Exayard provides navigation, measurement, and annotation tools for creating precise takeoffs. The tools are organized in a toolbar across the bottom-center of the canvas. When the canvas is too narrow for the whole toolbar, the buttons that do not fit move into the More tools menu, starting from the right end. On a phone, Comment, Compare sheets, Undo, Redo, and Settings are always in More tools.

The Select tool (V) is the default mode for interacting with the canvas. Click to select shapes, drag selected items to reposition them, or click and drag on empty space to create a selection box.

The Pan tool (H) lets you navigate around large plans. Click and drag to move the canvas view. You can also hold Spacebar while using any tool to temporarily pan, then release to return to your previous tool.

The Zoom controls sit just to the left of the drawing tools in the bottom toolbar. Use Zoom in and Zoom out (the plus and minus buttons), or click Fit to screen to show the entire page. To zoom with a mouse, hold Ctrl and turn the scroll wheel. On a trackpad or touch screen, pinch. The scroll wheel on its own moves the plan instead of zooming.

The three primary measurement tools, Area, Linear, and Count, are the first drawing tools in the toolbar, just to the right of the zoom controls.

The Area tool (Q) measures surface area in square feet or your chosen unit. Pick the polygon, box, or circle method in the area panel before you start. For a polygon, click each corner, then click the first point or press Enter to close the shape.

The Linear tool (W) measures lengths and distances. Click to place points along a path, then double-click or press Enter to finish.

The Count tool (E) tracks quantities of individual items. Each click places a marker and increments the count.

While drawing an area or a line, press A to curve the segment you are drawing, and press A again to make it straight. On a line, press D to flip the curve to the other side. Press Backspace to remove the last point you placed.

Access annotation tools from the More tools menu (three-dot icon) in the canvas toolbar.

Sticky note adds text notes anywhere on the canvas. Select the tool, click to place the note, type your text, then click outside to finish.

Arrow draws arrows to call attention to specific areas. Choose from four sizes (Small, Medium, Large, Extra large) in the submenu. The arrow uses your current takeoff color.

Highlight creates semi-transparent rectangular highlights over plan areas. Drag to create the rectangle using your current takeoff color.

Draw a known distance calibrates the scale by tracing a known dimension. Click the scale button in the top canvas toolbar (it reads Set scale until a scale is set), then click Draw a known distance. On a PDF sheet it is at the bottom of the popover, or a link in the note at the top when the popover shows one. On an image sheet it is at the top, in the warning that a printed scale may be wrong. You can also start it with the D shortcut. Trace a line along a known dimension on your plan and enter its real-world measurement to set the scale. See Scale calibration for the full workflow.

The Comment tool (M) places comment markers on the canvas for team communication. Click anywhere to drop a comment and start a thread.

The toolbar also holds a Compare sheets button for comparing plan versions. See Compare sheets for details.

Three more tools sit at the top of the More tools menu (three-dot icon), above the annotation tools.

The Selection calculator totals the measurements inside an area you outline. Click to place points around the area, then press Escape to close the outline. The totals appear in a Shapes in selection box.

Cut out an area removes everything drawn inside a box. Click one corner, then click the opposite corner. Count markers inside the box are deleted. A box inside an area cuts a hole in it, and a box across an area's edge or the end of a line trims it. A measurement the box covers completely is deleted. Quantities update to match. If the cut would split one measurement into separate pieces, that measurement is not cut and a message tells you to draw each piece as its own measurement.

Remove count marks deletes individual count markers. Select the tool and click on markers to remove them one by one.

Open display settings from the Settings gear at the end of the zoom controls.

Default unit sets your measurement system to feet or meters. Grid toggles a visible background grid. While the grid is on, Snap to grid appears under it and aligns drawing points to the grid for precise placement. Crosshair displays lines that follow your cursor for alignment. Minimap shows a small overview for navigating large plans.

Hide annotations on hover hides the measurement under your cursor, so you can see the plan beneath it. Crosshair shows only on wider screens, and Hide annotations on hover only on wider screens used with a mouse or trackpad.

Each tool has a single-key shortcut: V Select, H Pan, Q Area, W Linear, E Count, D Draw a known distance, and M Comment. Press Shift+N for a sticky note and Shift+A for an arrow. While drawing, press Enter to finish, hold Shift to snap the angle, and press Escape to stop drawing. The full list is in the Keyboard shortcuts drawer, which opens with Ctrl+/ (Cmd+/ on a Mac).

Zoom in before placing precise points for better accuracy, and enable the crosshair when aligning elements across the plan.