CabinetStudio Manual

Use the contents to find a task, or press Ctrl+F to search this manual. Instructions use the button names shown in CabinetStudio.

New users: Open HOME > Tutorials for short screen recordings and guided practice lessons. Save your current work and use a separate New Plan for practice.

Reading menu paths: HOME > Help means click the HOME tab, then click Help. A right-click instruction means click the right mouse button on the named item, then choose the command.

Units and common terms: Dimensions are in inches unless stated otherwise. Enter fractions such as 1 1/2 or 1/32. The inch mark (″) means inches; the degree mark (°) means an angle. W, H and D mean width, height and depth. AFF means above finished floor. SKU is the item's product code. A run is a connected row of cabinets. A riser is the filler band below crown molding. A construction line is an invisible placement wall, often used for islands.

Short menu labels: Constr. Line means Construction Line; Wall Props means Wall Properties; Global Attr. means Global Attributes; Hinge L/R switches the door hinge between left and right. COLL shows overlaps, ORTHO constrains drawing angles, and DIMS shows dimensions. The Licence button opens license settings.

1The screen

Top row. New Plan · Open · Save · Save As · Measurements · Print · Undo · Redo · the Panels button for Information and Placement.

Ribbon tabs.

Left: the catalog panel. Catalog Selection (book picker and color swatches), Selection (categories and items), History of Selection, and the Quick Search box at the bottom. Drag the panel's right edge to make it narrower or wider; the width is remembered.

Center: the work area. Floor plan by default. The plan display tabs at the bottom left switch the sheet: All · No dims · No callouts · Plain · Countertops · Architecture. The Plans bar lists the open plans with + New Plan; each tab closes with ×. The view tabs ("Open a view") open the Elevation, Items List and 3D views.

Right: Information and Placement. Use the Panels button to show or hide these two panels. Information shows the selected item's facts, an Action Tip, and a live 3D preview. Placement holds the nudge dial, the Step box, Rotate, Flip, Attributes and the position fields.

Status bar. Bottom. Every action reports here; read it when something seems not to happen. Right end: SNAP · COLL · ORTHO · DIMS toggles.

Free placement: Turn SNAP off to place cabinets and fillers exactly where you drag or enter them, including inside or beyond walls. Automatic attraction, filler fitting and collision correction are bypassed. Manually moved automatic fillers keep their chosen position after saving and reopening. With SNAP on, turning COLL off allows overlaps without pushing items away, while nearby snapping remains available. Turn both on for normal assisted placement.

2Plans and files

New, open, save

• New Plan starts a blank plan as a new tab. Plans you leave open come back when you reopen the app; a plan you closed does not.
• Open lets you choose a saved design file and opens it as its own plan when the current plan already has work in it.
• Save updates the previously selected file when file access is available. Save As lets you choose a different filename or folder. Native design files use .json. The browser may request permission to write the file; browsers without direct file access download a copy instead.
• The app autosaves as you work. If the browser closes, the plan is back on the next start.
• Import Plan (HOME) reads a DXF or a vector PDF exported from your design software and rebuilds its walls and cabinets as a new plan. Import Sketch reads a photo or scanned PDF: HOME > AI Connection sets the AI service it uses; without one it falls back to offline OCR and asks you to verify everything. Every layout import opens a separate new plan, including JSON files and sketches. It never replaces or adds to the plan you are working on; that plan and its unsaved edits remain open.
• Undo / Redo on the top row and the HOME tab. Each completed edit is one undo step.

Several rooms in one job

Use New Plan for a separate design. For several rooms in one design, name each wall group using the wall's right-click Name wall (room) command. The item list and print packet use these room names. The item list prices the active plan.

3Walls, openings, rooms

Drawing walls

• ROOM > Draw Walls (or Ctrl+W). Click the first corner, move, click the next. While the line follows the mouse, type a length and press Enter to set that wall exactly; the hint "type length, Enter to draw" appears. Esc ends drawing. Right-click ends it too.
• ROOM > Make Room draws a closed rectangle using the inside width and depth in inches. Entering 144 × 120 creates a room measuring 144″ × 120″ between the inside wall faces; wall thickness extends outside those dimensions.
• ROOM > Constr. Line draws a construction line: an invisible wall that cabinets attach to. Use it for an island's back or a peninsula.
• Drag the body of a wall to move its entire connected wall group, including the cabinets and openings attached to those walls. Wall lengths and cabinet positions along each wall stay unchanged. To move one wall independently, right-click it, choose Move, then drag it; only that wall and its attached items move. This is a one-time move mode; Esc cancels it. Drag within 5 inches of either end to rotate about the opposite endpoint; release to keep that exact angle. Rotation preserves the wall's length and attached placements; Esc cancels it. Alt+body drag constrains movement perpendicular to the wall. Alt+end drag retains the inside-corner reshape tool.
• Rotating: the rotate handle turns in 15° steps; Shift releases the steps.

Wall right-click menu

Properties… (length, angle, height, thickness), Delete wall, Add door, Add window, Add opening, Flip placement side ⇄ (which face cabinets attach to), Name wall (room)…, Draw walls.

