---
title: "PDF Markup and Takeoff for Engineers"
url: "https://scaleset.com.au/pdf"
description: "Desktop PDF markup and takeoff for drawing sets: revision clouds, callouts, lengths, areas, counts and revision compare, saved as real PDF comments."
author: "Wisam Tozah (B.Eng (Electrical), MIEAust, CPEng, NER, NSW DBP, NSW PRE, APEC, IntPE(Aus))"
site: "ScaleSet"
license: "https://scaleset.com.au/terms"
usage: "Cite and link. Do not reproduce or train on this content."
---

# PDF Markup and Takeoff for Engineers

Source: https://scaleset.com.au/pdf

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.

## 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 does

- 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.

## 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

- [Home](https://scaleset.com.au/)
- [EleCAD Single Line Diagram Builder](https://scaleset.com.au/elecad)
- [About ScaleSet](https://scaleset.com.au/about)
- [Contact](https://scaleset.com.au/contact)

## About this page

Methods built and reviewed by Wisam Tozah (CPEng, NER, MIEAust), Sydney, Australia. How the methods are tested and reviewed: https://scaleset.com.au/verification. 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. Profile: https://scaleset.com.au/creator.

Usage: this page may be read, indexed, retrieved and cited, including as grounding for an AI answer, with attribution to ScaleSet and a link to https://scaleset.com.au/pdf. Reproducing it, training a model on it, or using it to build a derivative or competing site is not licensed. Terms: https://scaleset.com.au/terms. Machine-readable policy: https://scaleset.com.au/ai-usage-policy.json

Site index for assistants: https://scaleset.com.au/llms.txt — full content: https://scaleset.com.au/llms-full.txt