User Interface

Tour of the Print CAD graphics window, property browser, toolbar, menus, and keyboard shortcuts.

Print CAD runs entirely in the browser using WebAssembly. The interface is organized around two main areas: the Graphics Window where you draw and view geometry, and the Property Browser where you configure entities, view constraints, and manage variables. The application includes 16 built-in themes, a Bootstrap-based toolbar, and HTML-powered dialogs for a modern web experience.

Graphics Window

The central canvas where all drawing and editing takes place. The graphics window renders your 2D sketch and 3D model with real-time constraint visualization.

Pan: Middle-click and drag, or Shift + left-click and drag
Zoom: Scroll wheel, or pinch gesture on trackpad
Rotate (3D): Left-click and drag on empty space
Select: Left-click on entities, constraints, or points
Multi-select: Hold Shift and click additional entities
Nudge: Arrow keys move selected geometry by one pixel increment

The graphics window shows constraint annotations (dimension values, angle markers, coincident dots) overlaid on the geometry. Constraint colors indicate their state — satisfied constraints appear in one color, while unsolved or conflicting constraints are highlighted differently.

Property Browser (Text Window)

The property browser on the left side displays context-sensitive information:

Groups list: Shows all sketch groups and their hierarchy. Each group represents a set of related entities (sketch, extrude, revolve, etc.).
Entity details: When you select a line, arc, circle, or point, the property browser shows its coordinates, constraint references, and style assignment.
Variable list: Named variables with their current values. Click a value to edit it — the parametric solver recalculates all dependent geometry immediately.
Constraint list: All constraints in the active group with their values and status.
Style list: Available line styles (Cut, Crease, Perf, Bleed, Glue, Mask, and custom styles) with visibility toggles.

Drawing tools for creating 2D geometry on the active workplane:

Tool	Description
Line Segment	Draw straight lines between two points.
Rectangle	Draw a rectangle from two corner points.
Circle	Draw a circle from center and radius.
Arc	Draw a circular arc from three points.
Cubic Bezier	Draw smooth curves with control points.
TTF Text	Place text using TrueType fonts, rendered as sketch geometry.
Construction	Toggle entities as construction geometry (used for reference, not exported).

Apply geometric relationships between entities. See Constraints for the complete reference.

Manage 3D operations applied to sketch geometry:

Group Type	Description
Sketch in New Workplane	Create a new 2D sketch on a selected plane or face.
Extrude	Pull a 2D profile into a 3D solid along a direction.
Revolve	Rotate a 2D profile around an axis to create a solid of revolution.
Step and Repeat (Translate)	Create parametric linear arrays of geometry.
Step and Repeat (Rotate)	Create parametric radial arrays of geometry.
Import / Assemble	Link external `.pcad` files as components.

View Controls

Zoom to Fit: Centers and scales the view to show all geometry
Nearest Ortho View: Snaps to the closest orthographic angle
Exploded View: Separates sketch elements perpendicular to the workplane for easier selection in dense drawings

Themes

Print CAD includes 16 built-in themes organized into three categories. Switch themes with Ctrl+Shift+T (cycles to the next theme) or from the View menu. Your selection persists across sessions.

Light Themes

Theme	Description
GitHub Light	Clean, minimal light theme inspired by GitHub's design language.
VS Code Light+	Bright theme matching Visual Studio Code's default light appearance.
Solarized Light	Warm-toned light theme with carefully chosen contrast ratios.
Tokyo Night Light	Soft light theme with muted, balanced colors.
Catppuccin Latte	Pastel light theme from the Catppuccin color palette.

Dark Themes

Theme	Description
GitHub Dark (default)	The default theme. Dark background with GitHub-inspired colors.
Abyss	Deep blue-black theme for low-light environments.
Ayu Dark	Warm dark theme with orange and amber accents.
Dracula	Popular dark theme with purple, pink, and cyan highlights.
Catppuccin Mocha	Rich dark theme from the Catppuccin palette with warm undertones.
Night Owl	Dark theme optimized for contrast and readability.
Tokyo Night	Dark theme with cool blue and purple tones.
Tomorrow Night Blue	Deep blue-based dark theme with bright syntax colors.

High Contrast Themes

Theme	Description
Dark High Contrast	Maximum contrast dark theme for accessibility.
GitHub Dark High Contrast	GitHub dark with increased contrast ratios.
GitHub Light High Contrast	GitHub light with increased contrast ratios.

Each theme applies consistent colors across the entire interface — canvas background, geometry styles (active, construction, selected, hovered), toolbar, property browser, dialogs, and menus. CAD-specific colors for constraint states and line style rendering update automatically when you switch themes.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Print CAD supports keyboard shortcuts for common operations:

Escape — Cancel current operation, deselect all
Delete — Remove selected entities or constraints
Ctrl+Z / Cmd+Z — Undo
Ctrl+Y / Cmd+Shift+Z — Redo
Ctrl+S / Cmd+S — Save
Ctrl+Shift+T — Cycle to next theme

Sketch tool shortcuts are shown in the Sketch Tools toolbar group: S (Line), R (Rectangle), C (Circle), A (Arc), B (Bezier), P (Point), G (Construction). Constraint shortcuts include D (Distance), N (Angle), H (Horizontal), V (Vertical), Y (Symmetric), Q (Equal), X (Same Orientation).

Browser Requirements

Print CAD requires a modern browser with WebAssembly support:

Chrome 57+
Edge 16+
Firefox 52+
Safari 11+

The application loads as a single page with a WebAssembly binary. Initial load downloads approximately 30 MB. Settings and preferences are stored in browser localStorage and persist across sessions.

Constraints — Full reference for the constraint types available in the Constraint menu
Line Styles — Assign cut, crease, and other structural types from the style list
Variables — Manage named parametric values in the property browser
Expression System — Write formulas used in constraint annotations and variable definitions