimate: when toggled on (by default), program re-generates cut sheet and usage
quantity automatically upon any seam adjustments or room editing changes. When off,
one needs to click on Estimate button to re-allocate stock cuts to reflect change effects
on seams and rooms.
 Estimate by Layer: estimate item quantities separately by floor layer.
 Auto Select Product: program will automatically select one product from project item
list to estimate.
 Auto Show Cut View: automatically display cut sheet when a roll good is seleted.
 Hide Cut View: hide cutsheet

Tips

 After you manually move the location or change layout direction for individual rooms,
the Estimate/Horizontal Layout/Vertical Layout commands will NOT affect your manual
adjustments. If you want to use those command to ALL of your rooms,
 When you work on bigger projects, it is recommended to toggle off Auto Estimate so as
to avoid re-estimating time upon each seam or room adjustment. Make all necessary
seam adjustments, then select Auto Estimate to re-allocate stock cut sheet while
keeping all current changes (instead of using three layout buttons that would clear all
current change and estimate the computer way).
 9.3.Estimation Settings for roll goods

 Cut Margin: cut or trim margin to add to each cut or fill piece (To apply to width or length or
both are controlled at layout estimating command)
 Margin Type: add cut margin along the width only, length only or both width and length.
 Max T-seams: maximum number of T-seam to be placed in a room.
 Maximum Roll Cut Length: maximum length allowed for each roll cut.
 Roll-Cut Round Up: round up roll cut length to nearest 3”, 6”, etc.
 Minimum Reusable Length: if the length of remnant roll good is greater than the minimum
reusable length, the program will use the remnant roll for estimation.

9.4.Review estimation data

To review estimation data for entire project, click Estimation Data icon on right panel as shown in the
image below.
Upon entering estimating mode, all estimating data are filled under Estimating Mode tab on
right panel.

 One may drag right border of this panel to adjust width, and to find more columns of
estimating data.

 Drag any column title and drop it to location to adjust its order

 Double-click on any room area on diagram, item applied to this room is selected on right
panel; meanwhile if it is a roll good, the corresponding cut sheet window is shown at
lower section.

9.5.Estimate by floor

In many cases, there is a need to estimate and quote a job by floor layers so a job can be sold and
installed by floors and at different installation phases. When estimate by layer, it assumes that material
roll and cuts (therefore the waste cuts) are not shared between floors. Normally, the waste factor is
higher.
To enter Estimate by Floor mode, select from sub-menu next to Estimation Settings, check Estimate by
layer

Tips: If project has been estimated under regular mode (not estimate by layer), entering Estimate by
layer mode will erase existing estimation data, cut sheet and seam diagram.

9.6.Change layout direction for roll goods

It is common practice to compare different layout directions. Click on Estimate, the program
enters into layout estimating mode, and pops up with a list of items that are already assigned to this
project

To change layout direction of a roll good, select the product from pull-down list, then click Horizontal

or Vertical layout button to redo layout with that direction. These two commands apply to all
rooms of the same floor.
To change layout direction on one selected room, select Set Layout Direction command on takeoff
tab and drag mouse cursor to desired direction inside a room.

Tips: When using Set Layout Direction command, user can layout product alone any direction.
 9.7.Seam manipulation

Drag and drop seam on diagram. Seams placed on rooms can be dragged and dropped at any location.
And it can be snapped to any corner points or aligned with any wall segments automatically when that
corner point or wall is highlighted. Seam can be removed or deleted by drag-and-drop off a room.

Switch Seam Side: switch seam layout from one side to another side (for example, from left to
right, or from top to bottom, vice versa)

Add T-Seam: place a cross seam against roll layout direction. Use Even T-seam from submenu to
place evenly spaced T-seams to selected cuts.
 Add B-Seam: place section-dividing length-line at roll layout direction (shown in solid line vs.
regular dashed seam line).