Wall corners and depth: Either face corner can snap to another wall corner. Flip placement side switches the cabinet placement face while keeping the wall body and its joined corners fixed; neighboring walls stay put. In Wall Properties → Dimensions, enter Depth (thickness) in inches or fractions such as 6 1/32. Depth changes retain the connected corners and existing end-cut angles. Construction lines have zero depth. Undo restores the previous geometry.

Wall Properties

ROOM > Wall Props with a wall selected (or right-click > Properties…): Name; Dimensions — Length (with Lengthen from beginning / Lengthen from end), Angle, Depth (thickness), Height at start / at end (Use same height for both ends, Top align, Depend on height); Construction Type (Type, Material, Finish, Use inside type / finish for both sides); Placement Zone(s) — Inside and Outside placement zones; Ceiling — Automatic (tall walls carry the ceiling, low pony walls don't), Connect to ceiling, Do not connect to ceiling; Backsplash — Automatic (behind countertops) or No backsplash on this wall. Reset restores the defaults.

Windows, doors, openings, obstacles

• ROOM > Add Window / Add Door / Add Opening / Obstacle, then click the wall. The dialog: Type, Width (in), Height (in), Sill height (in), Hinge (doors), and the position four ways: From wall left (inside face), From wall right (inside face), Center from left, Center from right. Type any one and the other three recompute. Apply, Delete, Close.
• Windows default to 42" sill. Double-click an opening to edit it; drag it along the wall to move it.
• A cabinet placed under a window can be centered on it: right-click the cabinet > Center on window.

4The catalog panel

Catalog Selection

• The book picker lists the cabinet catalogs (MUSES, LifeArt Closet, LifeArt Framed, LifeArt Frameless) and the built-in books (Appliances, Cabinet Inserts, and Hood Covers). A licence key decides which cabinet catalogs are present.
• The color swatches show the finishes that book offers. Hover a swatch to see its name at the mouse; click it to make it the active color for new cabinets and to show its door sample in the Information panel. Placed cabinets keep their own color.

Selection

• Categories (Base, Wall, Tall, Vanity, Trim, Plumbing, Accessories…) open into item lists. Single-product categories show the product directly on the current page. Only categories containing multiple products require opening. Click a product to see it in the Information panel without leaving the list; click a category once to open it.
• Drag an item from the catalog onto the plan. After you release the mouse button, it follows the pointer until you click again to confirm, or enter its position and press Enter. Press Esc to cancel. Place it on a wall to attach it, or on open floor for a free-standing item.
• Double-click an item in the list to place it beside the selected cabinet (Shift + double-click places on the left).
• Items that are order-only (some moldings, panels, fillers) show an "Add to order list" button instead of placing.
• History of Selection keeps the items you used recently for quick reuse.
• Quick Search at the bottom: type a SKU or description. Short codes such as SC work immediately; SKU matches appear before description matches.

Appliances and Plumbing pickers

Catalog first: right-click > Add accessory lists suppliers first, then accessory types and items. Color, replacement and trim controls show a catalog selector above their item or finish selector; the item list's Add trim control works the same way. Browsing another catalog does not change the current selection until you choose an item or finish. Only assigned catalogs are offered, and existing attachment and fit rules still apply. Muses cabinets and shared Muses inserts appear together under Muses. LW & LT has its own catalog group for Lanier cabinets, inserts, trims and finishes. Other built-in inserts remain separated by supplier, such as Rev-A-Shelf and LYNK Professional. Mixed-catalog fitted-part and trim-removal lists also group by catalog, while keeping existing saved parts available to remove.

ITEMS > Appliances or ITEMS > Plumbing opens a small picker: categories on the left, items by description on the right, with Place, View, Description and Close. Place arms the plan: the next click puts the item there (on a run if one is under the cursor). Rows also drag onto the plan.

5Placing and moving cabinets

Dropping

• A placed cabinet snaps flush to the cabinet next to it, to a corner unit's leg, and to the wall's inside faces. Snapped positions are exact.
• Corner units (BER, BLS, BEC, WDC…) snap to a nearby wall corner at the matching angle when snapping is enabled. A distant drop stays near the pointer. Blind corners (BBC) stay on the wall, pulled 3" off the return wall, and the app adds the BF3 filler.
• Where a run ends under 6" from a return wall, a filler is added and trimmed to the gap automatically. Delete it and it stays deleted for that slot.
• Wall cabinets hang at 54" (30/36/42 tall) or 72" (short units). A wall cabinet dragged down to base height becomes a base: it gets a WF696 toe and is included when countertops are generated.
• Fillers dropped near a gap trim themselves to it, never wider than the space.

Selecting

• Click selects. Drag a box on empty floor to highlight several. Ctrl+click adds or removes one. Esc clears.
• A highlighted group moves together: cabinets on walls slide along their wall, free items translate, and the group snaps flush to a neighbor.
• Ctrl+C copies the selection, Ctrl+V pastes at the mouse (also in the right-click menu). Delete or Backspace removes the selection.

