Trace to

Trace Mode's Trace to feature allows you to trace the outline of the original area from your starting point (where your starting point is currently anchored) to the corner point you select, and trace all of the lines in between. Using the trace to function eliminates a lot of unnecessary steps when portions of the new area you're tracing are exactly the same as the original area.

Let's say you have a basement area similar to the image below, minus the bay window. Follow the instructions below to trace to another corner point on your sketch:

  1. Click the Trace icon (  ) in the toolbar at the top to activate Trace mode. When you do, the original area becomes slightly "grayed out", the words TRACE MODE appear in red on the lower right, and purple corner points (  ) appear in each corner of the original area.

  2. Next, position your cursor where you'd like to begin. In our example, we're starting from the corner on the upper left. You can also press Alt+# to jump to that corner point (Alt+1 in our case), or position your cursor close to that point and press the letter J on your keyboard to jump to the nearest point. Now, press Enter to anchor your starting point.

  3. Now you're ready to trace to another point on your sketch. Ensure that Draw Area line mode is selected, if TOTAL Sketch doesn't switch to it automatically. If you're tracing the area in a clockwise motion, you can press Ctrl+Alt+# on your keyboard (Ctrl + Alt + 8 in our example) to quickly trace to another point in your sketch, but you can also trace to another point in a counterclockwise motion. Click the Trace to button on the left to open the Trace to dialog.

  4. In the dialog that appears, type the number that corresponds to the corner point you want to trace to (corner point #5 in our example), select Trace counter clockwise, and click OK.

  5. After clicking OK, TOTAL Sketch traces the outline of the original area from point A to point B, including all of the lines in between.

    If you find that you didn't trace quite far enough, or if you accidentally traced too far, hold down your Ctrl key and press Page Up or Page Down on your keyboard to trace forward one step, or trace backward one step, respectively. In our example, tracing forward would extend the line from corner point 5 to 6, or tracing backward would take us back from corner point 5 to 4. Press Enter when you're ready to anchor the end point of this line.

  6. Continue to Draw area lines corresponding to the new area's dimensions to finish tracing.

  7. When you close the area (this happens automatically when the area line you're drawing meets the existing area line, effectively "closing" the area), notice that TOTAL Sketch attempts to detect the type of area you just sketched. If it detected the wrong area type, simply select a different area type from the list on the left.
  8. After you select the area type, you're returned to the sketch where the new area is situated on top of the original area.

    The new area is autonomous from the original area and you can move the new area independently from the rest of the sketch. Click and drag the new area to a new location on the sketch canvas.