Trace over a floor plan image

Last updated: September 30, 2026

Turn a floor plan image into a working model: bring the image in, scale it to real-world size, and draw walls over it, or ask the agent to draw it for you. This is the fastest way to start a test fit or interior layout when you don't have a Revit or Rhino model, just a leasing plan, a scanned drawing, or a PDF.

Before you start

  • Have your floor plan as an image file. If it's a PDF, export the page you need as an image first.

  • Know at least one real dimension on the plan, like a column spacing, door width, or overall length. You'll use it to check the scale.

Trace it yourself

Bring in the image

  1. Open the model you want to work in. For a new project, that's the Default Model.

  2. Drag the image file from your computer into the model.

Scale the image to real-world size

The image needs to be at 1:1 scale so the walls you draw over it come out the right size.

  1. Select the image.

  2. Drag its grips to resize it until a known dimension on the plan matches the real distance.

  3. Use the Measure tool to check it.

💡 Let the agent do the scaling. Ask something like "Scale this image so the column grid is 30 feet on center." The agent can scale it more precisely than dragging grips.

Draw walls over the image

  1. Select the Wall tool.

  2. Click to draw walls along the lines of the plan. Walls chain and join as you go.

To sketch reference lines first and turn them into walls later:

  1. Draw model lines over the plan.

  2. Select the Wall tool, then click Pick line wall on the far right of the wall toolbar.

  3. Click a line to turn it into a wall.

âš  In Pick line wall mode the line doesn't highlight when you hover over it, so it's hard to tell whether you've got it. Click the line anyway and the wall is created.

âš Selecting overlapping objects. Click and hold over a spot to open a menu of everything under your cursor, ordered by distance from you. Use it to pick the wall instead of the image, or the other way around.

Ask the agent to draw it

  1. Open the model and open the agent panel.

  2. Drag your floor plan image into the chat.

  3. Ask the agent to draw it, for example "Draw the walls from this floor plan."

  4. Review what the agent creates and adjust walls by hand as needed.

💡 An image you drop into the agent chat stays in that thread. It isn't added to the model or saved to Project Context. See 📄 Use files and skills with the agentfor full details.

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