Moving

• Snap controls cabinet and wall attraction. Free cabinets only attract nearby footprints within a 3-inch gap. Cabinet joins take priority over wall ends when both are in range. New corner cabinets capture a corner within 36 inches; farther drops stay at the cursor. Turn Snap off (or hold Shift for an item drop) to bypass capture. Ortho separately controls drawing angles.
• Drag a cabinet along its wall; edges snap to neighbors and corners. Hold Shift for no snap. Hold Ctrl to ignore collisions. Drag it off the wall and it comes free; drop it on another wall and it attaches.
• Arrow keys nudge the selection by the Step (Placement panel, or Global Attributes > Arrow-key step). The Placement dial moves the selection up, down, left or right on the screen. Enter the Step as a decimal or fraction, down to 1/32 inch.
• Position… (right-click, or the Placement fields): From wall start, inside face (″) · From wall end, inside face (″) · Side · In-out (off wall, ″) · Mount height (bottom, ″) for wall cabinets · X, Y and Rotation for free-standing units. In the Placement fields, press Enter to apply the field you edited. Free-standing items keep their rotation and move relative to the nearest wall using their actual footprint.
• Center on wall, Center on window, Center height on wall, Center with… (click a target) align a cabinet to the wall, a window, the wall's height, or another cabinet's center.
• Rotate 90° and Rotate — follow mouse (click to set) turn a free unit (right-click menu, or Rotate in the Placement panel); a highlighted group has Rotate group 90° and Rotate group — follow mouse. Pull a wall cabinet off its wall before rotating it. Follow-mouse rotation turns in 15° steps; hold Shift for any angle.
• Flip side (ITEMS > Flip) moves a cabinet to the other face of its wall. Hinge L↔R swaps the door hand. Duplicate places a copy beside it. Convert to island (ITEMS > To Island) frees a wall cabinet; Attach to wall puts a free cabinet on the nearest wall.
• Overlaps show a red hatch when Collision is on (VIEW, or COLL in the status bar). Snap and Ortho toggle the same way.

Panels

• Back panels and skins (BP3696, BP4896…) drop against a cabinet side or a wall. Right-click > Panel size… sets length and height; Panel upright ↔ lateral turns a slab from a perpendicular end panel into a skin lying along the run (islands).
• Decorative doors (BDD, WDD, TDEP) attach to a cabinet side or a back panel and show the real door profile.

6Attributes (one cabinet)

Select a cabinet and press ITEMS > Attributes (or right-click > Attributes…, or Attributes in the Placement panel). The dialog is titled "Attributes — SKU" and has a live 3D preview (Open fronts slider; drag to orbit, wheel to zoom) and a Change this unit search to swap the SKU.

Rows, top to bottom:

Apply saves your changes; Close leaves unapplied changes unsaved. For a highlighted group, use its right-click group commands for shared finish, trim and riser changes.

7Trims: crown, light rail, risers, toe kick

There are three ways to put trim on cabinets.

A. Drag the molding onto a cabinet

Drag COV8, CCM8, ACM8, a light rail or any horizontal molding from the catalog onto a wall or base cabinet. It spreads along the whole connected run: compatible cabinets at the same trim height, through connecting fillers and panels and around supported corners. A crown on a tall pantry does not continue onto lower base cabinets merely because they touch. Vertical corner sticks stay on one cabinet. A molding dropped on open floor becomes a loose stick you can move, rotate (R) and cut to length in Attributes.

B. Right-click a highlighted group > Add trim

Highlight the cabinets (drag a box or Ctrl+click), right-click one of them and choose Add trim — N highlighted…. The panel: Trim (this book's moldings), Attach at (Top / Bottom), Upside-down, Height (″, optional). Add to all puts it on every highlighted cabinet.

C. Attributes > Trims

For one cabinet: the Trims block in Attributes lists what is on it and lets you reorder, flip, resize, or remove each piece.

Trim profiles and height

Muses and LifeArt use separate molding profiles. Height is the installed rise, so SC and AST8 use 2-11/16″ and ACM8 uses 3″; stock width can be different. The height shown in Attributes matches elevation, 3D and stacking. Thin scribe, batten and toe skins keep their actual profile thickness. CTM8 and CTM8(Flip) retain their customized flat installation.

Risers

The item list automatically includes crown backing: one WF396 for every three crown sticks, rounded up. COV and other crown profiles count; AST8 does not. Sticks of the same finish share backing stock across rooms. Other suppliers use their matching plain 3″ × 96″ filler; if matching stock is missing from that catalog, the list shows an unpriced backing requirement for review. This is extra material for small pieces behind the crown, separate from visible risers. It appears in pricing and printed item lists without adding a visible filler or changing the crown's installation tier. You can remove its auto line or restore it using the item-list controls.

A riser is a filler band that a crown stacks on to reach the ceiling or to build a taller profile. Add + 3″ riser (WF396) or + 6″ riser (WF696) in Attributes > Trims, then add the crown; the crown sits on the riser. In the group panel, pick the riser filler as the Trim first, then run the crown. The item list orders the riser as filler stock.

To change several existing risers together, highlight their cabinets, right-click one, and choose Adjust riser height — selected…. Apply the height once to all selected items with top risers. Stock risers on cabinets and wall fillers automatically shorten to make room for crown; manually set heights stay as entered. The ceiling is a reference, not a placement limit: cabinets and trims can extend above it. Riser faces align with the face frame and cabinet sides, with crown seated on the riser's finished surface. Exposed corner sides receive trim returns.

Bottom trims and flipping

Light rail and under-cabinet moldings go on with Attach at = Bottom. Upside-down (⟲ in Attributes) turns the profile over for moldings that are used inverted.

