To create an estimate from files, open the Handy chat, select +, choose Upload files or Project files, and describe what to price. Handy (Handoff's AI assistant) reads your photos, videos, and drawings and builds the estimate.
Available on all plans. Works on desktop and in the mobile app.
Attach files in the chat
Open an estimate chat or the global chat.
Select the + button next to the Ask Handy box.
Select Upload files to add files from your device, or Project files to use files already saved in the project. Project files appears only when the chat is inside a project.
Tell Handy which scopes to estimate, and add any dimensions the files don't show.
Send the message.
In the mobile app, the + menu opens as a sheet from the bottom with the same options. Handy reads the files and builds the estimate. You can then refine it with follow-up messages.
What Handy can read
Documents: PDF, Word, Excel, CSV, PowerPoint, and plain text files.
Images: JPEG, PNG, WebP, GIF, HEIC, and BMP.
Video: MP4, MOV, WebM, AVI, and similar formats.
Audio: MP3, M4A, WAV, and similar formats.
Each file can be up to 200 MB in the app. Handy can read up to 20 files at once, and files over 50 MB (PDFs) or 100 MB (other types) are rejected.
What Handy does with each type
Photos: Handy identifies materials, conditions, and the type of work. Photos have no scale, so Handy can't measure from them. Give dimensions in your message.
Videos: Handy looks at frames from the video and transcribes what you say, so narrate scope and sizes as you record.
PDFs and drawings: Handy reads the text and the dimensions printed on the page. For long PDFs, only the first 100 pages are searched.
Spreadsheets and Word files: Handy reads the rows and text directly, so upload the file instead of a screenshot.
Measure from plans
If you need quantities measured from a plan set, select + > Takeoff mode instead. Takeoff mode scales the drawings and measures them. See What AI takeoff is and when to use it for plans, credits, and limits.
In the iOS app on supported iPhones and iPads, + > Room scan (Beta) captures a room's measurements for the estimate.
Get better results from files
Clear, digital files that show dimensions work best, plus a message saying which scopes to price.
Works well: digital PDFs with printed dimensions, spreadsheets and Word files (upload the file, not a screenshot), bright in-focus site photos, and videos where you describe materials and sizes out loud.
Causes problems: photos of printed plans (angles and lighting hide dimensions, so export or scan to PDF instead), crooked or low-resolution scans (rescan flat and at a higher quality), hand sketches without dimensions (Handy can describe them but can't size them), and renderings (they show design intent, not quantities).
Upload only the pages that apply. If you are pricing tile, attach the bathroom sheets instead of an 80-page set. Then say what to price, for example: "Estimate the cabinet install, countertop, and backsplash only. Ignore the flooring." Before it builds, you can ask "What rooms and dimensions did you find?" to catch wrong assumptions early.
If you attach a revised plan in the same chat, Handy can see both versions and may mix them up. Start a new chat for updated plans or a different project.