Take-off fields and the BOQ
Available onEstimatorBuilder
A take-off field is where a quantity lives. Fields belong to assemblies, the same ones the BOQ uses, so a field you measure into is immediately available to price against.
This is the part of Take-Off that does the real work. The measuring is just clicking; the field is what makes the measurement useful.
Creating a field
Section titled “Creating a field”Click New field in the fields panel. Give it a name, a unit, and an assembly — or create a new assembly at the same time.
Choose the unit carefully — it decides what you can measure into it:
| Field unit | You can measure |
|---|---|
| Each | Counts |
| LM (linear metres) | Lines and polylines |
| M2 (square metres) | Areas — or lines and polylines, if the field has a height |
| M3 (cubic metres) | Areas, if the field has a depth |
| MM (millimetres) | Lines and polylines |
If a tool is greyed out, hover it: Take-Off will tell you exactly why that combination cannot produce a quantity in that unit.
Heights and depths
Section titled “Heights and depths”Set a default height on a field to turn lengths into areas automatically — a wall run measured into an M2 field becomes length × height. Set a default depth on an M3 field to turn areas into volumes.
This is what saves you typing 2.4 onto every wall in the building.
Worked example: three fields off one floor plan
Section titled “Worked example: three fields off one floor plan”| Field | Unit | Height / depth | Tool you use | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Slab area |
M2 | — | Area | 186.40 m² |
Slab concrete |
M3 | Depth 0.1 |
Area | 18.64 m³ |
External wall |
M2 | Height 2.4 |
Polyline | 130.08 m² |
Notice the second row. You draw the same slab outline, but because the field is M3 with a 100 mm depth, it returns a volume instead of an area. Two fields, two units, one shape traced twice — and both follow any change you make later.
One field, one drawing
Section titled “One field, one drawing”A field accumulates measurements across as many pages of one drawing as you like — a slab spanning three sheets is one field.
It cannot span two different drawings. If you try, Take-Off will tell you which drawing the field is already measured on. Use a separate field instead — this keeps it unambiguous which drawing a quantity came from, which is what you want when someone queries a number six weeks later.
Getting to a field measured on another drawing
Section titled “Getting to a field measured on another drawing”Because a field belongs to one drawing, you will often see a field with a quantity against it while the drawing in front of you has nothing drawn for it. Those fields are marked with a small PDF icon in the list.
Select one and Take-Off tells you where its measurements actually are — “12 measurements are on A-102 First Floor Plan” — with a button to open that drawing. It switches, goes straight to the first page the field is measured on, and switches the field back on if you had it hidden. Double-clicking the field does the same thing.
The field list
Section titled “The field list”Each field shows its running total and its unit. Expand one to see every measurement in it, with the page it is on.
Finding a field. Type in the box under + New field and the list filters as you type, on the field’s name or its assembly’s. Esc clears it.
Naming a measurement. Every row starts as its page number — p1, p1, p1. Double-click the row, or click its pencil, type a name — “Bed 1”, “North wall” — and press Enter. The name replaces the page number in the list (the page is still in the tooltip) and is written on the drawing beside the value.
Which one is this? Click a row and that measurement is highlighted on the drawing — going to its page first if it is on another one. It works the other way too: with the Select tool, click a shape on the drawing and its row lights up in the list, opening its field if need be. Double-click the field itself to go to the first page it appears on.
Getting the quantity into the BOQ
Section titled “Getting the quantity into the BOQ”Measuring for a specific BOQ item
Section titled “Measuring for a specific BOQ item”From the BOQ, open an item’s Calculate Quantity, choose the Fields tab, and click Measure on the plan.
Take-Off opens with that item in mind. Measure into an existing field or create a new one, and when you press Done the item is pointed at that field. Its quantity then follows every future measurement, with nothing else to run.
Pricing against a field you have already measured
Section titled “Pricing against a field you have already measured”In the same Fields tab, just pick the field from the list.
How the quantity reaches the BOQ
Section titled “How the quantity reaches the BOQ”The BOQ reads the field’s quantity live. There is no export step, no recalculation to trigger and no cache to clear — change a measurement and the BOQ is already right.
A field with a formula
Section titled “A field with a formula”If a field gets its quantity from a formula, that formula is its source of truth. Take-Off shows it as read-only and will not measure into it. Clear the formula first if you want to take the field off a drawing instead.
Deleting a field
Section titled “Deleting a field”Use the field’s settings dialog. If BOQ items take their quantity from that field, Take-Off refuses and names them — silently orphaning a priced quantity is the worst thing it could do. Re-point those items first.
Common problems
Section titled “Common problems”I cannot measure into a field. Either it gets its quantity from a formula, which takes priority, or it is already measured on a different drawing. Take-Off names the drawing when it refuses.
A quantity in the BOQ did not change when I measured. Confirm the item is actually set to take its quantity from that field: BOQ → Calculate Quantity → Fields.
A measurement has vanished. Check whether its field is hidden — look for the “n fields hidden” link at the top of the fields panel. Also check you are on the right page; the thumbnail badges show which pages carry measurements.