All have a reset which returns the measuring dial and vernier scale to zero before the next use. Digital planimeters are computerized. They give a direct reading of the area traced as square inches or centimeters, with some reading directly in any unit of area including acres, square meters, square kilometers, etc. The most advanced units will also store data for downloading into a personal computer. Most digital planimeters have various memory functions which enable you to add areas, accumulate measurements, and average multiple measurements.
Digital planimeters are available with pole arms or rollers.
Once the known area is traced, you can see how many revolutions the dial scale indicates. The known area divided by the dial reading equals the constant. Once the constant is determined, the measuring dial is reset and the boundary is traced by moving the magnifier over the boundary in a clockwise direction. The reading on the dial is multiplied by the constant to give the desired area of the plot. This constant can be used so long as the length of the pole arm is not changed.