Size Variants for Different Sheet Sizes
Learn how to create and manage size variants of zone templates so Foreman can accurately match and position zones across different sheet sizes.
The Problem
Construction documents come in different standard sheet sizes -- A0 for large plans, A1 for detailed drawings, A3 for reports. A title block that sits in the bottom-right corner of an A1 sheet occupies a very different percentage of the page on an A0 sheet, even though it is the same physical size. A single zone template with normalised coordinates cannot accurately target the title block across all sizes.
The Solution: Parent-Child Variants
Foreman uses a parent-child template hierarchy:
- Parent template -- your original zone template, created from a sample PDF of one sheet size.
- Size variants (children) -- copies of the parent for other sheet sizes, each with its own PDF and adjusted zones.
When you run a check, Foreman automatically matches each file to the right variant based on its actual page dimensions.
Creating a Size Variant
- On the Zone Templates tab, find the parent template card.
- Click + Variant.
- In the dialog, drop or browse to upload a sample PDF of a different sheet size.
- Foreman detects the page dimensions and identifies the standard size (e.g. "A3", "ARCH D"). If the size is non-standard, it shows the raw dimensions.
- Confirm or change the size label in the text field.
- Click Create Variant.
Foreman:
- Copies all zones from the parent.
- Repositions zones using anchor-based logic: each zone is anchored to its nearest corner (top-left, top-right, bottom-left, bottom-right). The absolute distance from that corner is preserved on the variant, so a title block 20mm from the bottom-right on the parent stays 20mm from the bottom-right on the variant.
- Opens the zone editor so you can review and fine-tune the positions.
The anchor-based copy is a starting point. Always open the zone editor after creating a variant to verify zone positions match the actual layout on that sheet size. Different sheet sizes may have different title block layouts.
Managing Variants
Variants appear nested under their parent template card with a left border indent. Click the chevron next to the variant count to expand or collapse the list.
Each variant shows:
- Size label badge (e.g. "A3", "ARCH D") in blue.
- Name (editable -- hover and click the pencil icon).
- Dimensions and zone count.
- Edit Zones and Delete buttons.
Deleting a parent template deletes all its variants. Deleting a variant does not affect the parent or other variants.
Standard Sizes
Foreman recognises the following standard sizes (within a 20-point tolerance, both orientations):
| Group | Sizes |
|---|---|
| ISO A-series | A0, A1, A2, A3, A4 |
| ANSI | ANSI C, ANSI D, ANSI E |
| ARCH | ARCH C, ARCH D, ARCH E, ARCH E1 |
Non-standard sizes display their raw dimensions (e.g. "3024x2160").
How Matching Works During Checks
When Foreman processes a PDF file during a check:
- Detect page dimensions from the file.
- Find dimension matches -- check the parent and all variants for a page size within 20 points.
- Single match -- use it directly.
- Multiple matches (same-size variants with different zone layouts) -- Foreman scores each candidate by counting how many zones actually contain text on that file. The one with the most non-empty zones wins. This scoring reuses the already-parsed word positions with no extra PDF parsing.
- No match -- fall back to the parent template (best effort with normalised coordinates).
In check results, each file shows which template was used:
- "size match" badge -- a variant matched by dimensions.
- "fallback" badge -- no variant matched; the parent was used as a best effort.
Next Steps
- PDF Zone Templates -- learn the zone editor basics
- Running QA Checks -- run checks that use template variants