Arranging zones on the felt
In the Layout Editor’s Arrange mode, the canvas is a direct-manipulation surface: the table is drawn to scale and you shape it by dragging. Every move writes back to the layout, previewed live.
Move, resize, rotate
Click a zone to select it. A selection frame appears with eight resize handles and a rotation handle, drawn at a constant size no matter how far you’ve zoomed:
- Drag the body to move the zone.
- Drag a corner or edge handle to resize it.
- Drag the rotation handle to spin it.
Snapping and alignment guides
While you drag, a zone’s edges and centre snap to nearby zones and short guide lines appear, so two boxes click into alignment as you move them. Need to place something freely instead? Hold Alt to disable snapping for that drag.
Selecting several at once
Shift- or ⌘-click to add zones to the selection, or drag a marquee rubber-band across bare felt to grab everything it touches. ⌘A selects every visible, unlocked zone. With two or more selected, a floating toolbar appears above the selection:
| Toolbar control | Shows when | Does |
|---|---|---|
| Align (6 buttons) | 2+ selected | Line up left / centre / right or top / middle / bottom edges |
| Distribute | 3+ selected | Even out the horizontal or vertical gaps |
| Group / Ungroup | 2+ / a group | Bind zones under one group so they select and move together |
| Duplicate | Always | Drop a copy, nudged off the original |
| Lock / unlock | Always | Freeze a zone so clicks pass through it — ideal for a big background board whose contents must stay grabbable |
| Delete | Always | Remove the selected zones |
The right inspector adds Match width, Match height, Match size, and Match rotation for a multi-selection — these copy the reference zone’s size or angle onto the rest without moving anything (see the inspector panel).
Keyboard shortcuts
With zones selected:
| Keys | Action |
|---|---|
| Arrow keys | Nudge by 1 unit — hold Shift for 10 |
| ⌘G / ⌘⇧G | Group / ungroup |
| ⌘D | Duplicate |
| Delete / Backspace | Delete |
| ⌘Z / ⌘⇧Z | Undo / redo |
| ⌘A | Select all visible, unlocked zones |
| Esc | Clear the selection (then exit full screen, then close) |
Creating and populating zones by right-click
Right-click gives you a context menu wherever you click on the canvas:
- On bare felt → a create-zone menu (positioned where you clicked).
- Inside a zone box → an Add component / Add group menu that drops a setup placement of that piece into the zone.
- On a tray’s felt → the option to create a hand or supply zone there.
You can also drag a component or deck from the left browser onto a zone to place it — dropping onto an open-play zone pins it under the cursor.
To build a structured board (a chessboard, hex map, or point-to-point network) rather than a plain box, add a grid zone and edit its cells, nodes, and connections from the inspector.
Related
- The Layout Editor — the editor at a glance
- The inspector panel — Match, lock, and per-zone edits
- Layout — placement fields and
seatLocalspace - Grids & boards — turning a zone into a board
- Setup placements — what a right-click drop authors