User Interface

This page describes the main window of FlatCAM Evo. It lists the title bar, every menu and menu item, the toolbars, the side panel, the canvas, the status bar and the context menus.

The labels in bold are the labels of the program. Shortcut keys are shown after the menu item, for example Ctrl+S.

Screenshot placeholder: images/User-Interface-1.png — the full main window with each part numbered (title bar, menu bar, toolbars, side panel, plot area, status bar).

Main window layout

Part	Position	Content
Title bar	Top	Window menu, notebook button, undo and redo, main menu, minimize, maximize and close.
Menu bar	Below the title bar	File, Edit, Options, View, Objects, Plugins, Help.
Toolbars	Below the menu bar	File, Edit, View, Shell and Plugin toolbars. Editor toolbars appear in the editors.
Side panel	Left	The Project tab and the Properties tab.
Plot area	Center	The 2D canvas. Other tabs open here too.
Status bar	Bottom	Coordinates, grid snap, units, status icons and the activity icon.

The toolbars can be moved, hidden or locked. Right-click on the toolbar area to show the toolbar list. The Lock Toolbars item locks them in place.

Title bar

• Window menu (icon at the left): Restore, Minimize, Maximize and Close.
• Toggle Panel button: shows or hides the side panel.
• Undo and Redo buttons: the undo and redo of the application history.
• Main menu button: opens the menu bar as a menu.
• Minimize, Maximize (or Restore) and Close buttons.
• The project name is shown in the title. It has the form Project: <name>.

Menu bar

The menu bar has these top-level menus: File, Edit, Options, View, Objects, Plugins and Help. A top-level action Toggle Panel is also on the menu bar.

Three more menus appear only while an editor is open:

• >Geo Editor<: the Geometry Editor menu.
• >Excellon Editor<: the Excellon Editor menu.
• >Gerber Editor<: the Gerber Editor menu.

See Geometry Editor, Excellon Editor and Gerber Editor.

File

Item	Shortcut	What it does
New Project	Ctrl+N	Starts a new project.
New > Geometry	N	Adds an empty Geometry object.
New > Gerber	B	Adds an empty Gerber object.
New > Excellon	L	Adds an empty Excellon object.
New > Document	D	Adds a Document object.
Open > Open Project	Ctrl+O	Opens a project file (.FlatPrj).
Open > Open Gerber	Ctrl+G	Opens a Gerber file.
Open > Open Excellon	Ctrl+E	Opens an Excellon file.
Open > Open G-Code	none	Opens a G-code file as a CNCJob object.
Open > Open Config	none	Opens a configuration file.
Recent projects	none	The list of recent projects.
Recent files	none	The list of recent files.
Save > Save Project	Ctrl+S	Saves the project.
Save > Save Project As	Ctrl+Shift+S	Saves the project under a new name.
Scripting > New Script	none	Creates a Tcl script object.
Scripting > Open Script	none	Opens a script file.
Scripting > Open Example	none	Opens an example script.
Scripting > Run Script	Shift+S	Runs a script.
Import > SVG as Geometry Object	none	Imports an SVG file as a Geometry object.
Import > SVG as Gerber Object	none	Imports an SVG file as a Gerber object.
Import > DXF as Geometry Object	none	Imports a DXF file as a Geometry object.
Import > DXF as Gerber Object	none	Imports a DXF file as a Gerber object.
Import > HPGL2 as Geometry Object	none	Imports an HPGL2 file as a Geometry object.
Import > Altium PCB (.PcbDoc)	none	Imports an Altium board file.
Import > Proteus PCB (.pdsprj)	none	Imports a Proteus board file.
Import > KiCad PCB (.kicad_pcb)	none	Imports a KiCad board file.
Import > Sprint Layout 6 (.lay6)	none	Imports a Sprint Layout file.
Import > Eagle Board (.brd)	none	Imports an Eagle board file.
Import > OrCAD/Allegro Board (.brd)	none	Imports an OrCAD or Allegro board file.
Import > DipTrace PCB (.dip)	none	Imports a DipTrace file.
Import > (plugin items)	none	PDF Import Tool and PcbWizard Import are added here. Image Import is added when the optional packages are installed.
Export > Export SVG	none	Exports the selection as SVG.
Export > Export DXF	none	Exports the selection as DXF.
Export > Export PNG	none	Exports the canvas as PNG.
Export > Export Excellon	none	Exports an Excellon object.
Export > Export Gerber	none	Exports a Gerber object.
Backup > Import Preferences from file	none	Loads preferences from a file.
Backup > Export Preferences to file	none	Saves preferences to a file.
Backup > Save Preferences	none	Saves the current preferences.
Print (PDF)	Ctrl+P	Writes the objects to a PDF file.
Exit	Ctrl+Q (system standard)	Closes the program.