Removing trims

Right-click the cabinet > Remove trims (N)… shows each trim to remove one at a time, or Remove all. For a group, Remove trims — N highlighted opens a submenu: choose a trim profile and top/bottom orientation to remove that type across the group, or choose Remove ALL.

Editing a trim in elevation

In the elevation, right-click a trim > Edit trim (SKU, top/bottom, upside-down, height, length) or Delete this trim.

Toe kick, countertop and crown runs

Countertops use the actual cabinet tops at generation, including shortened cabinets. In elevation, double-click the countertop to enter its finished top height above the floor (fractions accepted). Right-click it for Countertop height or Follow cabinet tops. For separate countertops, auto uses the cabinet heights captured at generation; Update from cabinets captures later cabinet changes. A manual countertop height moves the slab and its backsplash; it does not resize the cabinets.

Global Attributes (ITEMS > Global Attr. or Tops & Trims) has Auto toe kick and Auto top molding with their SKUs (Toe kick SKU, Top molding SKU). These follow cabinet changes. Show generated countertops controls countertop visibility in separate mode. Existing plans automatically keep their loaded countertops separate from cabinet changes. In the item list these runs appear as lines that can be removed one by one.

8Countertops

• New plans start with cabinets only. Countertops, automatic sinks and faucets are not generated while placing cabinets.
• Click HOME > Countertops + sinks (also under ITEMS), then Generate countertops, sinks & faucets. This creates the slabs and the appropriate kitchen or vanity plumbing together in one undoable step. Existing manual sinks and deliberately disabled fixtures are preserved.
• Move a complete group together. Highlight all cabinets supporting a countertop, or move their room walls, and the existing countertop, backsplash, sink and faucet travel with them. Dragging, arrow-key nudges and the wall Move command preserve the countertop's shape and edge adjustments. Pulling one cabinet out of a larger run leaves its countertop in place. Resizing, adding or deleting cabinets does not rebuild the top; choose Update from cabinets when ready. Save/reopen and undo/redo preserve these choices.
• Return to cabinets-only editing: choose Countertops + sinks > Clear countertops, sinks & faucets. This removes every countertop and sink/faucet, including manually placed plumbing, and clears countertop shape, height and waterfall edits. Cabinets, walls, appliances and countertop material settings remain. Undo restores the cleared work in one step. Finish arranging cabinets, then choose Generate countertops, sinks & faucets when ready.
• To rebuild them for a revised cabinet layout, click Countertops + sinks > Update from cabinets. Fixture choices and matching countertop edge edits are retained; review their fit after updating. Countertop shape, height, material and waterfall tools remain available independently.
• Existing saved plans switch automatically. Their current countertop shapes and plumbing are preserved when loaded, but later cabinet edits do not regenerate them. No extra separation command is required, and opening a file does not overwrite the original.
• Generation creates slabs over base runs (overhang and thickness from Global Attributes), bridges corners and dishwashers, and cuts openings for the selected sinks.
• Click a countertop in the plan to select it. Right-click it: Countertop: select / edit shape, Countertop: edit sizes… (Depth, Length, Back overhang, End overhang), Countertop: up/down… (height of the slab bottom), Countertop: details… (material, edge and price per unit), Countertop: remove. A removed top comes back with Restore hidden countertop. Drag an edge handle to extend or retract it.
• Waterfall ends: right-click the countertop in the floor plan and choose Countertop: waterfall..., or right-click it in elevation and choose Waterfall.... Select one or more numbered exposed edges in the diagram. Set bottom height to 0 for floor-to-counter panels, or enter a higher clearance (fractions accepted). Apply saves the selection; reopen to edit, uncheck an edge, or Remove all. Panels match the countertop material and thickness. Each selected edge extends outward by the slab thickness to reserve room for its panel. Waterfalls appear in plan, elevation, 3D and drawing snapshots, persist with the layout, and support undo/redo. When countertop pricing is included, the surface-area takeoff includes the vertical panels; fabrication and installation extras are not automatically added.
• The Countertops display tab pulls every top out as its own dimensioned piece, the way a fabricator wants it.
• Global Attributes: Countertop overhang (″), Countertop thickness (″), Countertop material, Countertop $ / sq ft for that material (0 = quote separately), and the countertop line in the item list.

Notes on floor plans and elevations

Stay in the floor plan or elevation you want to annotate. Choose ANNOTATE → Add Note, then click anywhere the note belongs. Adding an elevation note keeps you in that elevation. Enter multiple lines, choose a text size, and click Save note. Drag the note to move it; double-click to edit; right-click to remove it. Notes support Undo/Redo and save with the design. Plan notes appear in overhead snapshots and printed/PDF plans. Elevation notes stay with their wall and front/back face and appear in that elevation’s snapshots and PDFs, including notes placed outside the cabinet outline. In room-by-room packets, a note prints with the nearest room, or with the room selected in Print with room. Escape cancels note placement without leaving the elevation.