Delete Seam: pick and delete seam. Seam can be removed or deleted by drag-and-drop off a
room

Lock Seam: lock seam location of selected room(s)

Reset Seam Location: Reset existing seam locations and re-estimate whole plan

Switch Layout Direction: Switch layout direction of selected regions

Set layout direction: Set material layout direction to any direction. Drag mouse cursor to point
layout direction in a room, the program will lay material along pointed direction.

Set Pattern Position: Set pattern or tile grid starting point by picking up a corner or any point on a
room.

Change Step Per Break for Stairway: double click on stairway with roll good, set number of steps per cut
for stairway from property panel on the right.

By default, carpet cuts for stairway are made individually for each step to optimize the cut waste. But it
may not be the best layout. To set a cut per several steps, left-click stairway and select Covering Style or
Step per break.
What is dividing line (or section dividing line)?

Dividing line is used to divide a floor area into separate sections so that seams within each section can
be placed and edited individually. This feature is helpful in placing seams on complicated shapes such as
long hallways or connected corridors. Below is an example for its usage (dividing seams are in solid color)
 9.8. Cut sheet manipulation

Cut sheet window shows roll stock cuts of selected roll good items from floor diagram.

Stock cut sheet is generated by the program automatically. However, user can manually adjust cuts in
the cut sheet window with these operations, and therefore affect Total Linear Length, Qty and Waste %:

 Cross reference cuts on floor and cut sheet. Left-click any cut on cut sheet to cross show
corresponding cut in floor diagram (highlighted)
 Move to front/end of a roll to move a cut to the beginning or to the end of a roll (right click
over a cut)
 Allow cuts overlapping: right-click on cuts and to enable overlapping cuts.
 Zoom in and out in cut sheet window (use mouse wheel)
 Drag-and-drop single cut to different locations in cut sheet (even across rolls)
 Drag a block of cuts and shift to right (press down SHIFT-key)
 Rotate cut by right-click over a cut to rotate it
 Add a new roll by dragging a cut to a blank space
 Add T-seam on cut in cut sheet
While using these commands, observe changes in Total Linear Length, Qty, and Waste % to achieve
optimized results.

 Drag and shift a single cut

 Drag and shift a block of cuts to right section. Press down SHIFT key; drag a cut to shift a block
of cuts to the right.

9.9. Pattern carpet layout setting

Pattern carpet can be specified in product database with pattern repeat parameters:
  Horizontal repeat (carpet width direction)
 Vertical repeat (roll length direction)

Pattern drop parameters are used for graphical display and are not used in cut planning and estimating.
They are rarely used.

 Horizontal drop (shift in width direction)

 Vertical drop (shift in length direction)

Pattern carpet cut algorithm. At layout estimating mode, by default, EXCEPT for the first cut, the
program automatically adds extra repeat margin (Vertical Repeat size) in roll for each additional cut
applied to any room area.

In this example below, first cut (A Cut) is 40’3” without repeat margin added; second cut (B cut) is added
with 18” vertical repeat margin, two fill piece cuts are with repeat margin added as well.
Configure Pattern carpet cut algorithm. Select Pattern Carpet Layout Setting from System Setting-
>Estimating-> Carpet Layout.

 Round up Cut by Pattern Size to round up each cut to next full pattern size along both width
direction.
 Set Pattern Width/Length Factors to change default setting of repeat margin formula. Change
Horizontal Repeat factor or Vertical Repeat factor from their pull down list (or type in a factor)
to control repeat margin additions, the program uses these factors to multiply their
corresponding repeat size to get final repeat margin.
o For example, 0.5 in Vertical repeat means to add half pattern size to roll length cut, 1.0
means adding a full pattern, etc.
  Set First Cut: Right-click on a cut on the diagram->Set as First Cut to eliminate repeat margin on
that cut). First cut is labeled with * ahead of cut label (for example, *B(C2)) on the cutsheet.

Tips: Please note that cut margin option and pattern carpet are mutually exclusive. Cut margin will
not be added to pattern carpet.

