How to calculate area in AutoCAD drawings [Four methods]

There are at least four direct methods of calculating area in AutoCAD drawing and in this article, I will show you all four methods.

If you prefer video then here it is, else scroll down for the complete article.

Using the QUICK command

This one is a relatively new AutoCAD command which can find not only area but also length, radius, angle and several other geometrical properties.

This command was added in 2020 version of AutoCAD and it has become my favourite tool for quick measurements in AutoCAD.

For our example let’s assume we want to find out the area of the region marked A in the following image.

To do that we will first hide the objects like the green door block and the yellow block in the top left corner of the room.

Select the blocks then right-click and select “Isolate” and then select “Hide objects”.

These objects will hide and we will have a clean working area.

Now select the Quick tool from the “Utilities” panel “Measure” flyout, you can also use the MEA command to activate the Quick measure tool.

Now click on the room and it will highlight in green showing the area of room A as shown in the following image.

To add more areas you can press and hold the shift key and then click on multiple regions of your drawing, these areas will be added to the existing area and the total area will show next to the cursor.

Once you are done finding the area of a drawing region you can bring back the objects we hid in the previous steps.

To unhide the objects right click anywhere in the drawing area then select Isolate and then select End object isolation and all the hidden objects will show up again.

Check the image above for reference.

Using the AREA command

This is one of the most obvious methods of finding the area of a region in the drawing.

In this case, let’s once again take the example of the previous drawing and now we will again find the area of the room marked A.

But this time we don’t need to hide any object from the drawing view.

Select the AREA command from the Measure flyout of the “Utilities” panel as shown in the following image or you can use the AREA command.

Now Click on the points making the edges of room A and when the entire room is selected press enter key.

If you want to find the area of multiple regions like room A as well as room B together then you can follow the following workflow.

Start the area command from the Measure flyout or use the command AREA.

Click the Add area option from the command line and then click on all the points making the boundary of room A and press enter key.

Now click on on the points making the boundary of room B and press enter again.

The final area of both regions will now show up on the command line as shown in the following image.

Similarly, if you want to subtract the area of a region from the calculated area then you can follow the following workflow.

In this example let’s find the area of room C as shown in the following image excluding the area of the table shaded in grey colour.

To to that start the Area command from the Measure flyout of Utilities panel of use AREA command.

Now select the Add area option from the command line and then click the boundaries of room C and then press enter key.

Now click the Subtract area option on the command line and then click the boundaries making the table in room C and then the total area will show up on the command line as shown in the following animated image.

Using Hatches

This is an unconventional yet easy method of finding the area in AutoCAD.

It is especially helpful in situations where the AREA command is slightly difficult to use like rooms or regions with rounded corners.

In rounded corners, you can’t use the AREA command directly because it prompts you to select the corner which does not exist in a room with rounded edges.

You can use the “Object” method of the area command to find the area of these kinds of regions which I have explained in the next method.

For now, let’s find the area of Room D as shown in the following image using the hatch command.

Start the hatch command from the Draw panel of the Home tab or use its command HATCH.

Select any hatch pattern from the list of hatch patterns and then click on room D, I am using the “angle” hatch pattern for this example.

Make sure you include the regions covered by the door as well if you want the total area of the room as shown in the following animated image.

Now select the hatch pattern, if it’s one hatch or select all the hatches if the hatch is made in three parts and then right-click and select the properties option.

Now scroll down the properties palette and there you will find the Area field as shown in the following image.

This area includes the area of the region that apparently seems to be ignored around text D, so you don’t have to worry about the accuracy of the area calculated using this method.

Using the Boundary Command

This is yet another unconventional method of finding areas in AutoCAD.

You can make a boundary using a polyline or region and then find the area of that polyline or region which will also be the area of the region.

In the following example let’s find the area of Room E using this method.

We will start by hiding the objects like blocks, text and the door from the room so that we have a clean room for the next steps.

To hide the objects select them from the room and then right-click and select the “Isolate” option and then “Hide objects” from the context menu.

Now select the boundary command from the hatch flyout of the Draw panel on the Home tab as shown in the following image.

Now select the “Polyline” option from the Boundary creation panel and then click the Pick points option as shown in the following image.

Now click inside room E and a new polyline boundary will be created.

Select this newly created polyline and then right-click and select the Properties option.

Now scroll down the properties palette and the area will show up as shown in the following image.

You can also select the AREA command and then click on the “Object” option from the command line and then click the boundary created in the previous steps and the area will show up on the command line.

Once you are done checking the area you can delete the boundary and unhide the objects like blocks and doors hidden in the previous steps.

To “unhide” the objects simply right-click anywhere in the drawing area and then select the “Isolate” option and then select the “End object isolation” option from the context menu.

Summary

Finding an area is easy and straightforward now in AutoCAD thanks for the Quick command and this is the option that I would recommend you use as well.

Did you know about all these methods of finding areas in AutoCAD?

let me know in the comments down below.