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Help Center › Admin screens, field by field › Designer: Draw beds & patios (Shapes) controls
Designer: Draw beds & patios (Shapes) controls
Every control for the Shapes tool and for editing a shape you already drew: outline style, fill, width, wall height, edging, material, opacity.
On this page
You find this in the Designer: tap Add, then the Draw beds & patios tab. When a shape is already drawn, tap it with the Move tool to get a second panel for editing that shape. Anyone using the Designer can use it.
The tool draws real, editable shapes (beds, patios, lawns, walkways, walls and edging) with perspective and undo. The first table is the drawing panel. The second is the panel for a shape you tapped. Background: draw beds, patios and edging.
Before you start
- Open a design. Set the scale first on photos so walkway width and wall height come out the right size.
Fields
Drawing panel: choose the shape
| Field (exact label) | What it does for VisionScaper | What to enter and example | Default / notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Landscape shapes (six buttons) opts.bed.shape |
Chooses what you are about to draw. Beds, patios and lawns are filled areas. Walkways, walls and edging are lines. Each choice also picks a matching starting material (a wall gets a wall material, patio and walkway get a paver-type material, lawn gets a lawn material) and switches tap-to-fill on. | Options: Planting bed; Patio; Lawn; Walkway; Retaining wall; Edging. Tap one button, then tap points on the photo. A line under the buttons explains how to draw the chosen shape. | Planting bed |
How do you want to outline it? opts.bed.curved / opts.bed.rect |
Curved smooths the outline between your points. Straight joins your points with straight lines. Rectangle lets you press and drag one box and follows the photo’s perspective. | Options: Curved edges; Straight edges; Rectangle (area shapes only); Curved / Straight (line shapes). Pick before you start tapping. Changing it cancels a half-drawn shape. | Curved edges |
Draw outlines first, choose materials later opts.bed.outline |
When on, a finished area is an outline with no material yet so you can draw several beds first and fill them all after. | Untick it if you want each shape to take the selected material the moment you close it. | Checked |
Width opts.bed.width |
The true width of a walkway. It narrows into the distance by perspective. | Options: 2 to 12 ft, step 6 in. Drag the slider; the number shows feet and inches. | 4 ft |
Wall height opts.bed.height |
How tall the wall rises straight up from the line you tap along its base. | Options: 6 in to 6 ft, step 6 in. Drag the slider before or after drawing. | 2 ft |
Cap stones on top opts.bed.cap |
Adds a row of cap stones along the top of the wall. | Untick for a plain wall top. | Checked |
Border / edging (Edging type when the shape is Edging) opts.bed.edging |
Draws a border line around beds and patios, or sets the material of an Edging line. Not shown for Retaining wall or Lawn. | Options: None (not offered for the Edging shape); Metal; Plastic; Stone; Brick. Tap one. | Metal |
Drawing panel: finishing and filling
These controls appear only when they apply.
| Field (exact label) | What it does for VisionScaper | What to enter and example | Default / notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Close loop (area shapes) / Finish (line shapes) | Finishes the shape. Same as tapping the big Start point. | Tap after placing your points. | Greyed out until 3 points (areas) or 2 points (lines) |
| Back 1 point | Removes the last point you placed (Backspace). | Tap it, or press Backspace. | n/a |
| Clear | Throws away the half-drawn shape (Esc). | Tap it, or press Esc. | n/a |
Selected material / Change ↓ opts.bed.fillMat |
Shows which material the Fill buttons will use. Change ↓ scrolls down to the material picker. | Tap Change ↓, then pick a tile. | Mulch |
| Fill all N with |
Paints every drawn area with the selected material in one tap. | Tap once. | n/a |
Tap a shape to fill it (on) / (off) opts.bed.fill |
When on, tapping an existing shape on the photo fills it with the selected material. Turn it off to draw a new shape inside an existing one. | Tap to switch. | On |
| Fill (per shape in the list) | Fills only that shape. | Tap on the shape’s row. | Disabled if the shape already has that material |
| Rename (pencil icon on each shape’s row) | Gives the shape a name (up to 40 characters) shown in the list and in Layers. | Type a name such as “Front bed” and press OK. | Bed 1, Bed 2 … |
| Edit (pointer icon on each shape’s row) | Switches to the Move tool and selects the shape so you can reshape it. | Tap it. | n/a |
| Fine-tune what you just drew: Remove point / Undo / Done | Lets you drag white dots, add dots at the teal plus signs, delete a tapped dot and finish. | Drag a dot to move it. Tap Done when happy. | Remove point greyed until you tap a dot |
Drawing panel: material
Shown as “Materials: pick one to fill with” for areas, “Wall material” for walls and “Material” for walkways. Not shown for Edging.
