The Exayard workspace divides into two main areas: the Project sidebar on the left and the Canvas on the right where you view plans and take measurements. Understanding this layout helps you work efficiently from your first project.

The sidebar contains three stacked sections. At the top, a search bar lets you find pages by name and shows the current page's scale setting. Below that, the Takeoffs card displays your measurements organized into a tree. At the bottom, a Templates section provides reusable measurement templates and starter packs for common trades.

Filter your takeoffs using the All types dropdown to show only Area, Linear, or Count measurements. If you have multiple layers, the All layers dropdown lets you focus on a specific layer. Click any measurement in the tree to highlight it on the canvas and zoom to its location. Eye icons toggle visibility for individual measurements or entire folders.

To create a measurement, click the + button in the takeoffs card toolbar. Choose Area, Linear, or Count, configure a name and color, then draw on the canvas.

A floating chat preview sits at the bottom of the sidebar showing the latest message. Click it to expand the Chat drawer, where you can message teammates or mention @exa to ask the AI questions about your plans or get help with the platform. Messages can be pinned to specific locations on your plans. Click a pinned message to jump to that spot on the canvas.

The canvas displays your construction plan at the current scale. Measurements appear as colored overlays on top of the plan. Pan by clicking and dragging with the hand tool, or hold Space for temporary pan mode while using other tools. Scroll the mouse wheel to zoom in and out.

Zoom controls appear on the left side of the canvas below the toolbar. Click + to zoom in, - to zoom out, or the Fit to screen button to see the entire page. The Settings button (gear icon) opens a popover with canvas preferences including Grid, Snap to grid, Crosshair, and Minimap toggles, plus a Default unit selector for feet or meters.

A floating action bar on the left side of the canvas provides tools for selection, panning, undo, redo, and annotations. These controls keep your most-used actions within easy reach while measuring.

The header bar at the top contains the Exayard logo, a project switcher, collaborator avatars (when teammates are viewing the same project), a Share project button, your credit balance, and a user menu. The user menu gives access to Settings, Shortcuts, theme switching, and Help.

Click the maximize button in the sidebar search card to open the File explorer as a full overlay on the canvas. The file explorer lets you browse, upload, and organize files within your project. Toggle between grid and list views, search for files, and sort by name or date. When a project has no pages yet, the file explorer opens automatically so you can add files right away. Close it to return to the canvas.

Press V for the select tool and H for the hand tool. Ctrl+Z undoes the last action and Ctrl+Shift+Z redoes. Hold Space while using any tool for temporary pan mode. Scroll the mouse wheel to zoom. Open the user menu and click Shortcuts to see all available keyboard shortcuts.