The Add an area wizard

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The Add an area wizard

Cover part of the photo with any material in three steps: choose where, choose what, then swap or fine-tune in place.

Add an area walks you through putting a new bed, lawn, patio or path onto the photo. It makes the same live, editable shape as the Draw beds & patios tool, with perspective, shadows and undo.

Where to find it

Inside the Add tool, at the top of Plants & things, Mulch, stone & lawn and Draw beds & patios, tap 🧱 Add an area under “Add a bed, lawn, patio or path”.

Step 1: Where?

The question is “Where do you want to add something?” Pick one:

  • Find the bed for me: VisionScaper outlines the bed that is already in the photo. It accepts a bed only when it is confident the bed is mulch. For other beds, if you are signed in and the online helper is available, it asks the helper to outline a raised garden bed or garden bed. If it cannot, it says “I couldn’t find the edge of that bed by myself. Outline it yourself: tap around it.” You then confirm with “Is this the area?” and Yes, that’s the area.
  • Curved edges: tap around it; the outline curves smoothly.
  • Straight edges: tap each corner.
  • Rectangle: press and drag one box across the area.

See Outline modes and fine-tuning for dragging dots.

Step 2: What?

“What should go there?” You see the full materials browser, with Popular first (dark brown, black, red and cedar mulch, lawn, sod, soil, topsoil, pea gravel and river stone), a search box (“Search [n] materials”) and group chips: Mulch, Stone & Gravel, Soil & Sand, Lawn & Groundcover, Pavers, Natural Stone, Tile & Marble, Wood & Decking, Decking & Surfaces. Tap any material.

Step 3: See it in the photo

The area appears at once, named Bed 1, Patio 1 and so on, and a bar shows under the picture:

  • Looks good: keep it.
  • Try another material: pick again without redrawing.
  • Start the area over: removes it and goes back to Step 1.
  • ✋ Fine-tune the edges: drag, add and remove dots.
  • Edging: None, Steel, Stone, Brick.

The wizard decides if it is a lawn, patio or bed by the material’s group (lawn and groundcover; pavers, natural stone, tile and wood; everything else a bed). A message says “Added. If you change your mind, press Undo.”

Tips

If something goes wrong

  • “That outline was too small. Try again.”: place at least 3 points.
  • Find the bed does not find a raised bed: outline it yourself.
  • The material looks stretched: lower the Perspective slider in the Brush panel.

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