Calibrate Measurements with the Ruler

Calibration tells Lumineer how big things are in your photo. Once calibrated, the materials summary gives you accurate bulb counts and linear footage — so your quotes are right and you order the correct amount of product.

What you'll learn

How to draw and set a calibration ruler
How calibration affects your design
Tips for accurate measurements

Calibrate your photo

Select the Ruler tool — Click "Ruler" in the toolbar, or press R.
Click two points on something you can measure — a garage door, a window, a section of roofline. Pick something you know the real-world size of.
Enter the measurement — A measurement input appears at the midpoint of the ruler. Type the real-world distance in feet and inches (e.g., "9" for a 9-foot garage door).
Press Enter or click away — Lumineer calculates the scale and immediately recalculates all light spacing across your entire design.

Tip: The ruler stays visible on your canvas. After calibrating, it collapses to a small badge in the bottom-left corner. Click the badge to expand it again.

What calibration does

When you set a measurement, Lumineer calculates how many pixels equal one inch in your photo. This affects everything:

Light spacing — A C9 strand set to 15-inch spacing will now place bulbs exactly 15 inches apart in the photo's scale.
Bulb sizes — Bulbs render at their true physical size relative to the house.
Materials summary — The Export tab shows accurate linear feet and bulb counts.
All existing elements update — Every strand, curve, and shrub recalculates its lights based on the new scale.

Note: Without calibration, Lumineer uses a default estimate based on your photo's dimensions. This is usually close enough for visual mockups, but calibrating gives you accurate counts for ordering and quoting.

Adjust the ruler after calibrating

You can refine the calibration at any time:

Move the entire ruler — Switch to the Move tool (V), then drag the orange dashed line to reposition it.
Adjust an endpoint — Hover over either endpoint circle (it enlarges on hover), then click and drag to fine-tune placement.
Change the measurement — Click the calibration badge in the bottom-left corner to expand the ruler, then type a new value.

Tips for accurate calibration

Use the longest known measurement you can — A 16-foot garage door is more accurate than a 3-foot window because small errors are proportionally smaller.
Measure something at the same depth as your lights — Objects closer to the camera appear larger. Pick a reference point on the same plane as the roofline you're lighting.
Common reference measurements:

| Feature | Typical Size | |---------|-------------| | Standard garage door (single) | 8-9 feet wide | | Standard garage door (double) | 16 feet wide | | Entry door | 3 feet wide, 6'8" tall | | Standard window | 3 feet wide | | Brick course (10 rows) | ~30 inches |

Straight-on photos calibrate best — Angled photos introduce perspective distortion that no single ruler can fully correct.

Next steps: