What annotations are for
Annotation markers are visual notes you put on the drawing to communicate something — a callout, a circled area, a label pointing at a fitting. They're not counted in the Excel export's quantity rows. They exist purely so you (or someone reviewing your takeoff) can leave context-free comments on the drawing.
Use them for:
- Marking something "to be confirmed with M&E consultant".
- Drawing an arrow pointing at a fitting with a query.
- Putting a coloured rectangle around an area that needs revisiting.
- Adding callouts when exporting the drawing as a PDF/PNG for sharing.
They live in the Annotations section of the sidebar.
The seven annotation types
ZeroCount provides seven annotation sub-types, all reachable from the toolbar:
| Type | Icon | What it draws |
|---|---|---|
| Rectangle | A rectangular outline or filled box | |
| Ellipse | An oval / circle | |
| Arrow | A single-segment arrow with a tip | |
| Text | Free-form text label | |
| Custom Image | Drops a user-uploaded image onto the drawing | |
| Polygon | An arbitrary closed shape | |
| Multipoint line | An open polyline — useful for free-form pointers |
Each appears in the Annotations section of the sidebar with its own group and label.
Drawing each annotation type
Rectangle / Ellipse
- 1
Click Rectangle or Ellipse in the toolbar's annotation dropdown.
- 2
Click and drag on the drawing to draw the shape. Release to finalise.
Arrow
- 1
Click Arrow .
- 2
Click at the tail of the arrow, then drag to the tip. The tip carries the arrowhead.
Text
- 1
Click Text .
- 2
Click where the text should sit.
- 3
Type. Press ESC or click elsewhere to finalise.
Custom Image
- 1
Click Custom Image .
- 2
Either upload a local image with Choose File or paste an image URL into the Image URL field.
- 3
Review the preview, then click Apply Image .
- 4
Click on the drawing to place the image. Drag the corners to resize.
Polygon / Multipoint line
- 1
Click Polygon or Multipoint line .
- 2
Click at the first corner.
- 3
Hold CTRL (or CMD on macOS) and click to add each subsequent point.
- 4
Right-click to finalise.
Editing annotations
All annotation types share the same selection and drag handles:
- Click to select.
- Drag corners or sides to resize.
- Drag the whole marker to move it.
- Press DEL to remove.
- Use CTRL + drag to multi-select with other markers.
What annotations don't do
- They aren't counted in the Excel export's quantity rows. Annotations don't have a Code, Description, or Quantity.
- They don't link to database items.
- They don't appear in the project marker summary.
They're purely visual. The two places they do show:
- In the drawing canvas as you work.
- In Export Image (.png / .pdf) — see the export dropdown. Image exports include annotations so you can share an annotated PDF with a consultant.