Design codes and checks: quick reference
For designers, builders, certifiers and owners who check a design against planning and building rules. 4 lessons, 17 min. Full steps and pictures: getplotlay.com/learn/design-codes/
| # | Lesson | How |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Choose the design codes for a project4 min | Address in Site details › Design codes › Use the codes for your state › untick packs that don’t apply › fill the project facts. |
| 2 | Run a check and read the results4 min | Site › Compliance. Reference only: verify before relying on it. UNKNOWN is not a pass; fill facts, check again › Make the summary PDF. |
| 3 | Make your own template with tolerances5 min | Design codes › Make your own template › fill Value, Tolerance, Warn within, Applies to › Save, then Save to library. |
| 4 | Import a rule pack and review agent rules4 min | Design codes › Import a pack (file or paste). Agent rules show as needing review: open Rules, check each against its source, Confirm. |
Words: Level: A floor of the building, such as ground or upper. Each room, drawing and item sits on one level, and the plan shows one level at a time. Design code: A set of planning or building rules for a place, such as a state’s planning code, built into Plotlay as a pack of checks. Choose the codes that apply to each project. PASS, WARN, FAIL and UNKNOWN: The results of a check. UNKNOWN is not a pass: Plotlay is missing a measurement or a fact to tell, and the note says which. Tolerance: How far a value may miss a rule’s limit and still show WARN rather than FAIL: a 6000 mm setback with a 200 mm tolerance accepts 5800 mm as WARN. A warn band does the reverse for a pass close to the limit. Library: The shelves of real-sized things you can place: furniture, fit-out, appliances, plants, site items. Drag from the Library tab or search for it. Template (your own rules): A rule pack you make yourself, such as an estate’s design guidelines or a builder’s standards, with your own limits and tolerances. Save it to your library to use again.
Plotlay · app.plotlay.io · Search any tool with Ctrl+K (Cmd+K on a Mac). Checked in the app on 14 October 2026.