Plans: Measure, Draw, Calibrate, and Georeference

On a plan, you can measure, draw, link markings to other plans, keep markings private, calibrate the plan, and georeference it on the map. All tools are in a toolbar right next to the plan preview.

Where to find the tools

In the project menu, open the Plans page and then a plan (including the view of a specific version). The toolbar sits right next to the plan preview.

The same toolbar is in the plan tile on the Tickets page when you choose a plan or a map there. Two differences:

• “Place ticket”, “Create ticket for selection”, and “Screenshot” only exist in the Tickets view.

• “Calibrate plan” and “Georeference plan” only exist in the Plans view.

Maps (plans of the type Map) also have the toolbar. There you measure directly on the Earth's surface, without a scale; calibrating and georeferencing are neither needed nor possible there. IFC models have their own viewer with its own tools, see the article BIM viewer.

The toolbar

The tools are arranged in groups. A group shows the tool you used last from it as its icon. If you tap the group, the menu with all its tools opens. Tools without a group (for example “Text”) are switched on with a tap; a second tap switches back to “Select”.

• Select: click, move, and edit markings. A tap on empty space clears the selection.

• Link: “Plan link”, and in the Tickets view also “Place ticket”. In the Plans view, “Plan link” sits directly in the toolbar.

• Draw: “Freehand”, “Highlighter”, “Large highlighter”, “Line”, “Arrow”, “Polyline”.

• Shapes: “Cloud”, “Rectangle”, “Circle”, “Triangle”, “Polygon”, each as an outline or filled (for example “Cloud (filled)”).

• Text and Symbol: “Text” places a label. “Symbol” opens stamps (OK, Defect, Check, Attention, Rework, Approval, Done, Important).

• Measure: “Calibrate plan”, “Measure distance”, “Measure polyline”, “Measure area”, “Measure angle”, “Georeference plan”.

• Style: color, “Line thickness”, “Opacity”, and “New markings private” for the next drawing.

• After that: “Undo”, “Redo”, “Paste”, “Multi-select”, “Filter by creator”, “Full screen”, as well as “Show layers” (eye) and “View” (compass).

More tools: If the toolbar does not fit in the width (top, bottom) or height (left, right), the remaining tools move into the “More tools” menu. Tools that belong together stay together. The menu closes after each choice.

Toolbar position: By default, it sits at the top. Under “Settings” in the “Plans & BIM” section, you use “Toolbar position” to choose whether it sits at the top, left, right, or bottom. The choice only applies to the device you are on and to plans, maps, and the BIM viewer.

Drawing

Choose a tool and draw directly in the plan. Every drawing is saved immediately.

• Click or drag: With the mouse, you create a line, arrow, rectangle, triangle, or cloud either with two clicks (start and end, for rectangle, triangle, and cloud from corner to corner) or by pressing the mouse button, dragging, and releasing. For the circle, the first point is the center and the second sets the radius.

• Point by point: You set a polyline and a polygon point by point. On the web, you finish with a double-click or Enter. A polyline needs at least two points, a polygon at least three.

• Freehand and highlighter: You drag across the plan. With the mouse, you can also click to start, move, and click to finish.

• Cloud: The cloud draws arcs along a rectangle that you pull open from two corners. It is useful for marking an area as changed or to be checked.

• Filled shapes: In the “Shapes” menu, choose the entry with the addition “(filled)”. The fill has the color of the line at a fixed opacity of 35 percent. Afterwards, you switch it with “Fill area” under “Edit”.

• Highlighter: Width and opacity (40 percent) are fixed; from the “Style” menu, only the color counts. Highlighters are in their own layer.

• Text: Set a point, enter the content in the “Text” dialog, and save.

• Symbol: Choose a stamp and place it on the plan.

On touch devices (smartphone, tablet), you tap the points. You finish open shapes with the “Finish” and “Cancel” buttons that appear at the top of the plan. “Cancel” discards all points you have set. A double-click is not needed there.

Appearance: In the “Style” menu, you set the color (12 colors), “Line thickness” (1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 12), and “Opacity” (100, 75, 50, 25 percent) for the next drawing. The defaults are red, thickness 3, and 100 percent.

Changing afterwards: Select a marking and tap “Edit” in the toolbar below. Depending on the type, you change “Name” (only for a single selection), “Color”, “Line thickness”, “Font size” (only text, symbol, and plan link), “Fill area”, or “Visibility”. The opacity cannot be changed afterwards. To move a marking, you drag it with the mouse on the web or tap “Move” and then the target point. “Delete” removes it without asking.

“Undo” and “Redo” apply to the steps of the current session: creating, moving, editing, deleting, as well as Private or Project.

Drawings belong to the plan, not to a single version: Each version shows all drawings in the right place.

