Every Snaptrude project opens on one canvas. Four modes along the top bar move you from brief to drawings, toolbars around the canvas hold the drawing and editing tools, and panels on the left and right hold views, stories, layers, areas and properties. Knowing what lives where helps you find any tool fast, whichever mode you're in.

Switch between modes

The mode tabs sit in the centre of the top bar. A project opens in Design Mode by default.

Program Mode: a spreadsheet workspace for the area program. Import an existing program or start from the Snaptrude template, and work in the default sheets P1 - Program, P1 - Site Analysis and P1 - Envelope Data.
Design Mode: massing and space planning. Draw spaces, give them Space Types, organise them on layers and stories, and compare Design Proposals.
BIM Mode: turn spaces into a building model with Sketch to BIM, then work with walls, slabs, doors, windows and other BIM objects. BIM Mode is available on the Pro, Organization and Enterprise plans.
Present Mode: lay out views on sheets, add annotations and diagrams, and export to PDF, PNG or JPG.

Click Program, Design, BIM or Present in the top bar.
The canvas, tools and panels change to suit that mode. All four modes work on the same project.

Note: Clicking Program opens Program Mode in a separate browser tab. The other modes open in the same tab.

Use the top bar

Project name: click the project name on the left to open the project menu: Rename, Save As, Save As Template, Import, Export and Recent Files. Import opens the Import dialog, where you can drop Revit, Rhino, CAD, program data, 3D, PDF and image files, or click Import Site to bring in a site.
Mode tabs: Program, Design, BIM and Present, in the centre.
Share: at the top right. Invite collaborators by email, set link access and copy the project or slideshow link.

Use the far-left rail

Agent (top): opens the Snaptrude Agent chat panel.
Settings (gear icon, bottom): units, tolerance, grid, detail level, snaps, line weights and other project settings.
Help (?, bottom): opens the support messenger, where you can ask a question or search help articles.

Work with the left panel

The left panel organises the project itself: which building and story you're on, which views you have, which proposal you're looking at, and how objects are split into layers.

Navigate stories and views

The Building dropdown at the top (for example Building 1) shows the story height. Below it, a tree lists Stories (each with its plan, for example Story 1 > Plan 1), Site Plans, 3D Views, Sections and Elevations (North, East, South and West).

Click a view to open it on the canvas.
Use the + and - buttons next to Stories to add or remove stories. Space heights are locked to story height by default, so story edits update the spaces on that story.

Pick a proposal

The Proposal dropdown sits below the views tree. Every project starts with Proposal 1. Each proposal has its own layers, views, program data and area metrics. Design Proposals are available on all plans.

Manage layers

The Layers section sits at the bottom of the left panel. Click + to create a layer, set the active layer, and show, hide, lock or unlock layers. New objects go on the active layer.

Work with the right panel

Tab icons along the top of the right panel switch between:

Comments: project comments.
Properties: edit dimensions, Space Type, tags, story and other properties of the selection. With several objects selected, values that differ show as Varies. In BIM Mode with nothing selected, it shows BIM settings for external, internal and parapet walls, floor slab, plinth, roof, flooring and ceiling.
Areas: a live area analysis for the active proposal, with a dropdown to switch the area type (for example Carpet Area).
Sustainability: sustainability metrics for the design.
Adjacency (Design Mode): adjacency analysis between spaces.
Take-Off (BIM Mode): quantities for BIM objects.

Use the toolbars

The top toolbar holds the drawing and editing tools. Hover over a tool to see its name and shortcut.

Select, with Story selection and Filter selection in its dropdown.
Drawing: Line (L), Arc (A), Circle, Rectangle (R), Text and Erase Edge (E).
Transform: Move (M), Copy/Array (C), Rotate (Q) and Offset (F).
Editing: Edit (P), Edit Length and Add/Remove Vertex.
Measuring: Measuring Tape (T) and Angle Measurement.
Section (S). BIM Mode adds Draw Void (V) and Sketch to BIM.

A vertical toolbar on the right edge of the canvas holds Materials (B), Staircases, Ramps, Furniture, Families, Imported Files and Smart Layouts. BIM Mode adds Doors (D) and Windows (W).

Find tools with the search box

The Search tools & actions box sits at the bottom centre of the canvas. Start typing the name of a tool or command, then pick it from the results to activate it. You can also use it to ask the Snaptrude Agent a question.

The search box understands common aliases from other CAD tools, for example:

Draw gives Line in Design Mode, or Wall - Line in BIM Mode.
PL or Polyline gives Line and Rectangle.
MV gives Move; MM or Mirror gives Flip.
Insert opens the import options.
Visible, Unhide or Unisolate gives Show All.
Move face gives Push-pull in 3D, or Edit in 2D.

Note: On plans without BIM Mode, BIM commands don't show in the search results.

Ask the Snaptrude Agent

Click Agent at the top of the far-left rail to open the AI chat panel on the left of the screen. Type in the Ask anything box and use the buttons to attach files (image, PDF or text), redline the current view or dictate. The agent picks the right steps itself. Below the box, Boosts turns on Fast mode (up to 5x faster, uses 2x credits) or Cloud processing (tasks keep running in the background), next to your credit balance. Click + to start a new session, or X to close the panel while the agent keeps working.

In Program Mode, the agent panel also has a dropdown for choosing an agent, such as Research, Analyze Site or Generate. It defaults to Auto, which routes your request to the right agent.

Move around the canvas

The bottom bar holds Save View (camera icon), the view scale (for example 1:100) and Zoom Extents (Shift + Z). At the bottom right you'll find True North, Position Camera, Walkthrough (draw a camera route), Pan and Go to 3D (Shift + >). You can also double-click the middle mouse button to zoom to extents.

Tips

If you can't find a button, type its name into Search tools & actions. It's usually the fastest route to any tool.
Hover over any toolbar icon to see its shortcut, then use the key next time.
Check which proposal and layer are active before you draw. New objects go to the active layer of the active proposal.

Keyboard Shortcuts
Design Proposals
Layers
Stories and Buildings
The Area Panel
Getting Started with the Snaptrude Agent
Present Mode Overview

The Snaptrude Interface: Modes, Panels and Toolbars