Sketch quick reference for Xactimate desktop
The following ribbon buttons and keyboard shortcuts can be accessed from the Tools tab in Sketch, allowing you to place and modify objects in the Sketch workspace.
Click to add a room to your sketch.
Click to add a roof to your sketch. You can change roof types by pressing Spacebar with the roof tool in the cursor. Pressing E adds a dormer to the Sketch Workspace.
Press E to add a dormer to your sketch.
Shift + D
Click to add a deck to your sketch.
Click to add a doorway to your sketch.
Click the Missing Wall button and click a wall to make it a Missing Wall.
Shift + W
Click to add partial walls to an existing room, to create a room by connecting individual walls, or to divide a room.
Click to add a staircase to your sketch.
Ctrl + F
Click to add a fence to your sketch.
Click to add a window to your sketch.
Click to create a snap line anywhere within your Sketch Workspace.
Ctrl + Enter
Select a room or object in your sketch. Click Properties to open the Properties window for the room or object that you selected.
Click Break. Then click a wall in your sketch. Click and drag the wall to create an offset.
Click to flip a selected object from side to side.
Click to flip a selected object from top to bottom.
Click to rotate the selected object by 90 degrees (default).
Click to change the orientation of an object after placing it in your sketch.
Click the Vertex button, and then a wall in your sketch. Drag the vertex point to create a hinge in the wall.
Click to adjust the scale of a roof in the Sketch Workspace. The Scale button is only available if there is a roof in the current Sketch Level.
Click the Flooring Orientation button to select the direction to lay the floor covering after it has been placed on the Sketch Workspace.
Click to place a reference block in your sketch.
Click to place a reference line in your sketch.
Click to place a reference area in your sketch.
Click to place a reference point in your sketch.
Copy from Underlay
Click copy a room or object from one Sketch Level to another Sketch Level. The Copy from Underlay button is available when there is a room or object on a Sketch Level directly beneath the current Sketch Level.
Ctrl + Shift + C
Select multiple rooms in the Sketch Workspace, and then press Ctrl+Shift+C to combine the rooms.
Ctrl + Shift + S
Select combined rooms in the Sketch Workspace and press Ctrl+Shift+S to separate them.
Shift + P
Snap to Grid
Press Shift+P to enable/disable the snap to grid tool.
The following buttons and keyboard shortcuts can be accessed from the Options tab in Sketch, allowing you to adjust options and other preferences in the Sketch workspace.
Click to open the Sketch Preferences window for the current estimate.
Click to open the Sketch Inspections window.
Shift + Q
Show Flooring Cuts
Click to open the Flooring Cuts window.
Click toggle the calculations. Note: If you are sketching a large house with plenty of carpet it will be faster to first draw the house, turn off the auto calculations and then place the carpet.
Click to display the Sketch Templates that have been created and saved.
Click to save your sketch as a template to use with future estimates.
Click to select from a list of importing options.
Click to select from a list of exporting options.
Ctrl + M
Click to open the Macros window.
Click to select from a list of measurement rounding options for general measurement rounding, or roof measurement rounding.
Click to select from a list of font size options for labels and measurements.
Click to select subgroup labeling options
Click to select which windows are visible in Sketch.
Shift + V
Click to save the current view of the Sketch Workspace.
Click to see a list of previously used views.
The following buttons and keyboard shortcuts can be accessed from the Aerial Sketch tab in Sketch, allowing you to define edges, ridges, valleys, and faces of a roof, using aerial images as a guide.
Click to remove areas of the photo that are not needed. The roof will also be auto rotated. Crop Image is only available when an image is set as an underlay.
Find Interior Lines
Click to view the proposed line in the Sketch Workspace when you hover over an interior line where two non-edge lines meet. Click the mouse button to add the interior line.
Find Perimeter Lines
Click to view proposed edge lines for the perimeter of the roof in the cropped image. Click the mouse button to add the perimeter lines.
Click to begin manually drawing the roof lines.
Auto is the default selection for Draw Lines. This automatically determines the type of roof line when manually drawing him lines.
Use Draw Edge to draw the perimeter edges of a roof. Edges are designated with green lines.
Use Draw Flat Ridge to draw the flat ridges of the roof. Flat ridges are designated with blue lines.
Use Draw Valley to draw the valleys of the roof. Valleys are designated with red lines.
Use Hip Ridge to draw the hip ridges of the roof. Hip ridges are designated with purple lines.
Use Create Faces to identify enclosed areas as faces.
Click to enter Slope mode.
Create Sketch Roofs
Click to create the roof after the faces have been identified.
Click in slope mode to revert all changes made in slope mode.
Exit Slope Mode
Click to leave Slope mode and return to the Aerial Sketch tab.
Click Break. Then click the desired roof line in the Aerial Sketch. Click and drag the roof line to create an offset.
Click to rotate the image to align with the horizontal or vertical axis.
Click Vertex. Then click the desired roof line to add a vertex point. Click and drag the vertex point to create a hinge in the roof line.
Click set the direction of the slope of the roof faces.