Effect on others: All project members with access see new and changed drawings immediately, unless you have made them private. Anyone with the right “Create plan drawings” may change and delete markings that are not private, including those made by others. “Undo” also takes effect for everyone.

Measuring

A measurement is a drawing with a value. upmesh saves the measurement points, not the value: the number shown on the plan is calculated from the points and the scale of the plan. If the scale changes, for example after a new calibration, the displayed measurement values change as well.

• Measure distance: two points, the length is shown right at the line.

• Measure polyline: at least two points, the sum of the partial distances is shown.

• Measure area: at least three points, area and perimeter are shown.

• Measure angle: three points (first arm, vertex, second arm), shown in degrees. The measurement finishes by itself after the third point.

Measurements are shown dashed, are in the “Measurements” layer, and are saved automatically as soon as they are finished. There is no save button.

Unit of measurement: Under “Settings”, “Plans & BIM”, “Unit of measurement”, you choose between “Metric” and “Imperial”. With metric, upmesh shows distances under one meter in centimeters, otherwise in meters, and areas under one square meter in cm², otherwise in m². The choice applies to your account on all devices.

Plan not calibrated: As long as you measure and the plan is not calibrated, a note at the top of the plan tells you that the lengths are based only on the entered scale. This note does not depend on the “Cursor hints” setting. In the plan details, version list, and plan table, a badge “Not calibrated” or “Calibrated on” with date and name shows the status. For accurate values, calibrate the plan first.

Effect on others: All project members with access see a measurement, unless you have made it private. Anyone with the right “Create plan drawings” can change, move, or delete a measurement that is not private, not only its creator.

Calibrating a plan

When you calibrate, you set the scale using a distance whose true length you know. All measurements on the plan then use this scale. For this, you need the right “Activate plan version”. Aligning a plan version, which brings two versions of a plan into congruence, is something different. It is described in the article Plan details and plan versions in the project.

1. Open the plan in the Plans view and choose “Calibrate plan” in the “Measure” group.

2. Set two points whose real distance you know.

3. In the “Calibrate plan” dialog, enter the true length in “Actual distance in meters” (with the imperial unit, in feet, for example 12' 6"). The dialog shows you what the distance would be at the previous scale.

4. Tap “Save”.

If the new scale differs from the previous one by at least 10 percent, upmesh asks you once more under “Scale deviation”. You confirm with “Apply anyway”. After that, the plan shows “Calibrated on” with date and name.

Scale suggestion: If you upload a PDF with a text layer, upmesh reads details like “M 1:100” or “Maßstab 1:50” from the text on the first page and prefers the title block. Values it finds are only suggested: When you activate the plan version, the “Scale found” dialog opens with “Apply” and “Discard”, and the badge says “Scale 1:100 found”. For images, IFC files, and scanned PDFs without a text layer, there is no suggestion. Important: “Apply” only sets the scale. The plan stays “Not calibrated” until you have calibrated it by hand.

Effect on others: A new calibration replaces the previous one for all project members. The values of existing measurements are recalculated with the new scale. Tickets keep their saved position in real centimeters and may therefore appear at a different place in the plan afterwards.

Georeferencing a plan

When you georeference, you place the plan at the right spot on the map. Afterwards, the plan appears semi-transparent on the map, and ticket positions can be converted between plan and map. You need the right “Activate plan version”. A calibrated plan is required, because the size comes from the calibration. Until then, the entry is called “Calibrate first, then georeference” and is grayed out.

1. In the “Measure” group, choose “Georeference plan”.

2. The map opens where the plan already lies, otherwise at the construction site address of the project, otherwise in the middle of Germany. The plan lies semi-transparent on top of it. Move it until it sits on its floor plan.

3. With the hand icon (“Dragging moves the plan” or “Dragging moves the map”), you switch what your dragging moves. A long press places the plan with its center at that spot.

4. “Rotate left” and “Rotate right” rotate in 5-degree steps, “Orient towards north” cancels the rotation, and “Change opacity” makes the plan more or less see-through.

5. Save with “Save”.

There are no size controls. If you want to work more precisely, choose “Control points”: Tap a recognizable spot in the plan and then the same spot on the map. This gives you a pair. From two pairs on, the plan aligns accordingly; at most three pairs count. The calculation uses shifting, rotation, and uniform scaling, never distortion. The “Residual error” shows the largest deviation of a control point. It appears from two pairs on, but it only means something from three pairs on: With two pairs, it is always zero mathematically. With “Remove georeference” (only for a georeferenced plan), you take the georeferencing out again.

You show and hide georeferenced plans on maps via “Show layers” and “Show georeferenced plans”. The map needs an internet connection.

Effect on others: The georeferencing applies to all project members.

