Create an Accurate Floor Plan with MagicPlan: A Macworld Masterclass

Creating a floor plan can be a daunting task, especially if you’re not familiar with computer-aided design. But with MagicPlan, a free app that utilizes the camera of your iPhone or iPad, you can easily capture a digital image of a room, floor, or entire house and generate an approximate plan. In this tutorial, we’ll show you how to create a simple room with a door, make a plan, accurately calibrate it and add space of representatives using MagicPlan.

Essential Information

• Device: iPhone / iPad
• Difficulty: Intermediate
• Required time: 15 minutes

What You Need

• iOS 5.0 or higher
• MagicPlan (free)

Steps to Create an Accurate Floor Plan with MagicPlan

Step 1: Capture an Image

Open MagicPlan and take a picture of the room you want to create a floor plan for. Make sure to capture all four corners and important elements like doors and windows.

Step 2: Define the Room

Use the app’s “Draw” feature to define the room by tracing the corners and important elements.

Step 3: Add Doors and Windows

Add doors and windows to the plan by placing them in the correct location in the room.

Step 4: Calibrate the Floor Plan

Measure the actual room with a tape measure and input the measurements into MagicPlan to accurately calibrate the plan.

Step 5: Add Space of Representatives

If the room is a part of a house or building, MagicPlan can add the space of representatives by adding adjoining walls and doors.

Key Features of MagicPlan

• Ability to create floor plans with a simple photo
• Add doors and windows to plans accurately
• Calibrate plans for accurate measurements
• Download plans as PDFs or AutoCAD-friendly DXF files