Appearance
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 changes the 3-D preview statistics between metric and imperial display. Physical-length fields also accept explicit imperial expressions and convert them on commit; 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 display-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 |
|---|---|---|
| Skin | Shape card | Chooses None, Fine grid, Dacron, Mylar, Ripstop spinnaker, Traditional canvas, or White; None hides the surface while line overlays can remain visible |
| Show surface | View menu | Mirrors Skin > None; turning it back on restores the last selected skin |
| Show layout | Shape card and View menu | Shows seams, corner patches, battens, and reefing; 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. White keeps the shaded mould but removes the grid or fabric texture. None hides the surface, including an active heatmap. Selecting any other skin shows it again. 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.
Layout and boat checkpoints
Changing a shape or construction setting hides the out-of-date layout while it refreshes. Show layout keeps its setting; after a drag, the fresh overlay appears when you release the pointer.
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; Skin > None hides 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.