Measure an area

Draw around a pasture, a rooftop or a gravel pad to get its surface area and perimeter.

On the 2D map

1. Open the 2D Map tab.
2. Click the pentagon icon in the toolbar (tooltip: Measure area & perimeter).
3. Click at least 3 corners around the outline.
4. Double-click to close it, or click your starting point when a ring shows it will snap closed.
5. Read the area and perimeter: acres and square feet (Imperial), or hectares and square meters (Metric).

In a 3D view

1. Open a 3D tab, such as 3D Model.
2. Click the pentagon icon (Measure area & vertical relief).
3. Click at least 3 points on the model, then double-click to close the shape.
4. The area drapes over the terrain, so a sloped field reads larger than its flat footprint.
5. You also get the vertical relief: the height difference between the highest and lowest point you clicked.

Vertical relief is a distance, not a volume. It says how much the ground rises, not how much material sits inside.

A volume for your outline

On the 2D Map, click Volume & acreage on the area's row in the results panel. It appears when your project has elevation data.

It measures cut, fill and net inside that outline, naming the two things that decide the answer:

• The elevation surface: the surface model includes piles, canopy and roofs; bare earth filters them out. A stockpile measured against bare earth reads far too small. With both, you can switch.
• The base surface: a best-fit plane through the ground around the outline, that edge's lowest point or average height, or an elevation you type.

For the whole scan, see Measure stockpile & earthwork volumes.

Tips

• Undo (curved-arrow icon) removes your last corner.
• Touch devices: a single tap places a corner. From your third corner a ring marks the first one; one tap on the ring closes the shape. Pinch to zoom without placing corners.
• Units: switch Imperial and Metric in the gear/Settings panel.
• The results panel lists every finished area to hide, delete or export.
• The numbers are only as good as how closely you trace the real edge.