ScaleSet

PDF Markup and Takeoff for Engineers

ScaleSet PDF is a Windows desktop app for drawing review, markup and takeoff. Open a drawing set, cloud and call out what changed, measure lengths, areas and counts at scale, compare one revision with the next and save the markups inside the PDF as standard comments. Drawings stay on your computer.

Overview

ScaleSet PDF is drawing review, markup and takeoff for the people who work in a drawing set: engineers of every building services discipline, architects, estimators and builders. It is a desktop app for Windows. You open a drawing set from your own computer, cloud and call out what changed, measure lengths, areas and counts at the sheet's scale, lay one revision over the next, and save the markups back into the PDF as standard comments that any PDF reader shows. Drawings are opened and saved on your computer and never uploaded.

Key facts

  • A Windows desktop app, free to download: anyone can open, search and print drawing sets with it.
  • Drawings are opened and saved on your own computer and never uploaded.
  • Revision clouds, callouts, text boxes, stamps and custom line types such as ----E----E---, drawn along any route.
  • Lengths, areas and counts measured at the sheet scale, listed in a markups list that goes to a spreadsheet.
  • Compare one issue with the next: removed linework in red, added in blue, each change clouded.
  • Markups are saved inside the PDF as standard PDF comments, so anyone with a PDF reader sees them.
  • Built for large sets: an 800-sheet, 49 MB set opens after reading 1.1 MB, and only the sheets you look at are read.

Who this page is for

Electrical, mechanical, hydraulic and fire engineers, architects, estimators and builders who review and mark up PDF drawing sets.

What this tool helps with

  • Revision clouds, callouts, text, stamps and custom line types such as ----E----E--- drawn along any route.
  • Lengths, areas and counts measured at the sheet scale, listed in a markups list that exports to a spreadsheet.
  • Compare one issue with the next: what was removed and what was added, each change clouded.
  • Markups saved inside the PDF as standard comments; the drawing never leaves your computer.

Methods reviewed by

Wisam Tozah (CPEng, NER, MIEAust). The methods are tested against the standards' published tables and worked examples before every release. See how they are verified. ScaleSet is a design aid: your inputs and results are not reviewed or certified, and responsibility for the design stays with the engineer who issues it. LinkedIn.

Frequently asked questions

Does ScaleSet PDF upload my drawings?

No. ScaleSet PDF is a desktop app: drawings are opened and saved on your own computer, and markups are saved back into the PDF itself. Nothing about a drawing is sent anywhere.

Will other PDF apps show my markups?

Yes. ScaleSet PDF saves its markups as standard PDF comments, so clouds, callouts, measurements and stamps show in any PDF reader, and markups made in other PDF review apps open in ScaleSet PDF as markups.

How do I measure off a drawing?

Set the sheet scale once, either from the scale printed on the drawing or by calibrating against a known dimension. Lengths, areas and counts then read off the sheet in metres and each one is listed in the markups list, which exports to a spreadsheet.

What does ScaleSet PDF run on?

Windows 10 and 11. Download the installer from this page; it always hands out the newest release, and the app updates itself after that.

Can it handle a full construction issue?

Yes. ScaleSet PDF reads only the sheets you look at and only the part of each sheet on screen. On an 800-sheet, 49 MB set it reads 1.1 MB to open and paint the first sheet.

Related ScaleSet pages