lay out2help

Contents Contents ....................................................................................................................... 1 Welcome to LayOut ..................................................................................................... 9

What's New in this Release? ................................................................................... 10 Learning LayOut ...................................................................................................... 12 Technical Support .................................................................................................... 14

Welcome to the LayOut Getting Started Guide ...................................................... 15 Introduction to the LayOut Interface (Microsoft Windows)....................................... 16 Introduction to the LayOut Interface (Mac OS X)..................................................... 18 Selecting a Template ............................................................................................... 20 Working With Layers................................................................................................ 21 Creating a Replicated Title Block............................................................................. 22 Working with SketchUp Models ............................................................................... 29 Making Annotations ................................................................................................. 32 Next Steps................................................................................................................ 35

Welcome to the LayOut User's Guide ..................................................................... 36 The LayOut User Interface....................................................................................... 37 Creating New Toolbars (Microsoft Windows) .......................................................... 38 Customizing a Toolbar (Microsoft Windows) ........................................................... 39 Customizing the Toolbar (Mac OS X) ...................................................................... 40 Showing or Hiding the Toolbar (Mac OS X)............................................................. 41 Invoking Context Menus .......................................................................................... 42 Opening a Dialog Box .............................................................................................. 43 Creating a New Dialog Box Tray (Microsoft Windows)............................................ 44 Deleting a Dialog Box Tray (Microsoft Windows) .................................................... 45 Manipulating Dialog Boxes in a Dialog Box Tray (Microsoft Windows) ................... 46 Renaming a Dialog Box Tray (Microsoft Windows) ................................................. 47 Resizing The Dialog Box Tray (Microsoft Windows)................................................ 48 Manipulating Dialog Boxes in a Dialog Box Stack (Mac OS X) ............................... 49 Minimizing Dialog Boxes (Mac OS X)...................................................................... 50 Resizing Dialog Boxes (Mac OS X) ......................................................................... 51 Snapping Dialog Boxes to Other User Interface Components (Mac OS X) ............ 52 Encouraging an Inference........................................................................................ 53

Tools ........................................................................................................................... 54

Google LayOut 2 Help

Copyright Google Inc. 2008

Moving Entities......................................................................................................... 55 Selecting Multiple Entities ........................................................................................ 56 Rotating Entities....................................................................................................... 58 Scaling Entities......................................................................................................... 59 Selecting a Single Entity .......................................................................................... 60 Editing a Path........................................................................................................... 61 Moving Points on a Path .......................................................................................... 62 Adding Points to a Path ........................................................................................... 63 Removing Points from a Path .................................................................................. 64 Adjusting Curvature on a Path ................................................................................. 65 Moving, Scaling, and Rotating Precisely ................................................................. 66 Splitting a Line or Edge............................................................................................ 68 Splitting Two Shapes ............................................................................................... 69 Erasing Entities ........................................................................................................ 70 Sampling and Applying Styles ................................................................................. 71 Joining Two Shapes................................................................................................. 72 Drawing a Single Straight Line................................................................................. 73 Drawing a Closed Shape ......................................................................................... 74 Ending Line Drawing................................................................................................ 75 Drawing Curved Lines.............................................................................................. 76 Creating Precise Lines............................................................................................. 78 Drawing Lines by Inference ..................................................................................... 79 Creating an Arc About a Center Point ..................................................................... 80 Creating a Pie .......................................................................................................... 81 Creating a 3 Point Arc.............................................................................................. 82 Creating an Arc From a Chord and Bulge ............................................................... 83 Creating Precise Arcs .............................................................................................. 84 Drawing a Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle, Lozenge, or Bulged Rectangle........... 88 Creating Precise Rectangles ................................................................................... 89 Drawing Rectangles by Inference............................................................................ 90 Drawing a Circle....................................................................................................... 91 Drawing a Ellipse ..................................................................................................... 92 Creating Precise Circles .......................................................................................... 93 Drawing a Polygon................................................................................................... 95 Creating Precise Polygons....................................................................................... 96



Creating Text............................................................................................................ 97 Creating a Bounded Text Box................................................................................ 100 Creating an Unbounded Text Box ......................................................................... 101 Creating Aligned Text ............................................................................................ 102 Creating Anchored Text ......................................................................................... 103 Editing Text ............................................................................................................ 104 Creating Labels...................................................................................................... 105 Editing Label Leader .............................................................................................. 106 Editing Label Text .................................................................................................. 107 Drawing Irregular Shapes ...................................................................................... 108

View Tools ................................................................................................................ 109 Panning the View ................................................................................................... 110 Panning While in Other Tools (1-Button Mouse) (Mac OS X) ............................... 111 Panning While in Another Tool (3-Button Mouse) ................................................. 112 Zooming In and Zooming Out of your Document................................................... 113 Zooming With a Scroll Wheel Mouse..................................................................... 114 Adding a Custom Scale (Microsoft Windows)........................................................ 115 Adding a Custom Scale (Mac OS X) ..................................................................... 116 Adding a Keyboard Shortcut (Microsoft Windows) ................................................ 117 Adding Keyboard Shortcut (Mac OS X) ................................................................. 118 Deleting a Scale (Microsoft Windows) ................................................................... 119 Deleting a Scale (Mac OS X) ................................................................................. 120 Applying Fill and Stroke ......................................................................................... 121 Modifying Fill and Stroke........................................................................................ 122 Creating a Layer .................................................................................................... 123 Creating a Shared Layer........................................................................................ 124 Moving Entities Between Layers............................................................................ 125 Changing a Layer to a Shared Layer..................................................................... 126 Changing a Shared Layer to a Normal Layer ........................................................ 127 Setting Text Style (Microsoft Windows) ................................................................. 128 Modifying Text Style for Existing Text (Microsoft Windows).................................. 129 Setting Text Style (Mac OS X) ............................................................................... 130 Modifying Text Style for Existing Text (Mac OS X)................................................ 131 Using Entities in the Scrapbook............................................................................. 132 Applying Styles From the Scrapbook..................................................................... 133



Adding a Custom Scrapbook ................................................................................. 134 Editing a Scrapbook............................................................................................... 135 Saving a Scrapbook............................................................................................... 136 Selecting a Color (Microsoft Windows).................................................................. 137 Selecting a Color (Mac OS X)................................................................................ 138 Loading and Selecting a Color From an Image (Microsoft Windows) ................... 139 Loading and Selecting a Color From an Image (Mac OS X) ................................. 140 Adding a Page ....................................................................................................... 141

Entities...................................................................................................................... 142 Creating a Group ................................................................................................... 143 Editing a Group ...................................................................................................... 144 Ungrouping a Group .............................................................................................. 145 Minimizing Image Sizes ......................................................................................... 146 Inserting a SketchUp Model................................................................................... 147 Inserting Multiple Copies of the Same SketchUp Model ....................................... 148 Editing SketchUp Files........................................................................................... 149 Editing Model Point of View, Rendering, or Scene................................................ 150

Input and Output...................................................................................................... 151 Importing SketchUp Model Files (Microsoft Windows) .......................................... 152 Importing SketchUp Model Files (Mac OS X) ........................................................ 153 Importing Image Files (Microsoft Windows)........................................................... 154 Importing Image Files (Mac OS X)......................................................................... 155 Importing Text Files (Microsoft Windows).............................................................. 156 Importing Text Files (Mac OS X)............................................................................ 157 Exporting a PDF File (Microsoft Windows) ............................................................ 158 Exporting a PDF File (Mac OS X) .......................................................................... 159 Exporting Image Files (Microsoft Windows) .......................................................... 160 Exporting Image Files (Mac OS X) ........................................................................ 161 Delivering a Presentation....................................................................................... 162 Printing (Microsoft Windows) ................................................................................. 163 Printing (Mac OS X) ............................................................................................... 164

Technical Info........................................................................................................... 165 Loading An Offline Crash Report (Microsoft Windows) ......................................... 166 Extracting Files from a LayOut File........................................................................ 167

Common Tasks........................................................................................................ 168



Creating a Clipping Mask....................................................................................... 169 Creating Shapes Without Fills................................................................................ 170 Creating a Complex Shape.................................................................................... 171 Arranging Entities on the Page .............................................................................. 173 Updating SketchUp Files ....................................................................................... 174 Saving a Template ................................................................................................. 175 Including Dimensions in LayOut ............................................................................ 176

Welcome to the LayOut Reference Guide............................................................. 177 Mouse Operations for LayOut................................................................................ 178 The LayOut User Interface..................................................................................... 179 Introduction to the LayOut Interface (Microsoft Windows)..................................... 180 Introduction to the LayOut Interface (Mac OS X)................................................... 182 Arrange Menu ........................................................................................................ 184 Edit Menu (Mac OS X) ........................................................................................... 186 Edit Menu (Microsoft Windows) ............................................................................. 188 File Menu (Mac OS X) ........................................................................................... 190 File Menu (Microsoft Windows).............................................................................. 192 Help Menu (Mac OS X).......................................................................................... 194 Help Menu (Microsoft Windows) ............................................................................ 195 LayOut Menu (Mac OS X)...................................................................................... 196 Pages Menu........................................................................................................... 197 Text Menu (Mac OS X) .......................................................................................... 198 Text Menu (Microsoft Windows) ............................................................................ 201 Tools Menu ............................................................................................................ 203 View Menu (Mac OS X) ......................................................................................... 205 View Menu (Microsoft Windows)............................................................................ 206 Window Menu (Mac OS X) .................................................................................... 207 Window Menu (Microsoft Windows) ...................................................................... 209 Toolbars (Microsoft Windows) ............................................................................... 211 The Default Toolbar (Microsoft Windows) ............................................................. 212 The Customize Dialog Box (Microsoft Windows)................................................... 213 Toolbars (Mac OS X) ............................................................................................. 215 The Default Toolbar (Mac OS X) ........................................................................... 216 The Customize Dialog Box (Mac OS X) ................................................................ 217 Context Menus....................................................................................................... 218



Dialog Box Trays (Microsoft Windows).................................................................. 219 Dialog Boxes (Mac OS X) ...................................................................................... 220 Inference ................................................................................................................ 221 Inference Cues....................................................................................................... 222 Inference Types ..................................................................................................... 223 Getting Started Dialog Box .................................................................................... 224

Tools ......................................................................................................................... 226

Select Tool .................................................................................................... 227

Erase Tool ..................................................................................................... 228

Style Tool ...................................................................................................... 229 Entity Styles Compatibility...................................................................................... 230

Split Tool ....................................................................................................... 231

Join Tool........................................................................................................ 232

Line Tool........................................................................................................ 233

Freehand Tool ............................................................................................... 234

Arc Tools .......................................................................... 235

Rectangle Tools ................................................................. 236

Circle Tools.......................................................................................... 237

Polygon Tool ................................................................................................. 238

Text Tool ....................................................................................................... 239 Text Settings .......................................................................................................... 240 Bounded and Unbounded Text Box Alignment and Anchoring ............................. 241

Label Tool...................................................................................................... 242 Text Settings .......................................................................................................... 243



View Tools ................................................................................................................ 244 Pan Tool.............................................................................................................. 245

Zoom Tool..................................................................................................... 246 Settings Dialog Boxes............................................................................................. 247

Document Setup Dialog Box.................................................................................. 248 General .................................................................................................................. 249 Grid ........................................................................................................................ 250 Paper (Microsoft Windows).................................................................................... 251 Paper (Mac OS X).................................................................................................. 253 References............................................................................................................. 255 Units ....................................................................................................................... 256 Application Preferences Dialog Box (Microsoft Windows)..................................... 257 Application Preferences Dialog Box (Mac OS X)................................................... 260 Colors (Microsoft Windows) ................................................................................... 263 Colors Dialog Box (Microsoft Windows) ................................................................ 264 Color Pickers (Microsoft Windows) ........................................................................ 266 The Colors Dialog Box (Mac OS X) ....................................................................... 268 Colors (Mac OS X)................................................................................................. 270 Color Pickers (Mac OS X)...................................................................................... 271 Shape Style Dialog Box ......................................................................................... 273 SketchUp Model Dialog Box .................................................................................. 275 View Tab ................................................................................................................ 277 Styles Tab .............................................................................................................. 279 Text Style (Microsoft Windows) ............................................................................. 280 The Text Style Dialog Box (Microsoft Windows).................................................... 281 Font (Mac OS X) .................................................................................................... 282 The Font Dialog Box .............................................................................................. 283 Scrapbook Dialog Box ........................................................................................... 285 Layers Dialog Box.................................................................................................. 286 Pages Dialog Box .................................................................................................. 288 Instructor ................................................................................................................ 290

Entities...................................................................................................................... 291 Group Entities ........................................................................................................ 292 Image Entities ........................................................................................................ 293



Model Entities......................................................................................................... 294 Context Menu Items............................................................................................... 295

Input and Output...................................................................................................... 300 Raster Image Import .............................................................................................. 301 SketchUp Model Import ......................................................................................... 302 Text Import ............................................................................................................. 303 PDF Export............................................................................................................. 304 PDF Export Options Dialog Box (Microsoft Windows)........................................... 305 PDF Export Options Dialog Box (Mac OS X)......................................................... 306 Image Export.......................................................................................................... 307 Image Export Options Dialog Box (Mac OS X)...................................................... 308 Image Export Options Dialog Box (Mac OS X)...................................................... 309 Presentations ......................................................................................................... 310 The Print Preview Dialog Box (Microsoft Windows) .............................................. 311 The Page Setup Dialog Box (Microsoft Windows)................................................. 312 The Print Dialog Box (Microsoft Windows) ............................................................ 313 The Page Setup Dialog Box (Mac OS X)............................................................... 314 The Print Dialog Box (Mac OS X) .......................................................................... 315

Technical Info........................................................................................................... 317 Bug Splat (Microsoft Windows).............................................................................. 318 LayOut File Format ................................................................................................ 319 Supported Fonts .................................................................................................... 320 Glossary ................................................................................................................. 321



Welcome to LayOut LayOut is an application that makes it easy to create design documents from your Google SketchUp Pro 7 models. LayOut combines functionality from vector graphics, page layout, CAD, and presentation software.



What's New in this Release? Google listens to your requests and attempts to implement many into SketchUp enhancements and new features. Google SketchUp Pro 7 LayOut 2 contains the following enhancements and new features:

Vector Rendering LayOut 2 makes it easier to work with complex models and larger paper sizes. Switch to Vector Rendering to increase performance by using sharp, clean, resolution-independent vector lines instead of raster lines. Switch to raster rendering to view SketchUp's sketchy Styles. Finally, use the hybrid mode to combine the best of both worlds. Hybrid renderings take the longest to process, but they provide the best final product. These options are available from a drop-down menu in the SketchUp Model dialog box.

New LineTool LayOut 2 contains a new Line Tool can be used to draw both simple lines and complex curves. Once drawn, lines can be edited, split, and joined for complex drawing right in the page. The Line Tool is available from the toolbar.

Measurements Field LayOut 2 contains a Measurements field, similar to SketchUp's Measurements Toolbar, for defining precise values while you manipulate items on a page. The Measurements field appears in the lower right-hand corner of LayOut 2.

Path Editing Edit the path of entities created with the Line Tool, as well as by the Circle Tool, and Arc Tools. To edit a path, double-click on the entity with the Select Tool to enter the path editor. Move points, adjust points, adjust curvature, and so on.

New Geometric Manipulators We've completely redesigned LayOut's geometric manipulators, such as resize handles, rotate center, and so on. You can move, scale, and rotate anything on your page with one tool (the Select Tool). Select any object on a page with the Select Tool to view and use these manipulators.

In-Place Group Editing LayOut's new Group entities are container-type entities that can hold other entities. As with SketchUp groups, you can edit inside the group by double-clicking on the group with the Select Tool. Once inside the group, any of the Select Tool's geometric manipulations can be used to shape or re-arrange the group's contents. Use the Group menu item from the Edit menu to create a group from the currently selected entities.

Export as Images LayOut documents can be exported into a set of raster images, in PNG or JPG format, with one image generated per page. This feature is useful for sharing LayOut documents with people who don't have PDF viewers, or for posting documents on the web. Select "File > Export > Images" to export raster images.



Text Box Behaviors You can now create both bounded (confined to a bounding box) and unbounded text (flows beyond the confines of a bounding box). Text can be aligned to top, bottom, left, right or center within its bounding box, both vertically and horizontally. What's more, you can perform certain mouse movements to create text boxes with specific configurations.

Last Saved SketchUp View The SketchUp dialog box contains a new scene, titled "Last Saved SketchUp View." This scene contains the last saved view of a model in SketchUp.

SketchUp Model Dialog Box The SketchUp Model dialog box has been redesigned. This dialog box has two tabs, one containing view settings, and one containing settings for the rendering style. Select "Window > SketchUp Model" to display the SketchUp dialog box.

Nudge Use the arrow keys to nudge objects up, right, left, or down by a small increment. Hold the Shift key and press an arrow key to nudge by a larger increment.

Layer Improvements LayOut 2's layer visibility is preserved per page, not per document. Also, hiding and locking is supported on the current layer. Select "Window > Layers" to display the Layers dialog box.

Presentation Mode "Fullscreen Mode" (LayOut 1) is now titled "Presentation Mode" in LayOut 2. This mode supports a new multi-monitor settings. These new settings are available on the Presentation tab in the Preferences dialog box (Edit > Preferences on Microsoft Windows or LayOut > Preferences on Mac OS X).

Fast and Efficient SketchUp Model Rendering LayOut 2 contains separate edit and output quality for users who need to render large images from their SketchUp models into a LayOut page but can't tolerate the long rendering times that this may provoke. Separate edit and output quality allow the user to edit their large documents without sacrificing performance while outputting those documents at high quality. Select the Edit and Output quality from the Paper panel in the Document Setup dialog box (File > Document Setup).

LayOut 2 also has delayed rendering allowing the user to defer the rendering time to a time when it can be tolerated. Uncheck the "Automatically re-render SketchUp models as needed" option in the General panel of LayOut Preferences (Edit > Preferences on Microsoft Windows or LayOut > Preferences on Mac OS X). Click on the "Render" button in the SketchUp Model dialog box once you are ready to render.

Help Center Integration All of the SketchUp 7 learning resources are consolidated the Help Center which is accessible through the Welcome Dialog and the Help menu. Select "Help > Help Center" to access all SketchUp learning resources.



Learning LayOut As with any software tool, there is a minimum level of learning you must do to attain proficiency with LayOut. The following information can help you learn how to use LayOut.

Help Center You can find answers to many questions in this Google LayOut Help Center, just search on a common term or phrase in your question, or browse through the categories. Select "Help > Help Center" to visit the LayOut Help Center. You must be connected to the Internet to access the help center.

The Help Center contains LayOut documentation, video tutorials, a quick reference card, and a Google Layout Group.

LayOut Documentation There are several written guides covering the use of LayOut. These guides are:

Getting Started Guide: Read the Getting Started Guide if you are new to LayOut and want to try introductory operations.

User's Guide: Refer to the User's Guide for all of your questions on how to use LayOut.

Reference Guide: Refer to the Reference Guide for all of your questions regarding specific LayOut User Interface features.

Video Tutorials Google has created several video tutorials to facilitate learning of the LayOut tools and drawing procedures. View these tutorials through the Help Center menu item in the Help Menu (Help > Help Center). You must be connected to the Internet to access these tutorials.

Proceed to the Video Tutorials

Quick Reference Card The LayOut Quick Reference Card (in the Help Center) contains a list of all of toolbar tools and their modifier keys. Examine the LayOut Quick Reference Card to become familiar with using LayOut's tools.

Proceed to the Quick Reference Card

Google LayOut Group The Google LayOut Group is an excellent place to find answers, ask questions, and share your expertise. Visit the LayOut user group through the LayOut Help Center (Help > Help Center) or by tying the following URL in your browser: http://groups.google.com/group/sketchup-Pro-Groups/topics. You must be connected to the Internet to access LayOut user group.

Proceed to the Google LayOut Group

The LayOut User Interface Studying items in the LayOut user interface will also help you learn LayOut. Familiarize yourself with the following three items in the LayOut user interface:

Menus Most LayOut commands are accessible using both tool buttons and drop-down menus. Examine LayOut's menus to become familiar with the breadth of features.



Instructor Enable the Instructor (Window > Instructor) to display information related to the currently selected tool.

The Status Bar The Status Bar, located at the bottom of the LayOut document area, displays tips for the active tool, including special functions accessible using keyboard shortcuts. Watch the status bar while you are working in LayOut to discover advanced capabilities of each of the LayOut tools.



Technical Support LayOut users can request installation and configuration help using email through the SketchUp Help Center (your SketchUp serial number will be required).

Please include the following with your email:

• A copy of the LayOut document.

• A list of your computer system's resources (CPU type, RAM, video card details, and the exact release of your operating system, such as Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2 (Microsoft Windows) or OS X 10.4.11 (Mac OS X).

• A detailed description of your question or issue.



Welcome to the LayOut Getting Started Guide The LayOut Getting Started Guide contains step-by-step instructions on the basics of LayOut.



Introduction to the LayOut Interface (Microsoft Windows) The LayOut user interface is designed to be simple and easy to use. An image of the LayOut interface follows.

Title Bar The title bar (1) contains the standard Microsoft Windows controls (close, minimize, and maximize) on the right.

Menus The majority of LayOut tools, commands, and settings are available within the menus (2). The menus are: File, Edit, View, Text, Arrange, Tools, Pages, Window, and Help.

Toolbar The Toolbar (3) contains a default set of tools and controls. Controls can be added to the toolbars below the menus using the View > Toolbar > Customize Toolbar menu item.

Undocking a Toolbar Toolbars can be undocked. Click and hold on the toolbar grip (on the left-side of the toolbar) to undock and reposition the toolbar.



Document Area The document area (4) is the rectangular area below the toolbar where you create your document.

Note - You can have multiple documents open at the same time. Each will appear under its own tab below the toolbar.

Status Bar The status bar (5) is the long rectangular area at the bottom of the document area.

The left side of the status bar displays useful tips for the currently used tool, including special functions accessible using keyboard shortcuts. Watch the status bar to discover advanced capabilities of each of the LayOut tools.

Measurements Field The Measurements field (5a) is located on the right side of the status bar and displays dimensional information while you draw. You can also enter values into the Measurements field to manipulate entities while they are drawn, such as the number of sides in a polygon, size of a rectangle, the degree of rotation, and so on.

Zoom List A list of pre-defined zoom values appears to the right of the Measurements field (5b). Click on one of these zoom values to zoom into your document a pre-defined amount. Select "Scale to Fit" to scale your document to fit in the document area.

Dialog Box Tray Dialog box trays (6) are used to hold dialog boxes. LayOut comes with one default tray containing all of the dialog boxes in LayOut (under the Window menu). Refer to the Dialog Box Trays topic for further information.

Note - Context-click in the document area to display the document area context menu. Refer to Context Menu Items for a description of these menu items.



Introduction to the LayOut Interface (Mac OS X) The LayOut user interface is designed to be simple and easy to use. An image of the LayOut interface follows.

Title Bar The title bar (1) contains the standard Mac OS X window controls (close, minimize, and maximize) on the left, and a toolbar collapse/expand button on the right. The name of the currently opened file and page appears in the middle of the title bar.

Menus The majority of LayOut tools, commands, and settings are available within the menus (2). The menus are: LayOut, File, Edit, View, Text, Arrange, Tools, Pages, Window, and Help.

Toolbar The Toolbar (3) contains a default set of tools and controls. Controls can be added to the toolbars below the menus using the View > Customize Toolbar menu item.




Note - You can have multiple documents open at the same time. Each will appear with a separate toolbar, document area, status bar, and Measurements field.



Measurements Field The Measurements Field (5a) is located on the right side of the status bar and displays dimensional information while you draw. You can also enter values into the Measurements field to manipulate entities while they are drawn, such as the number of sides in a polygon, size of a rectangle, the degree of rotation, and so on.





Selecting a Template LayOut opens with the Getting Started dialog box. This dialog box has two tabs (three when there are recovered LayOut files). These tabs are: New and Recent. The New tab contains a list of LayOut templates on the left with thumbnail images of each template on the right. The Recent tab contains thumbnail images of recently opened files.

The New tab, by default, displays thumbnail images of all templates (the Default Template group is selected on the left).

To select a template:

1. Use the scroll bar on the right to scroll through the thumbnail images of all of the templates.

2. Double-click on the thumbnail image of the template you want to use, such as "Letter Landscape." A new, untitled, file is opened using the selected template.



Working With Layers Layers are important in determining how to lay out your content in a document. Layers are a mechanism for toggling the display of certain items, such as when displaying a presentation. A special layer, called a shared layer, also allows you to replicate the same content across all pages in your document. You should always be aware of the layer you are on as you create or insert content.

To identify the layers in a document:

1. Select "Window > Layers." The Layers dialog box is displayed. This dialog box contains all of the layers in the document. The Letter Landscape template contains 2 layers: "Default" and "On Every Page." The red pencil indicates that the Default layer is the current drawing layer. Anything drawn on the page will be placed on this layer. The Default layer is used for anything you draw or insert that you only want to appear on the page where its drawn or inserted as indicated by the shared layer icon to the right of the layer name. If this icon has one page ( ), the layer contains items that appear on one page. If this icon has four pages, the layer contains items that appear across all pages (shared).

2. Click on the Add new layer (+) button. A new layer, titled "Layer 3" is added.

3. Double-click on "Layer 3." The name field is opened for edit.

4. Type "Text" and press the Enter (Microsoft Windows) or Return (Mac OS X) key. This new layer will be used to hold all text entities in your document. We will use this layer later in this getting started guide.

5. Click on the "On Every Page" layer. The On Every Page layer is a shared layer as indicated by the shared layer icon with multiple pages ( ).



Creating a Replicated Title Block Most LayOut documents will contains a combination of hand-drawn and pre-drawn entities, such as title blocks, labels, images, and SketchUp models.

This portion of the getting started guide steps you through creating a very basic title block that appears on every page of your document.

1. Select "View > Show Grid." The grid displays.

2. Select "Arrange > Grid Snap On." Tools and entities will now snap to the grid.

3. Select the Rectangle Tool ( ). The cursor changes to a pencil with a rectangle ( ).

4. Click in the upper-left corner of the page to set the starting point of the rectangle.

5. Move the cursor to the bottom of the page and six squares to the right to create a rectangle that takes up the left-most side of the page.

6. Release the mouse button. This rectangle represents a title block for your document.

Note - All rectangle tools, the Circle Tool, the Ellipse Tool, and the Polygon tool all work similar to the Rectangle Tool.

7. Select "File > Insert." The Open dialog box appears.

8. Select an image file, such as a JPG file.



9. Click the "Open" button. The image appears in the center of the page.

10. Hover the cursor over the rotation grip ( ) until the rotate cursor ( ) appears.

Note - Try zooming in on your entity if you do not see the rotation grip.

11. Click and hold the mouse button to begin the rotate operation.



12. Move the cursor up and to the left. The angle of rotation appears in the Measurements field and next to the cursor.

13. Rotate the image until the angle of rotation is 90 degrees.

14. Release the mouse button.

15. Click and hold on one of the corner resize grips.



16. Move the cursor diagonally to resize the image to a size that will fit within the title block.

17. Move the cursor over the image until the move cursor appears ( ).

Note - Try zooming in on your entity if you do not see the move cursor.

