Measuring Cable Runs: Calibration and Wire Runs

Calibration teaches the editor how big the plan really is. Once a plan is calibrated, every wire run you draw shows up in real feet (or meters) instead of pixels. Without calibration, the wire run tool still works but distances render as raw PDF points behind a "Not calibrated" badge in the contextual toolbar. So the very first thing to do on a new plan is calibrate.

You only need one calibration per markup. If you re-calibrate later, every wire run on that plan stays where you placed it; only future measurements use the new scale.

In the toolbar, click the Calibrate tool (ruler icon). The cursor becomes a crosshair.

1. Find something on the plan you already know the length of. A standard door (36 inches wide), a hallway dimensioned on the plan, a parking-stall stripe (most are 9 feet wide), or a scale bar in the title block all work well.
2. Tap once at one end of that known feature.
3. Tap again at the other end. A dialog opens asking for the real-world distance.
4. Type the distance and pick a unit (ft or m). Hit Save.

The calibration line stays visible on the plan with the entered distance as a label. You can drag either endpoint later to nudge it into perfect alignment without changing the entered distance.

Click the Wire run tool in the toolbar (cable icon). Tap on the plan to drop the first vertex (typically at a device you're cabling from), then keep tapping along the path. The editor shows live per-segment distance at each waypoint and a running total at the cursor.

To finish the run:

• Tap Done: a floating Done / Cancel banner shows at the bottom of the canvas with the current waypoint count. Done commits the run, Cancel discards it. Works on iPad and desktop.
• Double tap the canvas: an alternate finish gesture if you prefer.
• Press Enter on desktop: the keyboard shortcut still works.

If you change your mind mid-draw, press Backspace to pop the last waypoint, or hit Esc (or tap Cancel) to drop the whole run.

Each wire run carries a cable type so the BOM cable schedule can group runs by what's being pulled. Default is CAT6 (the most common LV pull). To change it, select the run with the Select tool and use the contextual toolbar:

• CAT6, CAT6a, CAT5e for IP video, access readers, IT
• Fiber single-mode and multi-mode for backhaul or long runs
• Coax RG59 and RG6 for legacy analog video
• Speaker 16/2 and 18/2 for audio
• Alarm 22/4 for fire and intrusion
• Power 14/2 and 12/2 for line voltage
• Other for anything not on the list

The cable type also drives the default color of the run on the plan, so different types are visually distinct at a glance. Override the color per-run in the contextual toolbar if your house style differs.

Select a wire run with the Select tool. Three kinds of handles appear:

• Solid amber squares at each vertex: drag to move that vertex. Distance updates live.
• Hollow amber circles at each segment midpoint: drag to splice a new vertex into the run at that point. Lets you add a bend without redrawing.
• Small red × above each vertex (when the run has 3+ vertices): removes that vertex.

Calibration lines and the basic line tool work the same way: select, then drag the endpoint handles to adjust.

Every wire run you draw rolls up into the BOM PDF and CSV in two places:

• Cable Schedule by Type: total feet of each cable type across the project (e.g. "CAT6: 2,847 ft").
• Cable Schedule (Detail): per-run line items with name, cable type, and length.

That makes it a few clicks from "I just walked the site" to "the estimator has a number for cable." No tape measure, no whiteboarding lengths after the fact.