User Guide

Interface Overview

The layout of the application and what each area does.

Application Layout

The application is divided into a top toolbar, a left panel (feature tree and properties), a central canvas area, and a right panel (CAM operations and tools). The view tabs at the top of the canvas switch between Sketch, 3D View, and Simulation.

screenshots/interface-overview.png
Full application interface showing all panels and the sketch canvas

Workspace Layout & Toolbar Position Controls

At the right end of the Sketch, 3D View, and Simulation tabs there are compact workspace controls. These are separate from the main toolbar and let you change how much of the interface is visible.

screenshots/interface-workspace-controls.png
Workspace tab strip showing panel layout presets and toolbar position buttons
ControlWhat it does
Panel layout presetsFour buttons switch between left + center + right, left + center, center only, and center + right. Use them to temporarily hide the Project Tree / Properties column or the CAM column without losing their state.
Use top toolbarKeeps the main tool groups across the top edge of the app.
Use left toolbarMoves the creation and edit tools into a vertical rail on the left side of the workspace, leaving more horizontal room in the top bar.
Narrow windowsThe left-toolbar button is disabled on small widths, so the toolbar stays on top when there is not enough space for the side rail.

Toolbar

The toolbar runs across the top of the application. It is divided into groups:

Project Actions

New ProjectOpens the New Project dialog. If there are unsaved changes, you will be asked to confirm before proceeding.
Open ProjectOpens a .camj file from disk.
Import GeometryOpens the Import dialog for SVG, DXF, STL, OBJ, and .camj project files.
Export ModelExports the assembled 3D model as STL (binary or ASCII). Offers curve-quality presets and per-format options. See Exporting Models.
Save ProjectSaves the current project to disk. On first save, you will be prompted for a file location.

History

UndoReverts the last change. Disabled when there is nothing to undo.
RedoRe-applies the last undone change.

View

Zoom to ModelFits the entire model into the canvas viewport.
Zoom SelectedFits the selected features into the viewport. Click again to cancel.

Snapping

Snap toggleEnables or disables all snapping at once.
Grid snapSnap to grid increment.
Point snapSnap to feature vertices.
Line snapSnap to nearest point on a segment.
Midpoint snapSnap to segment midpoints.
Center snapSnap to circle centers and feature bounding box centers.
Perpendicular snapSnap to the perpendicular point on a segment.

Drawing Tools

Before drawing, choose the creation target with the two toggle buttons immediately to the left of the shape tools — Create features (plus icon) or Create regions (pocket icon). The next shape you draw becomes the chosen feature kind: a normal Add/Subtract feature, or a Region (a machining-area filter — see Core Concepts).

Create featuresSubsequent shapes are placed as normal sketch features. Their Add/Subtract operation can be changed in the properties panel.
Create regionsSubsequent shapes are placed as Region features — area filters for CAM operations rather than material.
RectangleDraw an axis-aligned rectangle.
CircleDraw a circle by center and radius.
EllipseDraw an ellipse by anchor and opposite corner. Width and height are independent.
PolygonDraw a polygon by placing vertices.
SplineDraw a smooth spline curve.
CompositeDraw a path with mixed line, arc, and spline segments.
TextPlace a text feature.

See Drawing Tools for details on each shape tool.

Feature Edit Tools

CopyCopy selected features to a new position.
MoveMove selected features.
DeleteDelete selected features.
ResizeScale selected features.
RotateRotate selected features.
OffsetCreate an offset copy of selected closed features.
JoinBoolean union of selected closed features.
CutSubtract one feature from others.
ConstraintAdd a fixed-distance constraint between a feature and a reference point or feature.

See Editing Features for details on each edit tool.

Measure & Dimensions

A transient tape measure plus six permanent dimension types. Dimensions store anchors rather than frozen numbers, so they follow geometry through edits.

Tape MeasureClick two points for a live distance / Δx / Δy / angle readout. Not saved with the project.
AlignedDistance between two points along the line connecting them.
HorizontalX-axis distance between two points.
VerticalY-axis distance between two points.
RadiusRadius of a circle, ellipse, or arc segment.
DiameterDiameter of a circle, ellipse, or arc segment.
AngleAngle between two segments or three points.
Delete DimensionClick-to-delete mode for clearing dimensions; stays armed until Esc.
Show / Hide DimensionsGlobal toggle; saved with the project.

See Measure & Dimensions for the full workflow.

Feature Tree

The feature tree on the left side of the application lists all elements of the project in a hierarchical structure. The top-level nodes are:

  • Project — project-level settings: name, units, clearances, machine selection.
  • Grid — grid visibility, spacing, and snap increment.
  • Stock — stock dimensions, material, and color.
  • Origin — machine origin position and visibility.
  • Backdrop — backdrop image for tracing (visible when a backdrop is loaded).
  • Features — the list of sketch features, optionally organized into folders.
  • Tabs — holding tabs for edge route operations.
  • Clamps — workholding clamps.