9.10 Estimation for Tiles

9.10.1 Different Tile Waste Calculation Methods

Right click on tile product in the database and select View/Modify Details. In the middle section
of the product details window that appears, users can select from three different tile waste
calculation methods: Waste Addon, Half Reuse, and Cut and Fit.

In the following example, three identical rooms have tile products of the same dimensions, but
different waste calculation methods, applied to them.
 Waste Add-on: calculate tile usage by adding this preset waste add-on percentage to
net floor area covered. If selected, then you can enter your desired waste add-on
percentage.

In the Waste Add-on example from above (shown again enlarged below), the waste add-
on was set to 10%. The waste for this room is thus 10%.

 Half Reuse: program will re-use cut waste if 50% of a tile piece is left.

In the Half Reuse example from above (shown again enlarged below), the mosaic-like
patterns visible along the top and bottom walls of the room indicate areas where re-
used tile product was used. The waste for this room was 3.5%.

 Cut and Fit: program will re-use cut waste wherever it can fit. For each cut waste, it will
be used only once. To see tile cut layout in the diagram, go to Takeoff tab->View
Options-> check Tile Cut.
 In the Cut and Fit example from above (shown again enlarged below), the mosaic-like
patterns visible along the top and bottom walls of the room indicate where tiles were
re-used. The waste for this room was also 3.5%.

9.10.2 Associating Grout and Computing Grout

Grout is the gap in a fractional inch in between two tile pieces, and is needed for grout
calculation. On the left-hand side menu, below the Project Items folder you will see the Tiling
folder. Right-click on the Tiling tile product within the Tiling folder, select view/modify details,
and a pop-up window will appear allowing you to change the tile pattern grout product and
grout width.
To associate grout with the selected tile product, choose a product from the Grout Product
drop-down menu.

To set the grout width, select desired value from the Grout Width drop-down menu.

Go to the tile product details window and check the box to the left of Sell By (Box). Enter your
value for the SF/Box quantity.

9.10.3 Freestyle Tile

When creating a new tile product (or editing existing one: right-click -> view/modify product
details), go to the product details and select desired tile shape from the drop-down Shape menu.
MeasureSquare has default shapes of Rectangle, Triangle Regular, Hexagon Regular, and
Dodecagon Regular. If these shapes do not fit your needs, then you can select the Freedraw
shape option. Then click on the Takeoff Tile button that appears below and you will be taken to
the Polygon Drawing window. Click Draw Polygon, and then freedraw a tile shape much like
how you freedraw rooms.
You can press the “r” key to make rounded edges for your polygon shape.

Once you finish free-drawing your tile shape, click Save and the Polygon Drawing window will
close. Click Save again in the tile product details window to finalize, and your custom-drawn tile
is complete.

9.10.4 Import, crop, and associate image with tiles and display tile image on diagram

When creating a new tile product (or editing existing one: right-click -> view/modify product
details), go to the product details and click the Set Texture button.

The Product Texture window will appear. You can import an image from your computer by
clicking the Import an Image button on the bottom right.
You can crop your imported image in the middle of the window. Then click Set Texture &
Preview, and select OK when finished. Make sure to also save the tile product details window
before closing.

Apply the customized tile product to the rooms you want it to be applied to. Then go to view
options menu, Options, and check Tile Texture. The imported and cropped tile texture image is
now displayed on the diagram.
9.11 Match pattern carpet and tiles across multiple rooms or regions

 For pattern carpets: select multiple rooms with the same pattern carpet by holding down Ctrl
key and left-clicking so that all selected rooms are highlighted with a red outline. Right click on
selected rooms ->Layout & Seam ->Set Pattern Position. Click on any point or snap to any corner
point to take effect. Pattern carpet grid is synchronized across room borders. This feature is for
graphical layout and presentation, and does not affect seam cuts and estimating quantities.

