Image Objects
Place site photos, product cut sheets, and reference images directly on your plan as movable, layered drawing objects.
Image objects let you embed raster images — PNG, JPG/JPEG, GIF, WebP, or BMP — directly into the drawing layer, where they behave like any other entity: they can be moved, resized, rotated, locked, and reordered between layers. Unlike underlays, which sit behind all canvas content and are excluded from exports, image objects are full members of the drawing and export with it by default. Use them to annotate plans with site photographs, include product cut sheets alongside hardscape elements, or drop in mood-board images for client presentations.
Open the Insert Image action
With nothing selected, open the Inspector on the right and find the Insert Image section, then click the Insert Image button. This opens a two-step import workspace with a File step and an Adjust step, navigated with the Back / Next / Finish controls at the bottom.
Place an image object
There are two ways to add an image object to the canvas:
1. Add Object panel — open the Add Object panel and choose Image Object from the Misc section. A file picker opens; select a JPEG, PNG, WebP, or SVG file. 2. Import menu — File > Import > Image, then in the import dialog choose Image Object as the purpose (not Underlay).
After selecting the file, click on the canvas to place the image at its natural pixel size.
Resize and position
Once placed, the image object is selected and shows resize handles at its corners and edges.
- Drag the center to move the image
- Drag a corner handle to resize proportionally (hold Shift to resize non-proportionally)
- Drag an edge handle to resize along one axis
- Drag the rotation handle (above the top edge) to rotate the image
Position and size are shown in the Inspector. You can type exact values for precise placement.
Hold Alt while dragging a corner to resize from the center outward.
Lock the image object
To prevent accidental moves or resizes, lock the image object:
1. Select the image object 2. Click the Lock button in the Inspector, or right-click and choose Lock Entity
A locked image object cannot be selected or moved by clicking. To unlock it, right-click the entity in the Layers panel and choose Unlock.
Lock image objects after positioning them to avoid accidentally moving them while drawing over or around them.
Layer order and export
Image objects live in whatever layer is active when you place them. You can move them to a different layer via the Layers panel. Layer order controls which image objects appear above or below other entities.
Image objects export and print as part of the drawing (unlike underlays, which are excluded by default). If you do not want an image object to appear in exports, hide the layer it is on before exporting.
Lock the image to prevent accidental edits
Once the image is in position, lock it so it cannot be moved by accident while you draw over it. Locked entities ignore all pointer events, so clicks pass through to entities behind them. You can lock and unlock entities and whole layers from the Layers panel.
Lock reference images and site photos early in your workflow so they stay anchored while you trace shapes and add plants on top.
Manage layer order and visibility
Image objects live in the layer that was active when you placed them. Manage layers from the Layers panel: layer order controls whether the image appears above or below other entities, and reordering layers adjusts the stacking. Hiding a layer also hides its image objects from the canvas and from exports.
Image objects export and print as part of the drawing. If you need a reference photo visible while designing but excluded from the final PDF or export, use an Underlay instead — underlays are excluded from exports by default.
Keep reference material organized by placing site photos and cut sheets in a dedicated layer (for example, a layer named 'References') and locking it, so it stays out of the way while you design on top.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between an image object and an underlay?
An underlay sits behind all canvas content and is designed for tracing reference — it is excluded from exports by default and cannot be moved like a regular entity. An image object is a full member of the drawing: it lives in a specific layer, can be moved, resized, rotated, locked, and reordered, and it exports and prints with the drawing.
Which image formats are supported?
PNG, JPG/JPEG, GIF, WebP, and BMP files are all supported. If a file fails to load, confirm it is saved in one of these formats — some files with incorrect extensions may not load correctly.
Can I change the crop after placing the image?
The crop is applied when you place the image, and the placed object stores only the cropped area. To use a different crop, insert the image again from the Insert Image action and set the crop you want on the Adjust step.
My image object is missing from the PDF export — what happened?
Image objects export with the drawing unless their layer is hidden. Open the Layers panel, confirm the layer containing the image is visible (the eye icon is on), then export again.
Can I use an image object as a texture on a shape, or only as a free-floating element?
The image object tool places a free-floating image on the canvas. To apply an image as a surface fill or material texture on a shape (for example, a paving texture on a patio), use the Fill & Material settings in the Inspector for that shape instead — see the Image Fill article for details.