Troubleshooting — TakeoffCraft help

TakeoffCraft explains most refusals in the status bar at the bottom of the window. Find the message below.

Opening files

Message or symptom	Cause	Fix
The PDF reader could not load. Reload the page to try again.	The app's PDF reader did not load, usually because you are offline and the app was never saved for offline use.	Reconnect and reload. Then choose Save for offline and wait for Offline ready; see Working offline.
(name) is password-protected. Open an unprotected copy.	The PDF needs a password to open.	Ask for an unprotected copy, or remove the password in a PDF program you trust.
(name) could not be read as a PDF (…)	The file is damaged or not really a PDF.	Download it again, or re-save it from the program that made it.
(name) is already open.	The same PDF (same contents) is open.	Nothing to do.
TakeoffCraft opens PDFs and .takeoff.json projects. Skipped: …	Other file types were dropped.	Convert drawings to PDF first.
Nothing happens when I drop files	The files were dropped outside the browser window, or the browser opened the PDF in a new tab.	Drop onto the TakeoffCraft page itself; the "Drop PDFs or a .takeoff.json" frame shows when it will work.
Opening a big set takes a while	Every PDF is read in full to fingerprint it.	Wait for the "Opening (name)…" message to clear. Thumbnails fill in as you scroll.

Measuring

Message or symptom	Cause	Fix
Open a PDF first.	No sheet is open.	Open a PDF.
This sheet has no scale yet, so it can't be measured. Pick a preset scale or calibrate first (counts work without one).	Linear, area, circle and cut-out tools need a scale.	Set the scale.
Make a linear item first (name it under Items), then click on the sheet.	There is no item of that type.	Fill in the New item form that opened, and choose Add.
Pick an item to take off first (Items panel).	The current item was deleted.	Click an item under Items.
A run needs at least two points.	You finished after one click.	Click at least two points.
An area needs at least three points.	Too few corners.	Click at least three corners.
The outline crosses itself, so its area would be wrong. Draw it again without crossing.	A figure-eight shape.	Draw it as two areas, or go round the edge in order.
Those points enclose no area.	All the points are on one line.	Click corners that enclose a space.
Select an area mark first (Select tool), then choose Cut-out and draw the hole inside it.	Cut-out needs a selected area.	Press `VV`, click the area, then `XX`.
A cut-out has to sit fully inside the area.	The hole crosses or leaves the outline.	Draw the hole inside the area.
Cut-outs cannot overlap each other.	Two holes overlap.	Draw one hole round both, or keep them apart.
… The point was put back.	A dragged corner would make the outline cross itself or push a hole outside.	Drag to a place that keeps the shape valid.
Click a point on the circle's edge, away from its center.	The second click was too close to the center.	Click further out.
Clicks pan the sheet instead of adding points	The pointer moved more than a few pixels while the button was down; that counts as a drag.	Click without moving, especially on a trackpad.
Shift does not snap	You are placing a point on an arc, or drawing a circle.	The 45° snap applies to straight segments only.
The length is wrong	The scale is wrong (often a resized PDF with a preset).	Use Check on a known dimension, then Calibrate.

Scale

Message or symptom	Cause	Fix
Pick two points further apart.	The calibration points are almost on top of each other.	Calibrate on a longer dimension.
A message in the calibrate dialog, like "That distance could not be read"	The distance is in a form TakeoffCraft cannot read.	See Length, rate and percent entry.
This sheet has no scale yet, so there is nothing to check. Calibrate it, or pick a preset.	Check on an unscaled sheet.	Set a scale first.
The Preset list is grayed out	No sheet is open.	Open a PDF.

Quantities and formulas

Message or symptom	Cause	Fix
Incomplete: … (not in the totals)	A formula error, or marks on sheets with no scale.	See Read quantities and the estimate.
+(n) unscaled next to an item	Some of its marks are on sheets with no scale.	Give those sheets a scale.
Formula error: …	The formula cannot be worked out.	See Formula language.
This item has marks, so its type cannot change.	The type is locked once there are marks.	Make a new item of the other type and redraw the marks with it.
An item needs a name.	The name field was emptied.	Type a name.
Type an amount like 12.50. / Type a percentage like 10 or 7.5.	A rate or waste could not be read.	See Length, rate and percent entry.
A total looks doubled	The item has its own rates and components that carry the same cost.	Set the item's own rates to 0 when its components carry the cost.
This item's marks are on PDFs that are not open.	You clicked an item whose marks are all on PDFs you have not opened.	Open those PDFs; their names are listed under Sheets.