 For pattern tiles: select multiple rooms with the same pattern tile by holding down Ctrl key and
left-click so that all selected rooms are highlighted with a red outline. Right click on selected
rooms -> Layout & Seam -> Set Pattern Position.

Click on any point or snap to any corner point for the pattern positioning to take effect. The
selected rooms should be highlighted blue at this step.
 The tile patterns will now be matched across the selected rooms based on where you clicked:

9.12 Control estimation settings for roll goods

MeasureSquare allows the user to set estimation criteria for roll goods at project level or at the system
level. When estimating a project for the first time, the program will apply estimation criteria at system
level to the entire project. If user chooses to specify estimation criteria at project level, project-level
estimation criteria will OVERWRITE system-level criteria and will be applied and saved to current project.

9.12.1 Set Project-level estimation criteria

To set project-level estimation criteria for roll goods, left-click a room with roll good product and select
the gear/wheel icon to the right of the Estimate icon to specify estimation settings.
 Max T Seams per Room can control maximum number of auto-generated T-seams in a single
room area
 Cut Margin and Margin Type:

In the example below, selecting cut margin type “Length and Width”, adds 3” to both the length and
width of the fill piece.

 Max Roll-Cut Length: its default value is 0.0 (meaning it uses its roll length as maximum cut
length), but users can change by entering a new value in the text field.
 Min Reusable Length: controls if an end of roll will be used as a cut, and then pack rest of cuts
and shifts forward.
 Roll-Cut Option can control whether to share roll good waste across all floors/layers.
 Roll-Cut Round Up can be set to control how much to round up roll cut length.

In the example below, the roll cut round up is set to 3”, so the 7’10” room wall is rounded up to 8’0”
in the roll cut sheet below. Here the cut margin is 0”.
 In the next example, the cut margin is set to 3”. As you can see, the roll cut sheet changed to 8’3”.

 Linear Length Round Up can be set to control how much to round up the linear length of an
entire row in the roll cut sheet.

Note that project-level settings will overwrite system-level settings.

9.12.2 Set System-level estimation criteria

To set project-level estimation criteria for roll goods, go to File->System Setting->Estimating.

 Max T Seams per Room can control maximum number of auto-generated T-seams in a single
room area
 Cut Margin & Margin Option:

In the example below, selecting cut margin option “Length & Width”, adds 3” to both the length and
width of the fill piece.

 Max Roll Cut Length its default value is 0.0 (meaning it uses its roll length as maximum cut
length), but users can change by entering a new value in the text field.
  Min Reuse Length controls if an end of roll will be used as a cut, and then pack rest of cuts and
shifts forward.
 Roll Cut Option can control whether to share roll good waste across all floors/layers.
 Roll Cut Round Up can be set to control how much to round up roll cut length.

In the example below, the roll cut round up is set to 3”, so the 7’10” room wall is rounded up to
8’0” in the roll cut sheet below (the cut margin is 0”. If you added a 3” cut margin, ).

In the next example, the cut margin is set to 3”. As you can see, the roll cut sheet changed to
8’3”.

 Linear Length Round Up can be set to control how much to round up the linear length of an
entire row in the roll cut sheet.

Note that system-level settings will be overwritten by project-level settings.

10 Export Estimation Data to Worksheet

When the layout estimating step is done, move to the next stage on the Worksheet tab.

To create a new worksheet, select New command

 Select worksheet type, such as proposal, quotation, work order, purchase order, or invoice.

 Select group style and check the box by Import Project Estimation.
 By product: a full list of project items with usage quantities and sales data without room and
floor layer info is displayed.
 By area: project items assigned are listed under each room label.
 By product trade: project items marked by that trade are listed.
 By product break by room: project items broken down by its usage under each assigned
rooms

Below is a sample worksheet that organizes items by product:

Here is a sample Proposal worksheet that organizes items by area:

You can change the grouping by rearranging the column order via left-clicking and dragging. In the
example above, you can left-click the Area title in the second column, and drag it to the left of the first
column, Floor. Whereas before the worksheet was organized by floor first and area second, after
moving the columns, the worksheet is now organized by area first, and by floor second:

To select which columns to show and which ones to hide, right-click on the top panel of column names
and click Select Columns from the drop-down menu. In the Select Columns window, you can customize
what to show in your worksheet by checking or un-checking the boxes.
To delete a worksheet, left-click to select a tab and select Delete Worksheet command .