18. Click and hold the mouse button to begin the move operation.

19. Move the cursor to move the image so that it is positioned in the bottom of the title block. The selected entity will follow the cursor.



20. (optional) Press the right-arrow key a few times to center the image in the title block.

21. Select the Text Tool ( ). The cursor changes to a pencil with text ( ).

22. Click to place the starting point of the text box.

23. Type text, such as "My First Document." Text will expand horizontally until it reaches the page edge, and then it will expand vertically. The Text box will maintain its width, and expand (or shrink) vertically to accommodate text on subsequent edits.



24. Click outside of the text box to finish creating the text.

25. Select the Select Tool ( ). The cursor changes to an arrow ( ).

26. Click on an entity. The selected entity is highlighted by a bounding box and surrounded by small triangles. The entity contains a center grip (a circle with a cross-hair) with an attached rotation grip (a solid circle).

27. Select "Window > Text Style" (Microsoft Windows) or "Window > Text Style" (Mac OS X). The Layers dialog box is displayed.

28. Click on the "48 pt" in the "Size" list. The text is changed to 48 point text.

29. Rotate the text just as you rotated the image.



30. Place the text above the image in your title bar.

31. (optional) Add additional text and images to your title block.

32. Click on the "Add Page"(+) button 3 times. Three additional pages are added to your document. Each page has the title block that you created because you placed the title block on a shared layer called "On Every Page."

33. Select "Window > Pages" (Microsoft Windows) or "Window > Text Style" (Mac OS X). The Pages dialog box is displayed. There are 4 pages (Page 1 through Page 4). Page 4 is highlighted to indicate you are on Page 4.

34. Click on "Page 1" to return to page 1 of your document.



Working with SketchUp Models LayOut allows you to insert multiple copies of the same SketchUp model, each with different views and rendering, into your document. To insert and manipulate SketchUp model:

1. Select the "Default" layer.

2. Select "File > Insert." The Open dialog box appears.

3. Select a SketchUp model file, such as a wooden bench.

4. Click the "Open" button. The model appears in the center of the page as a 2D bitmap image.

5. Double-click on the 2D representation of the model. You are placed within a SketchUp model entity edit session. SketchUp's Orbit Tool is active.

6. Context-click to display the context-menu.

7. Select "Zoom Extents" to center the entire model in the selection rectangle.

8. Move the cursor outside of the selection rectangle.

9. Click to end the edit session.

10. Select the Select Tool ( ) . The cursor changes to an arrow ( ).

11. Click on the 2D bitmap image of the SkechUp model. The model is highlighted by a bounding box and surrounded by small triangles, called resize grips.

12. Select "Edit > Copy." A copy of the model is placed on the clipboard.



13. Click on the "Next" button. The document forwards to the next page.

14. Select "Edit > Paste." A copy of the model appears in the center of the page.


16. Orbit, Pan, and Zoom to a feature in your model, such as a detail on a wooden bench.

Note - Use SketchUp 3-button mouse controls to perform a orbit, pan, and zoom, or context-click and select the Orbit Tool, Pan Tool, and Zoom Tool from the Camera Tools sub-menu.

17. Move the cursor outside of the selection rectangle.

18. Click to end the edit session.

19. Click on the 2D bitmap image of the SkechUp model.

20. Click and hold on one of the corner resize grips.



21. Move the cursor diagonally to resize the 2D image of the model until only the feature in your model, such as a detail on a wooden bench, is featured.

Note - Resizing a 2D image of a model changes the size of the view port, or amount of the model that is visible.



Making Annotations Annotations are common in design documents, such as those created with LayOut. To create annotations:

1. Select the "Text" layer.

2. Select the "Label Tool" ( ). The cursor changes to an arrow with the text "A1" ( ).

3. Click on a detail in the model to place the starting point of the leader.

4. Move the mouse from starting point to define the length of the leader.

5. Click again to create a text box.

6. Type text. Text will fill the width of the text box. The text box's length will grow as needed.

7. Click outside of the text box to finish creating the label.

8. Select "Window > Scrapbooks." The Scrapbooks dialog box is displayed. The Scrapbook

dialog box contains a list of all scrapbooks.

9. Click on the scrapbooks drop-down list. A list of scrapbook documents appears. Scrapbook documents are LayOut documents (some with multiple pages) that contain pre-made elements for your documents. These documents can be modified just as any other LayOut document.



10. Scroll down to the "TB-Contemporary" scrapbook file. The first page of this scrapbook file is displayed.

11. Click on one of the two drawing title graphics at the bottom of the first page.

12. Move the cursor to the document area. The drawing title graphic follows.

13. Click anywhere, such as below the model, to place the drawing title graphic. The drawing title graphic is a group, a combination of individual entities (two text strings and a image).

14. Select the Select Tool ( ) . The cursor changes to an arrow ( ).



15. Double-click on the group to edit entities in a group. All entities that are not in the group fade.

16. Double-click on "Drawing Title" to edit the text string. The text string highlights.

17. Press the "Delete Key." The text string disappears.

18. Type "Joinery Detail."

19. Click twice outside of the drawing title graphic. The first click exits from editing the text

string. The second click exits the group.

20. Switch to the "User Content" layer.

21. Click on the "Visibility" button for the Text layer. The annotations are hidden.

22. Click on the "Visibility" button for the Text layer. The annotations are displayed.



Next Steps All of the principles used in creating the this basic document are used in creating the most advanced design documents. For Further Help:

• Watch Video Tutorials

• Read the User's Guide and Reference Guide

• Participate in the Google LayOut Online Group



Welcome to the LayOut User's Guide The LayOut User's Guide contains step-by-step instructions on how to perform many basic LayOut tasks. The content in this guide answers your "How Do I..." questions.



The LayOut User Interface This section of the documentation covers the LayOut user interface, including menus, toolbars, dialog boxes, and the document area.



Creating New Toolbars (Microsoft Windows) You can create your own customized toolbars. To create a customized toolbar:

1. Select the "View > Toolbars > Customize" menu item. The Customize dialog box appears. Refer to the Customize Dialog Box topic for further information.

2. Click on the "New" button. The New Toolbar dialog box appears.

3. Type a toolbar name in the Toolbar name field.

4. Select a location for the toolbar from the Location drop-down list.

5. Click the "OK" button. An empty toolbar will appear at the chosen location on your screen.

6. Click on the "Commands" tab. The Commands panel is displayed. This panel contains a list of tool and commands categories as well as all tools and commands in each category.

7. Click and hold on a tool or command name in the Commands list.

8. Drag the tool or command name to the left-most position on the new toolbar (right after the toolbar grip). An insertion cursor appears.

9. Release the mouse button to place the tool or command on the toolbar.

Note - You can also click the toolbar options arrow on the toolbar to add or remove buttons from a toolbar or display the Customize dialog.



Customizing a Toolbar (Microsoft Windows) You can add or remove tools and commands from any toolbar.

Adding a Tool or Command to a Toolbar To add a tool or command to a toolbar:

1. Select the "View > Toolbars > Customize" menu item. The Customize dialog box appears. See The Customize Dialog Box for further information.

2. Click on the "Commands" tab. The Commands panel is displayed. This panel contains a list of tool and commands categories as well as all tools and commands in each category.

3. Click and hold on a tool or command name in the list of tools and commands.

4. Drag the tool or command name to the desired position on the toolbar. An insertion cursor should appear.



Removing a Tool or Command from a Toolbar To remove a tool or command from a toolbar:


2. Click and hold on a tool or command name in toolbar.

3. Drag the tool or command name anywhere outside of the toolbar.

4. Release the mouse button to remove the tool or command from the toolbar.


Moving a Tool or Command on a Toolbar To move a tool or command on a toolbar:


2. Click and hold on a tool or command name in toolbar.

3. Drag the tool or command name to the desired position on the toolbar. An insertion cursor should appear.

4. Release the mouse button to reposition the tool or command on the toolbar.



Customizing the Toolbar (Mac OS X) You can add or remove tools and commands from the toolbar.

Adding a Tool or Command to the Toolbar To add a tool or command to the toolbar:

1. Select the "View > Customize Toolbar" menu item. The Customize dialog box appears. See The Customize Dialog Box for further information.

2. Click and hold on a tool or command icon.

3. Drag the tool or command icon to the desired position on the toolbar. Icons on the toolbar move to make room for the new icon.


Removing a Tool or Command from the Toolbar To remove a tool or command from the toolbar:


2. Click and hold on a tool or command icon in toolbar.

3. Drag the tool or command name anywhere outside of the toolbar.

4. Release the mouse button to remove the tool or command from the toolbar.

Moving a Tool or Command on the Toolbar To move a tool or command on the toolbar:


2. Click and hold on a tool or command icon in toolbar.

3. Drag the tool or command icon to the desired position on the toolbar. Icons on the toolbar move to make room for the new icon.

4. Release the mouse button to reposition the tool or command on the toolbar.

Note - Drag the default set of controls to your Toolbar to reset the toolbar controls to its original state.



Showing or Hiding the Toolbar (Mac OS X) Select "View > Show/Hide Toolbar" or click on the Toolbar collapse/expand button at the top right corner of the Title bar to show or hide the Toolbar. The following image contains a screenshot of the collapse/expand button.



Invoking Context Menus Context menus are invoked on entities and user interface components, such as a rectangle or a dialog box, by clicking the right mouse button while the cursor is on the component. This operation is referred to as a context-click.

Context menus are invoked differently depending on whether you are using a one-button or three-button mouse.

Invoking a Context Menu With a Three-Button Mouse Users with three-button or scroll-wheel mice can select one or more entities and click the right mouse button to invoke a context menu.

Invoking a Context Menu With a One-Button Mouse Users with a one-button mouse can select one or more entities, hold down the Control key, and click the mouse button to invoke a context menu.



Opening a Dialog Box Select "Window > <dialog box name>," such as "Window > Colors." The dialog box open.



Creating a New Dialog Box Tray (Microsoft Windows) You can create additional trays containing just the settings and dialog boxs you use most often. To create a customized dialog box tray:

1. Select "Window > New Tray."

2. Type the name of the new tray in the Tray Name field.

3. Check the checkboxes next to the dialog boxes you want to appear in the tray.

4. Click the "Add" button. The new dialog box tray is added to the Window menu.

The Window menu no longer displays the dialog boxes for the default dialog box tray. Instead, the Window menu will have a sub-menu for the default dialog box tray and for each dialog box tray you create. This submenu contains menu items representing each dialog box in the tray.



Deleting a Dialog Box Tray (Microsoft Windows) You can delete any dialog box tray that you create. Select "Window > <tray name> > Delete Tray" to delete the dialog box tray.



Manipulating Dialog Boxes in a Dialog Box Tray (Microsoft Windows) A dialog box tray refers to a series of dialog boxes snapped together at their bottom and top edges such that they form a stack. The following image contains a dialog box stack with Scrapbooks dialog box opened in the middle.

You can manipulate the dialog box tray and dialog boxes in a tray in the following ways:

• Move the entire dialog box tray by clicking, holding, and moving the dialog box tray's title bar.

• Click on any dialog box's title bar to minimize or maximize a dialog box within the stack.

• Move a dialog box up or down by clicking, holding, and moving the dialog box up or down in the tray.

• Click on the close icon to remove the dialog box from the dialog box tray. Or, uncheck the checkbox next to the corresponding dialog box in the Window menu to remove the dialog box from the tray.



Renaming a Dialog Box Tray (Microsoft Windows) You can rename any dialog box tray, including the default dialog box tray. To rename a dialog box tray:

1. Select "Window > <tray name> > Rename Tray." The Rename Inspector Tray dialog box is displayed.

2. Type a new name in the Name field.

3. Click on the "Rename" button. The dialog box tray is renamed.



Resizing The Dialog Box Tray (Microsoft Windows) The cursor changes to a resize handle cursor when you hover the cursor over a corner or side of the dialog box tray. Click, hold, and move to resize the dialog box tray.



Manipulating Dialog Boxes in a Dialog Box Stack (Mac OS X) A dialog box stack refers to a series of dialog boxes snapped together at their bottom and top edges such that they form a stack. The following image contains a dialog box stack with Shape Style dialog box opened in the middle.

You can manipulate the dialog boxes in a dialog box stack in the following ways:

• Move the entire dialog box stack by clicking and dragging the top-most dialog box's title bar.

• Click on any dialog box's title bar to minimize or maximize a dialog box within the stack.

• Move a dialog box to the right, left, or down to break it from the stack.

• Reinsert the dialog box at the end of the stack by snapping the dialog box to the bottom edge of the stack.

• Reinsert the dialog box in the middle of the stack by moving sideways into a middle position.

• Snap the entire dialog box stack to the screen by moving it to the outer edge of the screen.



Minimizing Dialog Boxes (Mac OS X) Click on any dialog box's title bar to minimize or maximize the dialog box.

Note -The Colors and Font dialog boxes do not minimize by clicking on their title bar.



Resizing Dialog Boxes (Mac OS X) Dialog boxes have a resize handle in the lower-right corner of the dialog box. Click and hold the resize handle of a dialog box to begin resizing the dialog box. Move your cursor to resize the dialog box.



Snapping Dialog Boxes to Other User Interface Components (Mac OS X) Dialog boxes, such as the Shape Info dialog box, automatically snap to the the outer edge of the screen and with the top and bottom of other dialog boxes to create a dialog stack. To snap a dialog box to another user interface component:

1. Display a dialog box, such as the Window > Layers dialog box.

2. Click and hold on the dialog box's title bar.

3. Move the dialog box to the outside edge of the screen or top or bottom edge of another dialog box. The dialog box will snap to and align with the edge.

Tip - Snap several dialog boxes together at their top and bottom edges to form a dialog box stack. Dialog boxes in a dialog box stack move with the stack when the top-most dialog box's title bar is moved.

Note -The Colors and Font dialog boxes do not snap to the screen



Encouraging an Inference At times, the inference you need may not come up immediately or LayOut might choose alignments with the wrong geometry. In these cases, you can inform the inference engine that you are interested in a point by hovering your mouse cursor over the particular location. When the tool tip appears, LayOut will briefly prioritize that alignment as you continue drawing. For example, to encourage LayOut to create a line to match another, parallel, line (such as when drawing the third line of a rectangle):

1. Create the first two lines of a rectangle with the first line being parallel to the red axes.

2. Click on the start point of the third line and move the line tool as though you were creating the third line parallel to first line. As you begin to move the line tool, the line should appear in red.

3. Move the line tool to the approximate location where the end of the third line should appear. A dotted line, with the color of the corresponding axes (green) will follow the line tool to indicate you are directly inline with the start point of the first line.

4. Click when the line you are drawing is indicated by an axes color (red) and is directly perpendicular to the green dotted line.



Tools This section of the user's guide covers the tools within LayOut. Tools in this section are covered in the order they appear within the Tools menu.



Moving Entities Use the Select tool to move entities on a page. To move an entity:

1. Select the "Select Tool" ( ) The cursor changes to an arrow ( ).

2. Click on an entity. The selected entity is highlighted by a bounding box and surrounded by

small triangles. The entity contains a center grip ( ) with an attached rotation grip ( ).

3. Move the cursor over the entity until the move cursor appears ( ).

Note - Try zooming in on your entity if you do not see the move cursor.


5. Move the cursor to move the entity. The selected entity will follow the cursor.

6. Release the mouse button at the destination point to finish the move operation.

Creating a Copy Press and hold the Ctrl (Microsoft Windows) or Option (Mac OS X) key while moving entities to copy the entities.



Selecting Multiple Entities Multiple-entity selections are useful when you want to perform a single operation on several entities (the selection set). Multiple-entity selections use an expandable selection box to surround the entities you want in the selection set. Clicking to the right-side and dragging to the left, called a crossing selection, selects any elements within the selection rectangle, including those that are only partially contained in the selection box. Clicking to the left-side of the entities and dragging right, called a window selection, selects only those elements completely within the selection box.

Performing a Crossing Selection To select multiple entities using a crossing selection:

1. Select the "Select Tool" ( ). The cursor changes to an arrow ( ).

2. Position the cursor to the lower-right of the entities.

3. Click and hold the mouse button a short distance away from the entities you want to select to establish the selection starting point.

4. Move the cursor up and to the left. The selection box grows and , as it grows, highlights selected entities (including those that are only partially contained in the box). The following image shows all four cars selected, even though only two are entirely contained in the selection box.

5. Release the mouse button once all of the desired entities are highlighted.

Note - A crossing selection can be initiated anywhere to the right of the entities.



Performing a Window Selection To select multiple entities using a window selection:


2. Position the cursor to the upper-right of the entities.

3. Click and hold the mouse button a short distance away from the entities you want to select to establish the selection starting point.

4. Move the cursor down and to the right. The selection box grows and , as it grows, highlights those entities fully contained in the selection box. The following image shows two cars selected (the cars that are fully contained in the selection box).

5. Release the mouse button once all of the desired entities are highlighted.

Selecting Multiple Entities Using the Shift Key You can also use the single click method in combination with the Shift key to select multiple entities. To select multiple entities using the Shift key:

1. Select the 'Select Tool" ( ). The cursor changes to an arrow ( ).

2. Click on an entity. The selected entity is highlighted by a bounding box and surrounded by small triangles.

3. Press and hold the Shift key.

4. Click on additional entities. The entities are added to the set of selected entities.

Note - Hold the Shift key while clicking on selected entities will remove them from the set of selected entities.



Rotating Entities Use the Select tool to rotate entities on a page. To rotate an entity:




3. Hover the cursor over the rotation grip ( ) until the rotate cursor ( ) appears.

4. Click and hold the mouse button to begin the rotate operation.

5. Move the cursor around the blue center grip. The angle of rotation appears in the Measurements field and next to the cursor.

6. Release the mouse button to finish the rotate operation.

Moving the Center of Rotation Shapes are rotated about a center grip identified by a small blue circle with a cross-hair. Move the center grip to rotate the shape around another specific point on the page (a point other than the center of the shape itself). To move the center grip:




3. Move the cursor over the center grip ( ). The cursor changes to a hand ( ).


5. Move the cursor to move the center grip. The small blue center of rotation icon follows.

6. Release the mouse button at the destination point to place the center grip at a new point on the page.

Note - Deselect and then reselect the entity to return the center grip to the center of the entity.

Creating a Rotated Copy Press and hold the Ctrl (Microsoft Windows) or Option (Mac OS X) key while rotating entities to create rotated copies of the original entities.



Scaling Entities Shapes can be scaled using the scale grips on the bounding box of an entity. To scale an entity:



3. Move the cursor over an arrow-shaped scale grips on the edge of the entity, such as a

horizontal scale grip ( ). The cursor will also change to reflect the direction of scale,

such as a horizontal scale ( ).

4. Click and hold the mouse button on an scale grip to begin the scale operation.

5. Move the cursor to scale the entity. The cursor will display the scale amount in the X and Y directions.

6. Release the mouse button to finish the scale operation.

Maintaining Aspect Ratio While Scaling Press and hold the Shift key while scaling an entity to retain the aspect ratio of the entity.

Creating a Scaled Copy Press and hold the Ctrl (Microsoft Windows) or Option (Mac OS X) key while scaling to create a scaled copy of the original entity.

Scaling About the Center Press and hold the Alt (Microsoft Windows) or Command (Mac OS X) key while scaling to scale about the entity's center grip.



Selecting a Single Entity LayOut allows you to make both single-entity and multiple-entity selections. To select a single entity:



Note - Hold the Shift key while clicking on additional entities to add entities to the set of selected entities. Hold the Shift key while clicking on selected entities will remove them from the set of selected entities.

See also:

Selecting Multiple Entities



Editing a Path The Select Tool can be used to edit a path: lines created with the Line Tool, Freehand Tool, Arc Tools, Rectangle Tools (after the rectangle is split), Circle Tool, Ellipse Tool (after the ellipse is split), and Polygon Tool (after the polygon is split).

To edit a path:


2. Double-Click on an entity. LayOut enters the path editor. The following is an image of a circle in the path editor (a circle has four points, each with two curvature controls).

3. Edit the path: move points, add points, remove points, or adjust curvature.

4. Click outside of the shape to exit the path editor.



Moving Points on a Path You can move points on a path to adjust the shape.

To move points on a path:


2. Double-click on an entity. LayOut enters the path editor.

3. Click and hold on any point along the path.

4. Move the cursor. The shape is changed. The following is a picture of a circle whose top control point was moved downward.

Note - Hold the Shift key to constrain movement to a specific axis.





Adding Points to a Path You can add points to a path: A series of lines created with the Line Tool, Freehand Tool, Arc Tools, Rectangle Tools (after the rectangle is split), Circle Tool, Ellipse Tool (after the ellipse is split), and Polygon Tool (after the polygon is split with the Split Tool).

To add points to a path:



3. Hold down the Ctrl key (Microsoft Windows) or Option key (Mac OS X).

4. Click anywhere on the path to add a point. A point is added.

Note - The shape of the path will not change when you add a point.




Removing Points from a Path You can remove points from a path. To remove points to a path:

1. Select the "Select Tool" ( ) The cursor changes to an arrow ( ).


3. Click and hold on a point.

4. Move the cursor so that it is over an adjacent point. LayOut will preview the way the path will appear after the mouse button is released.

5. Release the mouse button (the point is removed).

Note - The shape is deleted if the path is reduced to a single point.




Adjusting Curvature on a Path Curves are created from points that have curvature controls that, when moved, create a curved shape. You can adjust the curvature of a path by selecting and moving a curvature control.

To adjust the curvature of a path:



3. Click and hold on a curvature control.

Note - Add points by holding the Control (Microsoft Windows) or Option (Mac OS X) key.

4. Move the cursor to change the curvature.

Note - Move a curvature control back toward the point to return the curvature to its previous state.

Note - Break symmetry with the opposite curvature control by pressing the Ctrl (Microsoft Windows) or Option (Mac OS X) key while dragging a curvature control.




Moving, Scaling, and Rotating Precisely The Measurements field allows you to accurately move, scale, and rotate with the Select tool.

Precise Moving Using the Select Tool You can create precise movement operations by explicitly typing, in the Measurements field, the end point after you have moved an entity. You can define the end point location as lengths, relative coordinates, and polar coordinates.

Length You can change the length of a move operation, after the move operation is complete, using a length. For example, to set the length to 10 points, type "10pt" followed by the Enter key (Microsoft Windows) or Return key (Mac OS X). The entity will move 10 points from the start point in the direction of the original move.

Absolute coordinates are measured from the upper left-hand corner of the page.

Relative Coordinates You can set the end point of a move operation, after the move operation is complete, as a point relative to the start point of the move operation. For example, to set the end point to a location 1.5 points right and 2.3 points down from the start point, type "<1.5pt,2.3pt>" followed by the Enter key (Microsoft Windows) or Return key (Mac OS X). Note that to move down on the page the y value of the move is positive.

Polar Coordinates You can set the end point of a move operation, after the move operation is complete, as a polar point relative to the start point of the move operation. For example, to set the end point to a location 45 degrees (counter clock-wise from the positive x axis) and 10 centimeters from the start point, type "^45,10cm" followed by the Enter key (Microsoft Windows) or Return key (Mac OS X).

Precise Scaling Using the Select Tool You can create precise scaling operations by explicitly typing in a scale multiplier relative to the current scale direction. The Measurements field prompt changes to "Scale" when the Scale cursor is active.

Horizontal Scale You can set a scale multiplier or scale size (with units) along the x axis after scaling an entity with a horizontal scale grip. For example, type "1.5" to scale the entity horizontally by a multiplier of 1.5 or type "1.5cm" to set the width of the entity to 1.5 centimeters.

Vertical Scale You can set a scale multiplier or scale size (with units) along y axis after scaling an entity with the vertical scale grip. For example, type "1.5" to scale the entity vertically by a multiplier of 1.5 or type "1.5cm" to set the height of the entity to 1.5 centimeters.

Corner Scale You can set a uniform scale multiplier, non-uniform scale multipliers, or scale size (with units) after scaling an entity with corner scale grip. For example, type "1.5" to uniformly scale the entity by a multiplier of 1.5. Type "1.5,2.0" to scale the entity by a scale multiplier of 1.5 in the x direction and 2.0 in the y direction. Finally, type "1.5pt, 6pt" to set the width to 1.5 points and a height to 6 points.



Precise Rotating Using the Select Tool You can create precise rotate operations by explicitly typing an angle value into the Measurements field after rotating with the Select Tool. For example, type "30" to rotate counter-clockwise 30 degrees.



Splitting a Line or Edge You can use the Split Tool to split any line in your document. To split a line:

1. Select the "Split Tool" ( ). The cursor changes to a knife point ( ).

2. Move the cursor over any line or edge. An inference point appears.

3. Click to split the line. The line will briefly highlight to show the split entities.



Splitting Two Shapes To create a split at the intersection of two overlapping shapes:

1. Select the "Split Tool" ( ). The cursor changes to a knife point ( ).

2. Click on one of the intersections between the first and section shape (where their edges overlap). Intersections are identified by red "X" and the "Intersection" tooltip. The shape will briefly highlight.

3. Click on another intersection between the first and second shape. The shape will briefly

highlight. If there are only two intersections between the shapes, the shapes will be split and two new shapes, composed of the intersecting edges of the two intersecting shapes, is created. You can move the shapes apart to see these new shapes.

4. (optional) Repeat step 3 for additional intersections between the first and second shape (if

there are more than two points on the two shapes where the shapes intersect).



Erasing Entities As mentioned previously, the Erase Tool is used to erase entities in the document area. To erase entities:

1. Select the "Erase Tool" ( ). The cursor changes to an eraser ( ) .

2. Click on an entity to erase it.

3. (alternatively) Hold down the mouse button and drag the cursor over several entities. Release the mouse button to delete the entities. If you accidentally select geometry you do not wish to delete, press the ESC key to cancel the erase operation before releasing the mouse button.

Tip - Try erasing entities slowly if you continuously skip over entities you want to erase.

Tip - It is usually faster to erase a large number of entities by selecting the entities with the Select Tool and pressing the Delete key on your keyboard. You can also delete selected items by selecting Delete from the Edit menu.

Tip - Select the "Edit > Undo" menu item to undo any erased entities.



Sampling and Applying Styles To sample and apply a style:

1. Select the "Style Tool" ( ). The cursor changes to an eye dropper ( ).

2. Click on any entity in the document area or scrapbook to sample its style. The cursor changes to a paint bucket. Certain styles can be sampled from certain entities. Certain entities can only receive certain styles. See the Entity Styles Compatibility for more information.

3. Move the cursor over the entity where you want to apply the style. The cursor changes to a

paint bucket ( ).

4. Click again to apply the style to the entity.

Note - Press the ESC key at any point during the operation to start over.



Joining Two Shapes To join two shapes:

1. Select the "Join Tool" ( ). The cursor changes to a glue bottle ( ) .

2. Click on the first shape. The shape will highlight in blue. Notice that the arc shape and rectangle shape do not have edges where they are to be joined.

Note - The two shapes can only join when there are endpoints where they are to be joined. For example, you cannot overlap two rectangles and join them. Instead, you must first split them at the points where they overlap and then perform the join operation.

