Frequently asked questions

FieldMarkup is a blueprint and floor-plan markup tool built for low-voltage and security integrators. Drop trade-aware device icons (cameras with field-of-view cones, access readers, motion sensors, horn/strobes, smoke detectors) onto a PDF or photo of a plan, then export a clean labeled drawing, a device schedule, and a bill of materials.

Low-voltage and security technicians, estimators, and project managers who mark up site-survey plans today in Bluebeam or on paper. FieldMarkup is trade-aware where general PDF tools aren't.

Nine trades today: video surveillance (CCTV), access control, intrusion, fire alarm, network/data, electrical, audio/video, automation, and healthcare. The icon library includes 12 network/data icons (data jacks, fiber, patch panels, switches, racks, WAPs, VoIP), 16 NECA-style electrical icons (outlets, GFCI, switches, dimmers, panels, junction boxes, recessed lights), 15 audio/video icons (displays, projectors, screens, speakers, subwoofers, ceiling mics, AV racks, amplifiers, receivers, DSP, touch panels, VC cameras), and 10 automation icons (lighting keypads, dimmer modules, automation processors, motorized shades, shade motors, thermostats, occupancy sensors, wireless gateways, video intercoms). Field-of-view cones live on cameras and motion sensors. More trades are added over time.

Yes. The editor is built for iPad with Apple Pencil and touch: single-finger pan and two-finger pinch zoom. On a phone you get a streamlined view to update device status and attach photos in the field.

Yes. Any project you open online is automatically cached for 7 days, so you can keep marking it up offline with no need to remember to save first. Edits queue locally and sync when service returns. Photo uploads still need a connection in the current release; that's tracked on our roadmap.

Yes. The Quick Count tool has six color buckets, lets you set an expected target per bucket, and never exports. Walk a plan, tap each device as you count it, and reconcile against the expected count before you commit it to the bill of materials.

Yes. Record the switch, port, IDF, IP, and MAC on each device and the Network Connections page lays them out per switch as a port panel, flags a reused port or a duplicate IP or MAC across the whole project, and the network fields are editable right there. Drag a device onto a port, or on a tablet tap the device then tap the port, instead of typing the number. And when you draw a cable run from a device to a network switch, the device's switch fills in for you so the only thing left is the port.

Yes. Business settings has a Device standards page where you pick the devices you install and set the cable each one takes, like 18/6 for a reader or two Cat6 for a data jack. After that, drawing a cable run to a device fills in that cable for you, so a tech only draws the line. You can mark a device wireless or no-cable for sensors and racks that don't pull a wire. Anything you leave alone keeps a sensible built-in default. Your standards apply to everyone on the project. Star the devices you use most and they appear in a Quick place strip above the plan for one-tap dropping.

Yes. The Room tool lets you draw a box around a group of devices, and everything inside is named automatically by its room, like 'Rm 232 - D1'. New devices dropped in the room name themselves too. Rooms are color coded so you can lay out a whole floor at the start, and they never print on the plan. Rename, recolor, delete, or hide them from the Rooms menu.

Yes. The Status Marker icon drops a colored ring around an existing device on a flattened PDF. The ring color tracks Planned, Wired, Installed, Tested, Approved as you update the device. You don't have to redraw what's already on the plan to keep status.

That happens when the PDF still has un-flattened markups from another program like Bluebeam or Acrobat. Those markups (traced walls, arrows, callouts) are stored as a separate layer on top of the page, and FieldMarkup shows the base page, so they can drop out on display. The fix is to flatten the PDF in your source app first, then re-upload it. In Bluebeam that's Document then Flatten; in most other apps, Print to PDF produces a flat file. FieldMarkup now detects this at upload and shows a banner on the plan when it finds markups from another program, so you know to flatten and re-upload.

Yes. Every project has a Device Matrix page with editable inline rows, system and plan filters, status pills, and a CSV export. Useful when the estimator wants the data in Excel rather than walking pages one at a time.

Yes. Drop a known distance on the plan (door width, hallway, scale bar) and the editor learns the scale. Then use the wire run tool to tap out the cable path, with live per-segment and running totals in real feet or meters. Pick the cable type per run (CAT6, fiber, coax, speaker pair, alarm wire, line voltage, or custom) and every run rolls up into a cable schedule on the BOM PDF and CSV.

Drag any waypoint to nudge the route, grab a midpoint handle to add a new bend, or tap the small delete button above a vertex to remove it. The distance updates live as you edit. The calibration and basic line tool work the same way.

A floating Done button appears at the bottom of the canvas while you're drawing. Tap Done to commit the run or Cancel to discard it. A double tap on the canvas also finishes the run. Wall drawing works the same way.

Yes. Start a project with a blank canvas in Tabloid, Letter, or a custom size, portrait or landscape. Draw walls with snap-to-corner, then cut openings: doors, double doors, windows, and overhead/garage doors. Devices placed on the sketch behave the same as on any other plan: BOM, schedule, and export all work.

Yes. Build your account roster in the Business workspace once, then assign people from a picker on every project. Five built-in positions (Owner, Manager, Project Manager, Technician, Contractor) come with the right permissions for each. You can also tag each team member with their skills (which systems they can install or program) and certifications (NICET levels, BICSI, license numbers, expirations) so finding the right tech for a job becomes a filter, not a memory exercise.

Those get the lightweight invite flow as project guests: email them a link with view-only or edit access, scoped to just that one project. External folks never clutter your company roster or count toward seats.

Yes. The customer book is set up as Customer to Site to Contact, so one customer carries multiple sites and multiple contacts. The second job at the same address is a few clicks instead of retyping. Address forms also have autocomplete: start typing the street and pick from the suggestions; city, state, and ZIP fill in automatically.

Every project has a sales status: Draft, Proposal, Won, In Progress, Invoiced, Lost. The dashboard rolls up open proposals, pending installs, and what's been invoiced this month. When you win a sales proposal, one click converts it into a New Install project with statuses remapped.

No. Any project you open online is automatically cached for 7 days, so it's already on your device when you walk into a basement. You can also tap the Save Offline button on a blueprint to pin it permanently if you know you'll be on a job for a while.

A flattened PDF of the marked-up plan to send a customer, a device schedule (CSV) with type, label, location, model and mount details, and a bill of materials with quantities, costs, labor, and margin. The internal PDF shows your costs and margin; the customer PDF bakes margin into the unit prices and hides the margin lines.

Yes, generate a read-only share link that shows the plan and markup. Customer-facing share links never expose your install photos; those leave only when you export a PDF yourself.

Your plans and photos are stored privately in cloud storage scoped to your account. Share links use long, unguessable tokens and are read-only. We don't sell your data.

FieldMarkup is in invite-only early access while we onboard founding members, and founding members lock in a discounted rate for life. See the Pricing page for current plans, and join the waitlist to get an invite.

We're rolling out invites to the waitlist. Join the waitlist and we'll email you when a spot opens up.