To add a new item, left-click Add command .

To cut a selected item, left-click to select one line item and select Cut command.

To paste an item, select Paste command. The pasted item will appear at the bottom of the list.

To delete an item from worksheet, left-click to highlight it and select Delete command .

To merge multiple line items into one, hold down Ctrl key and left-click to select more than one item.

Then click merge .

To move an item up or down, left-click to highlight it and click Move Up or Move Down command to
move it up or down by one item. Click the command as many times as needed to move to desired
location on list.

To reload/refresh your estimation to current worksheet, click Reload command.

To export to Excel workbook, select Export Excel File , navigate to target directory, type in file
name, and it saves current presentation of worksheet into the Excel format.

 Note: Data exported to MS Excel does not include the formula for total calculation. One may
need to build a formula for future recalculation needed with exported Excel file.

11 Project Printout and Report

Installation diagrams are vital to the quality of an installation job. It is often attached with the work
order and must be followed by installers. Before printing the diagram page, click File menu and go to
Print to preview printouts and set up print options.
After select Print command, preview of printouts will be displayed. On top of preview window, there are
several submenus.

 Select Print to choose a physical printer or a virtual printer to print diagrams.

 Select Printer & Paper to choose paper size and layout orientation.

 Select Options to configure printout format and content.

  After configuration, select Print PDF to convert diagram and documents into PDF document and
save them to a local computer.

12 Synchronize to M2 Cloud

MeasureSquare program can save and retrieve data from M2 cloud, such as, user data, product
database and print templates. For users who want to use MeasureSquare program on multiple devices,
it is important to sync to M2 Cloud periodically to ensure user data flow consistently on different
devices.

 To sync local project files to M2 cloud, go to File menu->Cloud File Tab->click on Import to
import project files that have been saved on local computer to M2 cloud->select project files to
be uploaded->click Open->click Sync.
  To sync product database to M2 cloud, go to Takeoff tab, find Product/Services panel, select
triangle icon and select Sync.

13 License Control

After a user has started subscribing one or more licenses, select Question Mark icon and select
MeasureSquare ID & license to review license status.
  If the program is not activated and if a license is available, select the license and click Activate to
start using it.
 If user is done with using the program and wants to transfer the license to another machine,
click Logout & Quit. The license will be returned to M2 cloud and will be available for another
machine to use.

14 System Setting

System Setting is designed to help the user configure general settings and options. It is suggested to
explore this right after one opens the program.

To open System Setting, go to File menu->System Setting.

To change measurement system or select default unit name, open Measurement tab and select desired
measurement system and unit name from pull-down list.

To set default value for drawing, select Takeoff tab to make changes.
To configure system-level estimation criteria, open Estimating tab and specify desired rules.
To configure desired drawing style, select Drawing Style tab to modify default colors, thickness of lines,
etc.

To configure hotkeys, open Hotkey tab and specify desired keyboard shortcuts.
15 Onsite measure with Disto laser meter
MeasureSquare RETAIL and upper-tier editions are integrated to work with several Leica DISTO meter
models that are Bluetooth enabled. The PC or tablet running MeasureSquare must also be Bluetooth
capable to receive measurement data wirelessly transferred from the DISTO.

Key benefits of DISTO drawing include:

 Precision and efficiency with laser measurements to prevent human errors resulting from
measuring tapes
 Seamlessly measure large areas including rooms with obstructing objects such as furniture or
warehouse stacks
Supported DISTO Models: D330i, E7500i, E7100i, D810

15.1 Pair Disto meter with Windows and MeasureSquare

Step 1 Turn on DISTO

Turn on laser meter by pressing on the Red On button.

