Vector plans: Review surfaces

Extracts named legend surfaces from a vector PDF and creates editable, unpriced areas only after review.

Use Review surfaces when a supported vector PDF contains named surfaces in its legend and the tool offers a reviewable extraction.

Before you start

Availability: Business plan and above. Enabled business features, role permissions, connected providers and supported devices may add requirements.

Documented roles: Owner, Office. A role name alone does not override the permissions set by your business.

Where to find it: Takeoffs > Review surfaces.

Check the file type and legend on the selected page. A PDF can contain a scanned image rather than vector geometry, and a vector drawing may still lack a supported surface legend.

Using this guide in United Kingdom

  • Set your business country in Business settings before entering customer addresses or preparing documents. The country selected on the public website does not change an existing business.
  • Check the business currency (GBP), time zone and document tax settings. Only enable tax collection if your business is registered and the settings match your requirements. Your customer invoice tax settings are separate from tax on your AllQuote subscription.
  • Screenshots use demonstration records. Their sample currency, addresses and tax amounts do not override your business settings.
  • Check the drawing units, calibrate against a known dimension and confirm the ledger unit before applying a material rate. An address or website country does not convert a drawing, assembly quantity or supplier rate. For volume, use consistent area and depth units before checking the cubic quantity.
A real vector elevation excerpt without a surface legend. Review surfaces is conditional and is not offered here; use manual measurements when no supported surfaces are detected.
A real vector elevation excerpt without a surface legend. Review surfaces is conditional and is not offered here; use manual measurements when no supported surfaces are detected. Select the image to view it at full size.

Step by step

  1. Open a vector PDF page and choose Review surfaces when the plan contains named surfaces in its legend.
  2. If no named legend surfaces are found, keep measuring manually; Review surfaces does not guess unnamed finishes.
  3. Compare each extracted legend name with the highlighted regions and reject any incorrect placement.
  4. Apply only the reviewed surfaces, then check and price the new editable, unpriced areas against the drawing.

Worked example

On a suitable finishes drawing, review each extracted named surface before creating editable areas. In the guide's elevation screenshot there is no surface legend, so the documented fallback is manual measurement.

This is an illustrative scenario. Use your own approved scope, quantities, rates and business rules.

Check the result

Check names, boundaries, units and duplicates against the drawing. Created areas remain unpriced until they are mapped or priced and reviewed for the estimate.

Limits and troubleshooting

Review surfaces is conditional, not available on every PDF. Its absence on the illustrated elevation is intentional evidence of that limit; do not treat extraction as automatic material pricing.

Open the complete takeoff walkthrough with volume, formula, assembly and overlay examples

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