Auto count

Message or symptom	Cause	Fix
That box is too small. Draw it around the whole symbol.	The box is tiny.	Zoom in and box the whole symbol.
That box is almost empty. Draw it around a symbol.	The box holds only paper.	Box the symbol itself.
No matches. Lower the match slider, or box the symbol more tightly.	Nothing scored high enough.	Box the symbol tightly, or drag the Match slider lower.
Too many matches, including wrong symbols	Similar symbols score close to the real one.	Raise the Match slider and click wrong boxes to reject them.
Matches missing on other sheets	Those sheets draw the symbol at another size, or at an angle that is not a 90° step.	Search those sheets with a box drawn there, or count by hand.
(n) sheets were too large to search at this symbol size.	The sheet would be too big at the working size.	Box a larger symbol, or count that sheet by hand.
The search failed: …	The background search stopped.	Try again; reload the page if it repeats (save first). Offline, it works only once the app bar shows Offline ready.
Dragging draws a box instead of panning	That is how Auto count works.	Hold `SpaceSpace` and drag, or drag with the middle button.

Saving and exporting

Message or symptom	Cause	Fix
Nothing to export yet: make an item and take it off.	There are no items.	Make an item first.
No marks on the open PDFs yet.	Marked PDF has nothing to draw on the open PDFs.	Open the PDFs that have marks.
This PDF is password-protected or encrypted, so a marked copy cannot be written. …	The PDF is encrypted.	Export XLSX instead, or use an unencrypted copy of the PDF (it then needs its own takeoff, since it is a different file).
The marked PDF could not be written: …	Often: offline, and the app was not saved for offline use, so the PDF writer is missing.	Go online and choose Marked PDF again. To avoid it, choose Save for offline and wait for Offline ready.
Only one marked PDF downloaded	The browser blocked several downloads at once.	Allow multiple downloads for this site, and export again.
(file) is not a TakeoffCraft project (it is not valid JSON). / This is not a TakeoffCraft project file.	Wrong file, or a damaged one.	Pick the `.takeoff.json` file.
This project was saved by a newer TakeoffCraft. Open it there.	The file comes from a newer build.	Open it in the newer build.
(n) marks were damaged and left out.	Part of the file was damaged or edited by hand.	The rest opened. Redraw the missing marks, or open an older copy.
Marks missing after reopening	The PDFs are not open, or one of them changed.	See Save and reopen a takeoff.
The browser asks "Leave site?"	There are unsaved changes.	Stay, and save with `⌘SCtrl+S`.

Keys and mouse

Symptom	Cause	Fix
Letter keys do nothing	The cursor is in a field (search, item editor, table).	Click on the sheet, or press `TabTab` out of the field.
The wheel zooms instead of scrolling	The wheel always zooms the sheet.	Drag to pan.
The whole page got bigger or smaller	Browser zoom (`⌘+Ctrl++` or `⌘−Ctrl+−`).	Press `⌘0Ctrl+0`. Zoom the sheet with the wheel or the bare `++` and `−−`.
A mark disappeared when I pressed Backspace	Backspace deletes the selected mark when you are not drawing.	`⌘ZCtrl+Z` brings it back.
Right-click does not finish on a Mac	Control-click arrives as a normal click.	Use a two-finger click with secondary click turned on, or press `ReturnEnter`.

Touch screens

TakeoffCraft reads touch as a single pointer. Tap places points and one-finger drag pans. These are not supported yet:

Pinch-to-zoom. Use Fit page, Fit width, or ++ and −− on a keyboard.
A second finger is not treated as a gesture, and can upset a drag in progress. Use one finger.
Right-click to finish. Close areas by tapping the first point. Finish runs with a double tap where the browser supports it, or ReturnEnter on a keyboard.

On a tablet, a keyboard and a mouse or trackpad make takeoff much easier.

Working offline

Button or symptom	Cause	Fix
Could not save	Some of the app's files did not download while saving for offline use.	Check your connection and choose the button again.
Offline not available	Private windows and some managed computers block offline copies.	Use a normal window, or another browser.
"Saving…" never starts	You are offline; saving needs a connection.	Save while online.
The app is old after an update	The offline copy is from an earlier day.	Online, choose Offline ready, then Save again (get the newest version).
You want the space back	The offline copy is about 6 MB.	Choose Offline ready, then Remove the offline copy.

See Working offline.

Still stuck

Reload the page if the app stops responding. Your takeoff is lost on reload unless you saved it, so save first with ⌘SCtrl+S if you can. For browser questions see Browsers and computers.