Measure anything on your plan with the tape measure
A draggable tape measure for any distance on your plan. The ends snap to walls and furniture, and an Area mode gives live square footage. Tap the pin to keep a measurement on the plan as your own dimension, and it prints with your export.
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How to Add Your Own Measurements to a Floor Plan (Tape Measure)
Measure a distance, keep it on the plan with the pin, show or hide it in Layers, and print it with your plan.
RoomSketch3D measures the plan for you. Every wall shows its length, rooms are measured wall face to wall face, and a selected piece of furniture shows its size. Sometimes you need a distance the plan doesn't show: sofa to TV, bed to door, the walkway between the island and the counter. That's what the tape measure is for. Drop it anywhere, drag its ends, and read the true distance in your units.
The tape does more than lengths. Its ends snap onto wall faces, corners, and the edges of furniture, so you measure a real gap exactly. It locks square: the tape turns green when it's perfectly horizontal or vertical. An Area mode drags out a rectangle with live square footage. And when you want a measurement to stay, you keep it with the pin. A kept measurement becomes your own dimension on the plan, saved with the design and included in your exports.
Step by step
- 1
Open the tape measure
Click the Tape measure button (the ruler icon) in the toolbar above the plan. A tape appears on the plan with its length in the middle, and the button turns yellow while the tape is open.
The ruler button opens the tape, and clicking it again closes the tape. - 2
Drag the ends where you need them
Grab either end, the purple crosshair, and drop it on the exact spot: a furniture edge, a wall face, a doorway. Drag the middle of the tape to move the whole thing without changing its length.
Drag either end. The reading updates live in your units. - 3
Let the ends snap
Drag an end toward a wall, a corner, or the edge of a piece of furniture and it snaps onto it, so sofa-to-wall is measured face to face, not roughly. Keep dragging in a straight line and the tape turns green when it's exactly horizontal or vertical, so there's no accidental angle in the reading.
- 4
Lock an end for precision
When an end sits on a piece of furniture, a small lock button appears next to it. Lock it and that end travels with the piece. Move the sofa and the reading updates live, which is handy for trying a few positions.
- 5
Measure while you rearrange
With the tape open you can still grab and move furniture. Pin one end to an object, slide another piece, and watch the distance update live.
- 6
Switch to Area mode
Tap Area at the top of the plan (next to Length). A rectangle with four draggable corners appears. The corners snap to your walls and square up to right angles, and the square footage (or square metres) updates as you shape it. Use it for the size of a rug, a tiled zone, or a closet floor.
- 7
Save measured distances: tap the pin
This is how you add your own dimension to the plan. When the tape reads the distance you want, tap the pin in the yellow reading (its label is Keep this measurement). The measurement is now kept, and a fresh tape appears so you can measure the next thing. Kept areas work the same way: tap the pin on the area reading.
88″ of walkway between counter and rug. Tap the pin to keep it. - 8
Close the tape: the measurement stays
Click the tape button again, or the × in the reading, to put the tape away. Every measurement you kept stays on the plan in blue, with its length written on it, and it's saved with your design for next time and on your other devices. A kept measurement is fixed where you measured it. If you later move the furniture, it doesn't follow, so measure again and delete the old one.
The kept measurement stays on the plan after the tape is closed. - 9
Show or hide kept measurements in Layers
Open Layers and untick Show tape measurements to hide every kept measurement, for example while you arrange furniture. Tick it to bring them back. Hiding doesn't delete them, and keeping a new measurement switches the layer back on automatically. See the Layers panel for the other switches.
Layers → Show tape measurements hides or shows all kept measurements. - 10
Delete a kept measurement
With the tape closed, tap a kept measurement to select it. A red trash button (Delete measurement) appears on it. Tap the button to remove it.
Tap the measurement, then the red trash button. - 11
Kept measurements print with your plan
In Export / Print / Share → PNG/PDF or Print, the Tape measurements option is on by default, so your kept lengths and areas appear on the PNG, PDF, or printout. It's separate from the Layers switch, so a measurement you hid on screen still prints until you untick Tape measurements here. The open tape itself never prints, only measurements you kept.
Export / Print → Tape measurements, on by default.
Tips
Area mode is a tile and rug calculator
Drag the rectangle over the zone, read the square footage, and buy that much. Then plan the exact cuts in the Tile Planner.
Keep the measurements you'll argue about
Sofa-to-TV, island clearance, the hallway width: keep them on the plan so they're in the export you send.
Check walking clearances
Stretch the tape across your main walking path and aim for at least 36 inches (90 cm). Flow Check doesn't measure the gap between pieces, so this one is on you.
Common mistakes
Closing the tape without tapping the pin
The open tape is temporary. Only measurements you keep with the pin stay on the plan. If one disappeared, measure again and tap Keep this measurement before closing.
Hiding the layer and expecting it not to print
Layers → Show tape measurements only changes the screen. To leave kept measurements out of a file, untick Tape measurements in the export dialog.
Moving furniture after you kept a measurement
A kept measurement stays where you measured it. After rearranging, delete it and measure again.
Frequently asked questions
How do I manually add a dimension to my floor plan?
Use the tape measure. Open it from the toolbar, drag its ends to the two points, and tap the pin (Keep this measurement). The length stays on the plan as your own dimension, is saved with the design, and prints with your exports.
What's the difference between the automatic dimensions and a kept tape measurement?
Automatic dimensions are the wall lengths and room-by-room measurements RoomSketch3D draws around every wall, plus the size of the selected piece. They update as you edit, and you show or hide them with Layers → Show dimension lines. A kept tape measurement is a distance you chose yourself, between any two points. It stays exactly where you measured it, and you show or hide it with Layers → Show tape measurements.
My kept measurement disappeared. Where did it go?
Check Layers → Show tape measurements. If it's ticked and the measurement still isn't there, it was probably never kept. Only measurements you pin with Keep this measurement stay after the tape closes.
Do kept measurements show in exports and printouts?
Yes. The Tape measurements option in the Export / Print dialog is on by default and includes your kept lengths and areas. Untick it to leave them out. The live tape itself never prints.
Can I edit a kept measurement?
Not directly. Delete it (tap it, then the red trash button) and measure again with the tape.
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