Step 2 Turn on Bluetooth

To turn on Bluetooth on Disto device, find model name and follow instructions below.
For D330i: Press Bluetooth button to switch Bluetooth on or off.

For E7100i: To turn on Bluetooth, press Bluetooth button to switch Bluetooth on or off.

For E7500i: Press Func. ->Top-left Dot button->Press ‘=’ to switch Bluetooth on or off.
For D810 Touch:

Step 3 Pair Disto with Windows PC

1. Select the Start button, then select Settings > Devices > Bluetooth.

2. Turn on Bluetooth > select the device > Enter paring code: 0000 (Four zeros) ->Pair.

*Previously paired devices will be stored to PC, therefore pairing is only essential for first time DISTO
usage

Step 4 Pair MeasureSquare with Disto meter

1. Open MeasureSquare. Under Takeoff Tab, select Disto icon->Discover->Connect to establish the
software connection with the DISTO.
2. If the connection is successful, Disto device will be highlighted in green.
Please note that Windows automatically disconnects Disto if the device is idle for 30 seconds. To stay
connected, check Keep Alive box.
15.2 Drawing with the DISTO and MeasureSquare

After the DISTO is successfully paired with MeasureSquare, user can draw with the DISTO and
MeasureSquare by first selecting a starting point and then proceeding to draw via either the Draw
Room or Draw Takeout functions.

Below is a guide to the commands available to the user in the DISTO Start Point Picking Mode

Start Point Picking Mode

To select a starting point,

1. Use arrow keys on the soft keyboard in MeasureSquare to move the blue dot to the desired
start point.

2. Once the desired starting point is located, press on the DISTO start Room Drawing mode.

Room Drawing Mode

When entering room drawing mode, user can use Disto device and soft keyboard in MeasureSquare to
capture room shapes. This chapter will demonstrate how to capture a rectangular shaped room and a
polygon shaped room.

Draw a Rectangular Room

1. Press on Disto to enter “Drawing Mode”. The blue dot turns to red arrow. Point
the red arrow to desired direction using arrow keys in soft keyboard.
2. Press the button again on Disto to capture and transfer first measurement. As
soon as the measurement is received, MeasureSquare draws a wall in drawing area.

Note: when measuring a wall, place the end of Disto against one wall and use laser to
shoot the oppsite wall as shown in the image below.

3. Capture and transfer next wall measurement using the button (identical to the
first step)
 4. Square the room by pressing Close command. (the last two walls do not need to be
measured)

5. As soon as room is closed, it enters Start Point Picking mode.

Draw a Polygon Room

The example below demonstrates steps necessary to create a polygon room with features
including a doorway, a missing wall, and an angled wall.

1. Press on Disto to enter “Drawing Mode”. The blue dot turns to a red arrow. Point
the red arrow to desired direction using arrow keys in soft keyboard.

2. Press the button again on Disto to capture and transfer the first measurement. As
soon as the measurement is received, MeasureSquare will draw first wall on the drawing
area.

3. Capture and transfer the next wall measurement using the button (identical to the
first step)
4. To add a door, capture the measurement from door-jamb to jamb by pressing the
button on Disto, then go to MeasureSquare soft keyboard->select Mode->Convert to
Door in MeasureSquare.

The program will convert last measurement to a doorway.

5. To draw an opening, capture the measurement of an opening by pressing the
button on Disto, then go to MeasureSquare soft keyboard->select Mode->Convert to
missing wall in MeasureSquare.
6. To draw a 45 degree angled wall, select Rotate to rotate red arrow to desired angle

7. Select Close key to close the room. (the last wall does not need to be measured)
15.3 Advanced Techniques

MeasureSquare provides user shortcuts to help speed up measuring. It also offers advanced functions to
help user handle situations that involve measuring walls with arbitrary angels, curved walls, outside
corners, etc. Those techniques will be discussed in this chapter.

