What Are Cutouts?

Cutouts create "holes" in area measurements. They're essential for accurate parking lot measurements where you need to exclude:

Landscape islands - Trees, planters, grass areas
Traffic medians - Concrete dividers, raised islands
Buildings - Structures within the lot boundary
Light pole bases - Concrete pads around poles
Dumpster pads - Non-paved enclosure areas

Key Point: The cutout area is automatically subtracted from the parent measurement. One area with cutouts is more accurate than multiple separate areas.

If the trouble is shapes stacked on top of each other rather than holes in one shape, see Layers: Show, Hide & Lock.

How to Create a Cutout

Select the Parent Area

Click on an existing area measurement to select it. The area must already exist before you can cut from it.

Activate Cutout Mode

Click Cut Out Area in the toolbar, or press C. On a phone or tablet the button is labelled Cut. Note there are two scissors icons on the desktop toolbar - the other one is Split Shape, which is not available yet.

Draw the Cutout Shape

Click to place points around the island or median, just like drawing an area. The cutout must be completely inside the parent area.

Close the Shape

Any of these finishes it: click your first point again, double-click, press Enter, or click Finish. You need at least three points. While you are drawing, the bar at the bottom says "Area" rather than "Cutout" - that is expected, you are still cutting.

Success! The cutout is created and subtracted from the parent area.

You will see a "Cutout added" message, and the square footage on the parent measurement drops by the size of the hole you just cut.

Fixing a Cutout

Undo It Now, Not Later

A cutout is not listed separately once it is made, so there is no button to go back and edit or delete one on its own. If a cutout comes out wrong, press Ctrl+Z (or Cmd+Z on a Mac) straight away to remove it and redraw.

If You Have Moved On

Undo goes back 50 steps, and it starts over if you reload the page. If you find a bad cutout after that, delete the whole parent measurement and redraw it with its cutouts. On a large lot it is worth checking each cutout as you go rather than drawing ten and reviewing them at the end.

Adding More

The parent area stays selected after a cutout is made, so you can go straight into the next one. See below.

Multiple Cutouts

You can add as many cutouts as needed to a single area:

Create your first cutout as described above
With the same area still selected, press C again
Draw the next cutout
Repeat for each island or median

Each cutout is tracked separately and can be edited or deleted independently.

Important Rules

Cutouts Must Be Inside

The entire cutout shape must be within the parent area boundary. Cutouts that extend outside will not work correctly.

Do Not Overlap Cutouts

Draw each island as its own cutout and keep them clear of each other. Nothing stops you overlapping two cutouts, but the shared piece comes off the total twice and your square footage ends up low.

Select One Area First

You need exactly one area measurement selected. With nothing selected the button greys out, and clicking it tells you to select an area first. A line or a count will not work either - it has to be an area. On the phone toolbar the Cut button wakes up as soon as any single measurement is selected, so make sure the one you picked is an area.

Tips for Cutouts

Draw Big Areas First

Draw the full lot boundary first, then add cutouts for islands. This is faster than trying to trace around obstacles.

Simple Shapes Work

For irregular islands, approximate with rectangles or simple polygons. Perfect accuracy isn't always necessary for estimates.

Watch the Running Total

Each cutout tells you the new area as you finish it. Glance at that number - it is the easiest way to catch a cutout you drew in the wrong spot.

Undo Works

If you make a mistake, Ctrl+Z removes the cutout you just drew and puts the area back. Do it before you reload the page.

Cutouts & Islands