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How to Measure Square Footage from an Apex Sketch Floor Plan

Apex Sketch is the most widely used sketching tool among residential appraisers. Exporting the sketch and running it through MeasureFloorPlan.com takes two minutes and provides a useful verification of the software's calculated GLA.

What Apex Sketch exports

Apex Sketch (available through Bradford Technologies as part of the ClickFORMS platform, and as a standalone product) exports sketches in several formats: PNG image, PDF, and directly into appraisal forms. For measurement verification, PNG or PDF exports work best.

The exported sketch shows the floor plan as a to-scale drawing with wall dimensions labeled around each segment. These labeled dimensions are exactly what you need for scale setting.

How to export from Apex Sketch

1. Open your sketch in Apex Sketch.
2. Go to File, then Export or Print. Select PNG or PDF as the output format.
3. For PNG, choose the highest resolution available. 300 DPI or higher is ideal.
4. Save the file to your desktop or downloads folder.

If the export option is not obvious in your version of Apex, you can also take a screenshot of the sketch at full screen. Press Print Screen or use your system screenshot tool after maximizing the Apex window.

Verifying GLA against the Apex calculation

1. Upload the Apex sketch PNG or PDF to MeasureFloorPlan.com.
2. Trace the exterior perimeter of the above-grade living area, following the same logic Apex Sketch uses: exterior walls only, above grade, excluding garage and basement.
3. Set scale using one of the labeled wall dimensions from the sketch. Apex Sketch shows dimensions on each wall segment in feet and inches. Pick the longest one for best accuracy.
4. Compare the tool result to Apex's calculated GLA. If they match within 1-2%, the sketch is accurate.

What a discrepancy might mean

If MeasureFloorPlan.com reports a GLA that differs from Apex Sketch by more than 2-3%, investigate the source:

• A missed wall segment in the sketch (a common entry point for GLA errors)
• An area included in Apex GLA that should be excluded (or vice versa)
• A scale setting error in this tool (double-check against a second labeled dimension)
• A data entry error in Apex (a wall dimension typed incorrectly at data entry)

Either way, a discrepancy is a signal worth investigating before the appraisal report is submitted.