Type an exact wall length, and join walls at their corners

Step by step

1. 1

   Select the wall

   Tap or click the wall. A small panel appears beside it with three things: - its length (tap it to type), - a link button: blue means Joined walls move too; tap it and the wall moves on its own, - a magnet: on, the wall's ends snap to walls and corners; tap it for Free placement of this wall only. An interior wall's length is its clear length, wall face to wall face. An outer wall's length is its outside length. That's the same number the plan shows along the wall.

   

2. 2

   Type the length and check the pin

   Tap the length. Two boxes open (feet + inches, or metres + centimetres). While they're open, the plan marks the wall's ends: - the yellow pin is the end that stays put, - the blue arrow in a dashed yellow circle is the end that moves. Want the other end to stay? Tap the arrow and the pin and arrow swap. Type the length and press Enter or the ✓ (on a phone, the ✓ above the keyboard or tapping elsewhere applies it too); the ✗ cancels. Which end stays by default: the end that's joined to other walls. If both ends are joined, the left end stays (the top end for an up-and-down wall), as you see the plan. Walls joined to the one you change grow or shrink with it, and doors and windows keep their distance from the fixed end.

   

3. 3

   Outer walls work the same way

   Select an outer wall and tap its length. Here the top wall is 24′ 6.5″ outside; the pin sits on the left corner and the arrow on the right, so typing 24′ moves the right-hand corner and the side walls follow. Tap the arrow to keep the right corner instead. You can also type in the Length field of the wall's settings bar at the bottom of the screen (where you also set height, thickness and load-bearing); it shows the same pin and arrow.

   

4. 4

   Or set a room's size by tapping its measurement

   When you know the room's inside size rather than a wall's length, tap the room's own measurement along the wall. The boxes open with that size, and the wall that will slide to make it is highlighted in yellow. Interior walls move before the outside of the house does. Measurements for rooms show when Layers → Split at wall intersections is on. More in See the inside size of every room.

   

5. 5

   Make a wall end meet a corner, not the middle of a wall

   Drag the end of an interior wall (the crosshair at its end) or pull a new wall out of the + › handle toward the corner you want. Watch the green mark at the end you're dragging: - a ring means it will join a corner or another wall's end, - a bar (a bold T when it's square) means it will join the side of a wall at that spot, - the new wall turns green when it's aimed square at a wall ahead. Corners and wall ends win over the side of a wall when you're near them, so bring the end close to the corner and let go when you see the ring. Zoom in for precise work: the pull toward nearby walls shrinks as you zoom in, so you can stop a few inches short of a wall. The round magnifier shows exactly where the walls meet. Need the end somewhere snapping won't let it go? Hold Ctrl (⌘ on a Mac) while you drag, or tap the wall's magnet so it shows Free (handy on a phone or tablet).

   

6. 6

   Turn snapping off for one wall

   Walls snap whatever the red magnet in the toolbar says; that one is for furniture. Each wall has its own magnet in its panel. Tap it and it shows Free: that wall's ends (and new walls you pull out of it) go exactly where you drop them. Tap again to snap. See Turn snapping on or off.

   

Common mistakes

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