Views and layers
Use the top bar and the Shape card's View section to move between workspaces and reveal only the parts of the design you need to inspect.
Switch workspace and view
The top-right canvas switch has three modes:
| Button | Workspace | State when you return |
|---|---|---|
| 3D | Perspective preview | Camera, orbit, and visible preview layers are retained |
| 2D | Orthographic designer | View, layer choices, and per-view pan/zoom are retained |
| HM | Multi-tile Heatmaps workspace | Opens the saved heatmap selection; the workspace is rebuilt when selected |
Front, Side, and Top sit beside the switch. In 3-D they snap and refit the camera; in 2-D they choose one projection. All appears only in 2-D. The same destinations are available under View > 3D, View > 2D, and View > Heatmap.
Use 3-D preview for camera gestures, 2-D designer for orthographic editing, and Heatmaps for the diagnostic workspace.
Control the shared top-bar options
The top Grid button is the same setting as View > Grid and the 2-D Layers checkbox. It shows the 3-D reference plane or the 2-D drawing grid. When a boat is visible, the 3-D grid is lowered to the assumed water level; without a boat it sits at the design's zero plane.
The mm / in pill is the same setting as View > Imperial Units. It changes unit-aware displays such as the 3-D mould statistics and Cloth Properties inputs; stored designs and exports remain in millimetres. The 2-D coordinate status and each handle's natural-unit popover keep their displayed mm, %, or ° labels. See Units and glossary for the unit conventions.
Undo and Redo beside those pills operate on design edits, not on visibility, camera, workspace, grid, or unit choices. Their complete scope is described in 2-D designer.
Show and hide 3-D layers
Open the Shape card's View section in Preview or Profile Edit. Several controls are also duplicated in the View menu so they remain reachable when the card is scrolled.
| Control | Where | What changes |
|---|---|---|
| Show surface | Shape card and View menu | Hides or shows the smooth mould, cloth skin, or coloured panel surfaces; line overlays can remain visible |
| Skin | Shape card | Chooses Fine grid, Dacron, Mylar, Ripstop spinnaker, Traditional canvas, or Off (plain white) |
| Show edge guides | Shape card | Shows the twisted, unsmoothed luff, leech, and foot guides for comparison with the rendered outline |
| Show seams | Shape card and View menu | Shows layout seam lines and corner-patch arcs; the actual sail outline remains visible when this is off |
| Show boat | Shape card and View menu | Shows the selected boat's hull and rig, or the rig alone for a boat without a hull model |
| Profile Edit | Shape card mode | Shows section curves and highlights the selected height |
| Heatmap | Shape card | Replaces the normal cloth appearance with one lightweight diagnostic overlay and its legend |
Fine grid draws the close warp-and-weft line skin seen in the default workspace. The four named fabrics use textures on the surface. Off (plain white) keeps the shaded mould but removes the grid or fabric texture. A heatmap temporarily takes visual priority over those skin choices; returning the Heatmap selector to None restores the selected skin.
The preview Heatmap selector offers the current wind-independent overlays: K, Saddle (mould fairness), and H. It is available in Preview and Profile Edit, but hidden in Colours mode. For wind controls, cross-cut fields, and side-by-side comparison, use the dedicated Heatmaps workspace.
Seam and boat checkpoints
Changing a shape or construction setting clears an out-of-date seam preview and turns Show seams off. Turn it on to recompute the current layout.
Show boat is off at first. If the sheet angle is exactly 0° when you turn it on, the app changes the sheet angle to 15° so the sail is not coincident with the boat centre plane.
In Profile Edit, click a section curve in 3-D to select the matching profile. In Colours mode, coloured panel meshes replace the smooth mould; Show surface controls those meshes too.
Control 2-D layers
The 2-D right pane contains four fixed checkboxes:
- Edges shows the luff, leech, and foot curves and their edge and corner handles.
- Sections shows section curves and their draft handles.
- Tangent markers shows section tangents in Top; Front and Side remain uncluttered because tangent handles are not drawn there.
- Grid mirrors the global Grid button.
All four start on. Their state persists while you switch to 3-D and back, and in All they apply to all three subviews. These visibility changes do not alter the design or add an Undo step.