Why zone templates
Zones split a drawing into regions so the sidebar can count per region, such as per flat, per department or per fire compartment. On a multi-storey building the zones on level 2 are usually the same shapes as level 3. A zone template saves those polygons once so you can drop them onto every other level in a couple of clicks.
Zone templates are company-wide: anyone in your company can import, update or delete them.
Where the controls are
Zone templates are created and imported from inside the takeoff workspace. In the marker sidebar, click the AoIs, Legends & Zones button and find the Zones header. Beside the lock and show/hide buttons is a Zone templates dropdown with three entries:
| Entry | What it opens |
|---|---|
| Import Template | The Import Zone Template dialog |
| Create Template | The Create Zone Template dialog |
| Update Template | The Update Zone Template dialog. Greyed out unless the drawing currently has an imported template. |
Import is also available from the toolbar: Actions → Import Template → Zones.
Saving zones as a template
- 1
Open a drawing whose zones are drawn and named the way you want them.
- 2
Click AoIs, Legends & Zones in the sidebar.
- 3
Under Zones, open Zone templates and choose Create Template .
- 4
Enter a Template name (for example
Standard Floor Layout). Names must be unique. - 5
Under Zones to include, tick the zones you want. Each row shows the zone's colour, name and point count. Select all and Clear all are above the list.
- 6
Click Save Template.
The drawing is now marked as using that template, which is what enables Update Template later. The template also records the drawing's paper size, shown as a badge beside its name wherever templates are listed.
Importing a template onto a drawing
- 1
Open the drawing that needs zones.
- 2
Open Zone templates → Import Template , or use Actions → Import Template → Zones.
- 3
Select a template. Each row shows the name, zone count, creator, date and paper-size badge.
- 4
Click Import.
A toast confirms how many zones were imported. The zones appear on the canvas and in the Zones list, and a Template: name line appears under the Zones header with an Clear template button.
Where imported zones land
Each zone keeps its original position when it fits inside the drawing. A zone whose outline would fall outside the drawing's bounds is moved so that its top-left corner sits at (300, 300), near the top-left of the sheet, with its shape unchanged. Drag it into place afterwards. Choosing a template whose paper-size badge matches the drawing avoids this.
Importing never removes zones already on the drawing. You can import the same template twice; the second copy sits on top of the first.
Updating a template from a drawing
Use this after you have refined the zones on a drawing that was set up from a template.
- 1
On that drawing, open Zone templates → Update Template .
- 2
Tick the zones to push into the template. Each row is badged Already in template or New.
- 3
Click Update Template.
- 4
Read the summary, which states how many zones will be added and how many updated, and click Confirm.
Updating is additive. Selected zones are added or modified; zones already in the template that you did not select are kept unchanged. To remove a zone from a template, use the template's detail page (below).
Clearing the template link
Click Clear template under the Zones header to forget which template the drawing came from. The zones themselves stay; only the link used by Update Template is cleared.
Managing templates under Templates › Zones
With no drawing open, expand Templates in the left navigation and click Zones . There is no create button here because templates are always saved from a drawing.
The table lists Name (with the paper-size badge), # Zones, Created By, Created At and Actions. Click a row or the eye to open it; the trash deletes the whole template after a confirmation that warns the template is shared across your company.
On the detail page:
- Rename the template with the pencil beside its title, confirming with .
- Each zone row shows its colour, name and point count. The trash at the end removes that zone from the template after a Remove zone "…"? prompt with a Don't ask again checkbox. Turn the prompt back on under User Preferences › Confirmations › Removing a zone from a zone template.
- Back to Zone Templates returns to the list.
Common issues
Update Template is greyed out
The drawing has no imported template to update. Either import a template first, or use Create Template to save the zones as a new one, which also links the drawing to it.
Imported zones are bunched in the top-left corner
The template was saved from a larger sheet, so those zones did not fit and were moved to (300, 300). Drag each one into position, then use Update Template if you want the corrected positions saved for this paper size.
Next steps
- Creating and editing zones — draw and adjust the zones before saving them.
- Zones view — see counts per zone in the sidebar once the zones are in place.
- AoI templates — the same save, import and update flow for Areas of Interest.
- Importing from other drawings — apply a zone template alongside groups and AoIs in one step.