What a category is
A Category is a named bucket of drawings inside a project: Lighting, Small Power, Level 2, Fire Alarm, or whatever suits the job. Categories keep a long drawing list readable, let you rotate or clear a whole set in one click, and scope Search all files in category, which carries a symbol search across every drawing in the same category. Category names are free text; ZeroCount enforces nothing beyond uniqueness within the project.
A drawing can sit in several categories at once. The drawing is stored once; the categories are labels on it.
Creating a category
- 1
Click Add Category in the project header.
- 2
Type a name in Category Name. A duplicate name shows A category with this name already exists. and disables Add.
- 3
Optionally click Choose folder and pick a folder of PDFs. The name field fills with the folder name if it is empty, and the dialog reports how many PDFs it found.
- 4
Click Add, or press Enter.
The new category is inserted at the top of the list. If you picked a folder, its PDFs import straight into it; see Uploading drawings for the folder rules.
The category header
Every category card (grid view) or row (list view) has the same controls, left to right:
| Control | Icon | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Drag grip | Drag up or down to reorder categories. This grip is the only thing that moves a category. | |
| Checkbox | Selects every drawing in the category for a bulk action. | |
| Name and count | Click to collapse or expand the category. | |
| Rotate clockwise | Rotates every drawing in the category 90° clockwise. | |
| Rotate counter-clockwise | Rotates every drawing 90° the other way. | |
| Rename | Opens the Category Name dialog. | |
| Duplicate category | Creates an empty category with the same name pre-filled for editing. Drawings are not copied. | |
| Clear files | Removes every drawing from the category but keeps the category. | |
| Delete category | Removes the category and the drawings that belong only to it. |
Renaming and reordering
To rename, click Rename on the header, edit the name in the Category Name dialog and click Save. Drawings keep their membership.
To reorder, hold the drag grip and drag the category above or below its neighbours. The order is saved with the project and survives a refresh.
Clearing and deleting
Both actions ask for confirmation, and neither can be undone.
- Clear files — the dialog reads Are you sure you want to clear all files from "name"? The files will be removed but the category will remain. Drawings that belong only to this category are deleted; drawings shared with other categories are just unlinked from this one.
- Delete category — the dialog reads Files that only belong to this category will be deleted. Files shared with other categories will be kept there. This action cannot be undone.
Deleting a drawing deletes every marker, zone and measurement on it. If a category holds work you might need, download the drawings or move them to another category before clearing or deleting it.
A drawing in several categories
A drawing can belong to more than one category, for example a combined services layout that is relevant to both Mechanical and Electrical. It then shows a ×2 badge; hover it to see the category names.
- 1
In grid view, open the drawing's menu and point at Categories . In list view, click the Assign categories button on the row.
- 2
Tick or untick categories. The menu stays open so you can change several at once.
The last remaining tick is disabled: a drawing always belongs to at least one category. A drawing in two categories appears in both, and any change to it, such as counting or rotating, shows in both because it is the same drawing.
Moving drawings between categories
Two ways:
- Drag — drag a card or row onto another category. Drop it on a specific drawing to insert before that drawing, or on empty space in the category to append it. If several drawings are ticked, they all move together and the drag preview shows a count.
- Bulk Move — tick the drawings, then click Move in the bulk action bar. The Move N file(s) to… dialog lists every category; choose one, or click New category… and type a name to create it on the spot, then click Move.
Moving is a relocation: a drawing that was in several categories ends up in the target category only. To add a category without leaving the current one, use the Categories checkboxes instead.
Next steps
- Uploading drawings — drop PDFs or import a folder into a category.
- Reordering drawings — set the order of drawings inside a category.
- Rotating drawings — rotate one drawing or every drawing in a category.
- Search all drawings in category — why category membership matters when you count.