3. Click on the second shape. The shape will briefly highlight in blue. The two shapes will

now be joined. The second shape will inherit the fill color of the first shape.




Drawing a Single Straight Line To draw a Line:

1. Select the "Line Tool" ( ). The cursor changes to a pencil ( ).

2. Click to set the starting point of your line.


3. Move the mouse in the direction you want to make a line.

4. Double-click on the endpoint of the line to create a single line.

The line length can be specified precisely using the Measurements field while drawing a line. See Specifying Precise Line Values for further information on using the Measurements field with Line entities.

Note - The Line Tool will remain at the ending point of every line you create. This end point is automatically treated as a starting point for another line. You can create another line by moving the cursor and clicking again from this starting point.

Locking a Line Horizontally or Vertically Press and hold the Shift key while drawing a line to lock the line to the red or green axis.



Drawing a Closed Shape The Line Tool will remain at the ending point of every line you create. This end point is automatically treated as a starting point for another line. You can create another line by moving the cursor and clicking again from this starting point. To draw a closed shape:


2. Click to set the starting point of your line.


3. Move the mouse in the direction you want to make a line.

4. Click a second time on the endpoint of your line. This ending point is the starting point for the next side of the shape.

5. Move the mouse in another direction. The current fill color will fill in the shape as you draw.

5. Click a third time to set the distance of the second line.

6. Move the mouse to the starting point of the first line.

7. Click a third time to set the distance of the third line and create a closed triangular shape.

Locking a Line Horizontally or Vertically Press and hold the Shift key while drawing a line to lock the line to the red or green axis.



Ending Line Drawing There are several ways to end the drawing of lines. These ways are:

• Pressing the ESC key.

• Double-clicking on the last point.

• Clicking on the starting point of the line (creates single line) or series of lines (creates a closed shape).

• Clicking on the end point of another, unconnected, line to form one entire shape.

• Selecting a new tool.



Drawing Curved Lines Curved lines are created with points and curvature controls: Controls that, when moved, create a curve. The following image shows a point with two curvature controls (on the right):

Curvature controls are moved away from the middle control point and manipulate the curve.

You can create curves with one point at the end of the curve or with point at the beginning and the end of the curve. More points allow for finer manipulation of the curve.

Note - Curved and straight lines can be combined.

Note - The Line Tool will remain at the ending point of every line you create. This end point is automatically treated as a starting point for another line. You can create another line by moving the cursor and clicking again from this starting point.

To draw a curved line:


2. Click and hold the mouse button to set the starting point of your curve.

3. Move the cursor away from the starting point. A curvature control will extend from the start point.


5. Move the cursor away from the starting point to set the direction and size of the curve.

6. Click and hold the mouse button. A ending point is created.

7. Move the cursor away from the ending point. Another curvature control will extend from the ending point.



8. Move the cursor clockwise or counter-clockwise to set the bulge of the curve.

9. Release the mouse button to finish creating the curve. A new curve is started at the ending

point of your previous curve.




Creating Precise Lines The Measurements field allows you to accurately define your lines. You can create precise lines by explicitly typing the starting point and next point locations in the Measurements field. The Measurements field prompt changes to "Point" when the Line Tool is selected.

Defining the Start Point Location You can set the start point of a line, before making the first click with the mouse, using absolute coordinates. For example, to set the start point to location 10",2", type "[10",2"]" followed by the Enter key (Microsoft Windows) or Return key (Mac OS X). The Measurements field prompt changes to "Length" after a start point has been established.


Defining the Next Point Location You can define the next point location in absolute coordinates, relative coordinates, and polar coordinates.

Absolute coordinates: You can set the next point of an line, after setting the start point, using absolute coordinates. For example, to set the next point to location 10",2", type "[10",2"]" followed by the Enter key(Microsoft Windows) or Return key (Mac OS X).


Relative coordinates: You can set the next point of a line, after setting the start point, relative to the start point of the line. For example, to set the next point 11" to the right and 4" below, type "11,4" or "<11,4>" followed by the Enter key(Microsoft Windows) or Return key (Mac OS X).

Polar coordinates: You can set the next point of a line, after setting the start point, in polar coordinates (angle and length). For example, to set the next point, in polar coordinates, to 45 degrees (measured counter-clockwise from the positive x-axis) and 2 inches from the start point, type "^45,2"" followed by the Enter key(Microsoft Windows) or Return key (Mac OS X).

Note - You can continue to change the length of a single line, by entering the length of the line in the Measurements field, until you draw another line or select a new tool.



Drawing Lines by Inference The Line Tool uses LayOut's sophisticated geometric inference engine to help you accurately draw lines. The inferences, made by the inference engine, are displayed in the document area as inference lines and inference points. These lines and points show precise alignment between the line you are drawing and the geometry of your model. Refer to the inference engine topic for additional information.



Creating an Arc About a Center Point Use the Arc menu item to create an arc about a center point. To create an arc about a center point:

1. Select the "Arc Tool" ( ). The cursor changes to a pencil with an arc ( ).

2. Click to establish a center point. A small circle appears.

3. Move the cursor away from the center point.

4. Click again to establish the starting point of the arc.

5. Move the cursor in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction to draw the arc.

6. Click again to finish the drawing operation.




Creating a Pie Use the Pie menu item to form a shape of a piece of pie. To create a piece of pie:

1. Select the "Pie Tool" ( ). The cursor changes to a pencil with an arc ( ).

2. Click to establish a center point. A small circle appears.

3. Move the cursor away from the center point.

4. Click again to establish the starting point of the pie.

5. Move the cursor in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction to draw the pie.

6. Click again to finish the drawing operation.




Creating a 3 Point Arc Use the 3 Point Arc menu item to create an arc by specifying 3 points on the arc. To create an arc about a pivot point:

1. Select the "3 Point Arc Tool" ( ). The cursor changes to a pencil with an arc ( ).

2. Click to establish a starting point of the arc.

3. Move the cursor away from the starting point.

4. Click again to establish the second point. A small X appears.

5. Move the cursor away from the X. An arc is drawn.

6. Click again once the arc is at the desired shape. The arc is drawn.

Note - Press the ESC key at any point during the operation to start over



Creating an Arc From a Chord and Bulge Use the 2 Point Arc menu item to create an arc by establishing a start point, an end point and then a bulge. To create an arc from a start point, end point, and bulge:

1. Select the "2 Point Arc Tool" ( ). The cursor changes to a pencil with an arc ( ).

2. Click to place the starting point of your arc.

3. Move the cursor to the ending point of your chord.

4. Click to place the ending point of your arc. A straight line is created.

5. Move your cursor perpendicular to the straight line to adjust the bulge distance.

6. Click to set the bulge distance.




Creating Precise Arcs The Measurements field allows you to accurately define several dimensions of your arcs. The dimensions you can set depend on the arc tool being used.

Creating a Precise Arc About a Center Point (Arc Tool) You can create a precise arc about a center point by explicitly typing the center point location, radius, and angle in the Measurements field. The Measurements field prompt changes to "Point" when the Arc Tool is selected.

Defining the Center Point Location You can set the center point of an arc, before making the first click with the mouse, using absolute coordinates. For example, to set the center point to location 10",2", type "[10",2"]" followed by the Enter key(Microsoft Windows) or Return key (Mac OS X). The Measurements field prompt changes to "Angle" after a center point has been established.


Defining the Radius and Starting Direction You can set the radius and direction of an arc by typing in a radius value as a length, which will use the mouse position for the direction, or by typing in a point. For example, to set the radius to 5", type "5"," while the mouse is in the desired starting direction, followed by the Enter key(Microsoft Windows) or Return key (Mac OS X). Or, type "<5",0">" followed by the Enter key (Microsoft Windows) or Return Key (Mac OS X), to set the radius to 5" in the X direction. The Measurements field prompt changes to "Angle" after the radius has been established.

Defining the Angle You can set the angle of an arc by typing the angle (in degrees), a percentage of 360 degrees, or an ending point. For example, to set the angle to 30 degrees, type "30" followed by the Enter key (Microsoft Windows) or Return key (Mac OS X). Or, to set the angle to 25 percent of a total 360 degrees (90 degree angle), type "25%" followed by the Enter key (Microsoft Windows) or Return key (Mac OS X). Or type "[5",5"]" followed by the Enter key (Microsoft Windows) or Return key (Mac OS X) to set the angle with a point (the resulting arc will end on the line from the center of the arc to the angle point entered).

Creating a Precise Arc Using a Chord and a Bulge (2-Point Arc Tool) You can create a precise arc using two points by explicitly typing the start point, end point, and bulge in the Measurements field. The Measurements field prompt changes to "Point" when the 2-Point Arc Tool is selected.

Defining the Start Point Location You can set the start point of an arc, before making the first click with the mouse, using absolute coordinates. For example, to set the start point to location 10",2", type "[10",2"] followed by the Enter key (Microsoft Windows) or Return key (Mac OS X). The Measurements field prompt changes to "Length" after a start point has been established.

Defining the End Point Location You can define the end point location in absolute coordinates, relative coordinates, and polar coordinates.



Absolute coordinates: You can set the end point of an arc, after setting the start point, using absolute coordinates. For example, to set the end point, in absolute coordinates, to location 10",2", type "[10",2"]" followed by the Enter key (Microsoft Windows) or Return key (Mac OS X). The Measurements field prompt changes to "Bulge" after a end point has been established.


Relative coordinates: You can set the end point of an arc, after setting the start point, relative to the start point of the arc. For example, to set the end point, in relative coordinates, to location 11,4, type "11,4" or "<11,4>" followed by the Enter key (Microsoft Windows) or Return key (Mac OS X). The Measurements field prompt changes to "Bulge" after a end point has been established.

Polar coordinates: You can set the end point of an arc, after setting the start point, in polar coordinates (angle and length). For example, to set the end point, in polar coordinates to 45 degrees (measured counter clockwise from the positive x-axis) and 2 inches from the start point, type "^45,2"" followed by the Enter key (Microsoft Windows) or Return key (Mac OS X). The Measurements field prompt changes to "Bulge" after a end point has been established.

Defining the Bulge You can set the bulge of an arc, after setting the end point as a length. For example, to set the bulge to 10 points, type "10pt" followed by the Enter key (Microsoft Windows) or Return key (Mac OS X).

Creating a Precise Arc Using a 3 Points (3-Point Arc Tool) You can create a precise arc using a pivot point by explicitly typing the start point, pivot point, and end point in the Measurements field. The Measurements field prompt changes to "Point" when the 3-Point Arc Tool is selected.

Defining the Start Point Location You can set the start point of an arc, before making the first click with the mouse, using absolute coordinates. For example, to set the start point to location 10",2", type "[10",2"] followed by the Enter key (Microsoft Windows) or Return key (Mac OS X). The Measurements field prompt changes to "Length" after a start point has been established.

Defining the Second Point Location You can define the second point location in absolute coordinates, relative coordinates, and polar coordinates.

Absolute coordinates: You can set the second point of an arc, after setting the start point, using absolute coordinates. For example, to set the second point, in absolute coordinates, to location 10",2", type "[10",2"]" followed by the Enter key (Microsoft Windows) or Return key (Mac OS X). The Measurements field prompt changes to "Length" after a second point has been established.


Relative coordinates: You can set the second point of an arc, after setting the start point, relative to the start point of the arc. For example, to set the pivot second, in relative coordinates, to location 11,4, type "11,4" or "<11,4>" followed by the Enter key (Microsoft Windows) or Return key (Mac OS X). The Measurements field prompt changes to "Length" after a second point has been established.



Polar coordinates: You can set the second point of an arc, after setting the start point, in polar coordinates (angle and length). For example, to set the second point, in polar coordinates, to 45 degrees (measured counter clockwise from the positive x-axis) and 2 inches from the start point, type "^45,2"" followed by the Enter key (Microsoft Windows) or Return key (Mac OS X). The Measurements field prompt changes to "Length" after a second point has been established.

Defining the End Point Location You can define the end point location in absolute coordinates, relative coordinates, and polar coordinates.

Absolute coordinates: You can set the end point of an arc, after setting the second point, using absolute coordinates. For example, to set the end point, in absolute coordinates, to location 10",2", type "[10",2"]" followed by the Enter key (Microsoft Windows) or Return key (Mac OS X).


Relative coordinates: You can set the end point of an arc, after setting the second point, relative to the start point of the arc. For example, to set the end point, in relative coordinates, to location 11,4, type "11,4" or "<11,4>" followed by the Enter key (Microsoft Windows) or Return key (Mac OS X).

Polar coordinates: You can set the end point of an arc, after setting the second point, in polar coordinates (angle and length). For example, to set the end point, in polar coordinates, to 45 degrees (measured counter clockwise from the positive x-axis) and 2 inches from the start point, type "^45,2"" followed by the Enter key (Microsoft Windows) or Return key (Mac OS X).

Creating a Precise Pie (Pie Tool) You can create a precise pie by explicitly typing the center point, radius, and angle in the Measurements field. The Measurements field prompt changes to "Point" when the Pie Tool is selected.

Defining the Center Point Location You can set the center point of a pie, before making the first click with the mouse, using absolute coordinates. For example, to set the center point to location 10",2", type "[10",2"]" followed by the Enter key (Microsoft Windows) or Return key (Mac OS X). The Measurements field prompt changes to "Radius" after a center point has been established.


Defining the Radius and Starting Direction You can set the radius and direction of a pie by typing in a radius value as a length, which will use the mouse position for the direction, or by typing in a point. For example, to set the radius to 5", type "5"," while the mouse is in the desired starting direction, followed by the Enter key (Microsoft Windows) or Return key (Mac OS X). Or, type "<5",0">" followed by the Enter key (Microsoft Windows) or Return Key (Mac OS X), to set the radius to 5" in the X direction. The Measurements field prompt changes to "Angle" after the radius has been established.



Defining the Angle You can set the angle of a pie by typing the angle (in degrees), a percentage of 360 degrees, or an ending point. For example, to set the angle to 30 degrees, type "30" followed by the Enter key(Microsoft Windows) or Return key (Mac OS X). Or, to set the angle to 25 percent of a total 360 degrees (90 degree angle), type "25%" followed by the Enter key (Microsoft Windows) or Return key (Mac OS X). Or type "5",5"]" followed by the Enter key (Microsoft Windows) or Return key (Mac OS ) to set the angle with a point (the resulting pie will end on the line from the center of the pie to the angle point entered).




Drawing a Rectangle, Rounded Rectangle, Lozenge, or Bulged Rectangle To draw a rectangle:

1. Select any rectangle tool ( ). The cursor changes to a pencil with a

rectangle ( ).

2. Click to set the starting point of the rectangle.

3. Move the cursor diagonally from the starting point to expand the rectangle.

4. Click again to set the second corner point of the rectangle.


Rounding Rectangle Edges Press the up or down arrows while creating your rectangle to round or square-up the edges of your rectangle. This function does not work in the Lozenge Tool.

Creating an Exact Duplicate of a Rectangle Double-click after creating a rectangle to create an exact duplicate of that rectangle. The rectangle is created at the location of the cursor.

Constraining the Rectangle to a Square Press and hold the Shift key while in the Rectangle Tool to constrain the rectangle to a square.

Sizing the Rectangle From Center Press and hold the Ctrl (Microsoft Windows) or Option (Mac OS X) key to size a rectangle from the center. The first click defines the center.



Creating Precise Rectangles The Measurements field allows you to accurately define the dimensions of your rectangles. You can create a precise rectangle by explicitly typing the starting point and end point locations in the Measurements field. The Measurements field prompt changes to "Point" when the Rectangle Tool is selected.

Defining the Start Point Location You can set the start point of a rectangle, before making the first click with the mouse, using absolute coordinates. For example, to set the start point to location 10",2", type "[10",2"]" followed by the Enter key (Microsoft Windows) or Return key (Mac OS X). The Measurements field prompt changes to "Dimensions" after a start point has been established.


Defining the End Point Location You can define the end point location in absolute coordinates or as a dimension.

Absolute Coordinates You can set the end point of a rectangle, after setting the start point, using absolute coordinates. For example, to set the next point, in absolute coordinates, to location 10",2", type "[10",2"]" followed by the Enter key (Microsoft Windows) or Return key (Mac OS X).


Dimensions You can set the end point of a rectangle, after setting the start point, in dimensions (width and height). For example, to set the dimensions to 11" x 4" (width by height), type "11,4" or "<11,4>" followed by the Enter key (Microsoft Windows) or Return key (Mac OS X). Dimensions will be in the direction of your mouse. For example, if your mouse is to the bottom and left of the start point, typing "11",4"" or "<11",4">" will create a rectangle with the second point 11 inches left and 4 inches down from the start point.

Defining the Corner Round Radius (Rounded Rectangle) You can define the corner round radius for rounded rectangles. Type in a value with units followed by the letter "r" to modify the rounding radius of corners. For example, to set the rounded radius to 10 points, type "10pt r" followed by the Enter key (Microsoft Windows) or Return key (Mac OS X).

Defining the Bulge (Bulge Rectangle) You can define the bulge for bulge rectangles. Type in a value with units followed by the letter "r" to modify the bulge. For example, to set the bulge to 10 points, type "10pt r" followed by the Enter key (Microsoft Windows) or Return key (Mac OS X).

Note - Use negative numbers to create the rectangle in the opposite direction.

Note - You can continue to change the size of a rectangle, by entering the dimensions in the Measurements field, until you draw another rectangle or select a new tool.



Drawing Rectangles by Inference The Rectangle Tool uses LayOut's sophisticated geometric inference engine to help you accurately draw and place rectangles. The inference decisions, made by the inference engine, are displayed in the document area as inference lines and inference points. These lines and points show precise alignment between the rectangle you are drawing and the geometry of your model.

For example, if you move your mouse over an endpoint of an existing edge and then move away in the direction of an axis, a dotted Inference Line with a From Point tool tip will appear.

Refer to the inference engine topic for additional information.



Drawing a Circle Use the Circle Tool to draw circles. To draw a circle:

1. Select the "Circle Tool" ( ). The cursor changes to a pencil with a circle ( ).

2. Click to place the starting point of the circle

3. Move the cursor away from the starting point to define the radius of your circle.


5. Click again to finish the circle.

Tip - You can also click and hold the mouse button to set the starting point of the circle, and drag outward without releasing the button to set the radius. Release the mouse button to complete the circle.



Drawing a Ellipse Use the Ellipse Tool to draw ellipses. To draw a ellipse:

1. Select the "Ellipse Tool" ( ). The cursor changes to a pencil with an ellipse ( ).

2. Click to place the starting point of the ellipse.

3. Move the cursor away from the starting point to define the shape of your ellipse.


4. Click again to finish the ellipse.

Tip - You can also click and hold the mouse button to set the starting point of the ellipse, and drag outward without releasing the button to set the radius. Release the mouse button to complete the ellipse.

Constraining an Ellipse to a Circle Press and hold the Shift key to constrain the ellipse to a circle.

Creating an Exact Duplicate of an Ellipse Double-click after creating an ellipse to create an exact duplicate of that ellipse. The ellipse is created at the location of the cursor.

Sizing the Ellipse From Center Press and hold the Ctrl (Microsoft Windows) or Option (Mac OS X) key to size an ellipse from the center. The first click defines the center.



Creating Precise Circles The Measurements field allows you to accurately define several dimensions of your circles. The dimensions you can set depend on the circle tool being used.

Creating a Precise Circle (Circle Tool) You can create a precise circle by explicitly typing the center point location and radius in the Measurements field. The Measurements field prompt changes to "Point" when the Circle Tool is selected.

Defining the Center Point Location You can set the center point of a circle, before making the first click with the mouse, using absolute coordinates. For example, to set the center point to location 10",2", type "[10",2"]" followed by the Enter key (Microsoft Windows) or Return key (Mac OS X). The Measurements field prompt changes to "Radius" after a center point has been established.


Defining the Radius You can set the radius of a circle by typing in a radius value in dimensions or points. For example, to set the radius to 5", type "5"" followed by the Enter key (Microsoft Windows) or Return key (Mac OS X). Or, type "5" d" followed by the Enter key (Microsoft Windows) or Return key (Mac OS X) to set the diameter to 5".

Note - You can continue to change the radius or diameter until you draw another circle or select a new tool.

Creating a Precise Ellipse The Measurements field allows you to accurately define several dimensions of your ellipses. You can create a precise ellipse by explicitly typing the starting point and end point locations in the Measurements field. The Measurements field prompt changes to "Point" when the Ellipse Tool is selected.

Defining the Start Point Location You can set the start point of an ellipse, before making the first click with the mouse, using absolute coordinates. For example, to set the start point to location 10",2", type "[10",2"]" followed by the Enter key (Microsoft Windows) or Return key (Mac OS X). The Measurements field prompt changes to "Dimensions" after a start point has been established.


Defining the End Point Location You can define the end point location in absolute coordinates or as a dimension.

Absolute coordinates: You can set the end point of an ellipse, after setting the start point, using absolute coordinates. For example, to set the next point, in absolute coordinates, to location 10",2", type "[10",2"]" followed by the Enter key(Microsoft Windows) or Return key (Mac OS X).




Dimensions: You can set the end point of an ellipse, after setting the start point, in dimensions (width and height). For example, to set the dimensions to 11" x 4" (width by height), type "11,4" or "<11,4>" followed by the Enter key (Microsoft Windows) or Return key (Mac OS X). Dimensions will be in the direction of your mouse. For example, if your mouse is to the bottom and left of the start point, typing "11",4"" or "<11",4">" will create a rectangle with the second point 11 inches left and 4 inches down from the start point.

Note - You can continue to change the dimensions until you draw another ellipse or select a new tool.



Drawing a Polygon To create an polygon:

1. Select the "Polygon Tool" ( ). The cursor changes to a pencil with a polygon ( ).

2. Click to place the center point of the polygon.

Note - The Polygon Tool defaults to five-sided polygon. Refer to Specifying the Number of Polygon Sides topic for information on how to change the number of polygon sides.

3. Move the cursor away from the center point to define the radius of your polygon.

4. Click again to finish the polygon. Alternately, you can click once to set the center of the

polygon, and drag outward without releasing the button to set the radius. Release the mouse button to complete the polygon.


Tip - Press the up or down arrow while creating your polygon to increase or decrease the number of sides.

Creating an Exact Duplicate of a Polygon Double-click after creating a polygon to create an exact duplicate of that polygon.

Locking a Polygon Horizontally or Vertically Press and hold the Shift key while drawing a polygon to lock a side of the polygon to the red or green axis.



Creating Precise Polygons The Measurements field allows you to accurately define several dimensions of your polygons. You can create a precise polygons by explicitly typing the center point location, radius, and sides in the Measurements field. The Measurements field prompt changes to "Point" when the Polygon Tool is selected.

Defining the Center Point Location You can set the center point of a polygon, before making the first click with the mouse, using absolute coordinates. For example, to set the center point to location 10",2", type "[10",2"]" followed by the Enter key (Microsoft Windows) or Return key (Mac OS X). The Measurements field prompt changes to "Radius" after a center point has been established.


Defining the Radius You can set the radius of a circle by typing in a radius value in dimensions or points. For example, to set the radius to 5", type "5"" followed by the Enter key (Microsoft Windows) or Return key (Mac OS X).

Note - You can continue to change the radius until you draw another polygon or select a new tool.

Specifying the Number of Polygon Sides You can set the number of sides for your polygon typing the side value, followed by an s, in the Measurements field followed by the Enter key(Microsoft Windows) or Return key (Mac OS X). For example, "8s" results in an 8 sided polygon or octagon.

Note - You can continue to change the number of sides until you draw another polygon or select a new tool.



Creating Text Text can be created in bounded or unbounded text boxes. A bounded text box stays the same size, regardless of the amount of text. Text that exceeds the text box is hidden from view.

An unbounded text box grows to accommodate text.

Text can also be aligned horizontally (left, right, center) and anchored vertically in the text box (top, bottom, middle).

Creating a Bounded Text Box To create a bounded text box:


2. Click and hold the mouse button to establish the starting point of the text box.

3. Drag the cursor diagonally to increase the text box size. Dragging right will create left-aligned text, dragging left will create right-aligned text. Dragging up will create a bottom-aligned text box. Dragging down will create a top-aligned text box.


4. Type text. Text will fill the width of the text box before wrapping to the next line.


Note - The text box will display a red down arrow if the text exceeds the text box.

Creating an Unbounded Text Box To create an unbounded text box:



3. Type text. Text will expand horizontally until it reaches the page edge, and then it will expand vertically. The Text box will maintain its width, and expand (or shrink) vertically to accommodate text on subsequent edits.


Note - An unbounded text box does not display a red arrow because unbounded text boxes expand to display the entirety of the text.



Creating Aligned Text Text can be aligned horizontally (left, right, and center) in the text box. A justified alignment is also available on Mac OS X. To create text that is aligned to a specific horizontal alignment:

1. Open the Text Style (Microsoft Windows) or Show Fonts (Mac OS X) dialog box.

2. Click on an alignment button.


4. Create a bounded or unbounded text box (see Creating a Bounded Text Box or Creating an Unbounded Text box in this document).

5. Type text.


Note - You can switch the alignment of text at any time by selecting the text box and clicking on one of the alignment buttons in the Text Style (Microsoft Windows) or Font (Mac OS X) dialog box.

Note - Different starting anchor and alignment behaviors occur when creating an bounded text boxes in different directions. For example, dragging from the bottom-left to the top-right creates a bounded text box whose text is anchored to the bottom and left aligned. Refer to Bounded and Unbounded Text Box Alignment and Anchoring for further information.

Creating Anchored Text Text can be anchored vertically (top, bottom, and center) in the text box. To create text that is anchored to a specific vertical alignment:


2. Click on an anchor button.



5. Type text.


Note - You can switch the anchoring of text at any time by selecting the text box and clicking on one of the anchor buttons in the Text Style (Microsoft Windows) or Font (Mac OS X) dialog box.

Note - Different starting anchor and alignment settings are applied depending on the direction used to create an bounded text box. For example, dragging from the bottom-left to the top-right creates a bounded text box



whose text is anchored to the bottom and left aligned. Refer to Bounded and Unbounded Text Box Alignment and Anchoring for further information.



Creating a Bounded Text Box A bounded text box stays the same size, regardless of the amount of text. Some text in a bounded text box might be hidden if the box is not large enough to accommodate the text. To create a bounded text box:


2. Click and hold the mouse button to establish the starting point of the text box.

3. Drag the cursor diagonally to increase the text box size. Dragging right will create left-justified text, dragging left will create right-justified text.


4. Type text. Text will fill the width of the text box.

5. Click outside of the text box to finish creating the text. The text box will display a red down arrow if the text exceeds the text box.



Creating an Unbounded Text Box An unbounded text box grows to accommodate text. To create an bounded text box:



3. Type text. Text will fill the width of the text box.




Creating Aligned Text Text can be aligned horizontally (left, right, and center) in the text box. A justified alignment is also available on Mac OS X. To create text that is aligned to a specific horizontal alignment:


2. Click on an alignment button.



5. Type text.


Note - You can switch the alignment of text at any time by selecting the text box and clicking on one of the alignment buttons in the Text Style (Microsoft Windows) or Font (Mac OS X) dialog box.