9Inserts and accessories

• Right-click a cabinet > Add accessory. The menu is grouped: Spice racks & drawer inserts, Waste containers, Roll-out trays, Corner organizers, Pull-out organizers, Tray dividers, Mixer lifts, Pull-down shelves, Drawer organizers, Cutting boards & towel bars, Door-mount racks, Sink base organizers, Wine racks (closet parts appear for closet towers). Parts made for that cabinet's width are marked; trim-to-fit parts can be cut within their listed size limits.
• The insert catalog can be used with different cabinet brands. Check the actual opening, depth, hinges, plumbing and manufacturer clearance before ordering; nominal cabinet width alone does not guarantee a fit. Dragging a part from the Cabinet Inserts book onto a cabinet does the same.
• Right-click the cabinet > Fitted parts (N) to manage what is inside: Height off floor…, Move to… (another cabinet), Order as… (SKU / price), Remove. Fitted doors add Hinge on the left/right and Handle height….
• Select an insert in the catalog to see its product photo and dimensions; click the image to enlarge it. Selecting a product from Add accessory opens the same preview before Add to cabinet. For an installed insert, open Fitted parts → View insert image. Matched product photos are bundled for offline viewing and link to their original source. A supplier photo shared across sizes is explicitly labeled as a series photo. If an exact model photo has not been verified, the preview says so; no generated illustration is substituted.
• Use the Cabinet width filter in the Cabinet Inserts book to find nominal 9/12/15/18-inch cabinet options. Physical product width is shown separately. Framed 12-inch spice pullouts include 448-BCSC-8C (full-height base), 448-BDDSC-8C (below drawer) and 448-BBSCWC-8C (wall). For an 18-inch base, 53WC-1835SCDM-217 is a double 35-quart trash pullout; 53WC-2150SCDM-217 is a double 50-quart pullout requiring a full-height door. Preview shows the minimum face-frame opening where verified.
• The built-in book includes 18/24/36-inch cabinet spice drawer inserts, 18/24-inch deep-drawer spice organizers, 15/18/21-inch door-mount spice racks, 15/18/21/24-inch Right-Fit shallow cutlery and utensil trays, and 36-inch utensil/knife organizers in standard and shallow heights. Nominal cabinet width differs from actual insert size; review the displayed W×H×D and manufacturer specifications.
• Inserts draw in 3D (open the fronts to see them) and as dashed hidden lines in elevation, where they can be dragged up and down.

10Appliances, sinks, hoods

• Appliances come from the built-in Appliances book (ITEMS > Appliances or the catalog). Ranges, refrigerators, dishwashers, wall ovens, microwaves, stainless hoods (HOOD30/36 under-cabinet, HOODCH30/36 chimney).
• Sinks (ITEMS > Plumbing) come as top-mount or undermount, kitchen or vanity, each with its faucet. Drop a sink on a sink base: it centers in the counter depth and the slab is cut for it. Sink bases get a fixed false front instead of a working top drawer.
• Custom Shaker Hood is in Hood Covers. Search Custom Shaker Hood or JH4242, select a preset and place it over the range. Presets offer 36/42/48-inch widths and 30/36/42/48-inch heights. In Attributes, edit Width (30–48 inches), Height (24–60 inches), and Bottom depth (21–24 inches). The top depth stays at 12 inches. The front and side panels taper above the six-inch lower band; the back stays against the wall. Front panel and stile cuts follow the slope, and side-panel cuts show both bottom and top widths. Existing JH presets and saved placements remain compatible. The live component list shows PNL4896 front panel stock, PNL2496 side panel stock, WF396 shaker-frame fillers, WF696 lower-band fillers, and CTM8 flat caps. The Items List orders those materials rather than a finished hood SKU. Cuts include 1/8-inch saw kerf; offcuts are shared within each hood, not between separate hoods. The liner, blower, ducting, mounting/blocking and labor are separate. Mount height is editable for the selected cooking appliance and liner requirements.
• Hood risers and crown: All hood styles accept top risers and crown through the same Attached trims controls as cabinets and wall fillers. Add the riser first, then the crown. Stock risers automatically shorten to fit the ceiling when trims are edited; an explicit riser height remains as entered. Trim follows the actual top width/depth (12-inch depth on the Custom Shaker Hood). Added top trims replace the integral decorative crown on straight, tapered and arched hoods; removing them restores it. Top/bottom trim, custom lengths, undo/redo and material takeoff remain supported.
• Hood Covers has separate Hoodsly and Custom Hoods folders, with styles grouped inside them. Choose a product to see its photo and listed dimensions. Check the selected cooking appliance and hood specifications when setting the mounting height. Older designs retain their saved hood models.

11Color and finish

• The active color (swatch click, or Global Attributes > Active color) applies to new cabinets. Also repaint ALL placed cabinets in Global Attributes recolors the whole plan.
• One cabinet: Attributes > Color / finish. A group: right-click > Cabinet color — N highlighted….
• Two-tone: Door / drawer color, Box & frame color and Toe kick color per cabinet in Attributes.
• Cabinets in a color their catalog does not offer are flagged "not in finish" in the item list.

12Global Attributes and Design Info

ITEMS > Global Attr. / Tops & Trims (also right-click > Global Attributes…):

Top align (″) · Ceiling / wall height (″) · Active color (new cabinets) · Also repaint ALL placed cabinets · Auto countertop · Auto toe kick · Allow mixing catalogs · Auto top molding · Soffit above wall cabinets · Backsplash material · Full-height backsplash · Door hardware · Drawer hardware · Door handle position · Toe kick SKU · Top molding SKU · Countertop overhang (″) · Countertop thickness (″) · Countertop material · Countertop $ / sq ft · Arrow-key step (in). Apply / Close.

