Window Layout

The program window has the following elements:

Menu Bar

This is the standard Windows menu bar.

For a quick description of a particular menu command, point to the command and read the description from the dynamic help window.

For more information about using menus, please consult your Windows documentation.

Object Category Tabs

Objects are divided into the following categories.

•      Main – common file and clipboard commands.

•      Building – objects used for buildings and other structures.

•      Terrain – objects for sculpting the terrain.

•      Landscape – objects for landscaping.

•      Water Features – objects for designing water features.

•      Swimming Pool – objects for building swimming pools.

•      Utilities – other general purpose objects.

Object Creation Tools

To create an object, first click the desired object category, and then click the toolbar button representing the desired object. Then follow the instructions in the dynamic help window.

To determine the function of a particular button, position your mouse over the button and wait a second or two. A tooltip will display the button's function.

For more information see Adding Objects.

Editing Tools

The editing tools allow you to select, rotate, and scale your objects. When editing shapes, you can round (fillet) and square (bevel) the corners. When an object is selected, you can also edit its properties. For information about editing objects, see Editing Objects.

View Tools

The view tools allow you to change your viewpoint. You can also use your mouse to adjust the view. For more information, see Adjusting the View.

Grid On/Off

Click this button to toggle the grid on and off. For more information, see Snap Settings.

Snap On/Off

Click this button to toggle grid snapping on and off. For more information, see Snap Settings.

View Tabs

These tabs allow you to select Top-Down, Perspective, and Realtime Walkthrough views. Top-down is best for drawing shapes and positioning objects. Perspective is useful for setting elevations, sculpting the terrain, adding doors and windows, and other tasks which require a three-dimensional view. Most editing tasks can be performed in either top-down or perspective view, so feel free to choose the one which makes the most sense for what you are trying to accomplish.

Layer Tabs

These tabs help you organize your landscape design into layers. For example, you could place all of your fill regions into a layer and lock them to prevent them from being selected while you work on other areas of your design. See Using Layers for more information.

Object Properties

These controls allow you to modify the appearance and other options of your objects. See Setting Object Properties for more information.

Dynamic Help

This area displays dynamic help for the currently selected tool. For example, when creating an object, a description of the next step will be displayed here.