Note - Different starting anchor and alignment behaviors occur when creating an bounded text boxes in different directions. For example, dragging from the bottom-left to the top-right creates a bounded text box whose text is anchored to the bottom and left aligned. Refer to Bounded and Unbounded Text Box Alignment and Anchoring for further information.



Creating Anchored Text Text can be anchored vertically (top, bottom, and center) in the text box. To create text that is anchored to a specific vertical alignment:

1. Open the Text Style(Microsoft Windows) or Show Fonts (Mac OS X) dialog box.

2. Click on an anchor button.



5. Type text.


Note - You can switch the anchoring of text at any time by selecting the text box and clicking on one of the anchor buttons in the Text Style (Microsoft Windows) or Font (Mac OS X) dialog box.

Note - Different starting anchor and alignment settings are applied depending on the direction used to create an bounded text box. For example, dragging from the bottom-left to the top-right creates a bounded text box whose text is anchored to the bottom and left aligned. Refer to Bounded and Unbounded Text Box Alignment and Anchoring for further information.



Editing Text Double-click on text, with the Select Tool active, to edit the text.



Creating Labels To create a label:

1. Select the "Label Tool" ( ). The cursor changes to an arrow with the text "A1" ( ).

2. Click to place the starting point of the leader.

3. Move the mouse from starting point to define the length of the leader.


4. Click again to create a text box.

5. Type text. Text will fill the width of the text box. The text box's length will grow as needed.

6. Click outside of the text box to finish creating the label.



Editing Label Leader The label leader is a line with an arrowhead. Therefore the label leader can be edited just as any other graphical entity. Click on the label leader, with the Select Tool active, to edit the label leader.



Editing Label Text Double-click on text box, with the Select Tool active, to edit the label text.



Drawing Irregular Shapes To draw an irregular shape:

1. Select the "Freehand Tool" ( ). The cursor will change to a pencil with a freehand

curve ( ).

2. Click and hold to place the starting point of your irregular shape.

3. Drag the cursor to draw. The current fill color will fill in the shape as you draw.

4. Release the mouse button to stop drawing.

5. (optional) End your shape at the starting point to draw a closed shape.



View Tools This section of the user's guide covers the view tools within LayOut. View tools are those tools used to view the document area. Tools in this section are covered in the order they appear within the View menu.



Panning the View The Pan Tool performs a pan operation. To pan using the Pan Tool:

1. Select the "Pan Tool" ( ). The cursor changes to a hand ( ).

2. Click and hold anywhere in the document area.

3. Move the cursor in any direction to pan.



Panning While in Other Tools (1-Button Mouse) (Mac OS X) Click and hold the Control, Command, and Shift keys simultaneously while clicking and holding the left mouse button to temporarily activate the Pan Tool (if you have only one mouse button).



Panning While in Another Tool (3-Button Mouse) Press and hold the middle mouse button (scroll wheel) to activate the Pan Tool.



Zooming In and Zooming Out of your Document To zoom in and out using the Zoom Tool:

1. Select the Zoom Tool ( ). The cursor changes to a magnifying glass ( ).

2. Click and hold anywhere in the document area.

3. Drag the cursor up to zoom in (closer to the document) and down to zoom out (farther from the document).



Zooming With a Scroll Wheel Mouse Rolling wheel forward on a scroll wheel mouse zooms in on your document. Rolling the wheel backward on a scroll wheel mouse zooms out from your document.

Note - The cursor position determines the center of zoom when using the scroll wheel whereas the center of the screen determines the center of zoom when zooming using the Zoom Tool.



Adding a Custom Scale (Microsoft Windows) To add a custom scale:

1. Select "Edit > Preferences." The LayOut Preferences dialog box is displayed.

2. Select "Scales." The Scales panel is displayed.

3. Type a value representing the paper space dimension in the "Paper" field.

4. Select a unit type from the units drop-down list for the "Paper" field.

5. Type a value representing the model space dimension in the "Model" field.

6. Select a unit type from the units drop-down list for the "Model" field.

7. (optional) Change the recommend name in the Scale Text field to a custom name for the scale.

8. Click on the "Add Custom Scale" button. The newly added custom scale appears

Note - You can select "Add Custom Scale" (Microsoft Windows) or "Custom" (Mac OS X) from the Scale drop down list in the SketchUp Model dialog box to add a custom scale.



Adding a Custom Scale (Mac OS X) To add a custom scale:

1. Select "LayOut > Preferences." The LayOut Preferences dialog box is displayed.

2. Click on "Scales." The Scales panel is displayed.

3. Click on the "Add" button. The add custom scale dialog box appears.

4. Type a value in the "Size on paper" field.

5. Type a value in the "Size in model" field.

6. Click on the "Add" button. The newly added custom scale appears at the bottom of the scale list.

Note - You can select "Add Custom Scale" (Microsoft Windows) or "Custom" (Mac OS X) from the Scale drop down list in the SketchUp Model dialog box to add a custom scale.



Adding a Keyboard Shortcut (Microsoft Windows) Add keyboard shortcuts using the shortcuts text-entry box (at the bottom of the panel). To add a keyboard shortcut:


2. Select a command in the Commands/Shortcuts list. The command is highlighted.

3. Type the desired keyboard shortcut in the shortcuts text entry box (at the bottom of the panel). You can type a combination of letters, the Shift key, Ctrl key, and Alt keys. For example, press the Ctrl key and press the C key to create a keyboard shortcut of Ctrl+C. Or, just press the C key to create a keyboard shortcut of C.

4. Press the "Add" button. The keyboard shortcut appears in the Shortcut column next to the selected command in the Commands list.



Adding Keyboard Shortcut (Mac OS X) Add keyboard shortcuts using the shortcuts text-entry box (at the bottom of the panel). To add a keyboard shortcut:


2. Select "Shortcuts." The Shortcuts panel is displayed.

3. Select a command in the Functions/Key list. The command is highlighted.

4. Type the desired keyboard shortcut in the shortcuts text entry box (at the bottom of the panel). You can type a combination of letters, the Shift key, Ctrl key, and Alt/Option keys. For example, press the Ctrl key and press the C key to create a keyboard shortcut of Ctrl+C. Or, just press the C key to create a keyboard shortcut of C. The keyboard shortcut appears in the Key column next to the selected command in the Function list.



Deleting a Scale (Microsoft Windows) To delete a scale:



3. Select a scale in the "Available Model Scales" list.

4. Click the "Delete Scale" button. The Deleting Scales dialog box appears.

5. Click "Yes." The scale is deleted.



Deleting a Scale (Mac OS X) To delete a scale:



3. Select a scale in the list of scales.

4. Click the "-" button. The scale is deleted.



Applying Fill and Stroke LayOut defaults to a black stroke (line) and white fill, for all entities, by default. To change the fill and stroke used for all new entities:

1. Select "Window > Shape Style." The Shape Style dialog box appears.

2. Check the "Fill" and "Stroke" checkboxes to ensure that Fill and Stroke are applied for all newly created entities.

3. Click on the color well under the Fill checkbox. The Colors dialog box is opened.

4. Select a color for the fill. Refer to the Colors dialog box for information on how to change the colors.

5. Click on the color well under the Stroke checkbox. The Colors dialog box is opened.

6. Select a color for the stroke. Refer to the Colors dialog box for information on how to change the colors.

7. (optional) Modify the stroke settings. Refer to Stroke settings for further information.



Modifying Fill and Stroke To modify fill and stroke:

1. Select "Window > Shape Style." The Shape Style dialog box appears.

2. Select an entity. The entity is highlighted and the Shape Style updates with the selected entity's fill and stroke style.

3. Click on the color well under the Fill checkbox. The Colors dialog box is opened.

4. Select a color for the fill. Refer to the Colors dialog box for information on how to change the colors.

5. Click on the color well under the Stroke checkbox. The Colors dialog box is opened.

6. Select a color for the stroke. Refer to the Colors dialog box for information on how to change the colors.

7. (optional) Modify the stroke settings. Refer to Stroke settings for further information.



Creating a Layer To create a new layer:

1. Select "Window > Layers." The Layers dialog box appears.

2. Click on the Add (+) icon. A new layer is listed in the Layer dialog box.

3. Double-click on the new layer's name. The name field is activated for editing.

4. Type a name for the layer. For example, you might create a layer to contain all of the text in your document so you can easily hide the text. Call this layer "Text."

5. Press the Enter (Microsoft Windows) or Return (Mac OS X) key.



Creating a Shared Layer To create a shared layer:

1. Select "Window > Layers." The Layers dialog box is displayed.

2. Click on the Add (+) button. A new layer is listed in the Layer dialog box.

3. Double-click on the new layer's name.

4. Type a name for the layer. For example, you might create a shared layer to contain a title block appearing on every page. Call this layer "Title Block."

5. Press the Enter (Microsoft Windows) or return (Mac OS X) key.

6. Click on the "Shared Layer" button to the right of the layer name (to control whether a layer is shared across all pages). Or, context-click on the layer and select "Shared" from the context menu. The Make Shared Layer dialog box displays if there are multiple pages with content.

7. Select the "Use the contents of the current Page" option to use only the entities on the current page in the shared layer. This option will delete all entities on this layer that are on other pages. Or, select the "Merge the contents from all Pages" to combine all of the entities on this layer from every page.

8. Click the "Apply" button.



Moving Entities Between Layers To move entities from one layer to another:

1. Select "Window > Layers." The Layers dialog box appears.

2. Click on the layer you want to contain the entities. This layer will become the active layer.

3. Select the "Select Tool." The cursor changes to an arrow.

4. Select one or more entities. The selected entities are highlighted in blue.

5. Context-click on these entities. The context menu for the entities is displayed.

6. Select the "Move to Current Layer" menu item. The entities are now assigned to the currently active layer.



Changing a Layer to a Shared Layer To change a layer to a shared layer:


2. Click on the layer you want to change to a shared layer. This layer will become the active layer.

3. Click on the layer's share button. The layer is changed into a shared layer and all entities on that layer will appear on all pages unless the layer has entities on multiple pages. If the layer has entities on multiple pages, the "Share Layer" dialog box appears (continue with step 4).

4. (optional) Select the "Include only entities from this page" option to use only the entities on the current page in the shared layer. This option will delete all entities on this layer that are on other pages. Or, select the "Collect entities from all Pages" to combine all of the entities on this layer from every page.



Changing a Shared Layer to a Normal Layer To change a shared layer to an unshared layer:


2. Click on the layer you want to change to a normal layer. This layer will become the active layer.

3. Click on the layer's share button. A dialog box appears.

4. Select "Keep contents on this page only" if you only want the contents on the current page to remain on the current page after you unshare the layer. All other pages will be blank on this layer. Select "Copy contents to all Pages" if you want the contents on this layer to be duplicated on all pages. Changes on each page will be kept independent.



Setting Text Style (Microsoft Windows) You can set your text style for all text entities using the Text Style dialog box. To set your text style:

1. Select the "Text Tool" ( ) or "Label Tool" ( ). The cursor changes to a pencil with

text ( ) or to an arrow with the text "A1" ( ).

2. Select "Window > Text Style" if the Text Style dialog box is not already displayed.

3. Select a font in the Family list.

4. (optional) Select font style in the Typeface list.

5. (optional) Select a size in the Size list.

6. (optional) Modify other text settings. Refer to the Text Style dialog box for further information.

7. Create text using either the Text Tool or Label Tool. Text will be created using the settings in the Text Style dialog box. Refer to the Text Tool or Label Tool for further information.



Modifying Text Style for Existing Text (Microsoft Windows) You can modify the style of any existing text in your document. To modify text style for existing text:

1. Select the text you want to modify in the document area.

2. Select "Window > Text Style". The Text Style dialog box is displayed.

3. Modify the text settings. The new text settings are applied to the currently selected text.



Setting Text Style (Mac OS X) You can set your text style for all text entities using the Font dialog box. To set your text style:

1. Select the "Text Tool" ( ) or "Label Tool" ( ). The cursor changes to a pencil with

text ( ) or to an arrow with the text "A1" ( ).

2. Select "Window > Text Style" if the Text Style dialog box is not already displayed.

3. Select a font in the Family list.

4. (optional) Select font style in the Typeface list.

5. (optional) Select a size in the Size list.

6. (optional) Modify other text settings. Refer to the Font dialog box for further information.

7. Create text using either the Text Tool or Label Tool. Text will be created using the settings in the Text Style dialog box. Refer to the Text Tool or Label Tool for further information.



Modifying Text Style for Existing Text (Mac OS X) You can modify the style of any existing text in your document. To modify text style for existing text:

1. Select the text you wan to modify in the document area.

2. Open the Font dialog box (Window > Show Fonts). The Font dialog box is displayed.

3. Modify the text settings. The new text settings are applied to the currently selected text.



Using Entities in the Scrapbook To use entities in the scrapbook within your document:


2. Click on any entity in the scrapbook.

3. Move your mouse into the document area and click in the document to drop the entity into the document.

4. Continue clicking in the document to drop multiple copies of the entity.



Applying Styles From the Scrapbook You can apply styles applied to entities in scrapbook files to entities in your document area. To apply a style:

1. Click on the Style Tool. The cursor changes to an eyedropper.

2. Click on the entity, in your scrapbook file, whose style you want to sample. The cursor changes to a paint bucket.

3. Click on the entity in the document to apply the style to the entity. The entity will adopt the style.

Note - Certain styles can only be applied to certain entities.



Adding a Custom Scrapbook Any LayOut file can be a scrapbook. To add a scrapbook:

1. Select "Edit > Preferences" on Microsoft Windows or "LayOut" > Preferences" on Mac OS X. The LayOut Preferences dialog box is displayed.

2. Select "Folders" from the left-hand side of the LayOut Preferences dialog box. The Folders panel is displayed.

3. Verify that the folder containing your scrapbook is in the scrapbooks list. If the folder is not listed:

a. Click the "Add" button to add a new scrapbook directory. The Browse for Folder dialog box is displayed.

b. Navigate to the folder where your scrapbook exists and select the LayOut document.

c. Click the "OK" button. The Browse for Folder dialog box is closed.

4. Click the "Close" button. The LayOut Preferences dialog box is closed.

5. Select "Window > Scrapbooks." The Scrapbooks dialog box is displayed.

6. The scrapbook file will have a right arrow next to its name (in the scrapbook list) if it contains multiple pages. If a scrapbook has multiple pages:

1. Click on the right arrow to expand the list of pages in the scrapbook file. A list of page names appears.

2. Click on a page name to display the page's contents in the Scrapbooks dialog box.

Click on the scrapbook name if a scrapbook only has one page (no arrow in the left-most column of the scrapbook list). The scrapbook file's contents are displayed in the Scrapbook dialog box.

Note - Alternatively, use the Next Page and Previous page buttons to cycle through scrapbook pages.

Note - You can save any LayOut file as a scrapbook. Refer to Saving a Scrapbook for further information.



Editing a Scrapbook Edit a scrapbook file just as you edit any other LayOut file. To edit a scrapbook file:

1. Select the scrapbook you want to edit from the drop-down list in the Scrapbooks dialog box. A small version of the scrapbook appears in the Scrapbooks dialog box.

2. Click on the "Edit" button. The Scrapbook file appears in the document area.

Note - The first page of the scrapbook file will display if there are more than one page. Use the forward button on the toolbar to advance to the scrapbook page you want to edit.

3. Make edits for your file.

4. Select "File > Save" to save edits to your scrapbook file. These edits are reflected in the scrapbook in the Scrapbooks dialog box.



Saving a Scrapbook A Scrapbook file is a LayOut file (.layout file) of pre-created entities, such as a library of title blocks, logos, models, text, images, or symbols. To save a scrapbook file:

1. Select "File > Save As Scrapbook." The Save As Scrapbook dialog box appears.

2. Select a scrapbook folder from the Scrapbook Folder list. Your file will be saved in this folder.

3. Type a scrapbook name in the Scrapbook Name field.

4. Click the "OK" button. Your scrapbook is saved to the highlighted scrapbook folder.



Selecting a Color (Microsoft Windows) To select a color using the Screen Picker Tool:

1. Select "Window > Colors." The Colors dialog box is displayed.

2. Click on the eye dropper icon to activate the Screen Picker Tool. The cursor changes into a large eye dropper.

3. Move the cursor around the screen until you are color you want to use appears in the color well.

4. Click the mouse button to place the color in the active color well.



Selecting a Color (Mac OS X) To select a color using the screen picker:

1. Select "Window > Colors." The Colors dialog box is displayed.

2. Click on the magnifying glass icon to activate the screen picker. The cursor changes into a large magnifying glass.

3. Move the cursor around the screen until you are magnifying the color you want to use.

4. Click the mouse button to place the color in the active color well.



Loading and Selecting a Color From an Image (Microsoft Windows) To load and select a color from an image:

1. Click on the "Choose Image..." button on the Image tab of the Colors dialog box.

2. Locate your image in the Open dialog box.

3. Click the Open button. Your image appears in the Image picker.

4. Click and drag your cursor around the image until the color you want is in the color well.



Loading and Selecting a Color From an Image (Mac OS X) To load and select a color from an image:

1. Click on the "Image Palettes" button along the top of the Colors dialog box.

2. Select "New From File..." from the Palette drop-down list below the image well.

3. Locate your image in the New Color Palette dialog box.

4. Click the "Open" button. Your image appears in the Image Palettes picker.

5. Click and Drag your cursor around the Image well until the color you want is in the Color well.

Note - To switch from image to image, use the pop-up list at the top of the Image Well.

Note - You can also load an image you have copied to the Mac OS X clipboard by selecting New From Pasteboard from the pop-up menu at the bottom of the image well. Additionally, you can drag an image file from the Finder and drop it on the Image Well.



Adding a Page To add a page:

1. Select "Window > Pages." The Pages dialog box appears.

2. Click on the "+" button. A new page, with a default page name is added to the list of pages. A new, blank page appears in the document area.

3. (optional) Double-click on the page name to rename the page.

Note - You can also add pages using the Pages > Add menu item.



Entities This section of the documentation covers the creation and manipulation of three entities used in LayOut: Groups, images, and SketchUp models. These entities are unique from other entities, such as a line, in that they are not created by a tool but are either inserted or, in the case of a Group entity, formed as part of an operation.



Creating a Group Groups are useful for combining entities to perform a quick operation such as copy or move operations. To create a group:


2. Select all of the entities you want in the group. Refer to Selecting Multiple Entities for further information.

3. Select "Edit > Group." Alternatively, context-click on the currently selected entities and select Group from the context menu. The entities you selected appears grouped within a highlighted bounding box.

Note - You can make group hierarchies by grouping other Group entities within a group.



Editing a Group Double-click on a group with the Select Tool to edit entities within the group. All entities outside of the group's context will appear faded.

Note - You can continue to double-click on groups within groups to edit nested groups.

Click outside of the group to exit the group's context.



Ungrouping a Group You can ungroup a Group entity to break it back into its original entities. To ungroup a group:

1. Select the "Select Tool" ( ). The cursor will change to an arrow ( ).

2. Select the group you want to ungroup.

3. Select "Edit > Ungroup" menu item. Alternatively, context-click on the currently selected group and select Ungroup from the context menu. The Group will be split back into its entities.



Minimizing Image Sizes Inserted image files are embedded in your LayOut document allowing you to send your LayOut files to others without having to supply additional files. LayOut files can quickly grow to large sizes if they have a lot of images. Use these tips to keep file size small:

• Use only enough resolution as you need from your image. High resolution images will quickly grow your LayOut file size.

• Use compressed image file formats such as JPEG and PNG.



Inserting a SketchUp Model To insert a SketchUp model in your document:

1. Select "File > Insert..." The Open dialog box is displayed.

2. Select the SketchUp Model to insert.

3. Click "Open." The SketchUp model appears in the center of the current document page. SketchUp files appear as bitmap graphic representations, at some resolution, of the model. You can edit the view, style, and other items of the model directly from within LayOut. Refer to Editing SketechUp Models for further information.



Inserting Multiple Copies of the Same SketchUp Model You can have multiple copies of the same SketchUp model, each with a different points-of-view, in your document. To make multiple copies of the same model, each with different point-of-view:

1. Select "File > Insert..." The Open dialog box is displayed.

2. Select the SketchUp Model to insert.

3. Click "Open." The SketchUp model appears in the center of the current document page. SketchUp files appear as bitmap graphic representations, at some resolution, of the model. You can edit the view, style, and other items of the model directly from within LayOut. Refer to Editing SketechUp Models for further information.

4. Select "Edit > Copy." The currently selected model is copied to the clipboard.

5. Select "Edit > Paste." The model is pasted in the center of the current document page (over the previously inserted model).

6. Edit the mode's point of view. Refer to Editing Model Point of View, Rendering, or Scene.

Note - There is only one copy of an inserted model, as a keep file size small, regardless of how many copies you make.



Editing SketchUp Files You can launch SketchUp from within LayOut to edit SketchUp files. When launching SketchUp to edit a file, changes to that file are automatically reflected in LayOut. To launch SketchUp from within LayOut:

1. (LayOut) Context-click on the model in LayOut. The model's context menu appears.

2. (LayOut) Select the Open With SketchUp menu item. SketchUp appears with the opened model.

3. (SketchUp) Make changes to the model.

4. (SketchUp ) Save changes to the model

5. (LayOut) The changes to the model are reflected in LayOut.



Editing Model Point of View, Rendering, or Scene You can modify a Model entity's point of view, rendering (display settings, display style shadows), and scene within LayOut. To modify a model's point of view, rendering, or scene within LayOut:


2. Context-click to display the context-menu and modify the model's point of view, rendering, and scene. Refer to the SketchUp user's guide for information on any of the features found under these context-menus.

3. Orbit, pan, and zoom on your model to change the view. Refer to the SketchUp documentation for help with orbiting, panning, and zooming in on a model using the mouse.

4. Click outside of the model to exit the SketchUp model entity edit session.



Input and Output This section of the user's guide covers the various mechanisms for inserting items, such as graphic images, into your LayOut document and printing or presenting your document once it is finished.

The items in this section are divided into the following categories:

• Importers and Exporters

• Presentations

• Printing

The majority of the items in this section are found in the File menu.



Importing SketchUp Model Files (Microsoft Windows) To import a model file:

1. Select the "File > Insert" menu item. The Open dialog box is displayed.

2. (optional) Select "SketchUp" from the Files of type drop-down list.

3. Locate and select the SketchUp file you want to import.

4. Click the "Open" button to import the model. A 2 dimensional representation of the model will appear in the document area.

5. (optional) Adjust the image of the model using the select tool (move, rotate, and so on) or double-click on the image to manipulate the model itself (orbit, display styles, and so on). See Editing Model Point of View, Rendering or Active Page for further information.

Note - The model will have a transparent background if the model's background color is white in SketchUp.

Note - Alternately, drag-and-drop the file from the File Explorer directly into your document area.



Importing SketchUp Model Files (Mac OS X) To import a model file:


2. Locate and select the SketchUp file you want to import.

3. Click the "Open" button to import the model. A 2 dimensional representation of the model will appear in the document area.

4. (optional) Adjust the image of the model using the select tool (move, rotate, and so on) or double-click on the image to manipulate the model itself (orbit, display styles, and so on). See Editing Model Point of View, Rendering or Active Page for further information.

Note - The model will have a transparent background if the model's background color is white in SketchUp.

Note - Alternately, drag-and-drop the file from the Finder directly into your document area.



Importing Image Files (Microsoft Windows) To import a image file:


2. (optional) Select "Raster Images" from the Files of type drop-down list.

3. Locate and select the image you want to import

4. Click the "Open" button to import the image. The image will appear in the document area. The Select tool is active.

5. (optional) Adjust the image using the Select tool (move, rotate, and so on).

Note - Alternately, drag-and-drop the file from the File Explorer (Microsoft Windows) directly into your document area.



Importing Image Files (Mac OS X) To import a image file:


2. Locate and select the image you want to import

3. Click the "Open" button to import the image. The image will appear in the document area.

4. (optional) Adjust the image using the Select tool (move, rotate, and so on).

Note - Alternately, drag-and-drop the file from the File Explorer Finder directly into your document area.



Importing Text Files (Microsoft Windows) To import text:

1. Select the "File > Insert" menu item from the File menu. The Open dialog box is displayed.

2. (optional) Select "Plain Text" or "RTF Text" from the Files of type drop-down list.

3. Locate and select the text file you want to import

4. Click the "Open" button to import the text. The text will appear in the document area.

5. (optional) Adjust the text using the select tool (move, rotate, and so on).

Note - LayOut imports plain text (.txt) and Rich Text Format (.rtf) text file formats.



Importing Text Files (Mac OS X) To import text:

1. Select the "File > Insert" menu item from the File menu. The Open dialog box is displayed.

2. Locate and select the text file you want to import

3. Click the "Open" button to import the text. The text will appear in the document area.

4. (optional) Adjust the text using the select tool (move, rotate, and so on).

Note - LayOut imports plain text (.txt) and Rich Text Format (.rtf) text file formats.



Exporting a PDF File (Microsoft Windows) To export a PDF file:

1. Select the "File > Export > PDF..." menu item. The Export Images dialog box is displayed.

2. Enter a file name for the exported file in the File name field.

3. Click the Save button. The PDF Export Options dialog box is displayed. Refer to the PDF Export Options Dialog Box (Microsoft Windows) for further information.

4. Click the Export button.

Tip - Check the Print Paper Color checkbox in the Paper panel of LayOut preferences to print the color of the document area when exporting a PDF. If you want to export a transparent background in a PDF, uncheck the Print Paper Color checkbox. If you want to export an opaque background in a PDF check the Print Paper Color checkbox.



Exporting a PDF File (Mac OS X) To export a PDF file:

1. Select the "File > Export" menu item. The export dialog box is displayed.

2. Enter a file name for the exported file in the Save As field.

3. Select PDF from the Format drop-down list.

4. (optional) Click the "Options" button. The PDF Export Options dialog box is displayed. Refer to the PDF Export Options Dialog Box (Mac OS X) for further information.

5. Click the Save button. The images are saved and then displayed in your current PDF viewer (by default).

Tip - Check the Print Paper Color checkbox in the Paper panel of LayOut preferences to print the color of the document area when exporting a PDF. If you want to export a transparent background in a PDF, uncheck the Print Paper Color checkbox. If you want to export an opaque background in a PDF check the Print Paper Color checkbox.



Exporting Image Files (Microsoft Windows) To export your document as multiple image files:

1. Select the "File > Export > Images..." menu item. The Export Images dialog box is displayed.

2. Enter a file name for the exported file in the File name field.

3. Select the type from the "Save as type" drop-down list. You can save your document as a series of PNG and JPG files.

4. Click the Save button. The Image Export Options dialog box is displayed. Refer to the Image Export Options Dialog Box (Microsoft Windows) for further information.

5. Click the Export button. The image is saved and then displayed in your current image viewer. One image is created per page in your document. Each page will be named with the file name(entered in step 2), followed by the page number, followed by the image type.

Tip - Check the Print Paper Color checkbox in the Paper panel of LayOut preferences to print the color of the document area when exporting images. If you want to export a transparent background in an image, uncheck the Print Paper Color checkbox. If you want to export an opaque background in an image check the Print Paper Color checkbox.