Click any node to select it and see its properties in the Properties panel below the tree. Features can be reordered by dragging. The order matters — see Core Concepts.

Visibility Icons

Each feature row has a visibility toggle (the filled/empty circle icon). Hiding a feature removes it from the 3D model and toolpath calculations. Hiding an operation removes its toolpath from the display and from G-code export.

Folders

Features can be organized into folders for clarity. Select the Features root node and click Add Folder in the properties panel. Drag features into folders, or use the Folder dropdown in the feature's properties panel.

Properties Panel

The properties panel appears below the feature tree and shows editable fields for whatever is currently selected. The content changes depending on the selection:

  • Project — name, units, safe Z, operation clearance Z, clamp clearances, machine selection.
  • Grid — extent, major/minor spacing, snap increment, visibility.
  • Stock — width, height, thickness, color, visibility.
  • Origin — Z position, visibility, preset buttons (Top Left, Center Top, Bottom Left).
  • Backdrop — image, opacity, width, height, angle, visibility.
  • Feature — name, operation (add/subtract), folder, Z Top, Z Bottom, visibility, locked, constraints.
  • Tab — name, Z Top, Z Bottom, visibility.
  • Clamp — name, Z Top (height), visibility.

Numeric fields accept direct input. Press Enter to commit or Escape to cancel. Values outside the allowed range are rejected and the field resets.

CAM Panel

The CAM panel on the right side of the application has two tabs: Operations and Tools.

The Operations tab lists all machining operations and shows the selected operation's parameters. The Tools tab manages the project's tool library.

See Operations and Tool Library for full details.

Canvas Workflow Panels

Multi-step tools (Cut, Join, Move, Copy, Rotate, Resize, Mirror, Offset, Constraint, anchor-based shape creation, text and origin placement) drive a small floating workflow panel that anchors to the canvas while the tool is active. Each panel shows the current step (anchor → reference → distance, etc.), inline dimension inputs, and explicit Dimensions, Confirm, and Cancel buttons.

Workflow panels replace the previous floating dimension-input and banner overlays. The panel can be dragged to a comfortable spot on the canvas; the canvas regains focus after every panel action or dialog close, so keyboard shortcuts keep working without clicking back in.

Tablet Shell

On a tablet or touch device, PureCut CNC automatically switches to a tablet shell layout that replaces the wrapping desktop toolbar with three purpose-built command surfaces:

SurfaceWhat it contains
Top Command BarFile operations, undo/redo, view tabs, zoom controls, and the snap popover.
Tool RailA 48 px vertical rail along the left edge with creation and edit tools (rect, circle, polygon, composite, text, copy, move, rotate, resize, offset, join, cut, constraint).
Snap PopoverA single button that opens a popover with the snap toggle and all snap type checkboxes — replaces the seven individual snap buttons used on desktop.
Left DrawerThe Feature Tree / Properties column slides in as a drawer with a scrim, mirroring the right-side CAM drawer pattern. Tap the left edge tab to open, tap the scrim or close button to dismiss.
Axis Lock ButtonReplaces the desktop axis-lock chip with a persistent toggle button suited to touch.

Panel resize dividers and the workspace toolbar-position controls are hidden on tablet since the layout is fixed. Desktop layouts are unchanged.

screenshots/interface-tablet-shell.png
Tablet shell on an iPad — top command bar, left tool rail, snap popover open, and the Operations drawer pulled out from the right

Touch Gestures

GestureAction
One-finger drag on empty canvasPan the view (instead of starting a marquee select).
One-finger drag on a feature or tool affordanceStandard drag — moves the node, places the next point, etc.
Two-finger panPan the view.
PinchZoom in and out around the gesture centroid.
Long-press (500 ms)Open the context menu at the touch point.

The CAM panel is renamed Operations on tablet and shows an operation-count badge on its drawer tab. The application supports tablet shell on both iOS Safari and Android Chrome browsers, and on tablet-form Windows / iPadOS native builds.

Working Views

Three view tabs appear at the top of the canvas area. All three stay in sync with the same project state — switching views does not lose any work.

Sketch

The primary drawing surface. Draw and edit geometry, inspect 2D toolpath projections, check snapping and feature ordering. Most of the work happens here. See Sketch View.

3D View

A live 3D preview of the model built from the feature tree using CSG (Constructive Solid Geometry). Toolpaths are rendered as colored lines over the stock. Use the mouse to orbit, zoom, and pan. See 3D View.

Simulation

A voxel-based material removal simulation. Watch the tool move through the stock and verify that pockets, tabs, islands, and carving behavior match expectations before cutting. See Simulation.