Importing and tracing an existing floor plan
Already have a floor plan on paper or as a scan? Import the image, trace over it, and you've got an accurate, editable, 3D-ready version.
Have a paper, PDF, or scanned floor plan? Import the image, trace over it, and you've got an accurate, editable, 3D-ready version.
Step by step
- 1
Open Floor Plan Image or PDF
On Home, under Start a new floor plan, choose Floor Plan Image or PDF (Trace it yourself or let AI draft it), pick your file, and choose Trace it myself.
Start from the Floor Plan Image or PDF tile on Home. - 2
Upload your floor-plan image
Pick a JPG, PNG or WEBP image, or a PDF. Paper plans? Photograph them with your phone first.
- 3
Rotate if needed
Use the rotate buttons (0/90/180/270°) to orient the image so north is up.
- 4
Calibrate scale
Click two points on the image whose real distance you know — typically a wall segment with a labeled dimension. Enter the real distance. The tool calculates the scale.
- 5
Trace the exterior
Click each corner of the room perimeter, clockwise. 90° snap is on by default; Shift to disable for diagonals. Click your start to close.
- 6
Add interior walls and features
Go to the Walls step and click pairs of points along interior walls. Then the Doors & windows step for doors, windows, and stairs — tap a wall to focus, then click to place.
- 7
Create the design
When the doors and windows are in, tap Create design — the floor plan loads in the editor, ready to furnish. To fix a length afterwards, tap the wall on the plan and type it.
Tips
Calibrate with the longest known dimension
Pick two points as far apart as possible — small errors in clicking are amplified less over a longer distance.
Trust the snap
Most floor plans are right-angled. Leave 90° snap on; toggle off only for genuine diagonals.
Frequently asked questions
What image formats work?
JPG, PNG, WEBP and PDF.
How accurate is the trace?
Within ±1% if calibration is done carefully. The image is the source of truth; the trace just digitizes it.
Why are some lengths slightly different from the plan I imported?
When you tap Create design, the plan is squared up: walls that are within about 3° of straight become exactly straight, so corners meet square, and corners round to the nearest ½ inch (1 cm in metric). A length can therefore differ a little from the trace, usually by a fraction of an inch. Walls you drew at a clear angle, like a 45° corner, stay angled. To change one, tap the wall on the plan and type its length.
Can I keep the image visible while I redraw, and hide it later?
Inside the trace editor the image stays underneath your walls the whole time — trace the outline, add interior walls, doors, and windows over it, and adjust corners as often as you like. Once you tap Create, the design is built from your walls and the image is no longer part of it, so finish the wall corrections in the trace editor first. If a wall is off after creating, tap it on the plan and drag it or type its length (outer and interior walls alike); if everything is the wrong size, re-scale from one known measurement (Plan Settings → Layout → Outline Editor → Re-scale).
Start designing your room
Put this into practice in the floor planner: draw it, furnish it, walk through it in 3D — on web, iOS, and Android.
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