Exporting Image Files (Mac OS X) To export your document as multiple image files:

1. Select the "File > Export > Images..." menu item. The export dialog box is displayed.

2. Enter a file name for the exported file in the Save As field.

3. Select JPG or PNG from the Format drop-down list.

4. (optional) Click the "Options" button. The Image Export Options dialog box is displayed. Refer to the Image Export Options Dialog Box (Mac OS X) for further information.

5. Click the Save button. The image is saved and then displayed in your current image viewer.

Tip - Check the Print Paper Color checkbox in the Paper panel of LayOut preferences to print the color of the document area when exporting images. If you want to export a transparent background in an image, uncheck the Print Paper Color checkbox. If you want to export an opaque background in an image check the Print Paper Color checkbox.



Delivering a Presentation Use the keyboard or mouse to change pages during a presentation. To deliver a presentation:

1. Select the "View > Start Presentation" menu item from View menu. LayOut enters presentation mode. You are placed in the Freehand Tool so you can draw annotations during your presentation.

2. Use the keyboard or mouse to change pages during a presentation.

a. (keyboard) Press the right-arrow key to advance to the next page or the left-arrow key to return to the previous page. Click the up arrow to return to the first page and the down arrow to advance to the last page.

b. (three-button mouse) Click the left mouse button to advance to the next page or the right mouse button to return to the previous page.

c. (one-button mouse) Click the mouse button to advance to the next page.

3. (optional) Click and drag to draw annotations on your presentation.

4. (optional) Double-click on a model to alter the view of the model during your presentation. You can orbit, pan, and zoom in on your model using the mouse, or, alternatively, context-click and select the menu items under the Camera Tools sub-context menu. Refer to the SketchUp documentation for help with orbiting, panning, and zooming in on a model using the mouse.

5. (optional) Select the "View Animation" menu item from the model's context menu (after double-clicking on a model) to view a SketchUp model animation.

6. Press the "ESC" key to exit out of presentation mode. You will be prompted to save your annotations when you exit presentation mode.

7. (optional) Click the "Yes" button to save your annotations. Annotations are saved on a new layer with a name reflecting the date and timestamp for the presentation.



Printing (Microsoft Windows) LayOut allows you to print your documents using any Windows-compatible printing device. Printing is a three-step process:

1. Use "File > Page Setup" to select the paper size for your printer.

2. Use "File > Print Preview" to preview your output.

3. Use "File > Print" to print your document.



Printing (Mac OS X) LayOut allows you to print your designs using any Mac OS X-compatible printing device. Printing is a four-step process:

1. Use "File > Page Setup" to select the paper size for your printer.

2. Use "File > Print > Preview" to preview your output.

3. Use "File > Print" to print your document.



Technical Info This section of the documentation contains additional detailed information about various aspects of LayOut.



Loading An Offline Crash Report (Microsoft Windows) If a crash occurs when you are not connected to the Internet, BugSplat displays a dialog box indicating that a zip file has been created on your local hard drive. This dialog box will also indicate the name and location of the zip file (normally AtLastCrashMMDDYY_HHMMSS.zip in your Windows temporary directory). Go to http://www.bugsplatsoftware.com/post/post_form.php and follow the instructions on the Web page to send this file to BugSplat Software when you reconnect to the Internet. Or email the zip file to Google directly to [email protected].



Extracting Files from a LayOut File You can extract any of the original files referenced in your document from the compressed LayOut file. To extract a file referenced in a document:

1. Load your document.

2. Context-click on the referenced text, image, or SketchUp model in your document.

3. Select Open with Text Editor, Open with Image Editor, or Open with SketchUp respectively. The referenced content will appear in its application of origin.

4. Save the referenced content into a new file. A copy of the original file is saved.

Tip - Use Preferences > Applications to change the application you use to edit files.



Common Tasks This section of the user's guide addresses common tasks that new users ask about as they are learning LayOut.



Creating a Clipping Mask You can mask out a portion of a model or image by creating a clipping mask or shape that represents the portion of the model or image you want to see in your document. To create a clipping mask:

1. Place a shape over an image or model.

2. Select both the shape and the image or model.

3. Context-click. The context menu is displayed.

4. Select the Create Clip Mask menu item. A clipping mask is created showing only the portion of the image or model within the shape.



Creating Shapes Without Fills By default, all shapes are created with a fill color. To create a shape without a fill color:

1. Select a drawing tool from the toolbar.

2. Open the Shape Style dialog box.

3. Uncheck the Fill checkbox.

4. Draw a shape. The shape's fill will be transparent.



Creating a Complex Shape You can use the Split and Join Tools to create complex or irregular shapes. To create a complex shape:

Draw the shapes that will be combined to create your complex shape, such as an oval with two pie pieces. Notice that the tips of the pie pieces are hidden behind the oval.

1. Select the Split Tool. The cursor changes to a scalpel.

2. Click on each vertex where the shapes overlap to split the shapes.



3. Remove any unneeded pieces. The following picture shows the unneeded pieces removed. There are actually four pieces on the right-hand portion of the following image: two arcs segments from the oval and two pie points from the pieces of pie.

Notice that the two pie pieces are still separate shapes from the oval.

4. Select the Join Tool. The cursor changes to a glue bottle.

5. Click on each line segment in the shape. The oval and pie pieces will join to create one shape.



Arranging Entities on the Page LayOut contains several arrangement commands allowing you to position entities on a page. For example, to move an entity behind another entity:

1. Context click on the entity in the foreground (that you wish to move behind another entity). The entity's context menu appears.

2. Select "Arrange > Send Backward." The entity in the foreground moves behind the other entity.

Refer to the entity Context Menu Items for further information on the Arrange submenu items.



Updating SketchUp Files Updates to a SketchUp file, after the file has been included in a LayOut document, are not automatically reflected in LayOut. To manually update SketchUp files within a LayOut document:

1. Select "File > Document Setup." The Document Setup dialog box appears.

2. Select "References" on the left-hand side of the Document Setup dialog box. The References panel appears.

3. Select the SketchUp file name in the File Name column. The status of the file should be "Out of Date."

4. Click on the "Update" button. The SketchUp file within LayOut will update to reflect the most current version.

5. Click the "Close" button. The Document Setup dialog box is closed.

Note - Alternatively, context-click on a model and select "Update Reference" to update the reference to a SketchUp file.



Saving a Template Use the Save As Template menu item to save the current document as a template to your templates directory. The template will contain everything that currently appears in your document, including all entities, pages, and so on. To save a template:

1. Select "File > Save As" Template. The Save As Template dialog box appears.

2. Navigate to the directory where you want to save your template.

3. Type the name of your template in the Template Name field.

4. Click the "OK" button. Your template is saved.

You can find your template by clicking on the Templates tab when creating a new document.



Including Dimensions in LayOut Dimensions should be incorporated in your SketchUp models for display in LayOut. Dimensioning should be done in SketchUp so that no matter the scale of your model in LayOut, the dimensions are accurate. And, when your model's dimensions change in SketchUp the change is reflected in LayOut.



Welcome to the LayOut Reference Guide The LayOut Reference Guide contains explanations of all features found within LayOut. The content in this guide answers the "What is the...feature" questions of end-users.



Mouse Operations for LayOut LayOut can work with both 3-button and 1-button (commonly found on older Mac computers) mice. A 3-button mouse is preferred as it will greatly increase your efficiency with LayOut. You must learn different mouse operations before you can begin drawing in LayOut.

3-Button Mouse Operations A 3-button mouse consists of a left-mouse button, a middle-mouse button (also called the scroll wheel) and a right-mouse button. The following is an overview of the different mouse operations commonly performed in SketchUp with a 3-button mouse:

• Click - A click refers to the user quickly pressing the releasing the left-mouse button.

• Click and hold - A click and hold refers to the user pressing and holding down the left-mouse button.

• Click, hold, drag - A click, hold, drag operation refers to the user pressing and holding down the left-mouse button and then moving the cursor.

• Middle click, hold, drag - A middle click, hold, drag operation refers to the user pressing and holding down the middle-mouse button and them moving the cursor.

• Scroll - A scroll refers to a user turning the middle mouse wheel forward or back.

• Context-click - A context-click refers to pressing and holding the right-mouse button. Context-clicks are usually used to display context menus. Context menus are menus whose contents vary depending on the context in which they are invoked (usually on one or more shapes in the document area or within a user interface component, such as a dialog box).

1-Button Mouse Operations The following is an overview of the different mouse operations commonly performed in SketchUp with a 1-button mouse:

• Click - A click refers to the user quickly pressing the releasing the mouse button.

• Click and hold - A click and hold refers to the user pressing and holding down the mouse button.

• Click, hold, drag - A click, hold, drag operation refers to the user pressing and holding down the mouse button and then moving the cursor.

• Context-click - A context-click refers to pressing and holding the control key while simultaneously pressing clicking the mouse button. Context-clicks are usually used to display context menus. Context menus are menus whose contents vary depending on the context in which they are invoked (usually on one or more shapes in the document area or within an user interface component, such as a dialog box). The following image shows a context menu for a rectangle.

Note - Some operations are possible by combining mouse clicks with keyboard modifiers. For example, holding down the Command key,Ctrl key, and Shift key while simultaneously clicking the mouse button activates the Pan Tool.



The LayOut User Interface This section of the documentation covers the LayOut user interface, including menus, toolbars, dialog boxes, and the document area.



Introduction to the LayOut Interface (Microsoft Windows) The LayOut user interface is designed to be simple and easy to use. An image of the LayOut interface follows.

Title Bar The title bar (1) contains the standard Microsoft Windows controls (close, minimize, and maximize) on the right.

Menus The majority of LayOut tools, commands, and settings are available within the menus (2). The menus are: File, Edit, View, Text, Arrange, Tools, Pages, Window, and Help.

Toolbar The Toolbar (3) contains a default set of tools and controls. Controls can be added to the toolbars below the menus using the View > Toolbar > Customize Toolbar menu item.

Undocking a Toolbar Toolbars can be undocked. Click and hold on the toolbar grip (on the left-side of the toolbar) to undock and reposition the toolbar.




Note - You can have multiple documents open at the same time. Each will appear under its own tab below the toolbar.



Measurements Field The Measurements field (5a) is located on the right side of the status bar and displays dimensional information while you draw. You can also enter values into the Measurements field to manipulate entities while they are drawn, such as the number of sides in a polygon, size of a rectangle, the degree of rotation, and so on.


Dialog Box Tray Dialog box trays (6) are used to hold dialog boxes. LayOut comes with one default tray containing all of the dialog boxes in LayOut (under the Window menu). Refer to the Dialog Box Trays topic for further information.




Introduction to the LayOut Interface (Mac OS X) The LayOut user interface is designed to be simple and easy to use. An image of the LayOut interface follows.

Title Bar The title bar (1) contains the standard Mac OS X window controls (close, minimize, and maximize) on the left, and a toolbar collapse/expand button on the right. The name of the currently opened file and page appears in the middle of the title bar.

Menus The majority of LayOut tools, commands, and settings are available within the menus (2). The menus are: LayOut, File, Edit, View, Text, Arrange, Tools, Pages, Window, and Help.

Toolbar The Toolbar (3) contains a default set of tools and controls. Controls can be added to the toolbars below the menus using the View > Customize Toolbar menu item.




Note - You can have multiple documents open at the same time. Each will appear with a separate toolbar, document area, status bar, and Measurements field.



Measurements Field The Measurements Field (5a) is located on the right side of the status bar and displays dimensional information while you draw. You can also enter values into the Measurements field to manipulate entities while they are drawn, such as the number of sides in a polygon, size of a rectangle, the degree of rotation, and so on.





Arrange Menu Entities can be side-by-side, or on top of each other, on a page. The Arrange menu contains items allowing you to arrange entities in the document area.

Bring to Front Use the Bring to Front menu item to move the currently selected entities to the top on a page (in front of all other entities).

Bring Forward Use the Bring Forward menu item to move the currently selected entities closer to the front on a page.

Send Backward Use the Send Backward menu item to move the currently selected entities farther from the front on a page.

Send to Back Use the Send to Back menu item to move the currently selected entities to the back on a page (behind all other entities).

Align The Align sub-menu contains menu items for aligning entities. You must select two or more entities before using these menu items.

Left Select the Left menu item to align all of the currently selected entities to the left-most entity in the selection set.

Right Select the Right menu item to align all of the currently selected entities to the right-most entity in the selection set.

Top Select the Top menu item to align all of the currently selected entities to the top-most entity in the selection set.

Bottom Select the Bottom menu item to align all of the currently selected entities to the bottom-most entity in the selection set.

Vertically Select the Vertically menu item to align all of the currently selected entities in a vertical column.

Horizontally Select the Horizontally menu item to align all of the currently selected entities in a horizontal row.



Space The Space sub-menu contains menu items for spacing entities evenly. You must select three or more entities before using these menu items.

Horizontally Select the Horizontally menu item to horizontally space all of the currently selected entities evenly in the selection box.

Vertically Select the Vertically menu item to vertically space all of the currently selected entities evenly in the selection box.

Center The Center sub-menu contains menu items for centering entities on the page. You must select three or more entities before using these menu items.

Vertically on Page Select the Vertically on Page menu item to center all of the currently selected entities vertically on the page.

Horizontally on Page Select the Horizontally on Page menu item to center all of the currently selected entities horizontally on the page.

Flip The Flip sub-menu contains menu items for flipping entities on the page.

Left to Right Select the Left to Right menu item to flip an entity such that the part of the entity facing to left on the screen now faces to the right.

Top to Bottom Select the Top to Bottom menu item to flip an entity such that the part of the entity facing to up on the screen now faces down.

Object Snap Select the Object Snap menu item to snap entities to other entities in the document area.

Grid Snap Select the Grid Snap menu item to snap entities to grid lines in the document area.



Edit Menu (Mac OS X) The Edit menu contains items allowing you to perform editing functions on LayOut document. These menu items include those for creating and editing groups, layer operations, and standard cut, copy, paste commands.

Undo Use the Undo menu item to undo the last drawing or editing commands performed. LayOut allows you to undo all operations you have performed, one at a time, to the state at which you saved your file. The number of possible sequential Undo commands is limited to 100 steps.

Note - Undo will undo any operation that creates or modifies geometry, but it does not undo changes to your point of view. Use the Previous menu item under the Camera menu to undo a point of view change.

Redo Use the Redo menu item to return the last undo to its previous state.

Cut Use the Cut menu item to remove the selected items from your document and places them in the clipboard. The contents of the clipboard can then be inserted back into any open LayOut document by using the Paste menu item.

Use cut, copy, and paste to move entities between open LayOut windows. Contents of the clipboard will remain on the clipboard until replaced with other content using an additional Cut or a Copy command.

Copy Use the Copy menu item to copy the selected items to the clipboard without deleting the items from the document. The contents of the clipboard can then be inserted back into any open LayOut document by using the Paste menu item.


Paste Use the Paste menu item to copy the contents of the clipboard into the current LayOut document. The pasted items will be pasted at the same position on the page as where they were copied or cut. If the clipboard contains entities from outside of LayOut then they will be pasted into the center of the document.

Use cut, copy, and paste to move items between open LayOut windows. Contents of the clipboard will remain on the clipboard until replaced with other content using an additional Cut or a Copy command.

Copy Style Use the Copy Style menu item to copy the style of the currently selected entity into memory. You must select an entity before you can copy a style.



Paste Style Use the Past Style menu item to apply a style from memory to the currently selected entity. You must copy a style and select an entity before you can paste a style.

Duplicate Use the Duplicate menu item to duplicate the currently selected entities.

Delete Use the Delete menu item to remove the currently selected entities from your document.

Select All Use the Select All menu item to select all selectable entities on the current page of your document. Entities on a locked or invisible layer cannot be selected with the Select All menu item.

Select None Use the Select None menu item to clear the selection set, deselecting any currently selected items in the document.

Move to Current Layer Use the Move to Current Layer menu item to move the currently selected entities to the current layer.

Make Clipping Mask Use the Make Clipping Mask menu item to create a clipping mask from two selected entities. See Creating a Clipping Mask for further information.

Release Clipping Mask Use the Release Clipping Mask menu item to undo the creation of a clipping mask (returning the entities to their original form).

Group The Group menu item creates a group entity from the selected entities.

Ungroup Use the Ungroup menu item to divide the group back into its original entities.

Spelling The Spelling sub-menu contains menu items for checking the spelling in your document.

Special Characters... Use the Special Characters menu item to open the Character Palette allowing you to insert special characters, such as mathematical symbols, letters with accent marks, arrows, and other "dingbats," into your document.



Edit Menu (Microsoft Windows) The Edit menu contains items allowing you to perform editing functions on LayOut document. These menu items include those for creating and editing groups, layer operations, and standard cut, copy, paste commands.

Undo Use the Undo menu item to undo the last drawing or editing commands performed. LayOut allows you to undo all operations you have performed, one at a time, to the state at which you saved your file. The number of possible sequential Undo commands is limited to 100 steps.

Note - Undo will undo any operation that creates or modifies geometry, but it does not undo changes to your point of view. Use the Previous menu item under the Camera menu to undo a point of view change.

Redo Use the Redo menu item to return the last undo to its previous state.

Cut Use the Cut menu item to remove the selected items from your document and places them in the clipboard. The contents of the clipboard can then be inserted back into any open LayOut document by using the Paste menu item.





Use cut, copy, and paste to move items between open LayOut windows. Contents of the clipboard will remain on the clipboard until replaced with other content using an additional Cut or a Copy command.

Copy Style Use the Copy Style menu item to copy the style of the currently selected entity into memory. You must select an entity before you can copy a style.



Paste Style Use the Past Style menu item to apply a style from memory to the currently selected entity. You must copy a style before you can paste a style.

Duplicate Use the Duplicate menu item to duplicate the currently selected entities.


Select All Use the Select All menu item to select all selectable entities on the current page of your document. Entities on a locked or invisible layer cannot be selected with the Select All menu item.

Select None Use the Select None menu item to clear the selection set, deselecting any currently selected items in the document.

Move to Current Layer Use the Move to Current Layer menu item to move the currently selected entities to the current layer.

Make Clipping Mask Use the Make Clipping Mask menu item to create a clipping mask from two selected entities. See Creating a Clipping Mask for further information.

Release Clipping Mask Use the Release Clipping Mask menu item to undo the creation of a clipping mask (returning the entities to their original form).



Preferences... Use to Preferences menu item to open LayOut's application Preferences for setting various global settings for the program.



File Menu (Mac OS X) The File menu contains items that relate to LayOut documents, including commands to create, open, save, print, import, and export documents.

New Use the New menu item to create a blank document area and begin a new LayOut document. LayOut will use the settings in the template file to define the initial document state.

Open Use the Open menu item to launch the Open dialog box, allowing you to open a previously saved LayOut file.

Open Recent Use the Open Recent submenu to quickly access recently opened LayOut documents. You can clear the list of recent files by selecting the Clear menu item from the end of the recent files list.

Close Use the Close menu item to close the active document window. This action is the same as clicking on the close button in your document's title bar. You will be prompted to save your changes if the document in the active document window has not been saved recently.

Save Use the Save menu item to save the currently active LayOut document to your file system. When you close an unsaved document, or attempt to quit LayOut with unsaved open documents, LayOut will prompt you to save your work before continuing.

Save As... Use the Save As menu item to open the Save As dialog box which defaults to the current document's folder. You can use this dialog box to save the current document as a new document. This file can be assigned a new name, new location, and a previous version of LayOut. The new file becomes the current file in the drawing window.

Save As Template... Use the Save As Template menu item to save the current document as a template to your templates directory. The template will contain everything that currently appears in your document, including all entities, pages, and so on. You can find your template by clicking on the Templates Tab when creating a new document.

Save As Scrapbook... Use the Save As Scrapbook menu item to save the current document as a scrapbook to your scrapbooks directory. The scrapbook will contain everything that currently appears in your document, including all entities, pages, and so on. You can find your scrapbook by navigating to it in the Scrapbook dialog box.

Revert to Saved Use the Revert to Saved menu item to revert your current document to its last saved state.



Insert... The Insert menu item is used to launch the Open dialog box, allowing you to insert a model, image, or text file into your document.

Export... Use the Export menu item to export your LayOut document in one of three ways: a PDF, a series of JPG image files, or a series of PNG image files.

Document Setup... Use the Document Setup menu item to configure properties for your entire document. Refer to the Document Setup section for further information.

Page Setup... Use the Page Setup menu item to access the page setup dialog box. This dialog box is used to select and configure printer and page properties to use for printing.

Print... Use the Print menu item to open the standard Print dialog box. This dialog box enables you to print the current document in LayOut's document area to the currently selected printer. Consult the Mac OS X system help for more information about printing.



File Menu (Microsoft Windows) The File menu contains items that relate to LayOut document files, including commands to create, open, save, print, import, and export document files.

New Use the New menu item to create a blank document area and begin a new LayOut document. LayOut will use the settings in the template file to define the initial document state.

Open... Use the Open menu item to launch the Open dialog box, allowing you to open a previously saved LayOut file.

Close Use the Close menu item to close the active document window. This action is the same as clicking on the close button in your drawing's title bar. You will be prompted to save your changes if the document in the active drawing window has not been saved recently.

Save Use the Save menu item to save the currently active LayOut document to your file system. When you close an unsaved document, or attempt to quit LayOut with unsaved open documents, LayOut will prompt you to save your work before continuing.

Save As... Use the Save As menu item to open the Save As dialog box which defaults to the current document's folder. You can use this dialog box to save the current drawing as a new document. This file can be assigned a new name, a new location, and a previous version of LayOut. The new file will become the current file in the drawing window.

Save As Template... Use the Save As Template menu item to save the current document as a template to your templates directory. The template will contain everything that currently appears in your document, including all entities, pages, and so on. You can find your template by clicking on the Templates Tab when creating a new document.

Save As Scrapbook... Use the Save As Scrapbook menu item to save the current document as a scrapbook to your scrapbooks directory. The scrapbook will contain everything that currently appears in your document, including all entities, pages, and so on. You can find your scrapbook by navigating to it in the Scrapbook dialog box.

Revert to Saved Use the Revert to Saved menu item to revert your current document to its last saved state.

Insert... The Insert menu item is used to launch the Open dialog box, allowing you to insert a model, image, or text file into your document.



Export Images Use the Export Images menu item to export your LayOut document as a series of images.

PDF Use the Export PDF menu item to export your LayOut document as a PDF file.

Document Setup Use the Document Setup menu item to configure properties for your entire document. Refer to the Document Setup section for further information.

Page Setup Use the Page Setup menu item to access the page setup dialog box. This dialog box is used to select and configure printer and page properties to use for printing.

Print Preview... Use the Print Preview menu item to preview your document as it will appear on paper (using the page setup settings).

Print... Use the Print menu item to open the standard Print dialog box. This dialog box enables you to print the current document in LayOut's document area to the currently selected printer.

Exit Use the Exit menu item to close all open documents and the LayOut application window. LayOut will notify you to save your documents if they have not been saved since the last change.



Help Menu (Mac OS X) The Help menu contains items relating to receiving help with the product.

Help Center The Help Center menu item invokes your default web browser and connects you to the Help Center. The web site contains LayOut documentation, quick reference card, video tutorials, support forums, additional training information, and access to new software releases.

Tip of the Day The Tip of the Day menu item invokes the Tip of the Day dialog box containing useful information to help you learn LayOut.

Contact Us The Contact Us menu item launches the Google SketchUp Help Center in your default web browser. This web site will prompt you to fill out form to be submitted to Google. This form contains fields for your name, email, and a comment related to one of the following categories: bug report, feature request, comment, training question.



Help Menu (Microsoft Windows) The Help menu contains items relating to receiving help with the product. These items include the LayOut on-line user's guide, a quick reference card, and video tutorials.

Help Center The Help Center menu item invokes your default web browser and connects you to the Help Center. The web site contains LayOut documentation, quick reference card, video tutorials, support forums, additional training information, and access to new software releases.

Tip of the Day The Tip of the Day menu item invokes the Tip of the Day dialog box containing useful information to help you learn LayOut.

Check for Update The Check For Update menu item checks to see if you have the most current version of SketchUp. You will be prompted to download the current version if your version is out-of-date. A Internet connection is required to use this feature.

Contact Us The Contact Us menu item launches the Google SketchUp Help Center in your default web browser. This web site will prompt you to fill out form to be submitted to Google. This form contains fields for your name, email, and a comment related to one of the following categories: bug report, feature request, comment, training question.

About LayOut The About LayOut menu item activates the About LayOut dialog box. This dialog box provides information about your LayOut version.



LayOut Menu (Mac OS X) The LayOut menu contains menu items that control the LayOut application, including items to show and hide LayOut, application preferences, and the LayOut license dialog box.

About LayOut Use the About LayOut menu item to display the About LayOut dialog box, containing the LayOut version number, technical support contact information, and a link to the LayOut web site.

Preferences... Use to Preferences menu item to open LayOut's application Preferences for setting various global settings for the program.

License... The License menu item displays LayOut's licensing dialog box used to enter a new license, determine which licenses are currently in use, and view a list of all available licenses. Directions for entering a new license should accompany any new license.

Check for Update Use the Check for Update menu item to check the Internet for an update to LayOut.

Services The Services menu item provides access to Mac OS X's system-wide services, which might vary on different computers depending on additional functionality of your other applications.

Hide LayOut Use the Hide LayOut menu item to hide LayOut and all of its open document windows, allowing you access to other programs running in Mac OS X. Clicking on the LayOut icon in your Dock returns LayOut to view.

Hide Others Use the Hide Others menu item to hide all visible applications except LayOut allowing you to focus on LayOut alone. Clicking on any icon in the doc will return that application to view.

Show All Use the Show All menu item to unhide all running programs in Mac OS X.

Quit LayOut Use the Quit LayOut menu to quit LayOut and closes all open documents. You will be prompted to save any unsaved work before LayOut exits.



Pages Menu The Pages menu contains items for working with individual pages in your document.

Add Use the Add menu item to add a page to the document.

Duplicate Use the Duplicate menu item to duplicate the current page in the document.

Delete Use the Delete menu item to delete the current page from the document.

Previous Use the Previous menu item to navigate to the previous page in the document.

Next Use the Next menu item to navigate to the next page in the document.



Text Menu (Mac OS X) The Text menu contains items for altering formats in your model.

Bold Use the Bold menu item to apply a bold text style to the currently selected text entities.

Italic Use the Italic menu item to apply an italic text style to the currently selected text entities.

Underline Use the Underline menu item to apply an underline text style to the currently selected text entities.

Align The Align submenu contains menu items to align text horizontally in a text box.

Left Use the Align Left menu item to move the text to the left-most position within its text box.

Center Use the Center menu item to center the currently selected text within its text box.

Justify Use the Justify menu item to align text flush with left and right margins.

Right Use the Align Right menu item to move the text to the right-most position within its text box.

Anchor The Anchor submenu contains menu items to align text vertically in a text box.

Top Use the Top menu item to anchor the currently selected text to the top of its text box.

Center Use the Top menu item to anchor the currently selected text to the center of its text box.

Bottom Use the Top menu item to anchor the currently selected text to the bottom of its text box.

Make Bounded/Unbounded Select a text box and select Make Bounded or Make Unbounded to make the text box bounded or unbounded respectively. A bounded text box is of a specific size (text that flows beyond the edge of the text box is not visible, but identified by an red arrow overflow indicator). An unbounded text box grows to accommodate text.

