Designer: Measure & zones and the scene bar

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Designer: Measure & zones and the scene bar

Every control for Measure & zones, plus the bar under the picture: season, See it grow, day or night, sunlight, original photo.

You find Measure & zones in the Designer by tapping Measure in the tool bar. The scene bar is the strip under the picture; it is always visible while a design is open. Anyone can use both.

Measure works to scale on bird’s-eye views and gives estimates (marked ≈) on photos. The scene bar changes how the whole picture looks: season, years of growth, night lighting and sun direction. Background: seasons and day-night and plant age and the time machine.

Before you start

Fields

Measure & zones panel

Field (exact label) What it does for VisionScaper What to enter and example Default / notes
Distance / Area / Zone opts.measure.mode Distance: tap two points on the ground. Area: tap around a shape; tap the first point to finish. Zone: mark where plantings and hardscape go and what to keep or remove. Changing mode cancels a half-made measurement. Options: Distance; Area; Zone. Tap the mode, then tap on the photo. Distance
Zone type opts.measure.zone The kind of zone you are drawing. Each has its own color on the photo. Options: Planting zone; Hardscape zone; Existing – keep; Existing – remove. Pick before you draw. Planting zone
Finish Finishes the measurement. For Distance the second tap finishes it. Tap. Greyed out until 3 points
Cancel Throws the unfinished measurement away. Tap. n/a
Name it (pencil on each saved item) Names a saved measurement. Options: Up to 40 characters. Type “Front walk” and press OK. Empty (default words Distance, Area or the zone type)
Delete (trash on each saved item) Removes the saved measurement. Tap. n/a
Keep showing them with other tools ed.showMeas When ticked measurements stay on the photo in every tool; otherwise they show only in Measure. Tick to keep them in view. Unchecked

Scene bar: season

Field (exact label) What it does for VisionScaper What to enter and example Default / notes
Season buttons project.season / project.look Shows plants in that season’s leaf, flower and color. Peak look shows each plant in the season it looks its best. Options: Peak look; Spring; Summer; Fall; Winter. Tap one. Summer

Scene bar: See it grow

Field (exact label) What it does for VisionScaper What to enter and example Default / notes
Play growth (play / pause button) Runs the year slider forward by itself, about 3 years per second, then stops at the end. Tap again to pause. Tap play. It starts from 0 if the slider is near the end. Stopped
See it grow (years from now slider) project.years Shows every plant at its size that many years from now. The label reads “Today” or “In N yrs (year)”. Options: 0 up to 30 to 60 years (depends on the slowest plant in the design), step 1. Drag right to see the future. Use arrow keys for single years. 0 (Today)
Fully grown Jumps the slider to the year everything you placed is fully grown. Tap. n/a

Scene bar: scale, original, sun and night

Field (exact label) What it does for VisionScaper What to enter and example Default / notes
Set the scale (how big things are) — or Scale: good / okay / check it (chip) Opens the Scale tab. Its colour and words show whether the scale is confirmed. Tap it, then follow the Scale controls article. Hidden on bird’s-eye views
Hold to see the original photo (eye button) Shows the photo as it was before your design while held. Press and hold. n/a
Flip sunlight direction (sun button) project.sun Switches the direction of light on painted ground and shadows between left and right. Tap to flip. Light from the left (-1)
Toggle night lighting (moon / sun button) project.night Switches the whole picture between day and night lighting. Tap; the icon changes to a sun at night. Day

Steps

  1. Tap Measure, pick Distance, Area or Zone.
  2. Tap points on the photo. For Area, tap the first point again (or Finish) to close it.
  3. Tap the pencil on a saved item to name it.
  4. Tick Keep showing them with other tools if you want them visible while you design.
  5. Under the picture, choose a Season button.
  6. Drag See it grow, or press play. Tap Fully grown to jump to maturity.
  7. Press and hold the eye button to compare against the original photo.
  8. Use the moon button for a night view and the sun button to flip light direction.

Tips

  • Photo measurements are estimates. For exact numbers use a bird’s-eye view.
  • Plants placed with a large “Size when planted” mature sooner, which lengthens or shortens the slider.

If something goes wrong

  • Finish is greyed out. An area needs 3 points.
  • Everything is the wrong size when I slide the years. The scale is off. Fix it in Scale.
  • Night looks too dark. Switch back with the moon button; it is a view setting, not a change to the photo.

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