HOME > Design Info asks for the design name and the customer, and stamps the date. The ceiling height is in Global Attributes; the name printed on drawings is in HOME > Licence; Price level, Installation, Assembly and trim/misc dollars are set in the item list and the print options.

13Elevation view

Open with VIEW > Elevation or the view tabs; pick the wall from its tabs. Free-standing runs also have room-named Face buttons, one per facing direction. Both island faces appear separately, retaining cabinet positions and mount heights, and are included in the drawings PDF without adding a construction wall.

• Drag a cabinet up or down to set its mount height; it snaps to standard heights and to neighbors. A wall cabinet dragged to base level becomes a base. Drag along the wall to reposition. Corner units stay in their corner; move those in the plan.
• Move a highlighted group: drag a selection box around the cabinets or Ctrl+click them, then drag any highlighted cabinet. The visible group moves together and keeps its spacing and height differences. One Undo reverses the group move. Corner cabinets keep their plan anchors.
• Drop catalog items straight into the elevation; a corner unit dropped here nests in the corner.
• Right-click a cabinet: Attributes…, Position…, Height off floor…, Up / Down…, Reset mount height, Center on wall, Center height on wall, Center with… (click a target), Flip side, Hinge L ↔ R, Duplicate, Delete, Cabinet color — group, Add trim — group, Remove trims…, Fitted parts.
• Right-click a trim: Edit trim…, Delete this trim.
• Soffit (Global Attributes > Soffit above wall cabinets): right-click it for Soffit shape…, Add shape point here, Add point after this one, Exact point…, Delete point, Reset shape (flat top), Delete soffit.
• Corner units show on both walls they touch.

143D view

Open with VIEW > 3D. Orbit with the mouse, wheel to zoom.

• PRESENTATION camera presets: Front, Isometric, Top, Perspective, Walk. Textured or Hidden Line rendering.
• Open Doors (PRESENTATION, or the slider in the 3D toolbar) opens every door and pulls every drawer and roll-out so the inside shows.
• Clip slider: a cut-away plane; everything closer than that distance is removed so you can look inside a room.
• Finishes ▾: floor, countertop and appliance finishes for this design; Upload… uses a photo of your own slab or sample as the countertop.
• Style in the 3D toolbar changes the rendering appearance, such as Colored or Lines. Change a cabinet's door style in its Attributes. My Handle (photo) uses an uploaded handle photo.
• The sun slider adjusts exposure (brightness). The sparkle button refines the picture while the camera rests. Photo saves the current view as a PNG image.
• Save View stores the camera and clip under a name; Views lists and restores them, and they print in the packet.

15Measuring and dimensions

• Dimensions draw automatically: wall chains from inside faces, cabinet widths, window positions. VIEW > Dimensions or the DIMS toggle hides them. Callouts (the numbered bubbles that match the item list) toggle the same way. Title Block toggles the sheet title.
• ANNOTATE > Line to Line: click one straight surface edge, then another. This includes cabinet and filler faces, recessed corner-cabinet edges, wall faces and short wall ends, countertops, openings and soffits. Point to Point attaches to the corners, edge points or cabinet interior points you select, so the endpoints follow their objects and the distance updates when you move or resize them. Each endpoint follows its own object; points drawn in empty space stay fixed. Line-to-line measurements keep the perpendicular gap while the edges remain parallel. Esc finishes. Right-click a dimension to delete it; Clear Dims removes them all. Measurements remain linked after saving and reopening and print at their current positions. Older item-to-item measurements reconnect when their endpoints still identify unique item edges; ambiguous or already detached measurements should be redrawn.
• Display tabs: All, No dims, No callouts, Plain, Countertops (each top pulled out and dimensioned), Architecture (walls and openings only).

16The item list

VIEW > Items List. Every placed cabinet with its callout number, color-prefixed SKU, description, size, finish, quantity, unit and extended price.

• Automatic lines (fillers, toe kick, crown stock, touch-up kits per color, installation, assembly, countertop by square feet) carry a × to remove them from this estimate; Restore brings them back.
• Add trim: bar adds order-only moldings, fillers and panels to a room with + / − steppers. + Handles… adds a typed handle line.
• Price level sets the discount level used for the whole list.
• A fitted insert's line has a ✎ pencil: change the SKU it orders as and its unit price (blank returns to the catalog price).
• Lines in a color the catalog does not offer are flagged "not in finish".
• PRESENTATION > Order CSV exports the list for NetSuite.

17Printing and PDFs

Print (top row) or PRESENTATION > Print Packet saves the current design, then opens the packet options. Both Print and Save PDF show a preview before any PDF file is saved or printing starts.