| Field (exact label) | What it does for VisionScaper | What to enter and example | Default / notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Search N materials (box with a magnifier; N is the number of materials) | Narrows the swatch grid below it to materials whose name, group, id or tags contain every word you type. It does not change the design by itself. | Type one or more words such as “red mulch” or “bluestone”. Every word must match. | Empty |
| Search materials by voice (microphone button next to the box) | Listens through your browser and types what you say into the search box. | Tap it, allow the microphone if asked, then speak. Not every browser supports speech; if yours does not, a message says voice search is not available. | Off |
| Material group chips | Shows only one kind of material in the grid. All shows every group. | Options: All; Mulch; Stone & Gravel; Soil & Sand; Lawn & Groundcover; Pavers; Natural Stone; Tile & Marble; Wood & Decking; Decking & Surfaces. Tap one chip. Tap All to clear it. | All |
| Material swatch grid | Picks the material for the next shape and the Fill buttons. | Tap one tile. The chosen tile gets a highlight. The material name is under each picture. | Mulch |
Panel for a shape you tapped (Move tool)
Tap a bed, patio, lawn, walkway, wall or edging with the Move tool.
| Field (exact label) | What it does for VisionScaper | What to enter and example | Default / notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Done (X in the top right) | Closes the shape panel. | Tap it. | n/a |
Remove selected point data-act op-delpt |
Deletes the dot you tapped (a polygon keeps at least 3 dots; a line keeps 2). | Tap a white dot on the photo first, then this button. | Greyed out until you tap a dot |
Undo (inside the shape panel) data-act op-undo |
Undoes the last edit. | Tap it. | n/a |
Shape op.straight |
Switches an area between smooth and straight edges. | Options: Curved; Straight. Tap one. | As drawn |
Path op.curved |
Switches a line between smooth and straight. | Options: Curved; Straight. Tap one. | As drawn |
Width op.width |
Changes the walkway width. | Options: 2 to 12 ft, step 6 in. Drag. | 4 ft |
Height op.height |
Changes wall height. | Options: 6 in to 6 ft, step 6 in. Drag. | 2 ft |
Cap stones on top (shape panel) op.cap |
Adds or removes the wall cap. | Tick or untick. | Checked |
Border / edging, or Edging op.edging |
Changes the border or the edging material. | Options: None (not for edging); Metal; Plastic; Stone; Brick. Tap one. | As drawn |
Material (swatch grid, shape panel) op.mat |
Swaps the material of this one shape. Not shown for edging. | Search, pick a group chip and tap a tile (same picker as above). | As drawn |
| Smaller / Bigger | Scales the whole shape down or up by 10 % each tap. | Tap as needed. | n/a |
Opacity op.alpha |
How see-through this shape is. | Options: 10 to 100 %, step 1. Drag. | 100 % |
Soft edge op.soft |
Feathers the edge of a painted or filled region. | Options: 0 to 20 px, step 1. Drag. | 0 px |
| Duplicate / On top / Below / Remove | Makes a copy; moves the shape one step up or down in the stack; deletes the shape (Undo brings it back). | Tap the one you need. | n/a |
Steps
- Tap Add, then Draw beds & patios.
- Choose the shape in Landscape shapes (for example Planting bed).
- Choose how to outline it: Curved edges, Straight edges or Rectangle.
- For a walkway set Width. For a wall set Wall height and decide on Cap stones on top.
- Tap around the area on the photo. Tap the big Start point or Close loop to finish. Lines end with Finish.
- Pick a material in the picker, then tap the new shape (tap-to-fill) or press Fill all.
- Drag the white dots to fine-tune, then press Done.
- To change it later, tap the shape with the Move tool and use the shape panel. Press Done (X) when finished.
- Autosave keeps your work. Check that the status near the top says Saved.
Tips
- Draw all your beds first with “Draw outlines first, choose materials later” ticked, then press Fill all.
- Name each bed so you can find it in Layers and in your plant list.
If something goes wrong
- Close loop is greyed out. An area needs at least three points.
- Tapping a bed starts a new shape instead of filling it. Tap-to-fill is off. Turn it on.
- My wall looks too tall or short. Check the scale in Photo setup, then Wall height.
- A dot will not delete. Shapes keep a minimum number of dots (3 for areas, 2 for lines).