Troubleshooting · 3 min read
My Floor Plan Is Blurry or Low Resolution. What Do I Do?
Low resolution is one of the most common reasons the auto perimeter finder misses the walls or traces the wrong boundary. Here is how to fix it.
Why low resolution causes problems
The auto perimeter finder works by detecting the edges of walls in your floor plan image. When the image is blurry or low resolution, wall edges become fuzzy. The detector cannot confidently distinguish where the wall ends and the background begins. The result is an inaccurate perimeter trace or no detection at all.
A floor plan that looks fine on a small screen can still be too low resolution for accurate detection. The recommended minimum is 800 pixels wide. Wider is better.
How to get a sharper version
Before assuming the source file is the problem, try these steps:
- Re-download the original: If you got the floor plan from CubiCasa, Matterport, or iGUIDE, go back to the source and download it again. Look for a "high resolution" or "full size" download option.
- Zoom in and screenshot: Open the floor plan in your browser or PDF viewer, zoom in until the floor plan fills the screen, then take a screenshot. On Mac use Cmd+Shift+4. On Windows use Win+Shift+S or the Snipping Tool.
- Export from the original software: If the floor plan was created in sketch software (SketchUp, RoomSketcher, etc.), export directly from the source at the highest resolution available.
- Print to PDF then screenshot: If you have a PDF, open it in Chrome, zoom to 150% or more, print to PDF (or use browser print preview), and screenshot the result at full zoom.
Minimum resolution guide
- 800px wide: Minimum. Detection will work but may need adjustment.
- 1200px wide: Good. Reliable detection on most floor plans.
- 1600px or wider: Ideal. Clean detection with minimal adjustment needed.
What if the source file is genuinely low quality?
Sometimes the only copy of a floor plan is a low-quality scan or a small image from an old listing. In that case, auto-detection will not perform well no matter what you do.
Your options are:
- Use the manual adjustment tool: After auto-detection runs, you can manually drag and adjust the perimeter points to match the actual walls. This takes a bit more time but still gets you an accurate result.
- Upscale the image: Free tools like Upscayl or online services can increase image resolution using AI. Results vary, but a clean upscale can sometimes improve detection quality enough to use auto-detection.
- Get a better source: If the property has an existing CubiCasa or Matterport scan on file, those floor plans will be significantly cleaner. Worth checking before working with a poor-quality image.
Related reading
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