• Room drawings: each room gets its own overhead plan and occupied wall/front elevations. Multiple rooms also get a combined floor plan. Loose items are assigned to one room, using their room tag or nearest wall. Use wall groups to name rooms.
• Include 3D rendering: include presentation pictures with the drawings. Price-list-only files do not contain 3D views.
• 3D view → Automatic views by wall: create a separate view for each occupied placement wall and additional views for freestanding items. Empty walls are skipped. Connected island faces share the complete island and countertop, and corner cabinets stay with the kitchen. Automatic views use a standing eye height of 64 inches and can hide foreground obstructions in the printed view. These visibility changes do not edit the design. Choose Colored or Black & white for these views.
• 3D view → Use current 3D view: open 3D first and choose the angle and zoom you want. The packet includes one picture of that current view, using its clipping and display style. It does not create separate automatic 3D pictures for each wall. The Colored / Black & white choices are disabled because the current view supplies its own style.
• 3D size on page: choose Full page for the largest presentation area, Half page for a shorter picture, or Custom and enter Width (in) and Height (in). Custom width accepts 1–10 inches and height accepts 1–6.25 inches; the initial custom size is 8 × 5 inches. Pictures fit inside the chosen area without stretching or changing the camera framing. This controls 3D pictures, not the floor-plan or elevation scale.
• PDF quality: choose Small — email, Standard, or High — detailed printing. These choices control picture resolution and compression. Drawing lines, dimensions, and text remain sharp vector content. The size, view, custom dimensions, and quality choices are remembered in this browser.
• Two files — drawings and price list separately: preview and save the drawings as Layout - <plan>.pdf and the price list as Price List - <plan>.pdf. A combined drawing-and-price packet uses Proposal - <plan>.pdf. Installation calculators remain separate documents.

In the preview, wait for PDF size to show the generated file's KB or MB value and exact byte count. This is the actual PDF size, not an estimate. Save PDF... saves those same prepared bytes through the folder picker; supported browsers start in the original project folder when available. Browsers without a folder picker use their download settings. Print... opens the printer dialog with the reviewed pages; a printer driver's own Save as PDF output can have a different file size. Close preview saves no PDF file and starts no printing. If the design changes after the preview was prepared, close it and open a new preview before saving or printing.

18Catalogs and licence

• HOME > Catalogs manages installed catalog packages (install a .cscat, remove one, see what a design needs).
• HOME > Licence shows the access key on this computer, the name printed on drawings, which catalogs the key covers and whether full pricing is on. Sign out parks this computer's work under that key. One key is one live seat: signing in on another computer takes it over.
• On cabinetstudio.app a key link (/app/?key=CS-…) signs in; the local copies need no key.

19Help and reporting

• HOME > Help opens this user manual in a new tab. Press F1 for the quick reference guide.
• HOME > Report records the screen and sends the plan and notes to the developer's report box; use it the moment something misbehaves.

20Keyboard and mouse reference

21Additional placement and component reference

Automatic corner fillers

A cabinet ending against a return wall automatically gets a filler cut to the clear gap: positive gaps through 3 inches use 3-inch stock; gaps over 3 through 6 inches use 6-inch stock. Moving the cabinet updates both the cut width and stock SKU. Open wall ends do not get fillers. Deleting an automatic filler suppresses that slot and can be undone. To restore a previously suppressed slot, right-click its wall and choose Restore automatic fillers. This applies to the selected walls and leaves other walls alone.

Snapping distance

Wall-attached cabinet and filler edge magnets use a 1-inch range, as do elevation group edge targets. Free-item footprint attraction has its own nearby-distance limits. The closest eligible edge wins, including inside wall corners. A manually placed filler can replace an automatic filler in its gap without being pushed past the cabinet. Shift continues to bypass item magnets.

Return-panel crown clearance

Top risers on RRP96 and other panels fit the available ceiling height when crown is added, just like risers on wall cabinets and fillers. Removing or changing crown recalculates the cut; the panel keeps its size and position. Catalog filler stock from Muses and LifeArt is recognized as a riser. Explicit user-entered riser heights remain fixed.

Highlighted-group snapping

Highlighted groups snap during dragging, so the visible position is the released position. Wall corner alignment applies one translation to all highlighted walls and items, excluding the group itself as a snap target. Item groups preview wall attachment and neighbor alignment live. The range remains 1 inch; Shift or Snap off bypasses it. Release does not perform another collision-driven slide or clamp individual group members.

Countertop Edit Shape workflow

Right-click the countertop and choose Edit Shape. The editing session stays open while you adjust multiple edges. Click an exposed edge to pick it up, move the pointer to preview the change, then click or press Enter to set the edge. You can also drag an edge and enter the exact distance in the right-side Placement panel. Positive distances add material; negative distances remove it. Fractions such as 1 1/2 and -1/32 are accepted. Typing holds the preview at that value instead of following the pointer.

Use Accept Changes to finish; all edits in that session form one undoable change. Discard Changes restores the countertop to its shape at the start of the session. Cabinets remain fixed beneath the countertop.

Island facing

Occupied island construction lines retain their placement side when moved or when surrounding walls change. The side is saved with the design and undo history. Existing designs retain their facing as loaded; use Flip placement side only when you deliberately want to reverse the island.

Island countertop movement

Highlight the complete island group to move its countertop and edge adjustments with the cabinets. Moving only part of the group leaves the countertop in place. Update from cabinets rebuilds the countertop after changing the cabinet arrangement. Older plans retain their loaded countertop shapes; complete-group movement also works with these saved tops. Shape edits persist through undo/redo and saved designs.

Wall cabinet hinge side

Right-click a single-door wall cabinet and choose Hinge L↔R, or choose Left/Right in its Attributes. Imported cabinets with no saved hinge side use Left by default; the first hinge swap changes them to Right. The setting is saved and supports undo/redo.