Cursor hints

For every tool, upmesh shows a short hint about what to do next, for example “Click or drag to draw a line”. On the web with a mouse, the hint follows the mouse pointer. On touch devices (tablet, smartphone, also in the browser), the same text appears as a dark bar at the top of the plan and fades out after about three and a half seconds; for open shapes, it stays, together with the “Finish” and “Cancel” buttons.

You can switch the hints off under “Settings”, “Plans & BIM”, “Cursor hints”. “Finish” and “Cancel” remain on touch devices even then. The switch applies to your user account.

Multi-select and totals

You can select several markings at once:

• Web with mouse: Shift, Ctrl, or Cmd click adds a marking or removes it. While holding Shift, you drag a frame with the “Select” tool; everything that lies completely inside the frame is selected.

• Touch: Switch on “Multi-select” in the toolbar and tap the markings one after the other. You cannot drag a frame there. The “Multi-select” button exists on all devices.

A selection bar with the count (“3 selected”) appears at the bottom of the plan. If measurements are included, it shows “Total area”, “Total perimeter” (from the area measurements), and “Total length” (distances and polylines). Angles and drawn shapes do not count toward the totals. The totals use your unit of measurement.

Actions for the selection:

• “Edit” changes color, thickness, fill, font, and visibility of all selected markings at once.

• “Move”: Tap the target, and the center of the selection jumps there.

• “Copy” (Ctrl+C) and “Paste” (Ctrl+V): The clipboard applies to the session, including across plans. On the same plan, the copies are pasted slightly offset; on a different plan, at the same position. The private status is copied along; plan links to the plan itself are left out.

• “Make private” or “Share with project”, if all selected markings are your own.

• With exactly one marking: “Create ticket for selection” or “Open linked ticket” (only in the Tickets view), and for a plan link “Open plan”.

• “Delete” (Del or Backspace) and “Clear selection”.

Without the right “Create plan drawings”, Edit, Move, Paste, and Delete are grayed out; selecting and copying remain possible.

Effect on others: Edit, Move, Paste, and Delete take effect for all project members, as with a single marking. The totals are only a display for you.

Plan links

A plan link is a marking that jumps to another plan, for example from the floor plan to the detail plan.

1. In the “Link” group, choose the “Plan link” tool and set a point.

2. Choose the target plan. All plans of the project except the current one are available.

The link appears as a label with “»” and the title of the target plan. The title is read live from the target plan and therefore follows a rename. If you tap a link while the “Select” tool is active, a preview opens with a thumbnail, plan title, and the active version (“Version 3, active since 12 Oct 2026”). There you have:

• “Open plan” (or a click on the thumbnail): jumps to the target plan. With “Back”, you return once in this session to the same spot in the original plan.

• “Choose a different plan”: changes the target.

• “Delete link”: removes the link.

You may create, change, and delete links with the right “Create plan drawings”. To open one, the read right for the target plan is enough. If you lack it, the link is not visible to you.

Important: If the target plan is deleted, the link stays and is called “Plan no longer available”. A click shows “The linked plan has been deleted.” with “Delete link” (only with write right) and “OK”.

Effect on others: Plan links are project markings and visible to everyone who may read the target plan. When a project is copied, links are redirected to the copied plans; links to plans that were not copied are dropped.

Private markings

Only you see a private marking. This applies to drawings, measurements, texts, symbols, and plan links. This helps for your own notes that should not bother the team.

• Create as private: In the “Style” menu, switch on “New markings private”. The icon in the toolbar then turns into a lock. Under “Settings”, “Plans & BIM”, you can permanently switch on “New markings are private by default” for your account.

• Switch afterwards: Select markings and tap the lock in the selection bar (“Make private” or “Share with project”), or change the “Visibility” in the “Edit marking” dialog. This only works if all selected markings are yours.

• Recognizing and hiding them: Private markings are drawn dotted; only highlighters stay solid. There is no lock icon on the marking itself. In the “Show layers” menu, you show and hide them via “My private markings”.

Who sees and changes what: The server delivers a private marking only to its creator. Even project managers and administrators do not see other people's private markings. Only the creator may change it, delete it, and link it to a ticket, and likewise switch it between Private and Project.

Effect on others: If you choose “Share with project” for a marking, it becomes visible and editable for all project members with access. If you set it back to “Private”, it disappears for everyone else. When a project is copied, private markings stay private and still belong to their creator.

Layers, view, and full screen

• Show layers: shows and hides “Tickets”, “Drawings & shapes”, “Measurements”, “Texts & symbols”, “Plan links”, “Highlighter”, and “My private markings” individually. This is also where “Show scale bar” (only for calibrated plans), “Show your location”, and on maps “Show georeferenced plans” are. The layer selection is not saved: The next time you open the plan, everything is visible again.

• Filter by creator: shows only the markings of one person. This selection is not saved either.

