App tabs
Takeoff
The drawing canvas, where you check and approve what crux measured.
The Takeoff tab shows the takeoff canvas for the job open in Chat. crux measures from the drawings' own lines (never from a picture or a guess) and draws what it found as proposed shapes. You check them here and approve them. Approving in chat does not count: only the canvas approves.
If it says No project open, pick a project folder in Chat, then ask crux to start the takeoff. If it says No takeoff yet, ask crux in Chat (for example "do the takeoff"); the canvas shows up here as crux works. A line above the canvas says Live: crux is working here while crux is drawing, or Saved takeoff when you are looking at the saved one.
For the whole job from start to finish, see Do a takeoff.
Simple mode (the default)
The drawing runs edge to edge with a few small controls floating over it.
- Top left: ‹ sheet › to move between sheets (click the sheet name for the list), the scale chip (for example
1/4" = 1'-0" · confirmed), and zoom − / % / + / fit. A scale chip in amber needs you: open it and Confirm the scale crux set, or set it. - Top right: Edit by hand and the ⋯ menu (All sheets, Report · Export, Open plans, How crux works).
- Right side: the conditions as small cards: colour, tag, name, total, and "N proposed" or "needs you". Collapse the rail to see more drawing.
- Bottom: the Approve bar, for example "crux proposed 12 shapes on A-101", with Fix… (asks crux in chat) and Approve 12.
In simple mode a click selects a shape and a drag moves the drawing. Nothing is reshaped by accident.
Click a shape
A card opens with:
- the quantity (from the shape's own measured lines),
- its state, and where it comes from: the sheet, the scale and whether it is confirmed, how it was measured, and the wall height and its source,
- Ask crux to fix this, which sends crux a message in Chat about this shape and brings Chat forward,
- for a proposed shape, Approve or Reject.
What the shapes look like
| Look | Means |
|---|---|
| Dashed outline with a small crux tag | Proposed by crux, not approved yet |
| Solid and filled | Approved |
| Blue | Selected |
| Amber | Needs you: for example a wall with no height. crux never assumes a height; it asks you in chat. |
Edit by hand
Click Edit by hand for the full toolbar: drawing and measuring tools, the condition bands, the side panels (Takeoffs, Agent, Layers, Markups), the live readout and the status bar. crux remembers which mode you like. Switch back any time.
Good to know
- The canvas follows the app's light or dark theme.
- A tool you pick by its keyboard shortcut in simple mode shows the tool rail until you put it down.
- The sheet number and scale sit in a small tag in the corner of the drawing.