Export PDF
Turn your garden design into a print-ready PDF complete with drawings, plant lists, cost summaries, and schedules.
PDF export renders each selected drawing page at the view mode, paper size, and resolution you choose, then assembles them into a single downloadable file. You can export in 2D, 3D, Photo, or Technical view — or mix drawing pages with optional summary pages covering plants, costs, tasks, goals, irrigation, lighting, and drainage. The result is a complete design package you can send directly to clients or hand to a print shop.
Open the Export PDF dialog
In the top toolbar, open the export menu and choose PDF. The Export PDF dialog opens with the view mode pre-set to match your current editor view — for example, if you are in 3D mode the export will default to 3D.
Open the Export PDF dialog
Go to File > Export > PDF. The Export PDF dialog opens.
Set page size and orientation
Page size — choose a standard paper size:
- A4 (210×297 mm)
- A3 (297×420 mm)
- A2 (420×594 mm)
- A1 (594×841 mm)
- Letter (216×279 mm)
- Custom — enter width and height in mm
Orientation — Portrait or Landscape.
Margin — set margins in mm. Margins ensure content does not run to the paper edge on printed output.
For client deliverables, A3 landscape with 10 mm margins is a common choice for garden design plans — large enough to read at a table but not unwieldy.
Choose layers and drawing pages
Layers — the dialog lists all layers. Toggle individual layers on or off for the export. This allows you to produce multiple versions of the PDF — for example, one with planting annotation and one without.
Underlays are excluded by default; toggle them on if needed.
Drawing pages — if the drawing contains multiple pages (Sheet 1, Sheet 2, etc.), choose which pages to include. You can export all pages as a multi-page PDF or export a single page.
Scale bar and title block
Scale bar — toggle to include an automatically generated scale bar on the PDF. The scale bar reflects the drawing scale based on the page size and drawing extent.
Title block — if the drawing has a configured title block (project name, designer, date), toggle to include it in the PDF export.
Click Export to download the PDF file.
Always include a scale bar in PDFs delivered to contractors or civil engineers — it ensures the plan can be correctly interpreted even if printed at a non-standard size.
Add optional title page and page numbers
Toggle Title page to prepend an automatically generated cover page with the project name and export date. Toggle Page numbers to print page numbers in the footer of every page. Both options are independent and can be combined freely.
Append summary sections
Under Supplementary sections, tick any of the additional pages to append after the drawing pages: Goals, Cost, Tasks, Plant Legend (all plants and hedges in the drawing), Irrigation Summary, Lighting Schedule, Irrigation Equipment Schedule, Drainage Schedule, and Technical Specification Summary. A section is only selectable when the drawing contains the relevant data — if a checkbox is disabled, the drawing has no matching entities yet.
Appending the Plant legend and Cost summary means your client receives the full design package — plan drawings and supporting schedules — in a single file.
Set the filename and export
Type a name in the Filename field — the .pdf extension is added automatically. Click Export PDF to generate and download the file. A progress indicator shows how many pages have been rendered. Depending on the resolution and number of pages, export typically completes in a few seconds.
Margins are entered in the unit system active for the project — millimeters in metric mode and inches in imperial mode. If you switch the project's unit system after opening the dialog, close and reopen the dialog so the margin fields update to the correct unit.
For client presentations, try Photo view mode at Print (150 dpi) on A3 Landscape — this gives a visually rich result without producing an excessively large file.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which paper sizes are available?
A4, A3, Letter, and Tabloid. You can combine any of these with Portrait or Landscape orientation.
Why is a summary section greyed out?
Each summary section is only enabled when the drawing contains matching data. The Plant legend requires at least one plant or hedge entity; the Cost summary requires entities with a unit price, labor hours, or a catalog entry; the Irrigation schedule requires irrigation entities; the Lighting schedule requires lighting entities; and the Drainage schedule requires drainage entities. Add the relevant entities to the drawing and the section will become selectable.
Can I export only specific pages?
Yes. Choose Custom in the Pages setting and tick the individual pages you want to include. You can also choose Current Page to export just the active page, or All Pages for the full drawing.
What is the difference between the resolution options?
Screen (72 dpi) produces small files suited to email and on-screen review. Print (150 dpi) is the recommended default for A4 and A3 printed output. High (300 dpi) is best for large-format printing or when the client will zoom into fine detail — it produces larger files but sharper output.
Does the view mode affect how the drawing looks in the PDF?
Yes. The view mode determines how every drawing page is rendered before it is placed on the PDF page. 2D gives a clean top-down plan; 3D gives a perspective view; Photo applies the photoreal rendering pipeline; Technical renders dimension lines and annotations. All pages in a single export share the same view mode.