• View: The compass menu always names the action: “Allow pitch” or “Prohibit pitch”, “Allow rotation” or “Prohibit rotation”, “Orient towards north”, and “Show north arrow” or “Hide north arrow”. The north arrow is only available for georeferenced plans and on maps. These options apply per user and device for all plans.

• Full screen: enlarges the plan preview to the whole screen. With “Exit fullscreen” or Esc, you get back.

Effect on others: None. Layers, filter, and view only affect you.

Keyboard shortcuts (web only)

On the web, there are shortcuts for the tools: V Select, K Plan link, P Freehand, H Highlighter, L Line, A Arrow, U Polyline, C Cloud, R Rectangle, O Circle, D Triangle, G Polygon, T Text, S Symbol, M Measure distance, F Full screen. In the Tickets view, N sets “Place ticket”. In addition, Esc (one step back), Enter (finish an open shape), Del or Backspace (delete), Ctrl or Cmd+Z (undo), Ctrl or Cmd+Shift+Z or Ctrl+Y (redo), Ctrl or Cmd+C (copy), and Ctrl or Cmd+V (paste) apply. There is no shortcut for “Large highlighter”, “Measure polyline”, “Measure area”, “Measure angle”, filled shapes, “Calibrate plan”, and “Georeference plan”.

The shortcuts are not active while you type in a field or a menu or dialog is open. Without write right, only V works.

Settings for plans

At the top, open the menu with your profile picture and choose “Settings”, and there the “Plans & BIM” section. These are not the project settings in the project menu.

• Toolbar position: Top, Left, Right, or Bottom. Applies only to this device.

• Unit of measurement: Metric (m, cm, m²) or Imperial (ft, in, ft²). Applies to your account on all devices.

• Cursor hints: on by default.

• New markings are private by default: off by default.

Effect on others: None. All settings only affect you.

Who can do what

Your project role determines what you may do. You find the rights in the project under Team, tab Roles, group Plans.

• Plan management (read right): view, select, copy, and open plan links. Without this right, the Plans menu item does not exist. Of the default roles, project manager, employee, and observer have it, subcontractor does not.

• Create plan drawings: draw, measure, set plan links, and edit, move, delete, and make markings private. Included by default for project manager and employee, not for subcontractor and observer. Without this right, the drawing and measuring tools are grayed out.

• Activate plan version: additionally calibrate plan, georeference plan, remove georeference, and apply a scale that was found. Included by default only for the project manager.

Drawings and new plan versions

Drawings and measurements belong to the plan, not to a single version. If you upload a new version or activate a different one, they are neither copied nor moved. Instead, upmesh shows all drawings of the plan on every version, including older ones. To do this, upmesh converts them to the sheet of the displayed version based on their real position. This happens automatically, you do not have to do anything.

How well the drawings fit on a new version depends on the sheet:

• Same sheet size: The new version takes over the scale, calibration, and georeferencing of the previous version (the version with the next lower number, not necessarily the active one). The drawings line up exactly right away. The rotation, however, comes from the upload. If the previous version has no scale, no calibration, and no georeferencing, or if it is an IFC model, nothing is taken over.

• Different sheet size: If the content sits differently on the sheet, drawings (and tickets) can appear offset. In that case, bring the new version into alignment with “Align plan versions”: You find it in the version comparison as “Align” or “Align again” and set two points that show the same spot in both versions. For this, you need the right “Activate plan version”. Aligning does not copy any drawings, it only shifts how they are displayed on the newer version. If the older version is georeferenced, the newer one takes over its georeferencing. If it is not georeferenced, the newer one is not georeferenced afterwards either. You can find more in the article Plan details and plan versions in the project.

• When activating: The “Update ticket location” dialog only appears if tickets are located on the plan. As with tickets, its alignment also applies to the converted drawings. If there are no located tickets, upmesh activates the version without a dialog. If the sheet differs, drawings can then be offset until you align the version.

The following also applies:

• Editing on any version: With the right “Create plan drawings”, you change, move, and delete a drawing on any version. It is the same drawing: You then see the change on all versions.

• Measured values: upmesh does not store them but calculates them from the drawing and the scale of the displayed version. If you align a version again, the displayed values change there.

• Old copies: In the past, aligning copied drawings to the new version. upmesh hides such copies as long as they match the original. If one of the two was changed afterwards, both can appear.

• Tickets, reports, and thumbnails: They use the active version. Only markings that are linked to the ticket are drawn; drawings of other versions are converted.

• Copying a project: Only the active version is copied. The drawings of all versions end up on it, converted. The link between a drawing and a ticket is not copied.

Effect on others: Uploading and activating a version does not change any drawings. Whoever changes a drawing changes it for all project members on all versions. Aligning a version again applies to everyone.