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 bar appears beside it with: - its length (tap it to type) and a padlock to lock that length, - a link button. On an interior wall it starts off as a white broken link (Wall moves on its own): changing this wall changes only this wall. Tap it (solid blue, Joined walls move too) and the walls joined to it come along. On an outer wall it starts on, so the walls beside it follow. It only appears on a wall that has joined walls or rests on another wall. See Move a wall on its own or with its joined walls. - on an interior wall, a magnet: on, the wall's ends snap to walls and corners; tap it for Free placement of this wall only. Outer walls have no magnet of their own. - on an interior wall, ⋯, which opens Split, Copy and Delete. An outer wall shows its scissors and trash can right on the bar. An interior wall's length is its clear length, wall face to wall face: its ends always land on the faces of the walls it meets. 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 more walls (a corner, an outside wall, other interior walls meeting it). If both ends are the same, the left end stays (the top end for an up-and-down wall), as you see the plan. Doors and windows keep their distance from the fixed end. What happens at the moving end depends on the link button: with the link off (the start), only this wall changes, and a length that would run it out through the wall it meets is refused with That length would make the walls cross — try a smaller change, or keep the other end fixed. With the link on, the wall it runs up to is pushed: an outside wall moves out or in by the difference, an interior wall slides along with everything joined to it, so the face-to-face length you typed is what you get. Typing the feet clears the inches (metres clear the centimetres): typing 12 over 9′ 7″ gives exactly 12′. Near the edge of the screen the box slides in so it's never cut off.

   

3. 3

   Your typed length is kept

   A length you type for an interior wall stays exactly as typed. If a later edit elsewhere — moving another wall, drawing a new one, turning a wall — would change it, that edit is refused, the wall flashes, and a note explains: That would change a length you typed. To change it, select that wall and type its length again, or drag its own end. Changing the wall itself is always fine: retype the length, drag its own ends, or type its angle, and the new number is the one kept. Splitting a wall gives two new lengths, so those aren't held until you type them. This needs no padlock. The padlock (next to the length) goes further: it also stops the length being retyped, and it works on outer walls and on single measurement pieces too. See Lock wall lengths.

4. 4

   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. With the outer wall's link on (the start), the side wall at that corner follows, so the outline stays closed; turn the link off first and a shorter length leaves a dashed gap in the outline while the side walls stay put (select the gap and tap its + to close it). 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.

   

5. 5

   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 (they're drawn inside the rooms, with arrow tips). The boxes open with that size, the wall the measurement belongs to is highlighted, and the pin and arrow show which end stays and which moves. Interior walls move before the outside of the house does. Measurements for rooms show when Layers → Show interior dimensions is on. More in See the inside size of every room.

   

6. 6

   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 a brighter green with a right-angle mark when it's aimed square at a wall ahead, and blue-green when it has locked onto horizontal, vertical or 45°. The end lands on the face of the wall it meets, so the lengths between walls are face to face. 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 (nothing snaps then, not walls and not angles), or tap the wall's magnet so it shows Free (handy on a phone or tablet).

   

7. 7

   Turn snapping off for one wall

   Each interior wall has its own magnet in its panel, whatever the toolbar's magnet says. 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. Outer walls have no magnet of their own: pushing one in or out follows the red snapping magnet in the toolbar (on, it lines up with parallel walls and moves in neat steps; off, it goes exactly where you drag it). See Turn snapping on or off.

   

Common mistakes

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