Canvas and Display Settings
The Display sub-section in the Editing tab controls the visual appearance of the canvas — grid visibility, grid size, axis display, and background colour.
The Display sub-section of Project Settings controls every visual aid drawn on the 2D canvas: the grid overlay, the origin axis crosshair, edge rulers, the live cursor-position readout, the canvas background color, and reference underlay images. These settings are per-project and take effect immediately as you adjust them — no save step is required.
Open Project Settings from the settings icon in the top bar, switch to the Editing tab, then click Display in the left sidebar. The canvas behind the dialog updates live so you can judge the result without closing the panel.
Grid settings
Show Grid toggle — shows or hides the grid overlay on the canvas. Grid Size — the spacing between grid lines in the active unit system. In metric mode, predefined options are available. In imperial mode, grid size is set in feet. Show Axis — shows or hides the canvas origin axis lines (the X/Y origin crosshair).
Canvas background
Canvas Background Color — a colour picker to set the background colour of the drawing canvas. The default is a light grey. Changing this does not affect exports unless the background colour is explicitly included in the export settings.
Underlay settings
The Display section also shows underlay visibility and global opacity controls. Underlays are reference images you have imported and pinned to the canvas. The global opacity slider here adjusts the opacity of all underlays simultaneously.
Enable rulers and the cursor-position readout
Toggle Show Rulers to add measurement rulers along the top and left edges of the canvas. The rulers display in the project's active unit system (metric or imperial) and update as you pan and zoom.
Once rulers are on, the Show Cursor Position toggle becomes available. Enable it to display a live marker on both rulers that tracks your pointer, making it easy to read off exact coordinates while placing points or tracing shapes.
Use rulers together with the cursor-position readout when you need to place elements at exact coordinates, or when checking that a traced shape matches the real-world dimensions in your site survey.
Set a canvas background color
Toggle Show Background to enable a solid color behind all canvas content. Use the Background Color picker to choose any color — for example a light gray to reduce eye strain on long drawing sessions, or white to match the look of a printed plan.
The background is a working aid visible only on screen. It does not appear in exported PDFs or images unless the export settings explicitly include a background option.
Control reference underlay visibility and opacity
The Underlay group manages any reference images pinned to the canvas — site survey scans, satellite images, or imported PDF overlays. Toggle Show underlay to show or hide all underlays at once without removing them from the project.
Drag the Opacity slider to set how strongly underlays appear over the canvas background. Enable Grayscale to desaturate all underlays so they contrast less with your drawn lines. If no underlay has been imported yet, this group shows a placeholder message instead of the controls.
Lower the underlay opacity to around 20–30% and enable Grayscale when tracing over a survey scan. The reference stays visible enough to follow without competing with your new drawing lines.
Grid Size only changes the visual line spacing. Snap behavior is controlled separately by Grid Snap in the Snap sub-section of the same Editing tab. You can show a fine grid for reference while snapping to a coarser interval, or hide the grid entirely while still snapping to it.
Show Cursor Position only appears once Show Rulers is enabled, because the position readout is drawn directly on the ruler bars. Turn both on together for the full coordinate-tracking experience.
Frequently Asked Questions
I turned off the grid but the cursor still snaps to it — why?
The Grid toggle in the Display sub-section controls only the visual overlay. Snapping is governed by Grid Snap in the Snap sub-section of the Editing tab. Toggle Grid Snap off there to stop the cursor snapping to grid intersections.
Will the canvas background color appear in my exported PDF or image?
Not by default. The background is an on-screen working aid. It will only appear in an export if the export panel offers a background option and you enable it. Most plan exports use a transparent or white background regardless of this setting.
The Underlay group shows a message instead of the opacity controls — what do I do?
No underlay has been imported into this project yet. Use the underlay tool to import and pin a reference image first, then return to Display to adjust its visibility and opacity.
Do canvas display settings apply to the 3D view as well?
No. The Display sub-section controls the 2D canvas only. The 3D view has its own environment and lighting settings, accessible in the Editing tab under the Environment sub-section.
Can I set a different grid size for metric and imperial projects?
Yes. Grid Size is stored in meters internally and converted to the active unit system for display. If you switch a project from metric to imperial, the grid size is re-expressed in feet — set a new value that makes sense in imperial (e.g. 1 ft instead of 0.5 m).