Bigger Use the Bigger menu item to increase the size of the currently selected text by one point.



Smaller Use the Smaller menu item to decrease the size of the currently selected text by one point.

Kern The Kern submenu contains menu items to adjust the spacing between letters in text.

Use Default Use the Use Default menu item to return text to the default kern setting (no spacing adjustment).

Use None Use the Use None menu item to use no kerning.

Tighten Use the Tighten menu item to move letters closer together.

Loosen Use the Loosen menu item to move letters farther apart.

Ligature The Ligature submenu contains menu items to display two or more letters as a unit.

Use Default Use the Use default menu item to use the most common ligatures, in the current font, to be used.

Use None Use the Use None menu item to use no ligature.

Use All Use the Use ALL menu item to all available ligatures, in the current font, to be used.

Baseline The Baseline submenu contains menu items to adjust the vertical placement of text.

Use Default Use the Use Default menu item to return text to the default baseline setting (no vertical adjustment).

Superscript Use the Subscript menu item to place the currently selected text above the height of other text in the same line.

Subscript Use the Subscript menu item to place the currently selected text below the height of other text in the same line.

Raise Use the Subscript menu item to raise the currently selected text above the height of other text in the same line.

Lower Use the Subscript menu item to lower the currently selected text below the height of other text in the same line.



List Use the List menu item to apply numbering or bullets to your text.

Table Use the Table menu item to create a multi-cell table.

Show/Hide Rulers Use the Show/Hide Rulers menu item to control the visibility of horizontal and vertical rulers.



Text Menu (Microsoft Windows) The Text menu contains items for altering formats in your model.

Bold Use the Bold menu item to apply a bold text style to the currently selected text entities.

Italic Use the Italic menu item to apply an italic text style to the currently selected text entities.

Underline Use the Underline menu item to apply an underline text style to the currently selected text entities.

Strikethrough Use the Strikethrough menu item to apply a line through the middle of your text.

Align The Align submenu contains menu items to adjust the horizontal placement of text.

Left Use the Align Left menu item to move the text to the left-most position within its text box.

Center Use the Align Center menu item to center the currently selected text within its text box.

Right Use the Align Right menu item to move the text to the right-most position within its text box.

Anchor The Anchor submenu contains menu items to align text vertically in a text box.

Top Use the Top menu item to anchor the currently selected text to the top of its text box.

Center Use the Top menu item to anchor the currently selected text to the center of its text box.

Bottom Use the Top menu item to anchor the currently selected text to the bottom of its text box.

Bigger Use the Bigger menu item to increase the size of the currently selected text by one point.

Smaller Use the Smaller menu item to decrease the size of the currently selected text by one point.

Baseline The Baseline submenu contains menu items to adjust the vertical placement of text.



Use Default Use the Use Default menu item to return text to the default baseline setting (no vertical adjustment).

Superscript Use the Subscript menu item to place the currently selected text above the height of other text in the same line.

Subscript Use the Subscript menu item to place the currently selected text below the height of other text in the same line.

Spacing The Spacing submenu contains menu items to adjust the spacing between lines of text.

Single Use the Single menu item to apply single spacing between lines of text.

One and a Half Use the One and a Half menu item to apply single-and-a-half spacing between lines of text.

Double Use the Double menu item to apply double spacing between lines of text.

Custom Select the Custom menu item to display the Text Spacing dialog box. Select the Fixed radio button to enter a fixed number of points to apply between lines of text. Enter the number of points in the before box to identify the number of points to apply before each paragraph of text. Enter the number of points in the after box to identify the number of points to apply after each paragraph of text.

Make Bounded/Unbounded Select a text box and select Make Bounded or Make Unbounded to make the text box bounded or unbounded respectively. A bounded text box is of a specific size (text that flows beyond the edge of the text box is not visible, but identified by an red arrow overflow indicator). An unbounded text box grows to accommodate text.



Tools Menu The Tools menu provides access to all of the tools in LayOut. This menu represents one of three mechanisms for accessing these tools (additional mechanisms are the toolbars and keyboard shortcuts).

Select Use the Select menu item to invoke the Select Tool allowing you to select entities to modify.

Erase Use the Erase menu item to invoke the Erase Tool allowing you to erase entities.

Style Use the Style menu item to invoke the Style Tool allowing you to sample and apply styles.

Split Use the Split menu item to invoke the Split Tool allowing you to split shapes into separate shapes.

Join Use the Join menu item to invoke the Join Tool to join the touching lines of two shapes to create one shape.

Lines The Lines sub-menu contains tools for drawing lines.

Line Use the Line menu item to invoke the Line Tool allowing you to draw straight and curved lines.

Freehand Use the Freehand menu item to invoke the Freehand Tool allowing you to draw freehand sketches.

Arcs The Arcs sub-menu contains tools for drawing arcs.

Arc Use the Radius Angle menu item to create an arc about a center point.

2 Point Arc Use the 2 Point Arc menu item to create an arc from a starting and end point.

3 Point Arc Use the 3 Point Arc menu item to create an arc from three points.

Pie Use the Pie menu item to create a pie. Lines will be drawn from the center point to the start and end of the arc to form a pie-like shape.



Rectangles The Rectangles sub-menu contains tools for drawing Rectangles.

Rectangle Use the Rectangle menu item to invoke the Rectangle Tool allowing you to create standard rectangles with square corners.

Rounded Use the Rounded menu item to invoke the Rounded Rectangle Tool allowing you to created rectangles with rounded corners.

Lozenge Use the Lozenge menu item to invoke the Lozenge Tool allowing you to create rectangles with rounded ends and straight sides.

Bulged Use the Bulged menu item to invoke the Bulged Tool allowing you to create rectangles with square corners and rounded sides.

Circles The Circles sub-menu contains tools for drawing circles and ellipses.

Circle Use the Circle menu item to invoke the Circle Tool allowing you to create circles.

Ellipse Use the Ellipse menu item to invoke the Ellipse Tool allowing you to create ellipses (ovals).

Polygon Use the Polygon menu item to invoke the Polygon Tool allowing you to create multi-sided polygons.

Text Use the Text menu item to invoke the Text Tool allowing you to write text.

Label Use the Label menu item to invoke the Label Tool allowing you to create textual labels.



View Menu (Mac OS X) The View menu contains menu items that alter the display of entities within your document.

Hide/Show Toolbar Use the Hide/Show Toolbar menu item to control the visibility of the toolbar.

Customize Toolbar... Use the Customize Toolbar menu item to launch the Customize Toolbar dialog box allowing you to place command buttons on the toolbar.

Show/Hide Grid Use the Show/Hide Grid menu item to display or hide a grid, to help with the positioning of entities, within the document area.

Pan Use the Pan menu item to invoke a Pan Tool for

Zoom Use the Zoom menu item to invoke the Zoom Tool to zoom in or out from your document.

Zoom In Use the Zoom In menu item to zoom in (closer to the document) by 20 percent .

Zoom Out Use the Zoom Out menu item to zoom out (farther from the document) by 20 percent .

Actual Size Use the Actual Size menu item to return the document area to its actual, 100%, size.

Zoom to Fit Use the Zoom to Fit menu item to adjust the document area to fit inside the entire screen.

Start Presentation Use the Start Presentation menu item to display your document. See Presentations for further information.



View Menu (Microsoft Windows) The View menu contains menu items that alter the display of entities within your document.

Toolbars The Toolbars submenu contains items for displaying and manipulating toolbars.

Main Toolbar Select the Main Toolbar menu item to show/hide the main toolbar.

Customize Select the customize menu item to customize or create a new toolbar. Refer to Customizing a Toolbar or Creating Customized Toolbars for further information.

Restore Default Workplace Select the Restore Default Workplace menu item to restore LayOut to its default user interface settings.

Show/Hide Grid Use the Show/Hide Grid menu item to display or hide a grid, to help with the positioning of entities, within the document area.

Pan Use the Pan menu item to invoke a Pan Tool for

Zoom Use the Zoom menu item to invoke the Zoom Tool to zoom in or out from your document.

Zoom In Use the Zoom In menu item to zoom in (closer to the document) by 20 percent .

Zoom Out Use the Zoom Out menu item to zoom out (farther from the document) by 20 percent .

Actual Size Use the Actual Size menu item to return the document area to its actual, 100%, size.

Zoom to Fit Use the Zoom to Fit menu item to adjust the document area to fit inside the entire screen.

Start Presentation Use the Start Presentation menu item to display your document. See Presentations for further information.



Window Menu (Mac OS X) The Window menu contains document settings and dialog boxes for your documents. Document settings are dialog boxes with settings that affect the document, such as color and style. Managers are dialog boxes that manage a collection of something within your document such as pages, layers, and shapes.

New Window for <Document Name> Use the New Window for <Document Name> menu item to create a new LayOut window for the same document. Creating a new window allows you simultaneously view different parts of a LayOut document, such as different pages.

Zoom Use the Zoom menu item to toggle between shrinking and expanding the document area. This item works similarly to clicking the plus icon at the top of the document window.

Minimize Use the Minimize menu item to minimize the current document window and places it in the dock. Click on the minimized view in the doc to re-activate a minimized window.

Colors Select the Colors menu item to display the Colors dialog box .

Shape Style Select the Shape Style menu item to display the Shape Style dialog box.

SketchUp Model Select the SketchUp Model menu item to display the SketchUp Model dialog box.

Show/Hide Fonts Select the Show/Hide Fonts menu item to display the Fonts dialog box.

Pages Select the Pages menu item to display the Pages dialog box.

Layers Select the Layers menu item to display the Layers dialog box.

Scrapbooks Select the Scrapbooks menu item to display the Scrapbooks dialog box.

Instructor Select the Instructor menu item to display the Instructor dialog box. The Instructor dialog box provides help with the currently active tool.



Arrange Panels Select the Arrange Panels menu item to arrange all of the panels into a default state (all open, some minimized), and in a default location (on the right side of the main monitor).

Bring All To Front Use the Bring All To Front menu item to bring all of your open LayOut documents to the foreground of Mac OS X. All open document windows and active panels and palettes are brought to front.

(Open Documents) The (Open Documents) menu items represent a dynamically generated list of all your open LayOut files. Select the file you want to activate from this menu to switch between files.



Window Menu (Microsoft Windows) The Window menu contains document settings and dialog boxes for your documents. Document settings are dialog boxes with settings that affect the document, such as color and style. Managers are dialog boxes that manage a collection of something within your document such as pages, layers, and shapes.

Show/Hide Tray Select the Show/Hide Tray menu item to display or hide the default tray.

Colors Select the Colors menu item to display the Colors dialog box.

Shape Style Select the Shape Style menu item to display the Shape Style dialog box.

SketchUp Model Select the SketchUp Model menu item to display the SketchUp Model dialog box.

Text Style Select the Text Style menu item to display the Text Style dialog box.

Pages Select the Pages menu item to display the Pages dialog box.

Layers Select the Layers menu item to display the Layers dialog box.

Scrapbooks Select the Scrapbooks menu item to display the Scrapbooks dialog box.

Instructor Select the Instructor menu item to display the Instructor dialog box. The Instructor dialog box provides help with the currently active tool.

Note - Uncheck the checkbox next to any of the previously mentioned menu items to remove the corresponding dialog box from the default dialog box tray.



New Tray Select the New Tray menu item to create another dialog box tray on the right-side of the document area. Use this option only if you want different trays containing different combinations of settings and dialog box dialog boxes.

Note - The contents of the Window menu change when you add a new dialog box tray. The Colors, Shape Style, SketchUp Model, Text Style, Pages, Layers, Scrapbooks, and Instructor menu items become sub-menu items under a new Default Tray sub-menu. There will also be a new sub-menu representing the new tray that you added.

New Window For <Document Name> Select the New Window For <Document Name> menu item to create a new document using the current template.

(Open Documents) The (Open Documents) menu items represent a dynamically generated list of all your open LayOut files . Select the file you want to activate from this menu to switch between files.



Toolbars (Microsoft Windows) LayOut's toolbar contains shortcuts to tools and operations to help you create your document.



The Default Toolbar (Microsoft Windows) The Default Toolbar contains all of the tools and menu items necessary for a new user to become acquainted with LayOut. These tools and menu items are the Select Tool, Line Tools, Arc Tools, Rectangle Tools, Circle Tools, Polygon Tool, Text Tool, Label Tool, Eraser Tool, Style Tool, Split Tool, Join Tool, Start Presentation button, Add Page button, Previous button, and Next button.



The Customize Dialog Box (Microsoft Windows) The Customize dialog box contains options for creating and customizing toolbars (View > Toolbars > Customize).

Toolbars Tab The Toolbars tab contains controls for activating, creating, renaming, deleting, and resetting toolbars.

Toolbars The toolbars list contains all toolbars in LayOut. Check the checkbox to show the corresponding toolbar. Uncheck the checkbox to hide the corresponding toolbar.

New See Creating Customized Toolbars for further information.

Rename Click the Rename button to rename the currently selected toolbar. Enter a new toolbar name in the Toolbar name field and click the OK button.

Delete Click the Delete button to delete the currently selected toolbar.

Reset Click the Reset button to remove all of the customizations made to the currently selected toolbar.

Commands Tab The Commands tab contains tools and commands that can be added to your toolbar. Refer to Adding a Tool or Command to a Toolbar for further information.

Options Tab The Options tab contains various options for personalizing your toolbars.

Always Show Full Menus Check the Always show full menus checkbox to display all menu items when you click on a menu heading.

Show Full Menus After a Short Delay Check the Show full menus after a short delay checkbox to display all menu items after a short delay.

Large Icons on Menus Check the Large Icons on Menus to increase the size of the icons on the menu.

Large Icons on Toolbars Check the Large Icons on Toolbars to increase the size of the icons on the toolbars.

List Font Names in their Font Check the List font names in their font checkbox to

Show ScreenTips on Toolbars Check the Show ScreenTips on Toolbars to display a tool tip when the cursor is over a toolbar icon.



Show Shortcut Keys in ScreenTips Check the Show Shortcut Keys in ScreenTips to display the shortcut key as part of a tool tip.

Floating Toolbar Fade Delay Click on up or down arrows to increase or decrease the toolbar fade delay accordingly. The fade delay applies to toolbar that has been undocked or moved away from its default location in LayOut.

Menu Animations Select a menu animation to apply an animation effect to menus when you select a menu.



Toolbars (Mac OS X) LayOut's toolbar contains shortcuts to tools and operations to help you create your document.



The Default Toolbar (Mac OS X) The Default Toolbar contains all of the tools and menu items necessary for a new user to become acquainted with LayOut. These tools and menu items are the Select Tool, Line Tools, Arc Tools, Rectangle Tools, Circle Tools, Polygon Tool, Text Tool, Label Tool, Eraser Tool, Style Tool, Split Tool, Join Tool, Start Presentation button, Add Page button, Previous button, and Next button.



The Customize Dialog Box (Mac OS X) The Customize dialog box contains all of the tools and commands that can be placed on the toolbar.

Show Use the Show drop-down list to identify how you want tools and commands to appear in the toolbar.

Use Small Size Check the Use Small Size checkbox to change the size of the icons in the toolbar.



Context Menus Menu items also appear in special context menus which are menus whose contents vary depending on the context in which they are invoked (usually on one or more entities in the document area). The following image shows a context menu for a Rectangle entity.



Dialog Box Trays (Microsoft Windows) Dialog box trays are used to hold settings and dialog box dialog boxes. LayOut comes with one default tray containing all of the settings and dialog boxes in LayOut (under the Window menu).



Dialog Boxes (Mac OS X) Dialog boxes in LayOut are modeless in that they do not limit your interaction with the rest of the application by requiring user input before continuing with your work. Instead, these dialog boxes can be displayed while you work and allow you to make dynamic settings changes to your model while you are sketching. Dialog boxes in LayOut can be snapped to other dialog boxes on your screen, resized, and minimized (with some exceptions).



Inference LayOut features a sophisticated geometric analysis engine, called the inference engine, allowing you to easily align entities on the document area. This engine also helps you draw very accurately by inferring points from other points as you draw while also providing you with visual cues.



Inference Cues The inference engine uses tool tip cues, appearing automatically while working on the model, to identify significant points in your document. These cues make complex inference combinations clear to you as you draw

Additionally, the inference engine uses specific colors to indicate its type of inference.



Inference Types There are two main types of inferences: point and linear. LayOut often combines inferences together to form a complex inference.

Point Inference A point inference is based on an exact point of your cursor in your model.

On Point The green circular "On Point" inference identifies the end of an entity.

Midpoint The cyan circular "Midpoint" inference indicates the middle point on a line.

Intersection The "Intersection" inference (a small red "X") indicates an exact point where a line, arc, or curve, intersects another line, arc, or curve.

On Shape The blue diamond "On Shape" inference identifies a point which lies on a shape.

On Line The red square "On Line" inference identifies a point that lies along a line.

Linear Inference A linear inference snaps along a line or direction in space. A linear inference displays a temporary dotted line while you draw.

On Axis The on axis inference indicates an alignment to one of the drawing axes. The dotted line is drawn in the color associated with the corresponding axis (red or green).

From Point The from point inference indicates an alignment from a point along the drawing axes directions. The dotted line is drawn in the color associated with the corresponding axis (red or green).

Perpendicular The perpendicular dotted magenta line indicates perpendicular alignment to a line.

Parallel The parallel dotted magenta line indicates a parallel alignment to a line.



Getting Started Dialog Box LayOut displays a Getting Started dialog box after launch. This dialog box displays two tabs, by default (New and Recent). A third tab (Recovered) will display when there is a document that was not manually saved after you exit LayOut. The following options are available from all tabs:

Open an Existing File Button Click the "Open an Existing File" button to select a file from the file system. The Open LayOut File dialog box is displayed. Find and select the existing file. Click the "Open" button to open the file.

Open Button Click the "Open" button to open the currently selected template.

Cancel Button Click the "Cancel" button to exit the Getting Started dialog box.

Note - Use the File > New From Template menu item to launch the Getting Started dialog box and pick a new template. This menu item is only available after you have selected a template. Alternatively, select the "Create a new document" and "Open Getting Started" radio buttons (Microsoft Windows) or "Prompt for template" (Mac OS X) radio button in the Startup tab of the LayOut Preferences dialog box to display the getting started dialog box on startup.

New Tab The New tab contains options for starting a new document.

Templates List The templates list contains default and user-saved templates. Click on the expand button (plus sign on Microsoft Windows or right arrow on Mac OS X) to expand a list of templates. Click on the collapse button (minus button on Microsoft Windows or a down arrow on Mac OS X) to collapse a list of templates. Click on any template group to view thumbnails for each template in the template thumbnail viewer (to the right of the templates list).

Template Thumbnail Viewer The template thumbnail viewer contains thumbnail images of each template. Click on a thumbnail of a template to use that template for your document.

Always Use Selected Template Checkbox Check the "Always Use Selected Template" checkbox to launch LayOut with the currently selected template every time you start LayOut. Selecting File > New will also start a new file with the selected template.

Recent Tab The Recent tab contains thumbnails of recently saved documents. Click on a document and then click on "Open" to open the document in LayOut.



Recovered Tab The Recovered tab contains thumbnails of recently recovered documents. Click on a document and then click on "Open" to open the document in LayOut.

Delete Button Select a document and click the "Delete" button to remove the recovered document.



Tools This section of the user's guide covers the tools within LayOut. Tools in this section are covered in the order they appear within the Tools menu.



Select Tool The Select Tool is used to select and modify entities. The entities that are included in a selection are referred to as the selection set.

Once entities are selected, they can be moved, resized, rotated or have their path's (lines) edited using the Select Tool. Activate the Select Tool from either the toolbar or the Tools menu.



Erase Tool Use the Erase Tool to erase entities. Activate the Erase Tool from either the toolbar or the Tools menu.



Style Tool The Style Tool is used to sample and apply styles to entities. Activate the Style Tool from either the toolbar or the Tools menu.



Entity Styles Compatibility Fill and Stroke combinations of any shape, image, text box, or model can be applied to another shape, image, text box, or model. The fill of a model is applied on top of the model's background. The stroke is applied to a shapes edge or image, text box's or model's bounding box. You cannot sample and apply style properties independently.



Split Tool Use the Split Tool to create a split between two overlapping shapes at the point where they overlap (or to split individual lines). Use the Split Tool and Join Tool to create unique complex shapes. Activate the Split Tool from either the toolbar or the Tools menu.

Note - See Creating Complex Shapes for further information on using the Split and Join tools.



Join Tool Use the Join Tool to join shapes where lines share a vertex. Use the Split Tool and Join Tool to create unique complex shapes. Activate the Join Tool from either the toolbar or the Tools menu.

Note - See Creating Complex Shapes for further information on using the Split and Join tools.



Line Tool Use the Line Tool to draw straight lines and curves. Activate the Line Tools from either the toolbar or the Tools menu.



Freehand Tool The Freehand Tool allows you to draw irregular shapes. Activate the Freehand Tool from either the toolbar or the Tools menu.



Arc Tools There are four Arc Tools in LayOut. Each Arc Tool is used to create Arc entities using a different series of mouse movements. Activate the Arc Tools from either the toolbar or the Tools menu.



Rectangle Tools There are four Rectangle Tools in LayOut. Each Rectangle Tool is used to create a different type of rectangle. Each tool works in exactly alike. Activate the Rectangle Tools from either the toolbar or the Tools menu.



Circle Tools There are two circle tools in LayOut: one for creating ellipses and one for creating circles. Activate the circle tools from the toolbar or the Tools menu.



Polygon Tool Use the Polygon Tool to draw regular polygon entities. Activate the Polygon Tools from either the toolbar or the Tools menu.



Text Tool The Text Tool is used to insert text into your document. Activate the Text Tool from either the toolbar or the Tools menu.



Text Settings Text is created using the settings found in the Text Style dialog box (Microsoft Windows) or the Font dialog box (Mac OS X).



Bounded and Unbounded Text Box Alignment and Anchoring Different starting anchor and alignment settings are applied depending on the direction used to create an bounded text box. For example, dragging from the bottom-left to the top-right creates a bounded text box whose text is anchored to the bottom and left aligned. Following is a list of the directions used to create an unbounded text box and their corresponding alignment and anchor settings.

• Single mouse click (Unbounded Text Box) yields top-anchored, left-aligned text.

• Drag top/left to bottom/right yields top-anchored, left aligned text.

• Drag top/right to bottom/left yields top-anchored, right-aligned text.

• Drag bottom/left to top/right yields bottom-anchored, left-aligned text.

• Drag bottom/right to top/left yields bottom-anchored, right-aligned text.

• Drag from center using Ctrl (Microsoft Windows) or Option on (Mac OS X) yields center-anchored, center-aligned text.



Label Tool The Label Tool is used to insert a leader, an arrow pointing to a specific spot in your a document, with text into your document. Activate the Label Tool from either the toolbar or the Tools menu.



Text Settings Label text is created using the settings found in the Text Style dialog box.



View Tools This section of the user's guide covers the view tools within LayOut. View tools are those tools used to view the document area. Tools in this section are covered in the order they appear within the View menu.



Pan Tool Use the Pan Tool to move your view vertically and horizontally. Activate the Pan Tool from either the toolbar or the View menu.



Zoom Tool Use the Zoom Tool to zoom in or out on the document. Activate the Zoom Tool from either the toolbar or the View menu.



Settings Dialog Boxes This section of the user's guide covers the various settings dialog boxes within LayOut.

Each dialog box in this section is covered in the order they appear within the Window menu (for the exception of the Document Setup dialog box, which is in the File menu, and Preferences, which is in the Edit (Microsoft Windows) or LayOut (Mac OS X ) menu).



Document Setup Dialog Box The Document Setup dialog box is used to configure a number of different settings specific to your current LayOut document. Activate the Document Setup dialog box from the File menu.

The Document Setup dialog box contains several panels, including the Paper panel for setting paper size. Every setting made within the document setup dialog box can be saved with a template.



General Use the General panel of the Document Setup dialog box to identify the author and write a description for your document. Type the author's name in the Author field. Type the description in the Description field.



Grid Use the Grid panel of the Document Setup dialog box to display and manipulate the grid in the document area.

Show Grid (Microsoft Windows) Check the Show Grid checkbox to display the grid. Uncheck the Show Grid checkbox to hide the grid.

Major Grid Check the Major Grid checkbox to show thickened (major) lines at a specific interval in the grid. Type the interval for thickened lines in the text box. Finally, click on the color well to change the color using the Colors dialog box.

Minor Grid Check the Minor Grid checkbox to show thin (minor) lines at a specific interval in the grid. Type the interval for thin lines in the text box. Finally, click on the color well to change the color using the Colors dialog box.

Clip Grid to Page Margins Check the Clip Grid to Page Margins checkbox to clip the grid at the margins (margins appear without grid).

Print Grid Check the Print Grid checkbox to print the grid when printing your document. Uncheck the Print Grid checkbox to hide the grid during printing.



Paper (Microsoft Windows) Use the Paper panel of the Document Setup dialog box to configure the document area (size and margins). The document area corresponds directly to the size of paper you will print on.

Paper Use the Paper portion of the Paper panel to configure the size of the document area.

Paper Drop-Down List Select a standard document area size (paper size) from the Paper drop-down list.

Portrait/Landscape Check the Portrait or Landscape radio buttons to change the orientation of the document area.

Width Type the desired width of the document area in the Width field.

Height Type the desired height of the document area in the Height field.

Color Click on the Color well to activate the Colors dialog box. Click on a new color in the Colors dialog to change the color of the document area background.

Print Paper Color Check the Print Paper Color checkbox to print the color of the document area when printing your document. This setting is also used when exporting to PDF or Images. If you want to export a transparent background in an image or PDF, uncheck the Print Paper Color checkbox. If you want to export an opaque background in an image or PDF check the Print Paper Color checkbox.

Margins Use the Margins portion of the Paper panel to configure the margins of the document area. Click the checkbox next to the Margins title to toggle showing and hiding margins.

Left Type the desired left margin size for the document area in the Left field.

Right Type the desired right margin size for the document area in the Right field.

Top Type the desired top margin size for the document area in the Top field.

Bottom Type the desired bottom margin size for the document area in the Bottom field.

Color Click on the Color well to activate the Colors dialog box. Click on a new color in the Colors dialog to change the color of the margin lines.

Print Margin Lines Check the Print Margin Lines checkbox to print margin lines.



Rendering Use the Rendering potion of the Paper panel to configure the resolution of your SketchUp models and images in the document area and on the printed page.

Edit Quality Select the Edit Quality to change the on-screen resolution of your SketchUp models and images. The High setting will increase the resolution of your models and images, but slow performance of LayOut.

Output Quality Select the Output Quality to change the print and export resolution of your SketchUp models and images. The High setting will increase the resolution of your models but increase the document file size.

Note - Rendering only applies to raster or pixel-based models and images.

Tip - Set your Edit Quality to Low while working on the document to improve performance with large paper sizes. Change your Edit Quality to Medium or High to preview the document before printing or exporting.



Paper (Mac OS X) Use the Paper panel of the Document Setup dialog box to configure the document area (size and margins). The document area corresponds directly to the size of paper you will print on.

Paper Use the Paper portion of the Paper panel to configure the size of the document area.