Room Corner Navigation

Normally a user wants to start measuring from corner point of an existing room. To quickly navigate to
room corner,

 Use arrow keys to move blue dot to target room.

 When blue dot gets close to a wall, it will snap to nearest two corner points by creating two
more blue dots.
 Select desired corner point using Next Point key on soft keyboard. Then press the red ON
button on Disto to enter “Drawing Mode”.
Size Entry with Keypad

If a measurement is shorter than length of Disto device itself, it is difficult to be captured by Disto.
MeasureSquare allows a user to manually input a measurement while measuring with Disto.

 While in Room Drawing mode, use arrow keys to point red arrow to desired direction
 Select Input, enter desired measurement, say 6”, and then select Apply. 6” wall will be created
in drawing area.
 Continue to measure with Disto

Switch Starting Point

While measuring halfway, if one wants to measure from the other end of drawing, select Mode then
selects Switch Starting Point to measure.
Create a Room Based on Existing walls

MeasureSquare allow users to create room based on existing walls of connected rooms. As the example
shows below, if user starts from a corner point, measures one wall, then point red arrow to desired
direction, MeasureSquare will automatically predict room shape based on existing walls and create pink
contour. Select Close on soft keyboard, it converts a pink contour to regular walls.

If the pink contour does not look correct, ignore it and continue measure.
Measure Walls with Outside Corner

When measuring walls with outside corners, one may need to use the Minus function. For example, to
measure the angled wall in the image below, user can

 Measure from one corner to a point on a wall to obtain the first measurement, which is
highlighted in blue.
 Select Mode->Minus. A pink arrow appears, which is going to deduct next measurement from
the measurement obtained in step 1
 Measure from the other corner to the same point in step 1 to obtain second measurement,
which is highlighted in orange.
 The length of the angled wall will be computed automatically.
Measure Arbitrary Angled Wall

To measure an arbitrary angled wall, user can use triangulation function.

Step1: Measure two or more corners of a room and then select Mode->Triangulation.

Step 2 Press the Lower left button to cycle through corners until desired reference point is selected.

Step 3 Capture the distance, shown as a dashed blue line in the image above and transfer via Bluetooth.
The angled wall will then be shown in red indicating a successful measure
Measure Curved Wall

*Arc is drawn by first locating the Apex, and then the endpoint of the arc

Step1: Measure from one end of arc to a point on the arc.

Step 2: Measure from the same point on arc to the other end of arc
Step 3: select Mode->Convert to Arc. It will convert last two measurements to a curved wall.
16 How to Convert C++ Database and Projects to .NET
16.12.1 Convert C++ Database to .NET
There are two ways to import the MeasureSquare 2015 database to MeasureSquare 2017:

1. On MeasureSquare 2017, Go to File -> Product Database -> Import MeasureSquare

2015 Products. (or on the Takeoff tab, open product catalog window as shown below)

Select saved 2015 product database (fepMaterial7.mdb) from Open pop-up window,
and click Open.

After the database is imported, left click on the database that just imported and click OK
on the Product Catalogs window.
2. Save 2015 product database as XML database file: On MeasureSquare 2015, go to File ->
Database. In the Product/Services Database window that appears, click on Database
Management and select Backup Database as XML File. Type in file name in Save As
window and click Save.

Then on MeasureSquare 2017, Go to File -> Product Database -> Product Catalogs. Click
on black triangle icon and select Import MeasureSquare 2015 XML Database File from
drop-down menu. In the Open window, select the 2015 XML file saved from earlier and
click Open. Then click OK on the Product Catalogs window.
16.12.2 Convert C++ Projects to .NET
 Make sure your MeasureSquare 2015 projects are saved as fepx files on your
computer.
 Open the MeasureSquare 2015 project file on MeasureSquare 2017.