See Projects, Importing Files, Exporting Files and Preferences Overview.

Edit

Item	Shortcut	What it does
Undo	Ctrl+Z	Undoes the last step of the application history.
Redo	Ctrl+Shift+Z	Redoes the step.
Edit Object	E	Opens the editor of the selected object.
Exit Editor	Ctrl+S	Saves the object and leaves the editor.
Conversion > Convert Single to MultiGeo	none	Converts a single-geometry object to multi-geometry.
Conversion > Convert Multi to SingleGeo	none	Converts a multi-geometry object to single-geometry.
Conversion > Convert Any to Geo	none	Converts the selected object to a Geometry object.
Conversion > Convert Any to Gerber	none	Converts the selected object to a Gerber object.
Conversion > Convert Any to Excellon	none	Converts the selected object to an Excellon object.
Join Objects > Join Geo/Gerber/Exc -> Geo	none	Joins the selected objects into one Geometry object.
Join Objects > Join Excellon(s) -> Excellon	none	Joins the selected Excellon objects.
Join Objects > Join Gerber(s) -> Gerber	none	Joins the selected Gerber objects.
Copy	Ctrl+C	Copies the selected object.
Delete	Del	Deletes the selected object.
Num Move	none	Moves the selected objects by a typed value.
Set Origin	O	Sets the origin at the mouse position.
Move to Origin	none	Moves the selected objects to the origin.
Custom Origin	none	Sets the origin to a custom point.
Jump to Location	J	Moves the mouse cursor to a typed position and centers the view.
Locate in Object	Shift+J	Locates a predefined position in the selected object.
Select All	Ctrl+A	Selects all objects.
Preferences	Shift+P	Opens the Preferences tab.

The Distance tool, the Move tool and the Distance Minimum tool are also in the Edit menu. The shortcuts are listed in Keyboard Shortcuts.

See Object Operations and Preferences Overview.

Options

Item	Shortcut	What it does
Rotate Selection	none (menu label Shift+(R))	Opens a dialog for the rotation angle. The dialog starts with the Transform angle (45 degrees by default).
Skew on X axis	Shift+X	Skews the selected object on the X axis.
Skew on Y axis	Shift+Y	Skews the selected object on the Y axis.
Flip on X axis	X	Mirrors the selected object on the X axis.
Flip on Y axis	Y	Mirrors the selected object on the Y axis.
View source	Alt+S	Shows the source text of the selected object.
Tools Database	Ctrl+D	Opens the Tools Database tab. See Tools Database.
Experimental > 3D Area	none	Opens the 3D view. See 3D view.
Experimental > Levelling	none	Opens the Levelling plugin. See Levelling.
Transform (plugin)	Alt+T	Opens the Transform plugin. See Transform.
Object Report (plugin)	P	Opens the object report. See Report.

View

Item	Shortcut	What it does
Restore Layout	none	Restores the layout of the windows and toolbars.
Enable all	Alt+1	Shows all objects on the canvas.
Disable all	Alt+2	Hides all objects on the canvas.
Enable non-selected	Alt+3	Shows the objects that are not selected.
Disable non-selected	Alt+4	Hides the objects that are not selected.
Zoom Fit	V	Zooms to fit all visible objects.
Zoom In	=	Zooms in.
Zoom Out	-	Zooms out.
Redraw All	F5	Redraws all objects on the canvas.
Toggle Code Editor	Shift+E	Shows or hides the code editor.
Toggle FullScreen	Alt+F10	Shows the window in full screen.
Toggle Plot Area	Ctrl+F10	Shows or hides the plot area.
Toggle Project/Properties/Tool	` (grave accent)	Shows or hides the side panel.
Toggle Grid Snap	G	Turns the grid snap on or off.
Toggle Grid Lines	Shift+G	Shows or hides the grid lines.
Toggle Axis	Shift+A	Shows or hides the axis on the canvas.
Toggle Workspace	Shift+W	Shows or hides the workspace rectangle.
Toggle HUD	Shift+H	Shows or hides the heads-up display.
Error Log	none	Opens the error log.

Objects

Item	Shortcut	What it does
Select All	none	Selects all objects in the Project tab.
Deselect All	none	Clears the selection.

Plugins

The Plugins menu lists the plugins. Each plugin opens its panel in a new tab of the side panel. The tab shows the plugin name. The list is built when the program starts. The items below depend on the installed packages and on the Options.

