Groundplan offers a range of tools for drawing mock-up plans for renovations, site layouts or any other requirements. Blank plans are provided at the bottom of the article.

Important to note: Groundplan is not designed to produce scaled engineering plans.

Creating a plan

From the homepage, click + create project
Click the plans tab and upload a blank plan or an existing plan
Blank plans are attached at the bottom of this article
When using existing plans, click the eraser tool and erase irrelevant details
Create a stage called drawing and populate with measurements e.g. walls, rooms, doors
(Where required) Click the scale tab
- Use measure scale to scale from a length on the plan e.g. known dimension of a wall
  OR
- Use the dropdown menu to the set the scale, e.g. enable the grid and size for requirements 3m x 3m, 4.5m x 5m
Create your drawing - see the example tools when creating a plan below
Export the plan, converting the drawing to a PDF ready to be re-uploaded

Examples to use when creating a plan:

Requirement	Example	Best Tool for Use
Walls and lines	- Create interior / exterior walls - Site perimeter - Lines and/or levels	Length tool - Freeform, square or curve drawing mode options - Edit line thickness and styles - Show totals can be enabled
Grid or guides	- Evenly space items - Create pre-defined room sizes (e.g. 3m x 4m) - Angled rooms or walls	Grid tool - Sizing and grid angle is changeable - Scale must be set to enable the grid
Areas or rooms	- Room areas - Site perimeter - Carparks - Shapes of any size	Area tool - Freeform, square or curve drawing mode options - Edit line thickness and styles - Remove fill colours - Show totals can be enabled
Areas, rectangles or squares	- Create exterior walls - Site perimeter - Landscaping features e.g. pool, decking	Square tool - Edit line thickness and styles - Remove fill colours
Fixtures, fittings, plants	- Landscaping e.g.trees, rocks, fountains - Building e.g. doors, stairs - Plumbing fixtures e.g. toilets, shower, bath, tanks - Electrical e.g. light fittings, power points	Count tool - Edit size and style - Head to help > send us a message and ask for any symbols not already in the account
Notes / names	- Make notations on the plan - Rooms labels - Add dimensions	Text tool - Edit size and style - Change location
Arrows, lines, walls	- Directional or to notations - remove the head style off to make straight lines	Arrow tool - Edit line thickness and styles - Change location
Arcs and curves	- Angled walls - Fence lines - Fields of view - Direction reach	Arc tool - Edit line thickness and styles - Change location
Move groups of items	- Select multiple items to relocate	Select tool - Duplicate - Flip - Rotate - Re-order - Delete

Reupload the PDF back into Groundplan

If you intend to create further stages to design with, it is recommended to export your plan first, which converts it to a PDF.

This means that when reimported:

It prevents a user from clicking, moving or deleting elements from the drawing stage.
The drawing stage will not appear in the legend.
If annotations like squares or text are used, they will sit above and potentially cover new count, length and area measurements added from further stages.
Allows further editing with the eraser tool if required.
If an integration is configured to the account, it prevents the drawing stage from being pushed to the quote (when uploaded into a new project).

Steps to create a design

(Recommended if an integration is configured) Create a new project for the design
Re-upload the PDF plan and design as normal
- The below table displays other tool uses
- If required, erase sections of the plan e.g lines on doors
(Optional) Add a legend
(Optional) Add a title block to complete the plan
(Optional) Click the details tab and edit the plan name
Export the plan

Examples to use when designing a plan

Aside from the normal count, length, length labelling and area tools, you can also use the below:

Requirement	Examples	Best Tool to Use
Edit drawing	- Make the drawing bigger on the page - Adjust the position	Snip tool - Edit the page padding to adjust size and location
Curves	- Draw circuitry - Landscaping features - Curved lines to place an arrow head on - Create curved items	Arc tool - Edit line thickness and styles
Promoting areas or text	- Highlight important areas - Text	Cloud tool - Edit line thickness and styles
Angles	- For walls - Fields of view for security cameras	Angle tool - Edit colour, line opacity, width, text size, fill colour and opacity as well as display options
Dimensioning	- Add dimensions to a plan	Ruler tool - Edit line colour, width, text size and number format (mm, cm, m)
Images	- Add a Google image - Site photo - Product image to a plan	Image tool - Edit size and location
Move groups of items	- Select multiple items to relocate	Select tool - Duplicate - Flip - Rotate - Re-order - Delete

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I set the plan scale using a known length?

Yes you can.

You can use our measure the scale alternative for a known length, e.g wall.

Create a stage called drawing
Click +length, enable show totals and name accordingly
Draw a length on the plan
Click the scale tab, then click measure the scale to scale from a length on the plan e.g. known dimension of a wall
Type in the length e.g. of the wall - 6.5m
Click set scale
(If required) Click the length and re-adjust to the correct length on the plan

Do I have to export my plan before adding additional stages?

If you intend to create further stages to design with, it is recommended to export your Plan first which converts it to a PDF.

This means that when reimported:

It prevents a user from clicking, moving or deleting elements from the drawing stage.
The drawing stage will not appear in the legend.
If annotations like squares or text are used, they will sit above and potentially cover new count, length and area measurements added from further stages.
Allows further editing with the eraser tool if required.
If an integration is configured to the account, it prevents the drawing stage from being pushed to the quote (when uploaded into a new project).