Download Aerial Images
Click to open the Xactimate-Aerial Sketch window. After registering or logging in, you can download Aerial images.
Click to import existing images to Aerial Sketch.
The following buttons and keyboard shortcuts can be accessed from the Annotation tab in Sketch, allowing you to add an annotation layer to your sketch. The annotation layer can be enabled/disabled by click View and Selecting annotations.
Click to add text to your sketch.
Click to draw an arrow on your sketch.
Click to draw an ellipse on your sketch.
Click to draw a line on your sketch.
Shift + R
Click to draw a rectangle on your sketch.
Shift + I
Click to fill an ellipse or rectangle with a color.
Click to select a color for the fill.
Click to select the line width to use for drawing annotations.
Click to select the color for drawing annotations.
Sketch Viewing Tools
The following buttons and keyboard shortcuts change the appearance of your sketch, but they don't affect the estimate itself.
Click to see a list of view settings for the Sketch Workspace. The following settings can be turned off or on.
Shift + L
Enable/disable label visibility.
Enable/disable roof measurement lock visibility.
Shift + M
Enable/disable measurement visibility.
Enable/disable roof annotation visibility.
Enable/disable visibility for various layers in the Sketch Workspace.
Ctrl + Alt + B
Enable/disable load bearing wall visibility.
Ctrl + Shift + O
Enable/disable flooring overlay visibility.
Enable/disable footing visibility.
Ctrl + Shift + F
Enable/disable framing visibility.
Enable/disable annotation visibility.
Shift + G
Enable/disable grid visibility.
Shift + U
Enable/disable imported underlay.
Shift + O
Enable/disable outline visibility.
Rooms Below Stairs
Enable/disable visibility for the rooms below the stairs.
Enable/disable the tip box.
Shift + C
Enable/disable visibility for ceiling surfaces in 3D viewing mode.
Enable/disable the legend on the Sketch Workspace.
Enable/disable grid visibility in 3-D viewing mode.
Space (or) H
Click to move a drawing or object.
Click to activate a zoom cursor. Click the Sketch Workspace to zoom in, or Shift + click the Sketch Workspace to zoom out.
Click to zoom out.
Click to zoom in.
Ctrl (+) -
Zoom to Extants
Click view your entire sketch.
Ctrl (+) +
Zoom to Selection
Click to show the entire selected portion of your sketch.
Click to see the floor plan view. This is the default Sketch view.
Click to view the elevation of a desired vertical surface.
Click to see a 3-D rendering of your sketch.
Click Study Mode. Then click and drag the Sketch to view all angles of your Sketch drawing. This is only available in 3-D View.
Click to see a 3-D view of your sketch as if you were walking through it. Use the arrow keys to move around. This is only available in 3-D View.
Shift + [1-9]
Click to see a list of 3-D views. This is only available in 3-D view
Shift + F
View Other Side
Click to see the other side of a wall that has been selected in Elevation View.
Shift + H
High Detail View
Press Shift+H to change the 3-D view to high detail.
Shift + E
Super Detail View
Press Shift+E to change the 3-D view to super detail.
Shift + N
Press Shift+N to change the 3-D view to normal detail.
Ctrl + Shift + L
Load View List
Press Ctrl+Shift+L to open the View List window.
Shift + V
Save Current View
Press Shift+V to save the current view.
Shift + Q
Press Shift+Q to open the Flooring Cuts window.
Ctrl + Page Up
View Level Above
Press Ctrl+PageUp to view the level above in the sketch workspace.
Ctrl + Page Down
View Level Below
Press Ctrl+PageDown to view the level below in the sketch workspace.
Miscellaneous Sketch Tools
Click to clear your cursor.
Ctrl + Z
Click to undo your last change.
Ctrl + C
Click to copy selected items or objects to the clipboard.
Ctrl + X
Click to remove selected items from your sketch and place them on the clipboard.
Ctrl + V
Click to paste items or objects on the clipboard to your sketch.
Minimize/Expand the Ribbon
Click to make the buttons on the ribbon smaller / larger.
Holding Ctrl keeps an object active in your cursor.
Holding Shift constrains an active cursor object. This is similar to the Ctrl button.
Move Object or Move Object Name
Press Spacebar while the pointer is over an object move handle, to switch between moving an object and moving its label.
Press Tab to rotate an object 90 degrees clockwise.
Shift + Tab
Press Shift+Tab to rotate an object 90 degrees counter-clockwise.
Shift + Spacebar
Press Shift+Space to switch between 3-D and Plan views.
Press F1 to open Xactimate Help.
Press F2 to rename a selected object.
Ctrl + T
View Summary Totals Report
Press Ctrl+T to view the Summary Totals Report.
Ctrl + Shift + R
Reset Window layout
Press Ctrl+Shift+R to reset the window layout.
Ctrl + Shift + 1
Press Ctrl+Shift+1 to view the Search pane.
Ctrl + Shift + 2
Press Ctrl+Shift+2 to view the Items pane.
Ctrl + Shift + 4
Press Ctrl+Shift+4 to view the Images pane.
Add Line Item
Press Insert to open the Add Line Item window.