Item	Plugin page
Command Line (S)	Tcl Shell. Opens the Tcl shell at the bottom of the window.
2-Sided (Alt+U)	Double-Sided
Align Objects (Alt+A)	Align Objects
Panelize PCB (Alt+Z)	Panelize
Film (Alt+L)	Film
SolderPaste (Alt+K)	Solder Paste
Calculators (Alt+C)	Calculators
Subtract (Alt+W)	Subtract
Check Rules (Alt+R)	Rules Check
Find Optimal (Alt+O)	Optimal
Cutout (Alt+X)	Cutout
NCC (Alt+N)	Non-Copper Clearing
Paint (Alt+P)	Paint
Isolation (Alt+I)	Isolation Routing
Follow (Alt+Y)	Follow
Drilling (Alt+D)	Drilling
Milling (Alt+M)	Milling
GCode sender	GCode Sender (in development)
Copper Thieving (Alt+J)	Copper Thieving
Fiducials (Alt+F)	Fiducials
QRCode (Alt+Q)	QRCode
Punch Gerber (Alt+H)	Punch Gerber
Invert Gerber (Alt+G)	Invert Gerber
Markers (Alt+B)	Markers
Etch Compensation	Etch Compensation
Extract (Alt+E)	Extract

The Levelling plugin is in Options > Experimental. The Distance, Distance Minimum and Move tools are in the Edit menu. The PDF Import Tool and the PcbWizard Import are in File > Import.

Help

Item	Shortcut	What it does
Obsolete Online Help	F1	Opens the online help page. The item is marked obsolete in the menu.
Check for Updates	none	Checks for a new release. See Updates.
Revert to Previous Version	none	Restores the previous installation after an update. See Updates.
Bookmarks > Bookmarks Manager	none	Opens the bookmarks manager.
Report a bug	none	Opens the page to report a bug.
Excellon Specification	none	Opens the Excellon format specification.
Gerber Specification	none	Opens the Gerber format specification.
Shortcuts List	F3	Opens the Key Shortcut List tab. See Keyboard Shortcuts.
YouTube Channel	F4	Opens the video channel.
Donate	none	Opens the donation page.
How To	none	Opens the How To page.
About	none	Shows the version and the credits.

Toolbars

The main window has these toolbars. Hover over a button to see its tooltip.

File toolbar

• Gerber: opens a Gerber file.
• Excellon: opens an Excellon file.

Edit toolbar

• Editor: opens the editor of the selected object. The button changes to Exit Edit while an editor is open.
• Copy: copies the selection.
• Delete: deletes the selection.
• Distance: measures the distance between points.
• Set Origin: sets a custom origin.
• Jump to: moves the mouse cursor to a position and centers the view.
• Locate: locates a predefined position on the selected object.

View toolbar

• Replot: redraws the objects.
• Clear Plot: clears the canvas.
• Zoom In, Zoom Out, Zoom Fit.

Shell toolbar

• Command Line: opens the Tcl shell.
• New Script, Open Script, Run Script.

Plugin toolbar

• Drilling, Milling: the CNC job plugins.
• Isolation, NCC, Paint: the copper plugins.
• Cutout, Panel, Film, 2-Sided, Align: the board plugins.
• Thieving, Markers, Punch, Calculators: the other plugins.

Editor toolbars

The editor toolbars appear only when the matching editor is open.

• Excellon Editor Toolbar: Select, Add Drill, Add Drill Array, Add Slot, Add Slot Array, Resize Drill, Copy, Delete, Move.
• Geometry Editor Toolbar: Select, Circle, Arc, Rectangle, Path, Polygon, Text, Simplify, Buffer, Paint, Eraser, Union, Join, Polygonize, Explode, Intersection, Subtraction, Alt Subtraction, Cut Path, Copy, Import, Delete, Transform, Move.
• Gerber Editor Toolbar: Select, Pad, Pad Array, Track, Join, Region, Poligonize, SemiDisc, Disc, Rect. Reg, Copper Pour, Text Reg, Arc Follow, Diff. Keep, Buffer, Simplification, Scale, Mark Area, Import, Eraser, Copy, Delete, Transform, Move.

See Geometry Editor, Excellon Editor and Gerber Editor.

Grid toolbar

The grid toolbar is part of the status bar area. It has:

• Snap to grid (G): turns the grid snap on or off.
• Grid X snapping distance: the X distance of the grid.
• Link check box: when on, the Grid Y value follows the Grid X value.
• Grid Y snapping distance: the Y distance of the grid. It is hidden while the link is on.
• Snap to corner (K): snaps to the corners of the objects. See Geometry Editor.
• Max. magnet distance: the distance at which the cursor snaps to a point.