Width Type the desired width of the document area in the Width field.

Height Type the desired height of the document area in the Height field.

Color Click on the Color well to activate the Colors dialog box. Click on a new color in the Colors dialog to change the color of the document area background.

Print Paper Color Check the Print Paper Color checkbox to print the color of the document area when printing your document. This setting is also used when exporting to PDF or Images. If you want to export a transparent background in an image or PDF, uncheck the Print Paper Color checkbox. If you want to export an opaque background in an image or PDF check the Print Paper Color checkbox.

Margins Use the Margins portion of the Paper panel to configure the margins of the document area. Click the checkbox next to the Margins title to toggle showing and hiding margins.

Left Type the desired left margin size for the document area in Left field.

Right Type the desired right margin size for the document area in the Right field.

Top Type the desired top margin size for the document area in the Top field.

Bottom Type the desired bottom margin size for the document area in the Bottom field.

Color Click on the Color well to activate the Colors dialog box. Click on a new color in the Colors dialog to change the color of the margin lines.

Print Margin Lines Check the Print Margin Lines checkbox to print margin lines.

Rendering Use the Rendering potion of the Paper panel to configure the resolution of your SketchUp models in the document area and on the printed page.



Edit Quality Select the Edit Quality to change the on-screen resolution of your SketchUp models and images. The High setting will increase the resolution of your models and images, but slow performance of LayOut.

Output Quality Select the Output Quality to change the print and export resolution of your SketchUp models and images. The High setting will increase the resolution of your models but increase the document file size.

Note - Rendering only applies to raster or pixel-based models and images.

Tip - Set your Edit Quality to Low while working on the document to improve performance with large paper sizes. Change your Edit Quality to Medium or High to preview the document before printing or exporting.



References Use the References panel of the Document Setup dialog box to view and configure all referenced files in your LayOut document.

Check References When Loading This Document Check the Check references when loading this document checkbox to notify you when inserted files (such as SketchUp models or Images) have been updated outside of LayOut.

Reference Table The reference table contains the path and file name, status, and insertion date for each referenced file. The Status refers to whether the file is "Current" or "Out of Date" meaning that the file has been edited elsewhere and can be updated in LayOut.

Reference Buttons Use the reference buttons to manipulate connections between files embedded in your LayOut file (images, SketchUp files, and so on) and their corresponding files in the file system.

Update Select a referenced file and click on the Update button to update a file whose status is "Out of Date." Update will make the file in the LayOut document reflect the current state of the file on your file system.

Relink Select a referenced file and click on the Relink button to establish a new link to a file on your file system. Relink can be used to change images or SketchUp models from old versions to new versions with different names.

Unlink Select a referenced file and click on the Unlink button to unlink a referenced file from the file on the file system. This operation unlinks the copy of the reference file (stored in your LayOut file) from the original file on the file system. Therefore, changes to the original file on the file system will not be reflected in an unlinked file in your LayOut file. You can Relink the referenced to a file on your file system to re-establish a link.

Edit Select a referenced file and click on the Edit button to edit the referenced file in its native application. For example, if you select a referenced SketchUp file and click on Edit, the referenced file appears in SketchUp for editing.

Go To (Mac OS X) Select a file in the reference table and click the Go To button to open the folder with the file.

Purge Click on Purge to remove any entries in the Reference Table that no longer appear in the document area (because you manually erased the image, SketchUp file, and so on, from the document area). Purge will also remove unused Style files that have been applied to inserted SketchUp files in LayOut.



Units Use the Units panel of the Document Setup dialog box to configure the units used for lengths in LayOut. The units format applies to Measurements and the Paper size settings.

Format Select Fractional or Decimal from the first Format drop-down list. Select the unit type from the second Format drop-down list.

Precision Click on the Precision drop-down menu to set the precision for displaying units. Fractional unit precision can be set from 1" to 1/64". Decimal unit precision can be set in numbers of decimal places beyond zero for any of these units. LayOut users working in Metric should use the decimal unit setting.



Application Preferences Dialog Box (Microsoft Windows) LayOut's application preferences are used to set various global behaviors for LayOut. Activate the Preferences from the View menu.

Applications Use the Applications panel of the LayOut Preferences dialog box to configure the applications used to edit images and text files.

Choose Button (Default Image Editor) Click on the "Choose" button to select an application used for editing image files.

Choose Button (Default Text Editor) Click on the "Choose" button to select an application used for editing text files.

Backup Use the Backup panel of the LayOut Preferences dialog box to configure backup preferences.

Create Backup File When Saving Checkbox Check the "Create backup file when saving" checkbox to automatically create a backup file whenever you save a document. The backup file is the previously saved version of the file. This file will be saved to the same folder as the document file. The backup file will be named <filename>.laybak where <filename> is the name of your LayOut file.

Auto-save Every Checkbox Check the "Auto-save every" checkbox to automatically save changes to your document into a temporary file at specific time intervals. This temporary file is available on the file system should LayOut abnormally exit. Type the auto-save interval, in minutes, into the minutes field.

Folders Use the Folders panel of the LayOut Preferences dialog box to identify locations for templates and scrapbooks.

Add Button Click on the "Add" button to add a new path to the folders list. The Browse for Folder dialog box appears. Navigate to the folder you want to add, or click the Make New Folder button to add a new folder.

Remove Button Select a folder and click the "Remove" button to remove the folder from the folders list.

Restore Defaults Button Click on the "Restore Defaults" button to restore all template and scrapbook locations to their default locations.

Performance Use the Performance panel of the LayOut Preferences dialog box to indicate whether you want LayOut to automatically re-render SketchUp models that have had their settings changed from LayOut.



Auto-Update Checkbox Check the "Auto-Update" checkbox if you want all dirty SketchUp models in LayOut to automatically be re-rendered when changes are applied. A dirty SketchUp model is a model whose properties have been changed in LayOut, but has not been rerendered to reflect the changes. Dirty models are indicated by a yellow icon with an exclamation point.

A document with several large SketchUp models could take several minutes or even hours to re-render. Therefore, this option is recommended for documents with few small SketchUp models.

Presentation Use the Presentation panel of the LayOut Preferences dialog box to identify the monitor used for documents.

Same Monitor as Window Radio Button Use the Same monitor as window setting to display a document on the same monitor containing the majority of your document window.

Primary Monitor Radio Button Use the Primary monitor setting to display a document on the computer's primary display. The primary display on Microsoft Windows is the display designated in the display settings as the "primary monitor."

Secondary Monitor Radio Button Use the Secondary monitor setting to display a document on the computer's secondary display. The secondary display on Microsoft Windows is the display that is not designated in the display settings as the "primary monitor."

Scales Use the Scales panel of the LayOut Preferences dialog box to create scales that apply to SketchUp models in your document area.

Available Model Scales List The Scales panel contains various scales that can be applied to SketchUp models that appear in your document. Select the scale you want to use in the SketchUp Model dialog box.

Show All Scales By Default Checkbox Check the "Show All Scales By Default" checkbox to show all scales in the SketchUp Model dialog box. Uncheck the "Show All Scales By Default" checkbox to filter the scales based on the LayOut document's units setting. Documents using metric units will only show metric scales and documents that use imperial units will only show imperial scales.

Add Custom Scale Button Type the name of your scale in the "Scale Text" field, select a scale size in paper, and a size in model and Click the "Add Custom Scale" button to add a custom scale.

Delete Scale Button Use the "Delete Scale" button to delete the selected scale from the available model scales.

Shortcuts Use the Shortcuts panel of the LayOut Preferences dialog box to configure keyboard



shortcuts for menu items in LayOut.

Filter Field Type a word in the Filter box to quickly list only those menu items with the word.

Commands/Shortcut List The Commands/Shortcut list contains a list of commands and their associated keyboard shortcut.

Add Button Select a command from the Command/Shortcut List, type a key sequence in the field, and click the "Add" button to add the shortcut for the command.

Delete Button Select a command from the Command/Shortcut List and click the "Delete" button to delete that shortcut.

Startup Use the Startup panel of the LayOut Preferences dialog box to identify actions LayOut should perform when started.

Startup The Startup section of the Startup panel contains three options for how to start LayOut.

Create a new document: Click the "Create a new document" radio button to create a new document when starting LayOut.

Re-open files from last session: Click the "Re-open files from last session" radio button to open the files that were open when last closing LayOut.

Don't open anything: Click the "Don't open anything" radio button to instruct LayOut to not open any files on startup.

New The New section of the startup panel contains three options for creating new documents.

Open "Getting Started:" Select the Open "Getting Started" radio button if you want the Getting Started dialog box to open when you create a new document. The "Getting Started" dialog box allows you to create a new document from a template, open a recent file, open an existing file, or open a recovered file.

Create a blank new document: Select the "Create a blank new document" radio button if you want a new, blank, document to be created when you create a new document.

Use default template to create a new document: Select the "Use default template to create a new document" radio button if you want a template to be opened when you create a new document. Click on the "Choose" button to display the Getting Started dialog box and choose a template to be used.

Note - The options under the New section apply to creating new documents using options under the File menu and opening new documents when launching LayOut.



Application Preferences Dialog Box (Mac OS X) LayOut's application preferences are used to set various global behaviors for LayOut. Activate the Preferences from the LayOut menu.

Applications Use the Applications panel of the LayOut Preferences dialog box to configure the applications used to edit images and text files.

Application for Editing Image Files Click on the "Choose" button to select an application used for editing image files.

Application for Editing Text Files Click on the "Choose" button to select an application used for editing text files.

Backup Use the Backup panel of the LayOut Preferences dialog box to configure backup preferences.

Create Backup Checkbox Check the Create Backup checkbox to automatically create a backup file whenever you save a document. The backup file is the previously saved version of the file. This file will be saved to the same folder as the document file. The backup file will be named <filename>~.layout where <filename> is the name of your LayOut file.

Auto-save Checkbox Check the Auto-save checkbox to automatically save changes to your document into a temporary file at specific time intervals. This temporary file is available on the file system should LayOut abnormally exit. Type the auto-save interval, in minutes, into the minutes field.

Folders Use the Folders panel of the LayOut Preferences dialog box to identify locations for templates and scrapbooks.

Add Button Click on the Add button to add a new path and folder to the folders list. The Browse for Folder dialog box appears. Navigate to the folder you want to add, or click the Make New Folder button to add a new folder.

Remove Button Select a folder and click the Remove button to remove the folder from the folders list.

Restore Defaults Button Click on the Restore Defaults button to restore all template and scrapbook locations to their default locations.

Performance Use the Performance panel of the LayOut Preferences dialog box to indicate whether you want LayOut to automatically re-render SketchUp models that have had their settings changed from LayOut.



Auto-Update Checkbox Check the "Auto-Update" checkbox if you want all dirty SketchUp models in LayOut to automatically be re-rendered when changes are applied. A dirty SketchUp model is a model whose properties have been changed in LayOut, but has not been rerendered to reflect the changes. Dirty models are indicated by a yellow icon with an exclamation point.

A document with several large SketchUp models could take several minutes or even hours to re-render. Therefore, this option is recommended for documents with few small SketchUp models.

Presentation Use the Presentation panel of the LayOut Preferences dialog box to identify the monitor used for documents.

Same Monitor as Window Radio Button Use the Same monitor as window setting to display a document on the same monitor containing the majority of your document window.

Primary Monitor Radio Button Use the Primary monitor setting to display a document on the computer's primary display.

Secondary Monitor Radio Button Use the Secondary monitor setting to display a document on the computer's secondary display. The secondary display in Mac OS X is the display without the menu bar across the top.

Scales Use the Scales panel of the LayOut Preferences dialog box to create scales that apply to SketchUp models in your document area.

Add Scale Button Use the Add Scale button to add a scale to the available SketchUp model scales.

Delete Scale Button Use the Delete Scale button to delete a scale from the available SketchUp model scales.

Restore Defaults Button Click on the Restore Defaults button to restore default scales.

Shortcuts Use the Shortcuts panel of the LayOut Preferences dialog box to configure keyboard shortcuts for menu items in LayOut.

Filter Field Type a word in the Filter field to quickly list only those menu items with the word.

Functions/Key The Functions/Key contains a list of functions and their associated keyboard shortcut.



Startup Use the Startup panel of the LayOut Preferences dialog box to identify actions LayOut should perform when started.

Prompt for Template Radio Button Check the Prompt for template radio button if you want LayOut to prompt you to choose a template each time you run LayOut.

Blank Document Click the Blank Document to start LayOut without a template.

Use Selected Template Radio Button Check the Use selected template radio button to select a specific template to use every time you run the LayOut.

Cascade Main Windows Checkbox Click on the Cascade main windows checkbox to open new document area windows offset from each other.

Save Current Window Size Button Click on the Save current window size button to save the current document window size.



Colors (Microsoft Windows) The Colors dialog box contains a variety of different color controls that combine to give you an incredibly versatile tool for experimenting with color in your LayOut documents

Activate the Colors dialog box by clicking on any color well in the user interface (such as in the Shape Style dialog box), or by selecting "Window > Colors."



Colors Dialog Box (Microsoft Windows) The Colors dialog box contains controls for experimenting with color in your LayOut documents.

Screen Picker Tool The Screen Picker Tool, represented as an eye dropper, is used to choose a color from anywhere currently visible on your screen.

Active Color Well The active color well is next to the Screen Picker Tool and contains the current color selection. You can drag and drop colors from this color well onto any shapes in your document (to apply the color as a fill) or into any other visible color well.

The contents of the active color well are maintained as you switch between color pickers, allowing you to use different pickers to create your colors.

Color Picker Tabs Click on a color picker tab to navigate to a specific color picker. Refer to Color Pickers for further information on each color picker.

Color Picker Controls The color picker controls, below the color picker tabs, differ for each Color Picker. See the Color Pickers section of this topic for additional information.



User Palette Use the user palette, below the color pickers, to store any of 32 user-defined colors. To use the user palette:

• Drag and drop a color from any visible color well, including the active color well, and drop it over a user pallet well to add a color to the user palette.

• Drag and drop a new color in the place of another color well to replace a well in the user palette.

• Drag and drop an empty well onto a color to remove a color from the user palette.

Note - The colors in the User Palette are saved in LayOut and can be used between multiple work sessions.



Color Pickers (Microsoft Windows) LayOut contains six color pickers used to select color.

Color Wheel Picker The color wheel arranges color hue radially around the wheel, with the highest saturation at the outer edge of the wheel. To change the brightness of the color, slide the value slider to the right of the wheel up or down.

To use the Color Wheel picker, select the color you want by clicking your mouse over that color in the wheel. You can also click and drag the cursor around the Color Wheel to quickly browse through many different colors which will dynamically appear in the Active Color Well.

Use the opacity slider (below the Color Wheel picker) to adjust the opacity level. Type an opacity value in the text field to the right of the slider if you prefer to set opacity levels more precisely.

RGB (Red, Green & Blue) Picker The RGB picker allows you to select colors from the RGB color range. RGB colors are traditionally used when modeling color on a computer screen.

Drag the sliders left and right for each of the component colors (red, green and blue) to create the color that you want.

You can type in exact numerical values for red, green or blue in the value boxes to the right of the sliders if you want to precisely match a color that you have specified elsewhere.

Use the opacity slider (below the red, green, and blue sliders) to adjust the opacity level. Type an opacity value in the text field to the right of the slider if you prefer to set opacity levels more precisely.

HSB (Hue, Saturation, and Brightness) Picker The HSB picker allows you to pick colors from the HSB color range. HSB often gives you a more intuitive color model for selecting desaturated colors.

Adjust the sliders for hue, saturation and brightness until you see the color you want in the active color well.

Sometimes it is easier to mix desaturated colors using the HSB picker in conjunction with one of the other color pickers. Switch to another color picker to make your rough color selection, then switch back to the HSB picker to fine tune your color.

Use the opacity slider (below the hue, saturation, and brightness slider) to adjust the opacity level. Type an opacity value in the text field to the right of the slider if you prefer to set opacity levels more precisely.

Grays Adjust the Gray slider until you see the color you want in the active color well. Alternatively, you can select a color by typing a percent gray value directly in the text box to the right of the slider.

Use the opacity slider (below the gray slider) to adjust the opacity level. Type an opacity value in the text field to the right of the slider if you prefer to set opacity levels more precisely.



Image Picker The Image picker allows you to load an image file into the color picker and select colors from anywhere in that image. The Image Palettes picker has a spectrum image loaded as a default.

Use the opacity slider (below the image in the Image picker) to adjust the opacity level. Type an opacity value in the text field to the right of the slider if you prefer to set opacity levels more precisely.

List Picker The List picker contains a list of common colors. Click on a color to place it in the active color well. Use the opacity slider (below the color list) to adjust the opacity level. Type an opacity value in the text field to the right of the slider if you prefer to set opacity levels more precisely.



The Colors Dialog Box (Mac OS X) The Colors dialog box contains controls for experimenting with color in your LayOut documents.

Toolbar The toolbar at the top of the Colors dialog box contains icons representing each of the available color pickers. Switch between these color pickers by clicking one on of these icons.

Active Color Well The active color well, below the toolbar, contains the current color selection. You can drag and drop colors from this color well onto any shapes in your document (to apply the color as a fill) or into any other visible color well.

The contents of the active color well are maintained as you switch between color pickers, allowing you to use different pickers to create your colors.

Screen Picker The screen picker, represented as a magnifying glass, is used to choose a color from any element currently visible on your Apple Macintosh screen.

Color Picker Controls The color picker controls, below the active color well, differ for each color picker. See the Color Pickers section of this topic for additional information.



Opacity Slider LayOut supports adjustable transparency. The opacity slider, below the color picker controls, is used to adjust the opacity level. Type an opacity value in the text field to the right of the slider if you prefer to set opacity levels more precisely.

User Palette Use the user palette, at the bottom of the color pickers, to store user-defined colors. To use the user palette:

• Drag and drop a color from any visible color well, including the active color well, and drop it over a user pallet well to add a color to the user palette.

• Drag an drop a new color in the place of another color well to replace a well in the user palette.

• Drag and drop an empty well onto a color to remove a color from the user palette.

• Click and drag down on the size handle (a small circle) in the middle of the bottom edge of the palette to see more wells.

Note - The colors in the user palette are saved in LayOut and can be used between multiple work sessions.



Colors (Mac OS X) LayOut on MacOS X uses the Apple System Color Picker for all operations in which you create, modify and apply color.

Activate the Colors dialog box by clicking on any color well in LayOut's interface (such as in the Style settings dialog box) or by clicking on "Window > Colors."



Color Pickers (Mac OS X) LayOut contains five color pickers used to select color.

Color Wheel Picker The Color Wheel picker allows you to select a color by Hue, Saturation, and Brightness.

Select the color you want by clicking your mouse over that color in the Color Wheel picker. You can also click and drag the cursor around the Color Wheel to quickly browse through many different colors. You will see a dynamic preview of the selected color in the active color well at the top of the Color Picker.

The Color Wheel picker arranges color hue radially around the wheel, with the highest saturation at the outer edge of the wheel. Slide the value slider, to the right of the wheel, up or down, to change the brightness of the color.

The Color Wheel picker is the simplest and most versatile of the standard Apple color pickers, though it is also the least precise. You might want to use the Color Wheel picker to make a rough color choice, and then use one of the color slider pickers to fine tune your choice.

Color Slider Picker The Color Slider picker contains four pickers: Gray Scale Slider, RGB Sliders, CMYK Sliders, and HSB Sliders. These color pickers differ only in the components they use to mix colors. Select the Color Slider picker from the pop-up menu at the top of the picker control area to choose one of the color slider pickers.

Gray Scale Slider Use the Gray Scale slider to select colors from the grayscale color range (shades of gray).

Adjust the slider until you see the color you want in the active color well. Alternatively, you can select a color by typing a percent gray value directly in the text box to the right of the slider. Or, choose from one of the five preset gray values below the slider.

RGB (Red, Green & Blue) Sliders Use the RGB sliders to select colors from the RGB (Red, Green and Blue) color range. RGB colors are traditionally used when modeling color on a computer screen.

Drag the sliders left and right for each of the component colors (red, green and blue) to create the color that you want to use. The background color of each slider changes as you modify values to help you predict how adjustments will change your color mix.

Alternatively, you can type in exact numerical values for red, green or blue in the value boxes to the right of the sliders to precisely match a color that you have specified elsewhere.

CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow & Black) Sliders Use the CMYK sliders to select colors from the CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black) color range. CMYK is traditionally used to select colors intended for professional printing, where colors are usually specified in percentages of these four basic ink colors. RGB or HSB color pickers are generally sufficient for most work in LayOut.

Drag the sliders left and right for each of the component colors (cyan, magenta, yellow and black) until you have the color you want to use. To help you find an exact color , the background color of each slider will change as you modify values to help you predict how adjustments will change your color mix.



HSB (Hue, Saturation, and Brightness) Sliders Use the HSB color sliders to pick colors from the HSB (Hue, Saturation, and Brightness) color range. HSB often gives you a more intuitive color model for selecting desaturated colors.

Adjust the sliders for hue, saturation and brightness until you see the color you want in the active color well.

Sometimes it is easier to mix de-saturated colors using the HSB color picker in conjunction with one of the other color pickers. Switch to another color picker to make your rough color selection, then switch back to the HSB color picker to fine tune or mix desaturated colors.

Color Palettes Picker The Color Palettes picker allows you to select colors from several predefined color palettes.

List Use the List menu to select a color palette, create a new color palette, open an existing palette, rename a color palette, or remove a palette.

Color Use the Color drop-down list to create a new color, rename an existing color, or remove a color from the current palette.

Search Type the name of a color in the search box to find a color in all color palettes. You must click on the different palettes in the List menu to see if that color exists in a palette.

Image Palettes Picker The Image Palettes picker allows you to load an image file into the color picker and select colors from anywhere in that image. The Image Palettes picker has a spectrum image loaded as a default.

Crayons Picker The Crayons picker displays a graphic redocument of a box of crayons with a small range of standard Apple colors. The Crayon picker is the simplest picker to use and is fairly limited in the range of colors available.

Click on the crayon whose color you want to use to select a color with the Crayon picker. The crayon's color will be transferred to the active color well.



Shape Style Dialog Box The Shape Style dialog box is used to adjust the fill and stroke for entities shapes in your document. The following image shows the Shape Style dialog box on Microsoft Windows:

The following image shows the Shape Style dialog box on Mac OS X:

Fill Checkbox Check the "Fill" checkbox to display fill colors in a shape.

Color Button Click the "Color" button to display the color dialog box and select a color for the fill.

Stroke Checkbox Check the "Stroke" checkbox to display stroke colors in a shape.

Color Button Click the "Color" button to display the color dialog box and select a color for the stroke.

Start List Select the starting point type from the "Start" drop-down list. Move the slider, under the Start drop-down list, to the right to increase the size of the current start point type.



End List Select the ending point type from the "End" drop-down list. Move the slider, under the End drop-down list, to the right to increase the size of the current end point type.

Weight List Select the weight, in points, of the line from the "Weight" drop-down list to change the thickness of lines.

Dashes List Select the dash pattern from the "Dashes" drop-down list.

Endcap List Select the endcap type from the "Endcap" drop-down list to change the style of the ends of your line.

Note - You might have to zoom in or increase the weight of your line to recognize changes in endcap settings.

Corners List Select the corner type from the "Corners" drop-down list to change the style of the corners of your shape.

Note - You might have to zoom in or increase the weight of your shape to recognize changes in corner settings.



SketchUp Model Dialog Box The SketchUp Model dialog box contains various settings that apply to the currently selected SketchUp model. The following image contains a screen shot of the SketchUp Model dialog box in Microsoft Windows:

The following image contains a screen shot of the SketchUp Model dialog box in Mac OS X:

Render/Rendered Button SketchUp models must be re-rendered when you have made a change to them that invalidates the current rendered image (such as when changing the style for the model). Click on the Render button to manually re-render the currently selected model(s). Re-rendering can take a long amount of time if your model is large.

Tip - Use the Render/Rendered button to re-render a single, large, model. Check the Auto checkbox to re-render an entire document containing many large models (this operation could take several minutes to several



hours). Uncheck the checkbox if you don't want further automatic rendering updates.

The Render/Rendered button's label will change to "Rendered" when the currently selected model has been re-rendered.

Auto Checkbox SketchUp models must be rerendered when you have made a change to them that invalidates the current rendered image (such as when changing the style for the model). A model that has been modified, but not rerendered, is called a dirty SketchUp model. Dirty models are indicated by a yellow icon with an exclamation point.

Check on the Auto checkbox to automatically re-render all models as changes are made. Re-rending can take a long amount of time if your models are large. Therefore, you might only want to use this option when the models in your document are generally smaller in size.

Tip - Use the Auto checkbox when your document contains models that are generally smaller in size. You can also enable this option by checking the "Auto-Update" checkbox in the Performance panel of the LayOut Preferences dialog box.

Rendering Mode Drop-Down List The Rendering Mode drop-down list contains three options for rendering your models on screen and in outputted format (print, PDF, for example).

Vector Use the Vector setting to display and output all lines, faces, and text in a vector format. Features such as texture, fog, and shadows will not display in this mode. Vector is appropriate for large, orthographic (also called paraline), output. The vector setting provides crisp and scalable line work that can efficiently scale up to very large paper sizes. But it cannot render with all of SketchUp's raster rendering capabilities, and it can be performance intensive to generate renderings of complex SketchUp models.

Raster Use the Raster setting to display and output all lines, faces, and text in a pixel-based format. The Raster setting can render a model exactly as it appears in SketchUp, though it can be cumbersome and performance intensive at high resolutions and large paper sizes.

Hybrid The hybrid setting provides a hybrid rendering method that combines the sharp, scalable line work of vector rendering with the richer capabilities of the raster renderer. Hybrid renderings take the longest to process, but they provide the best final product.



View Tab The View tab contains standard view options for the currently selected SketchUp model. Refer to the Standard Views topic in the SketchUp User's Guide for further information on these options.

Scenes Drop-Down List The Scenes Drop-Down list contains all of the scenes in the currently selected model. Select "Last saved SketchUp View" from the Scenes drop-down to make the inserted model look exactly as it does when opening it in SketchUp. The scene name will be appended with the word "Modified" when any setting is changed in LayOut that is not reflected in the original SketchUp file.

Tip - Create a scene in SketchUp for each view you will need in your LayOut document if you want your SketchUp files to retain their exact rendering between SketchUp and LayOut.

Note - LayOut provides one, default, scene titled "Last saved SketchUp view" containing the last saved view of the model in SketchUp.

Standard Views Drop-Down List The Standard Views drop-down provides access to standard views: Top, Bottom, Front, Right, Back, Left, and Isometric. Selecting any of these model views will set your active drawing window to that view. The word "Modified" will appear in the Standard Views drop-down list if the camera is positioned in a non-standard view.

Ortho Button Click on the Ortho button to toggle paraline and perspective projection. Refer to the SketchUp documentation for further information on paraline and perspective projections.

Note - Click on the Render button in the SketchUp Model dialog box to re-render your model after clicking on the Ortho button (if the Auto checkbox is not checked).

