This article is based on Designer 2.0, and some features may work differently if you are using the first version. In this case, please contact us as soon as you have any questions.
Don't forget to save your progress by clicking the Save button. Use Version history to restore an older version.
How to start
If you already have an account with us and want to add a new event, you should find the option "Add new floor plan" on your Dashboard
. You can have as many floor plans under your account as you want.
Select a venue
You can start with a venue template, a sample venue, or a blank one.
Venue template
Start typing the name of your venue and choose it from the drop-down menu. If we have your template in our system, you'll see the preview on the right. Click "Load template".
We constantly update our template library, so if we don't have your template yet, we'll add it. Let us know which one you need in the chat button, so we can move it up on our to-do list.
However, note that some templates already exist but are still in a “raw” state. Because of this, we may need a significant amount of time to refine, complete, and fully polish the existing templates. But they will be updated and improved over time.
If you've chosen an incorrect venue, you can create a new floor plan and delete the previous one.
Sample venue
Select a sample venue if you don't have a location for your event yet or want to jumpstart your trial. It comes with sample booths, booth prices, stages, and schedules, so it's perfect for trying out booth reservations, (un)assigning sample exhibitors, etc.
If you decide to add a venue template later, you can copy your design, create a new floor plan with the venue, and paste it.
Blank venue
Select a blank venue if you don't have a fear of a blank page and want to start completely from scratch. Please note that sample exhibitors and other data are unavailable with the blank venue.
Add sample exhibitors and other data
We recommend choosing this option if you create a floor plan for the first time. You'll be able to see what the exhibitor details and Portal look like, test exporting the data, assign categories, etc.
First steps in the Designer
Once the venue is created, you can upload files containing your booth layouts in a variety of formats: DXF, PDF, SVG, PNG, JPG. It will make the design process easier, but you can still design your plan without uploading anything.
The first things you need to do to make your plan precise is to set a measurement unit and a grid, and to learn how layers work so they don't confuse you.
Measurement units and scaling
In the Designer
workspace, you can choose meters or feet as the measurement unit.
The default scaling is 1:1, meaning that 1 pixel is equal to 1 m or 1 ft.
Grid
Grid will help you perfectly align objects to each other. The settings (at the bottom of the workspace) let you choose the size of the grid cells.
A larger grid size helps you align bigger objects, while a smaller grid helps you align elements with better precision.
Layers
A layer is a way to organize objects in your design. Layers stack on top of each other, which means elements on higher layers appear in front of elements on lower ones.
On a basic level, layers help you manage your design more easily. You can select a layer to move, resize, hide, lock, or delete its objects without affecting others. The most crucial thing when designing a simple plan is to make sure that each element you add is assigned to the correct layer.
"WF" (wayfinding) is for wayfinding lines (invisible in the front view)
"Foreground" is for objects you want to appear in front of booths
"Booths" is for booths and other POIs
"Background" is for everything you want to appear behind booths
"Images (designer only)" is for images and other files that you use as references to draw your map (invisible in the front view)
If all layers are visible in the Designer, new objects get placed on the top WF layer. This layer is technical; it's invisible in the front view, so it's crucial to move the objects that are supposed to be visible to another layer.
If you need to use more layers settings, please read this article.
Using basic tools
In this section, you can learn how to use every tool on the toolbar. You can read it before you start or get back to it when you need a certain tool.
The Select tool allows you to drag your mouse over one or more objects to select and move them. To select a few objects, click the first one, and then the others, holding down the Ctrl. You can also move objects with arrows on the keyboard, which move a selected element for 1 step. If you want to move it for 0.1 step, use Shift + arrow.
The Pan tool lets you drag the camera while holding down the left mouse button. However, Pan only works correctly if all layers are locked.
This tool will Undo/Redo a movement (Shortcuts: Ctrl + Z and Ctrl + Y).
This tool will Copy/Paste any selected object (Shortcuts: Ctrl + C and Ctrl + V).
This tool will Flip an object horizontally or vertically.
This tool will Rotate an object. Holding Ctrl makes objects rotate around their own axis.
The Move element tool controls the order of objects within a layer. By clicking this button, you can move an object so that it appears above or below other objects on the layer. Note that this does not count as moving the object on the map.
The Group/Ungroup works by allowing you to group any selected objects into a single group — this can include POIs, booths, and Path objects. (Shortcuts: Ctrl + G and Ctrl + U).
The Union paths tool merges multiple Path objects, but doesn't work for POIs.
The Lock tool allows you to lock an element so that no accidental changes or manipulations can be made to it later. Use the Unlock All Elements
Use the Unlock All Elements tool to unlocks all objects and all layers.
The Image tool allows you to upload an image or a logo to the plan.
The Rectangle and Ellipse tools draw the shapes in one click.
This tool will let you draw a straight line.
The Bézier curve, Polygon, and Polyline tools will help you create any irregular shape. Drawing a shape with one of these tools, just click where you want the corner to be, and then continue moving your mouse. It’s worth mentioning that by holding Shift, you can constrain curves to even angles (45° or 90°).
The Text tool allows you to add a text (for example, a company name) to the background. You can also customize its font, size, and color.