Coordinates toolbars

• Coordinates Toolbar: the absolute position of the mouse (X, Y). The reference is the origin (X = 0, Y = 0).
• Delta Coordinates Toolbar: the relative position (Dx, Dy). The reference is the last click.

Status toolbar

• Toggle the display of axis on canvas icon: shows or hides the axis.
• Preferences icon: opens the preferences.
• HUD (Heads up display) icon: shows or hides the HUD.
• Workspace label (A4): shows or hides the workspace rectangle.

Context menu of the toolbar area

Right-click on the toolbar area. The menu lists each toolbar and the Lock Toolbars and Show Text items.

Status bar

From left to right, the status bar shows:

• The status toolbar icons (see above).
• The Dx, Dy and X, Y coordinates.
• The units label, for example [mm]. It shows the units of the active project.
• The activity icon. It shows that a task runs.

Screenshot placeholder: images/User-Interface-2.png — the status bar with the coordinates, the grid toolbar and the units label.

Side panel

The side panel is on the left. It has the Project tab, the Properties tab and, while a plugin runs, the plugin tab (it shows the plugin name).

Project tab

The Project tab lists all objects of the project. Each object has its name. Click the name to select the object.

The Project tab has a context menu. See Context menus.

Properties tab

The Properties tab shows the settings of the selected object. The settings are grouped by object type. Each object has these common controls:

• Plot check box: shows or hides the object on the canvas.
• Scale and offset fields.
• A button for the Transformation plugin.

While an editor is open, the Properties tab label changes to Editor.

See Objects Overview.

Plugin tab

When you start a plugin, a new tab opens next to Project and Properties. The tab shows the plugin name. It shows the plugin panel with the plugin name and its controls. Run the same plugin again to hide the tab. Use the Reset Tool button of a plugin to reset its parameters to their defaults.

Notebook tabs in the plot area

The plot area has these tabs.

• Plot Area: the 2D canvas.
• Tools Database: the tools table of all tools.
• Key Shortcut List: the list of shortcuts. Opened with F3.
• Plot 3D: the 3D view. Opened from Options > Experimental > 3D Area.
• Preferences: the preferences. Opened with Shift+P. The tabs are General, GERBER, EXCELLON, GEOMETRY, CNC-JOB, ENGRAVING, PROCESSING, EXTRA PLUGINS and UTILITIES.

Docks

The Tcl shell and the GCode console are docks at the bottom of the window. Drag a dock to move it. Close it with its close button.

Plot area and canvas

The plot area shows the objects in 2D. The canvas uses VisPy and OpenGL.

Mouse and wheel

• Mouse wheel: zooms in and out at the mouse position.
• Shift + mouse wheel: pans the view horizontally.
• Ctrl + mouse wheel: pans the view vertically.
• Pan button: pans the view while you hold the button. The pan button is set in Preferences > General (MMB is one of the choices).
• Right click on the canvas: opens the canvas context menu.

Grid, axis and workspace

• The grid is shown with the grid lines. Turn them on or off with Shift+G.
• The grid snap uses the grid X and Y distances of the grid toolbar. Turn the grid snap on or off with G.
• The axis is shown with Shift+A.
• The workspace rectangle is shown with Shift+W.

3D view

The 3D view opens from Options > Experimental > 3D Area. The view opens in the plot area as the Plot 3D tab.

• Drag the view with the left mouse button to rotate it around the grid center.
• Use the mouse wheel to zoom.
• Use the ViewCube to change the view.

ViewCube

The ViewCube is a cube in the top right corner of the 3D view. Its faces show the directions of the view.

• Click a face to select a view. The faces are Top, Bottom, Left, Right, Front and Back.
• Drag the cube to rotate the view around the grid center.
• Right-click on the cube to show the menu with all six views, Iso View and Fit View.

Screenshot placeholder: images/User-Interface-3.png — the 3D view with the ViewCube in the top right corner and its context menu open.

Context menus

Project tab context menu

Right-click an object in the Project tab.

• Enable Plot and Disable Plot.
• Set Color: the colors Red, Blue, Yellow, Green, Purple, Brown, Indigo, White, Black, and Custom. Also Opacity and Default.
• View Source.
• Edit.
• Copy.
• Delete.
• Save.
• Export: DXF, SVG, PNG and PDF.
• Join: As Gerber, As Excellon and As Geometry. Select 2 or more objects first.
• Properties.

