Home Design Software by SoftPlan

Areas can Reference the Inside, Outside, or Outermost Bearing Edge of a Wall

SoftPlan Version 12 has added the ability to now select which edge an area is to reference. In previous versions this was not available.

Select Draw - Area - Auto Trace or Manual Trace.
Position the cursor within the desired area and click, or trace the outlining walls of the desired area.

SoftPlan will place the area boundary to the exterior face of the designated walls by default.

Once the initial Area has been designated, you can then select, through editing the area, which edge on the wall you would like to be taken as the boundary.

Select Edit - Edit Item
Select the Area polygon.
From the Area edit menu, select one of the available options for the Reference to Wall.

SoftPlan will automatically adjust the Area polygon and the area coverage based on your selection.

Tally Box can be Relocated

Area mode provides a tally box in the upper left hand corner of the drawing screen. Once areas are drawn, this box lists and calculates the total square footage drawn for all areas. In previous versions the box could not be moved from this location. In Version 12 it can be moved elsewhere on the drawing screen.
Hold down the left mouse button on the top bar of the tally box. Drag it to the desired location and let go of the mouse button.

Auto Trace Added

Version 12 has improved the Area command. Auto Trace will find the perimeter of an area based on walls that have ‘bearing’ selected in the their definition.
In a floor plan, go into Area mode. Click on one of the area icons. A dialog will appear labeled Draw Polygon with two buttons available: Manual Trace and Auto Trace. Click on Auto Trace. Place the cursor within the building perimeter and click the mouse. The perimeter of the bearing walls will be traced.
If the area selected does not have a perimeter of bearing walls, a popup will occur with the following message "Could not find a load-bearing enclosure."