A diagram region is a rectangle Synthspec draws on a sheet to mark an area of interest. Synthspec creates diagram regions automatically while it processes your drawing set, and you can adjust them — change the type, set the scale, set the floor multiplier, or delete and redraw — from the Edit Diagram Region dialog. This page describes every field in that dialog, the values each field accepts, and what the values mean for your takeoff.
Where diagram regions appear
Diagram regions are visible on the canvas during the Reviewing project details and diagram selection phase of setup. Each region shows as a colored rectangle outlined on the sheet, with a small badge labeled RCP or LFS at one corner.
Click a badge to open the Edit Diagram Region dialog for that region. The dialog header reads Edit Diagram Region and the description reads “Change the diagram type, scale, or floor multiplier.”
The two diagram types
Every diagram region has a Diagram Type, set in a single dropdown at the top of the dialog. Two values are available:
| Value in dropdown | What it means | What Synthspec does with it |
|---|---|---|
| Reflected Ceiling Plan (RCP) | The region is a reflected ceiling plan — an area where individual lighting fixtures are drawn and should be counted. | Counts every fixture instance inside the region against the matching fixture type in the schedule. |
| Lighting Fixture Schedule (LFS) | The region is the fixture schedule — the table that lists every fixture type used in the project. | Reads the region as a table and seeds the schedule editor with what it finds. Fixtures inside an LFS region are not counted as instances. |
A single sheet may contain both an RCP region and an LFS region, or several of either. Each is configured independently.
The colored dot next to each option in the dropdown matches the badge color used to outline the region on the sheet, so the two stay visually paired.
RCP-only fields
When Diagram Type is Reflected Ceiling Plan (RCP), two more fields appear below it: Floor Multiplier and Scale. Both are hidden for LFS regions because they don’t apply to a schedule.
Floor Multiplier
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Label | Floor Multiplier |
| Helper text | “Number of floors this diagram represents (e.g., 10 for 10 identical floors)” |
| Input type | Whole number |
| Default | 1 |
| Allowed range | 1 to 100 |
Floor Multiplier scales the per-region count up by the number of identical floors a single RCP represents. A high-rise that uses one typical-floor RCP for floors 5 through 14 has a Floor Multiplier of 10 on that region: every fixture instance Synthspec counts inside it contributes ten times to the takeoff.
The default is 1 — the region counts as a single floor. Leave it at 1 whenever the RCP is unique to one level (which is the common case for ground floors, mezzanines, and one-off areas).
The field accepts integers only. Values below 1 snap to 1; values above 100 snap to 100. There is no decimal-floor option — half floors and partial floors are not supported.
Scale
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Label | Scale |
| Helper text | “Set the drawing scale for accurate measurements” |
| Input | Two dropdowns separated by = — drawing size on the left, building size on the right |
| Default | 1/4" = 1 ft |
Scale tells Synthspec how a measurement on the printed drawing converts to a real-world distance in the building. The example line below the two dropdowns previews the current setting in the form 1/4" = 1 ft.
Drawing-size options (left dropdown):
1/16" 1/8" 3/16" 1/4" 3/8" 1/2" 3/4" 1"Building-size options (right dropdown):
1 ft 10 ft 20 ft 50 ft 100 ftPick the pair that matches the scale notation in the sheet’s title block — for example, a sheet annotated 1/8" = 1'-0" becomes 1/8" on the left and 1 ft on the right. Synthspec uses the scale to drive on-canvas measurements such as the Ruler tool (see Canvas controls) and to size linear-mode fixtures correctly.
If a region’s scale isn’t set, the Ruler tool is disabled for that region. Counts of point-symbol fixtures still work without a scale, because they don’t depend on real-world distance — but anything length-based does.
Dialog buttons
The footer of the Edit Diagram Region dialog has three buttons:
| Button | Position | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Delete | Left, with a trash icon | Removes the diagram region from the sheet and closes the dialog. The badge disappears from the canvas. The region’s contribution to fixture counts is removed when the takeoff is next computed. |
| Cancel | Right | Closes the dialog without saving. Any changes you made in the dialog are discarded. |
| Confirm | Right | Saves the current values to the region and closes the dialog. The badge on the sheet updates to reflect the new diagram type. |
After Confirm or Delete, if you have already extracted a fixture schedule or counted fixtures in this project, Synthspec marks that work as out of date — a Re-extract option appears in the setup footer the next time you advance. See Setup phases for how re-extraction is triggered.
What the dialog does not change
The dialog edits type, scale, floor multiplier, and offers delete — and nothing else. It does not move the region, resize it, or change which sheet it belongs to. To reposition or resize a region, drag or pull its handles directly on the canvas. To redraw a region from scratch, use Delete in the dialog and then draw a new region with the Draw box tool from the canvas toolbar (see Canvas controls).