Right-click on the empty project selector to see Import... and Close All Projects.

Canvas context menu

Right-click on the canvas.

• View: Toggle Visibility, Toggle Panel, Zoom Fit, Clear Plot and Replot.
• New: Geometry, Gerber, Excellon, Project.
• Grids: the grid settings.
• Set Color: the color submenu.
• Geometry Editor, Excellon Editor, Gerber Editor: the tools of each editor. These submenus are used while an editor is open.

3D view context menu

Right-click on the 3D view.

• Toggle Grid.
• Fit View.

Beginner and Advanced mode

FlatCAM Evo has 2 levels of use. Beginner mode is the default. It hides the less common parameters of the plugins and of the objects, so the panels are short. Advanced mode shows all the parameters.

Screenshot placeholder: images/User-Interface-4.png — the Isolation panel in Beginner mode and in Advanced mode, side by side, with the level button marked.

The level button

Each plugin panel, each object panel in the Properties tab and each editor has a level button next to its title.

• The button shows Beginner in green or Advanced in red.
• Click the button to change the level of that panel only. The change is not saved.
• The next time that you open the panel, it uses the level of the preferences again.

The permanent level

1. Open Edit > Preferences (Shift+P).
2. In the General tab, find Application Level.
3. Select Beginner or Advanced.
4. Click Save. No restart is necessary.
5. Close the open plugin panels and open them again. The panels read the level when they open.

See Preferences: General.

What Beginner mode changes

Beginner mode hides controls. Some plugins also set the hidden controls to safe values. Other plugins keep the hidden values and use them in the job.

Panel	Beginner mode hides	Values that Beginner mode sets
Isolation Routing	The tool add section, Milling Type, Isolation Type, Rest Machining, Except, Selection and the table context menu.	Isolation Type is Full. Rest Machining, Except and Selected objects are off. Selection is All.
Non-Copper Clearing	The tool add section, Operation, Milling Type, Offset, Rest Machining.	Operation is Clear. Milling Type is Climb. Offset and Rest Machining are off.
Cutout	Convex Shape, Search and Add, Pick from DB, the gap Type, the Automatic / Manual choice, Cut by Drilling.	The gap type is Bridge. Convex Shape is off. The cutout is Automatic.
Drilling	Multi-Depth, Dwell, Peck drilling, Drill slots, Offset Z, Start Z, End move X,Y, spot drilling, job transform, hole areas, Add objects, exclusion areas.	The job does not use multi-depth, dwell, peck, spot drilling, slots, the job transform, the extra objects, the hole areas and the exclusion areas.
Milling	Multi-Depth, Offset Type, Job, Re-cut, Dwell, End move X,Y, Path optimization, exclusion areas, the tool add section.	None. The job uses the hidden values.
Double-Sided	The Mirror, Bounds and PCB Alignment tools.	None. Beginner mode shows the 1-click Generate process.
Gerber Object	The Tools Table, the aperture table check box and Follow.	—
Excellon Object	2 columns of the tool table, Auto load from DB and the table context menu.	—
CNCJob Object	Display Annotation.	—

Caution: Milling, and some Drilling options (Offset Z, Start Z, End move X,Y, Spindle direction, Fast Plunge, Fast Retract), use the hidden values. If you changed them in Advanced mode, the job uses them in Beginner mode too. Check them in Advanced mode, or reset the preferences.

Tools in Beginner mode

Beginner mode hides the tool add section of the plugins. You change the tool in the tool table:

• Isolation and NCC fill the table with the diameters from the preferences. Double-click the Diameter cell to change it.
• Milling uses the tools of the Geometry object. Double-click the diameter cell to change it.
• Drilling uses the tools of the Excellon file.
• Cutout shows the Tool Dia field.

To add more tools, switch to Advanced mode. The T key adds a tool to a Geometry object only in Advanced mode.

Keyboard focus

Keys act on the canvas and on the objects. When a text field has the focus, the keys type text. Click the canvas before you use the shortcuts. See Keyboard Shortcuts.

Advanced

• Restore Layout (View) brings back the layout of the windows.
• Clear GUI Settings in the Preferences tab clears the layout, the style and the GUI state.
• Each toolbar can be hidden with its entry in the toolbar context menu.
• The Tcl Shell is a Tcl command line. See Tcl Shell and Tcl Scripting.

See also

• Getting Started
• Keyboard Shortcuts
• Objects Overview
• Projects
• Preferences Overview
• FAQ and Troubleshooting