Roof outline templates let you save frequently used roof shapes and reuse them with modifications. This feature saves significant time when you estimate similar roof geometries repeatedly.
Menu Path
Construct Roof > More... > From Roof Template
Note: This feature is available through the pulldown menu only.
🧾 Creating a roof outline template
Follow these steps to create a new template:
Select Construct Roof > Roof Outline Template
The dialog box appears prompting you to select construction constraints
Enter your start point (typically type 0,0 then press Enter to start at the workspace origin)
A crosshair cursor appears with coordinate display on the top left showing your current position
Left-click each location to insert lines around your roof outline
Continue around the job until you reach the second-last point
Right-click to open the Close options and select Close Square
The complete construction outline displays with a dialog prompting for the template name
Enter your template details and click OK to save
🔧 Using saved roof outline templates
To recall and modify a saved template:
Select Construct Roof > From Roof Outline Template
Choose your required outline from the list of saved templates
The Change Roof Outline dialog displays the direction and distance of each side
Modify any line's direction or distance as needed
Use the control buttons to make additional changes
Click C Sq to recalculate close square values after making changes
Click OK to continue with roof construction
🔧 Template modification controls
Button | Function |
H/V | Opens second dialog for changing individual lines. Positive numbers move Right/Up, negative numbers move Left/Down |
^ and v | Change the starting point of the outline - useful when you have barge lines and need the start point more than two points away |
Add-Segment | Adds a new wall segment after a specified segment. Enter bearing and distance for the new segment |
Delete-Segment | Deletes a specified wall segment from the outline |
Move | Shifts the entire outline by specified horizontal and vertical distances |
Preview | Draws the outline in temporary graphics to preview changes before accepting |
Cancel | Discards all changes and stops the process |
C Sq | Recalculates close square values - use after making any outline changes |
OK | Accepts changes and continues with roof construction |
💡 Tips for using templates effectively
Templates work best for roof shapes you use repeatedly with similar proportions. You can adjust dimensions while keeping the basic shape intact.
Always select C Sq after making changes to ensure accurate close square calculations.
⚠️ Important notes
Other modifications made to roof geometry using the Modify Roof commands are not saved in templates. You must reapply these changes after using a template.
After using a template, continue to the Roof Defaults dialog to define the geometric parameters as you would with the Track-Outline command.