Concepts 2022.12 for Windows

December 2022 Release

Measure and scale your designs in Concepts 2022.12 for Windows.

Measure & Scale

We're happy to share the final milestone in our Precision Tools release series in Concepts 2022.12 for Windows - Scale and Measurement.

This major release has everything to help you create floor plans and design projects with real world scale and measurements. We also added our blending vector Watercolor brush to help you create beautiful designs.

It's easy to get started using the Scale & Measurement features. Open the Precision menu to find the new Measure feature, and just tap Measure. Here are the details.

Real-Time Drawing Measurements

Display live measurements as you draw on canvas.

Tap Measure in the Precision menu to activate measurement labels. As you draw, you'll find real-time measurements update live, showing the length of your strokes.
These measurements correspond to your drawing's scale, whether it's a project-defined scale or based on an imported plan. You can set Scale up in your Settings menu, or tap the ratio beside Measure (more on Scale below).
Tap a measurement label to stick it to the canvas. You can select a label to move, mirror or flip it (more on Labels below).
Set your Line Smoothing to 100% with Measure active to use Concepts' equivalent to a real-time ruler, or try using the Line Guide with Measure.
Set up your preferred unit types in Settings (metric, imperial, px, pts, or device-based).
Also choose from new unit display options - full, abbreviated, symbols, decimals in various place values, or imperial fractions.
If you're left-handed, customize your label accessibility to right-sided. In the Settings menu under Display Format & Precision, toggle "Show stroke length on the right side when drawing."
Choose Auto-Scale to allow measurement metrics to adapt scale as you draw (e.g. mm > cm > m), or choose Specific Unit to constrain units to display in your preferred metric while you draw.
Draw with the Filled Stroke tool to calculate instant live area measurements. These display at the center of your shape. Tap a label to set it.
Measurements also apply to the Shape Guides. Tap+hold a measurement label to bring up a keyboard and add a custom value, or use the Measurement Popup in the status bar to accomplish the same thing (more on the popup below).

Measurement Labels

Tap measurement labels to "stick" them to your canvas.

Anytime as you draw, tap a measurement label to "stick" it to the canvas. Select a label to move, mirror or flip it.
Measurement labels will also display for selections. Tap+hold a measurement label to edit it. (You can also do this via the Measurement Popup, more on this below). Editing a label will edit your drawn stroke to match.
A brand new Measurement layer gives you more control over measurement labels (similar to the Grid layer). Use the layer menu to toggle visibility of your labels or lock the layer from changes.
This layer houses all of your static measurement labels - those created by saving a floating Shape Guide measurement, or by saving measurements from selections (including multiple strokes).
Note that dynamic measurement labels are attached to the live strokes they were drawn with, so they remain on their own stroke's layer.
Drag & drop the Measurement layer up and down the menu, toggle visibility of your measurements, or lock the layer from updates using the layer controls.
Tap+hold any measurement label to enter a custom value, and your drawing will adjust.

Measurement Popup

Use the new Measurement Popup to edit stroke dimensions, rotation, and Selection scale.

Tap the measurement field in the status bar to display the Measurement Popup.
Anything you Select, you can scale, rotate or change dimensions using the Measurement Popup.
Enter custom length, width or height values, and choose rotation values for Selections or Shape Guides.
Tap the link button to maintain drawing proportions while you adjust values, or unlock the link to scale values separately.
The Measurement Popup now allows input in decimals, fractions and percentages. These will auto-convert to your drawing's matching measurements and units.

Automatic Areas

Calculate live area measurements using the Filled Stroke tool for your floor plans, landscapes and material estimates.

In the Precision menu, tap Measure. Draw any shape with the Filled Stroke tool (or use Filled Stroke with the Shape Guides) and watch live area measurements update at the center of your shape.
Tap an area measurement label to set it in place. All dynamic measurement labels - those that display live while drawing - will save attached to the stroke and layer they were drawn with.
If you didn't save an area label, no worries. Select your filled shape and open the Measurement Popup to find the Area (A) of the stroke.

Scale

Set real-world scale to your drawings and imported plans.

Tap the ratio metric beside Measure in the Precision menu, or open the Settings menu to locate your Drawing Scale. Enter your scale in the value fields.
Make sure to set both your Scale and Drawing Units in the Settings menu to keep the metrics equivalent on canvas.
As Drawing Scale applies to your entire drawing's settings, it will affect every metric displayed in your drawing, including your brush metrics. Don't worry, your brushes and tools will still function the same.
Learn how to import a plan and set it to scale with our illustrated tutorial on Scale & Measurement.
We also share how to create a floor plan from scratch or based on an imported version in our dedicated Floor Plan tutorial.

Vector Watercolor

We've added our blending vector Watercolor brush to your free basic toolkit. We created this brush with our architects in mind so you could share beautiful design artwork with your clients. Of course, it works great for artists, too.

Blend watercolor strokes on the same layer for a wet watercolor appearance. Select a stroke and move it around the canvas to watch it blend colors and edges live with other watercolor strokes.
Stack your watercolor strokes in a dry method by using separate layers. This allows you to layer textures, colors and strokes in varying opacities or effects for additional artistic interest.

If you have questions or comments about the release, tap Help > Ask Us Anything in app and we'll be glad to chat.

This release is free to all users, in the sense that Measurement and Scale influence every tool and menu setting in the app. They can be found in the Settings menu, and they will apply to whatever experience you have currently purchased in the app. As a specific example, an Essentials or Subscription purchase unlocks the Shape Guides, which you can then use with Measurement and Scale applied.

We've released five deep feature updates this year, with many smaller ones in between. We hope this progress helps you with your creative goals. If you appreciate this release, please take a moment to leave us a five star review in the Microsoft Store, it helps us to keep growing. Thanks also for your generous support and insightful conversations, they've helped us to make Concepts a better creative tool.

We wish you a happy and creative holiday season!

The Concepts Team

New to Concepts? Start your infinite sketching journey here.

Concepts for W indows Walkthrough - Start sketching in 10 minutes with our Concepts for Windows video walkthrough.

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Not an artist? Not a problem.

Drawing isn't just for artists, it's for everyone. Learn how to sketch and communicate visually with our free Learn to Draw Series by TopHatch designer Lasse Pekkala. Find downloadable course materials in the video descriptions and level up your sketching.

Find more sketching tutorials on our YouTube channel @conceptsapp.