Scale Drop-Down List Select a scale from the scale drop-down list to change the scale of the currently selected SketchUp model. Check the Ortho button and the Preserve Scale on Resize checkbox to use the Scale drop-down list. Click on the Add Custom Scale list item to add a custom scale to the list. Refer to the Scale panel in the LayOut Preferences topic for information on adding additional scales.

Note - You can only assign a scale to a model when you are in orthographic or paraline mode.

Preserve Scale on Resize Checkbox Check the Preserve Scale on Resize checkbox to force your models to maintain a constant size when scaling their bounding box. Uncheck the Preserver Scale on Resize checkbox to scale your model while scaling the bounding box.



Shadows Button Click on the Shadows button to toggle shadows on or off.

Time Field Type a time in the Time field to display shadows based on the new time. Use the arrow buttons to increase or decrease the time by one minute.

Date Field Type a date in the Date field to display shadows based on the new date. Use the arrow buttons to increase or decrease the date by one day.

Fog Button Click on the Fog button to toggle fog on or off.

Fog Color Well Click on the Fog Color well to display the Colors dialog box. Choose a color to represent fog.

Use Background Color Checkbox Check the Use Background Color checkbox to use the background color for fog.



Styles Tab The Styles tab contains style settings options for the currently selected SketchUp model. Click on a style to change the currently apply the style to the currently selected model. Refer to the Styles topic in the SketchUp User's Guide for further information on these options.

Style Collections Drop-Down List The Style Collections drop-down list is divided into two sections: In Model (all styles used in the currently selected model), and Styles (all styles available in LayOut).

List View Button Click on the List View button to view styles in a list.

Thumbnail View Button Click on the Thumbnail View button to view styles in the form of small image thumbnails.

Line Weight Line Weight refers to the thickness of the lines (in points) in the currently selected SketchUp model. Type a smaller number, such as .25, in the Line Weight field to decrease the thickness of the SketchUp model's lines. Type a larger number, such as 1.5, to thicken your SketchUp model's lines.



Text Style (Microsoft Windows) The Text Style dialog box is used to configure the text styles that you use in your document. The following image contains a screen shot of the Text Style dialog box on Microsoft Windows:



The Text Style Dialog Box (Microsoft Windows) The Text Style dialog box contains controls for manipulating the style of text in your document. All settings in the Text Style dialog box can apply to the currently selected text or any text created in the future.

Underline Button Click on the Underline button to place an line under the currently selected text.

Strikethrough Button Click on the Strikethrough button to place a line through the currently selected text.

Text Color Click on the Text Color well to change the color for text. Refer to the Colors dialog box for further information.

Alignment Buttons Click on the Align Left, Align Center, or Align Right button to align a text to the left, center or right-side of the text box.

Anchor Buttons Click on the Anchor Top, Anchor Center, or Anchor Bottom to anchor the text to the top, center, or bottom of the text box.

Unbounded Button Click the Unbounded button to show all text contained by the currently selected text box. The width and height of an unbounded text box grow to accommodate all text.

Bounded Button Click the Bounded button to show only the text that fits within the rectangular bounds of the text box. Text is hidden when the the text box is smaller than the contained text.

Family Select a font from the Family list to use that font when writing text.

Typeface Select a font style from the Typeface list to use when writing text. Font styles are regular, bold, italic, and bold italic.

Size Select a size from the Size list to use when writing text. Sizes are in points.



Font (Mac OS X) The Font dialog box is used to configure the text styles that you use in your document. The following image contains a screen shot of the Font dialog box on Mac OS X:



The Font Dialog Box The Text Style dialog box contains controls for manipulating the style of text in your document. All settings in the Text Style dialog box can apply to the currently selected text or any text created in the future.

Underline Drop-Down Menu Click on the Underline drop-down menu to select the type of underline.

Underline Button Click on the Underline button to place an line under the currently selected text.

Strikethrough Drop-Down Menu Click on the Strikethrough drop-down menu to select the type of strikethrough.

Strikethrough Button Click on the Strikethrough button to place a line through the currently selected text.

Text Color Button Click on the Text Color button to change the color for text. Refer to the Colors dialog box for further information.

Document Color The Document Color button has no effect in LayOut.

Text Shadows Button Click on the Text Shadows button to enable shadows on the currently selected text.

Shadow Opacity Slider Move the Shadow Opacity slider right to increase shadow opacity. Move the Shadow Opacity slider left to decrease shadow opacity.

Shadow Blur Slider Move the Shadow Blur slider right to increase shadow blur. Move the Shadow Blur slider left to decrease shadow blur.

Shadow Offset Slider Move the Shadow Offset slider right to increase shadow offset. Move the Shadow Offset slider left to decrease shadow offset.

Shadow Angle Knob Move the Shadow Angle knob right to increase shadow angle. Move the Shadow Angle knob left to decrease shadow angle.

Collections Select a collection from the Collections list that contains the font you want to use.



Family Select a font from the Family list to use that font when writing text.

Typeface Select a font style from the Typeface list to use when writing text. Font styles are regular, bold, italic, and bold italic.

Size Select a size from the Size list to use when writing text. Sizes are in points.

Alignment Buttons Click on the Align Left, Align Center, or Align Right button to align a text to the left, center or right-side of the text box. Use the Justify button to align text such that both left and right margins are square.

Anchor Buttons Click on the Anchor Top, Anchor Center, or Anchor Bottom to anchor the text to the top, center, or bottom of the text box.

Unbounded Button Click the Unbounded button to show all text contained by the currently selected text box. The width and height of an unbounded text box grow to accommodate all text.

Bounded Button Click the Bounded button to show only the text that fits within the rectangular bounds of the text box. Text is hidden when the text box is smaller than the contained text.



Scrapbook Dialog Box The Scrapbooks dialog box is a dialog box for all of the shapes and styles you want to store and reuse between your different document. The scrapbook can hold any content you create, from title blocks to drawings, and any styles such as colors and line thickness. Scrapbook files are just layout files saved to a specific scrapbook directory. The following image contains a screen shot of the Scrapbook dialog box on Microsoft Windows:

Scrapbook List Click on the scrapbook drop-down list and select a scrapbook to display in the scrapbook dialog box. The scrapbook list contains an entry for each scrapbook file. The scrapbook file will have a right arrow next to its name (in the drop-down list of scrapbooks) if it contains multiple pages.

Next Page Button Click the Next Page button to advance to the next page in a multi-page scrapbook file.

Previous Page Button Click the Previous Page button to navigate to the previous page in a multi-page scrapbook file.

Edit Button Click on the Edit button to edit the currently selected scrapbook file.

Note - Clicking on the Edit button, when a scrapbook page is selected, opens the scrapbook file on the first page (not on the selected page).



Layers Dialog Box The Layers dialog box is used to create and manage layers in your document. Activate the Layers dialog box from the Window menu. The following image contains a screen shot of the Layers dialog box on Microsoft Windows:

The following image contains a screen shot of the Layers dialog box on Mac OS X:

The Layers dialog box displays all the layers and their associated visibility in the document. Every document has one layer, called "Default," which will be visible the first time you activate the Layers dialog box.

The Layers dialog box contains controls to create and navigate among layers in your document.

Add Button (+) The Add button is used to add additional layers. Click the add button to add a layer, enter the layer name (or press Enter or Return to accept the default name).

Delete Button (-) The delete button is used to delete a layer. Select a layer and click the delete icon to delete a layer. You will be prompted to move entities on the deleted layer to another layer (the default or current layer) if there are entities unique to that layer.

Pencil Icon The active layer is the layer with the pencil icon. Select another layer to make it active. All new entities will be added to the active layer when drawing in the document area, .



Name The Name column lists all the layers, by name, in the document. Double-click on the name of a layer to edit the name of the layer.

Note - You can also click and drag a layer name to move that layer in the list of layers.

Note - Click on entities to view their layer. The layer assigned to an entity has a dot next to the layer name.

Visibility Button Toggle the visibility of a layer by clicking on the Visibility button. Visibility applies only to the page you are currently on.

Note - Visibility settings are in effect while editing, presenting and exporting.

Lock Button Toggle the lock status of a layer by clicking on the Lock button. Entities in a locked layer cannot be manipulated.

Share Button Click on the Share button to share the contents of that layer across all pages (create a shared layer).



Pages Dialog Box The Pages dialog box is used to control the various features of LayOut Pages. Activate the Pages dialog box from the Window menu. The following image contains a screen shot of the Pages dialog box on Microsoft Windows:

The following image contains a screen shot of the Pages dialog box on Mac OS X:

The Pages dialog box contains a list of all of the pages for the model. Pages in this list are displayed in the order in which they will be displayed when showing a document or printing a document.

Add Button The Add button is used to add a new page to the current file.

Delete Button The Delete button is used to delete a page from the current file. Select the page in the list of pages and click the delete button to delete the page.

List Button Click on the List button to list pages in the Pages dialog box.

Thumbnail Button Click on the Thumbnail button to show thumbnail of each page in the Pages dialog box.

Name Field The Name field is used to name the currently active page. Double-click on the name of a page to edit the name of the page.



Include in Presentation Button Click the Include in Presentation button to toggle the visibility of the currently selected page in a document.



Instructor The Instructor dialog box displays help information related to the currently selected tool. Click on a tool in the toolbar or menu to view information about that tool in the instructor.



Entities This section of the documentation covers the creation and manipulation of three entities used in LayOut: Groups, images, and SketchUp models. These entities are unique from other entities, such as a line, in that they are not created by a tool but are either inserted or, in the case of a Group entity, formed as part of an operation.



Group Entities Groups are entities that can hold other entities. Use the Group menu item from the Edit menu to create a group from the currently selected entities.



Image Entities Image entities can be moved, rotated and scaled. They can also be stretched horizontally or vertically, but they cannot be made non-rectangular. Insert Images using the Insert menu item in the File menu.

Image Formats LayOut supports the following formats for import as an Image Object: JPEG, PDF (Mac OS X), TGA (Mac OS X), BMP, GIF, PNG, and TIFF. Some formats may be more appropriate than others for certain types of images and applications.



Model Entities Model entities are SketchUp model files that are linked to your document file.

Note - SketchUp files appear as bitmap graphic representations, at some resolution, of the model.



Context Menu Items Access context menu items by context-clicking on an entity. All of the context menu items for all entities in LayOut follow:

Arrange Entities can be side-by-side, or on top of each other, on a page. The Arrange sub-menu contains items allowing you to arrange entities in the document area.

These context menu items are available on all entities when more than one entity is selected.

Bring to Front Use the Bring to Front menu item to move the currently selected entities to the front on a page (in front of all other entities).

Bring Forward Use the Bring Forward menu item to move the currently selected entities closer to the front on a page.

Send Backward Use the Send Backward menu item to move the currently selected entities farther from the back on a page.

Send to Back Use the Send to Back menu item to move the currently selected entities to the back on a page (behind all other entities).

Cut Use the Cut menu item to remove the selected elements from your document and places them in the clipboard. The contents of the clipboard can then be inserted back into any open LayOut document by using the Paste menu item.

Contents of the clipboard will remain on the clipboard until replaced with other content using an additional Cut or a Copy command.

This context menu item is available on all entities.

Camera Tools The Camera Tools submenu lists all camera tools available while editing a SketchUp model.

These context menu items are available when editing a SketchUp model (either while working in the document area or while displaying a document on the screen).

Orbit Use the Orbit Tool to rotate the camera about the model. The Orbit Tool is useful when viewing geometry from the outside.

Pan Use the Pan Tool to move the camera (your view) vertically and horizontally.

Zoom Use the Zoom Tool to move the camera (your view) in or out.

Zoom Window Use the Zoom Window Tool to zoom in on a specific portion of your model.



Look Around Use the Look Around Tool to pivot the camera (your view) around a stationary point. The Look Around Tool behaves similarly to a person standing still while turning their head to up, down (tilt), and side to side (pan).

Walk Use the Walk Tool to maneuver through your SketchUp model as though you were walking through your model. Specifically, the Walk Tool fixes the camera to a particular height, and then allows you to maneuver the camera around your model.





End Editing Use the End Editing menu item to end editing a SketchUp model.

This context menu item is available when editing a SketchUp model.

Edit 3D View Use the Edit 3D View menu item to edit the currently selected Model entity.

This context menu item is available on a SketchUp model.

Explode Use the Explode menu item to change a SketchUp model into an image if the SketchUp model is rendered in raster mode. A group of vector edges and faces will be created if the SketchUp model is rendered in vector mode. A group of vector edges, faces, and an image will be created if the SketchUp model is rendered in hybrid mode.


Flip The Flip sub-menu contains items to flip your entities, creating a mirror image of the original position of the entities.

These context menu items are available on all entities.

Top to Bottom Select the Top to Bottom menu item to flip an item such that the top becomes the bottom and the bottom becomes the top.

Left to Right Select the Left to Right menu item to flip an item such that the left becomes the right and the right becomes the left.




Grid Snap Select the Grid Snap menu item to snap entities to grid lines in the document area.

This context menu item is available by context-clicking in the document area (while the cursor is over a blank area).

Show/Hide Grid The Show/Hide Grid menu item toggles the visibility of the grid.


Object Snap Select the Object Snap menu item to snap entities to other entities in the document area.

This context menu item is available when you context-click on the document area.

Open with Image Editor Use the Open with Image Editor menu item to edit the currently selected Image entity. The changes to the image will be reflected in LayOut after the image file is saved in your image editor.

Open with SketchUp Use the Open with SketchUp menu item to edit the currently selected Model entity. The changes to the model will be reflected in LayOut after the model file is saved in SketchUp.


Move to Current Layer Use the Move to Current Layer to move the currently selected entity to the current layer.


Object Snap Use the Object Snap menu item to snap entities to other entities in the document area.



This context menu item is available when you context-click on the document area.



Perspective Select the Perspective menu item to enter a perspective projection. Refer to the SketchUp User's Guide for information on perspective and parallel projections.

This context menu item is available on a SketchUp model and when editing a SketchUp model.

Render Image Use the Render Image menu item to render a SketchUp model with the current settings.

This context menu item is available on a SketchUp model when the Auto-Render setting is off and changes have been made to the SketchUp model.

Scale Select a scale from the scale drop-down list to change the scale of the currently selected SketchUp model. Refer to the Scale panel in the LayOut Preferences topic for information on adding additional scales.


Scenes The Scenes submenu lists all of the scenes in the model file. Select the scene you would like to display from the submenu. Select "Last saved SketchUp View" to make the inserted model look exactly as it does when opening it in SketchUp.

This context menu item is available on a SketchUp model and when editing a SketchUp model (either while working in the document area or while displaying a document on the screen).

Shadows The Shadows menu item activates shadows.


Standard Views The Standard Views submenu provides access to standard views: Top, Bottom, Front, Right, Back, Left, and Isometric. Selecting any of these model views will immediately set your active drawing window to that view.


Styles The Styles submenu lists all of the styles in model file. Select the style you would like to use from the submenu.





This menu item is available on Group entities.

Update Reference Use the Update Reference menu item to update the current selected model with an updated version from your file system.

This context menu item is available when context-clicking on an out-of-date SketchUp model.

Zoom Extents Use the Zoom Extents menu item to zoom your view to a distance which makes the whole model visible and centered in the bounding box of the SketchUp model.

This context menu item is available when editing a SketchUp model (either while working in the document area or while displaying a document on the screen).



Input and Output This section of the user's guide covers the various mechanisms for inserting items, such as graphic images, into your LayOut document and printing or presenting your document once it is finished.

The items in this section are divided into the following categories:

• Importers and Exporters

• Presentations

• Printing

The majority of the items in this section are found in the File menu.



Raster Image Import LayOut allows you to import raster images, including JPEG and BMP, for placement within your document. Import an image using the Insert menu item in the File menu.



SketchUp Model Import LayOut allows you to import 3D SketchUp models for placement within your document. Import a model using the Insert menu item in the File menu.



Text Import LayOut allows you to import plain and Rich Text Format (RTF) text for placement within your document. Import text using the Insert menu item in the File menu.



PDF Export LayOut allows you to export your documents as PDF files. Export a file using the menu item in the File menu.



PDF Export Options Dialog Box (Microsoft Windows) The Export Options dialog box contains options for exporting PDF files.

Export Field Type the location and name of the pdf file to save in the Export File field.

All and From Checkboxes Click on the All radio button to export all pages in your document. Click on the From radio button to select a range of pages to export. Type a number in the first field to represent the starting page number to export. Type another number in the second field to represent the ending page number to export.

Output Quality Drop-Down List Select the quality from the Output Quality drop-down list to identify the quality to render models and exported images in your PDF file.

Create PDF Layers From LayOut Layers Checkbox Check the Create PDF Layers from LayOut Layers to create layers in your PDF layers from each of the layers in your LayOut file.

Show Export in PDF Viewer Checkbox Check the Show Export in PDF Viewer to open the exported PDF in your default PDF viewer.



PDF Export Options Dialog Box (Mac OS X) The Export Options dialog box contains options for exporting PDF files.


Output Quality Drop-Down List Select the quality from the Output Quality drop-down list to identify the quality to render models and exported images in your PDF file.

Show Export in PDF Viewer Checkbox Check the Show Export in PDF Viewer to open the exported PDF in your default PDF viewer.



Image Export LayOut allows you to export your documents as a series of image files (one image per page in your document). Export an image file using the Export submenu in the File menu.



Image Export Options Dialog Box (Mac OS X) The Image Export Options dialog box contains options for exporting PDF files.


Width and Height Fields The Width and Height fields are used to control the size of image as measured in pixels or specific units. Click on the chain icon to the right of the text fields to lock the aspect ratio of the export.

Resolution Field Type the pixels per inch to set the resolution for the exported image.

Show Export in Image Viewer Checkbox Check the Show export in image viewer checkbox to display the exported images in your default image viewer.



Presentations LayOut allows you to display your document as an full-screen presentation. Use the Start Presentation menu item within the View menu to display your document as a full-screen presentation.



The Print Preview Dialog Box (Microsoft Windows) Use the Print Preview dialog box to preview your document as though it were to appear on the printed page.

Printer Icon Click on the printer icon to print to your default printer.

Magnifying Glass Icon Click on the arrow next to the magnifying glass icon to zoom in on or out from the page.

Page Layout Icons Click a Page Layout icon to adjust the number of pages in the document to be printed on one piece of paper.

Close Button Click the Close button to close the Print Preview dialog box.

Page Field Click on the up and down arrows, or type in a number in the Page field, to navigate to a specific page in your document.



The Page Setup Dialog Box (Microsoft Windows) Use the Page Setup dialog box to select and configure your page size. Select "File > Page Setup" to invoke the Page Setup dialog box.

Size Drop-Down List The Size drop-down list contains different paper sizes that are supported by your printer. Select the paper size that you want to use from this list.

Source Drop-Down List The Source drop-down list contains different trays in your printer. Select the tray that contains the paper you want to use.

Printer Button The Printer button allows you to select the desired printer.



The Print Dialog Box (Microsoft Windows) Use the Print dialog box is used to select a destination (printer or file) and to print your document. This dialog box is the same as all standard Print dialog boxes found in Microsoft Windows applications. Select "File > Print" to invoke the Print dialog box.

The Printer List Use the Printer list to add and select printers.

The Print To File Checkbox Use the Print to file checkbox to print to a file.

The Page Range Buttons Use the All pages buttons to print all pages in the document. Use the Pages button to print a range of pages in the document (type the starting page number in the first field and the ending page number in the second field).

Number Of Copies Field Type the number of copies to print in the Number of copies field.

The Print Button Press the Print button to print your document.



The Page Setup Dialog Box (Mac OS X) Use the Page Setup dialog box to set paper size and orientation specific to your printer. This dialog box is the same as all standard Page Setup dialog boxes found in Mac OS X applications. Select File > Page Setup to invoke the Page Setup dialog box.

Settings Drop-Down List The Settings drop-down list contains a list of settings panels to appear in the Page Setup dialog box.

Page Attributes The Page Attributes panel contains primary configuration settings for the Page Setup dialog box. Its settings are defined below in detail.

Custom Paper Size The Custom Paper Size panel allows you to define custom paper sizes not currently configured for your selected printer.

Caution - You can define a paper size that your printer is not capable of using.

Summary The Summary panel contains a summary of all current page attributes. You can use this panel to troubleshoot difficult print jobs, or to verify all the current page attributes in one quick view.

Format For Drop-Down List The Format For drop-down list of the Page Setup dialog box is used to select a specific printer and printer settings. Select the printer to use from the Name drop-down list.

Note - The Any Printer setting is a generic printer description that should set up a print job for any printer available. Use this setting if you are preparing a PDF file for printing on a printer that is not configured on your system.

Paper Size Drop-Down List The Paper Size drop-down list is used to select the paper size used for your output.

Orientation Buttons The Orientation buttons are used to select the orientation (landscape or portrait) for your output.

Scale Field The Scale field is used to override any LayOut-specific scale settings.



The Print Dialog Box (Mac OS X) Use the Print dialog box is used to preview your output, send your output to a printer, PDF file, or Fax. This dialog box is the same as all standard Print dialog boxes found in Mac OS X applications. Select "File > Print" to invoke the Print dialog box.

The Printer Drop-Down List Use the Printer drop-down list to add and select printers.

The Presents Drop-Down List Use the Presets drop-down list to save your current print settings.

The Settings Drop-Down List Use the Settings drop-down list to display various settings panels within the Print dialog box. The settings drop-down list is in the middle of the Print dialog box and normally displays the Copies & Pages panel.

The Copies and Pages Print Panel Use the Copies and Pages Print panel to control the number of copies and tiled output.

The Layout Print Panel Use the Layout Print panel to select the orientation (landscape or portrait) for your output.

The Scheduler Print Panel Use the Scheduler Print panel to schedule the printing of your model for a later time.

The Paper Handling Print Panel Use the Paper Handling Print panel to alternate between printing odd or even numbered pages.

The Color Sync Print Panel Use the Color Sync Print panel to perform color conversion (if supported by your printer) and filters to your output.

The Cover Page Panel Use the Cover Page panel to attach a cover page to your printed document.

The Paper Feed Print Panel Use the Paper Feed Print panel to select the tray that contains the paper you want to use.

The Summary Print Panel The Summary Print panel contains a summary of all current page attributes. Use the Summary Print panel to troubleshoot difficult print jobs, or to verify all the current page attributes in one quick view.

The Pages Buttons Use the All pages buttons to print all pages in the document. Use the From pages button to print a range of pages in the document (type the starting page number in the first field and the ending page number in the second field).

The PDF Drop-Down List Use the PDF drop-down list to save your output as a PDF file perform other PDF-related operations.



The Preview Button Use the Preview button to preview your output in the Mac OS Preview tool.

The Print Button Press the Print button to print your document.



Technical Info This section of the documentation contains additional detailed information about various aspects of LayOut.



Bug Splat (Microsoft Windows) BugSplat (www.bugsplatsoftware.com) is a 3rd party software application that is integrated in LayOut for Microsoft Windows to help improve the quality of the product. BugSplat helps Google troubleshoot unrecoverable LayOut errors or crashes. BugSplat provides a mechanism for Microsoft Windows users to send information about all crashes to Google for troubleshooting.

How Does it Work? In the rare event that LayOut crashes you will see a dialog, similar to Microsoft Window's crash report dialog. This dialog will give you the option to send us the information regarding the crash. Here is what is collected if you decide to send us the information:

• Your version of the LayOut executable.

• Your language setting, such as English.

• A "stack trace" of the bug allowing us to see the exact line of code where LayOut crashed.

• A list of LayOut code dependencies.

• (optional) Your name and email address.

• (optional) A description of what you were doing before the crash.

Note -If you happen to look at the BugSplat Software website, you will see a security statement that is aimed at assuring clients of BugSplat - in this case Google – that the information on our crashes (e.g., how many we have, and so on) will be protected. The above information is all that we are collecting.



LayOut File Format LayOut documents are compressed files containing all of the files needed for your document. A compressed LayOut file contains an XML file with links to all of the resources (images, text files, models) that are referenced in your document. A compressed LayOut file also contains the files that are referenced by the XML file (the images, text files, and models).



Supported Fonts LayOut supports OpenType fonts with TrueType and PostScript outlines. Specifically, LayOut supports fonts with .ttf and .otf file extensions.



Glossary A Application Window - The entire application window for LayOut. The Drawing Window contains menus, toolbars, the status bar, and the document area. See also document area.

C CAD - See Computer Assisted Design

Chord Length - The distance between the starting point and the ending point of an Arc.

Clipping Mask - The use of a shape to "mask out" portions of the model, image, or other entities, underneath the shape.

Context Menu - A menu of menu items or commands available in a particular context, such as when a line is selected.

Crossing Selection - Refers to using the Select Tool and clicking to the right-side of entities and dragging to the left to select entities.

D Default Layer - The layer in a document on which all entities are initially placed.

Dialog Stack - Dialog boxes arranged such that they form a stack.

Dirty SketchUp Model - A model whose properties have been changed in LayOut, but has not been rerendered to reflect the changes. Dirty models are indicated by a yellow icon with an exclamation point.

Document Area - The area where you construct your document.

Drawing Tool - A software tool used to create shapes from scratch.

E Edge - An edge is a line that borders some closed shape such as a rectangle.

Entity - Any element on a page in LayOut. Entities are combined to create documents.

F Fill - Inside color of a shape.

G Group entity - An entity that contains other entities. Groups are commonly used to combine several entities into a single entity for the purposes of performing a quick operation, such as a copy and paste.



I Inference - The identification of relationships between entities in the document area. These relationships are identified and pointed out to the user by the inference engine and can be used as references for drawing in 2D space.

Inference Engine - Functionality built into LayOut to locate or infer points from other points in your model, such as the center of a circle, the midpoint of a line, a point on surface, a point on an edge, and so on. The Inference Engine notifies you of these points by using both color indicators and on-screen messages indicating the location of the cursor as you draw an entity. For example, LayOut displays the string "On Line" when the Pencil Tool is on a line.

L Layer - A layer is a container containing any combination of entities. A page can have multiple layers.

Layer dialog box - A dialog box used to apply and manage layers in your model

M Master Page - See Shared Layer.

Measurements Field - The Measurements field displays dimensional information while you draw. You can also enter values into the Measurements field to manipulate the selected entity.

Modal Dialog Box - A dialog box that temporarily prohibits the user's interaction with the application. Modal dialog boxes usually require the user to perform some action prior to returning to normal application use.

Modeless Dialog Box - A dialog box that does not prohibit the user's interaction with the application. See also Modal Dialog Box.

Move Point - The point where you click on the entity with the Move Tool.

O Origin - The point where the Drawing Axes start or originate.

S Scrapbook - A mechanism for storing and organizing libraries of models, image, shapes, text, and styles that you want to use in all of your documents

Shape - A closed series of entities, such as lines forming a box shape or freehand lines forming an irregular shape.

Shared Layer - A special layer that contains any entities that you want to appear in all of the pages in your document.

Stroke - Line or edge style (color, thickness, and so on).

Style - Refers to the rendering options on the shape or model. For shape, style refers to the fill within a rectangle, the stroke (line color, width, end styles) of a line, or the shape of a font. If the entity is a SketchUp model, style refers to the rendering options on the model, such as shadow state and face and edge rendering styles.



W Window Selection - Refers to using the Select Tool and clicking to the left-side of entities and dragging to the right to select entities.



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