Double-clicking walls

In selection mode, double-clicking inside a visible wall opens Wall Properties before nearby cabinets, countertops, labels, or openings. Dimension labels overlapping the wall no longer intercept the first click. Cabinets and dimensions outside the wall retain their normal editing controls.

Pantry snapping

Tall pantry and oven cabinets can snap edge-to-edge with both base and wall cabinets, including highlighted groups. The snap range remains one inch. Shift bypass, opposite wall faces, and rigid group spacing retain their normal behavior.

Elevation molding profiles

Elevations and their printed snapshots draw molding face shading, detail lines, and exposed end shapes from the same cross-sections as 3D. Attached and standalone molding pieces show their actual profiles; continuous attached runs omit internal end outlines. Flipped attached profiles mirror vertically. CTM8 retains its custom profile and installation.

Decorative door sets

TDEP2484/2490/2496 display one full-width upper door above a 49-5/8-inch lower door. Upper heights are 29-5/8, 35-5/8, and 41-5/8 inches (Muses specification book, page 71). The default assembled set has a quarter-inch meeting gap and starts at 4-1/2 inches above the floor, finishing at 84/90/96 inches. BDD/WDD decorative leaves render at listed dimensions without extra cabinet reveals, hardware or swing animation. Saved explicit height/mount overrides remain authoritative.

Decorative pantry side panels in elevations

A free-positioned decorative panel fitted against a wall cabinet or pantry side is included in that host wall elevation, at its actual projected thickness. It does not create a separate Free-standing view, and Information identifies its cabinet-side location. This is a derived display association: the saved position and rotation are preserved. Moving the panel away returns it to a free-standing view.

Elevation and 3D consistency

TDEP decorative panels show the same upper and lower doors in elevation and 3D. Decorative leaves retain their full dimensions. Cabinet and vanity elevations now match the 3D front margins, row spacing, and blind-corner exposed front widths. Check elevation and 3D when reviewing a modified cabinet.

Roll-out tray placement

Adding ROTs to a pantry spaces them within the lower-door compartment, starting at the interior bottom. One tray sits at the interior bottom in either a pantry or base cabinet. Adding more ROTs re-spaces the existing and new ROTs together; other accessory records are preserved. If the batch cannot fit or conflicts with another fitted accessory, nothing is added or moved. Undo restores the previous arrangement.

22Save, print, and import drawing PDFs

Print → Save PDF creates an ordinary PDF with sharp vector drawings and text, and compressed JPEG 3D pictures. It does not embed the native design or hidden measurement attachments. Measurement pages are included only when selected in the print packet.

Every drawings, price-list, and combined Save PDF or Print action opens a preview first. The preview prepares the PDF in memory and shows its actual size, including the exact byte count. Review the document, then choose Save PDF... to save that prepared file or Print... for the printer dialog. Closing the preview saves no PDF file and starts no printing. Supported browsers use the original project folder when available. The design itself is still saved before opening print options. Keep the native design file for complete editing, pricing settings, and saved references. Use PDF quality in the print options to choose Small, Standard, or High before preparing a new preview.

Choose Import Plan to reconstruct the visible layout from a drawing PDF in a new plan. Review the imported geometry and items; a printed drawing does not contain every native setting. Your current plan remains unchanged.

Older CabinetStudio PDFs that already contain an embedded design still support Reopen exact design as new plan. Existing PDFs are not rewritten automatically; export again to create the smaller drawing format.

23Angled rooms: connected soffits and corner joints

Right-click a real wall and choose Connected soffit…. Select adjoining walls, including short offsets, or use Select connected walls. Enter a bottom height and an optional fixed soffit height; blank follows the wall ceiling. Each section can have its own depth. Drag blue preview handles to adjust depth. Apply saves the run as one undoable change. Replace separate soffits on selected walls replaces those manual sections. Reopen from a wall in the run to edit it. The run follows wall length and angle changes. Level wall tops are required; use separate soffits for shaped walls.

Right-click a wall-attached cabinet and choose Corner joint… to preview and create usable fillers as described below. The preview measures cabinet faces including depth and pull-out distance; short wall offsets are supported. Review door-swing and installation allowances.

Refit risers and crown in the wall menu recalculates previously shortened risers using that wall's ceiling. Stock side fillers with no explicit cut height follow a touching cabinet at the same bottom elevation. Explicit filler cut heights and hood-specific profiles remain intact. An assembly that still cannot fit shows a clearance warning without blocking trim placement.

Usable corner fillers

Right-click a cabinet in Floor Plan or Elevation and choose Corner joint…. Select the cabinet on the adjoining wall and enter the two filler face widths (3 inches is the default; both must be at least 1 1/2 inches). Preview adjustment shows the required cabinet movements without changing the plan. Move touching cabinets on these walls carries adjacent cabinets with the selected cabinet; appliances and panels are not moved. Replace existing corner fillers replaces only the fillers already occupying this pair's gap. Apply creates both fillers and moves the cabinets in one undo step. If another item or wall blocks the movement, nothing moves: make space with the normal cabinet size/position controls, then preview again. The tool never silently substitutes smaller cabinets. Paired fillers share a miter plane for their face, matching risers and matching crown. Different trim profiles or top heights retain their separate returns.