Resize anchors
When you change the object’s width, height or depth, every panel decides for each axis what happens to it: stay by an edge, stay in the middle, grow with the object … That is the axis’s anchor.
The app sets anchors by itself and for most panels they are right. You change them when a panel doesn’t behave the way it should after a resize, or when you build an object you will later make in other sizes. Step-by-step examples are in Resize anchors — examples.
When anchors apply
Section titled “When anchors apply”Anchors only apply when the box around the panel changes size:
- resizing the object (Object parameters, with Resize panels with object on) — for the carcass panels, dividers and shelves;
- resizing a group (with Resize panels with group on) — for the panels in that group.
Anchors do not apply when you move a panel or change its width and height in the form — then only that panel changes. With Resize panels with object off, only the object box changes and the panels stay where they are.
Axes and edges
Section titled “Axes and edges”You choose an anchor for each axis of the object, not for the panel’s width and height:
| Axis | Object size | − edge | + edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| X | width | left | right |
| Y | height | bottom | top |
| Z | depth | back | front |
For a panel in a group, these are the edges of the group box, not of the object.
Where to set them
Section titled “Where to set them”Panel form → Properties → Advanced settings → Resize anchors (On object resize). For each axis — X (width), Y (height), Z (depth) — you choose one mode. A short line under the choice says what the mode does.
| Mode | Position | Size | In short |
|---|---|---|---|
| Start (− edge) | keeps its distance to the left / bottom / back object edge | same | the panel stays by the − edge |
| End (+ edge) | keeps its distance to the right / top / front edge | same | the panel stays by the + edge |
| Center | stays at the same ratio from the centre | same | a panel in the middle stays in the middle |
| Stretch | keeps both edge gaps | takes the whole change | the panel fills the opening |
| Scale | grows with the object | grows with the object | everything in the same ratio |
| Custom (references) | each end tied to an object edge or a neighbouring panel | derived | exact gaps to chosen panels |
Example — Stretch. A back panel is 564 mm wide in a 600 mm object with 18 mm sides. Widen the object to 1200 mm: the back becomes 1164 mm and is still exactly 18 mm from each edge.
Example — Scale. A panel 50 mm from an edge, the object grows by 25 % → the panel is 62.5 mm from the edge. Ratios stay, exact gaps don’t.
Example — Start and End. The underside of a shelf is 300 mm above the bottom of a 720 mm high object. You raise the object to 900 mm:
- with Start the shelf stays 300 mm above the bottom;
- with End the shelf keeps its distance to the top, so it moves up by 180 mm — to 480 mm above the bottom.
Stretch only for panels that fill the opening
Section titled “Stretch only for panels that fill the opening”Stretch gives the panel the whole change of the object size. That is right for a panel that runs from edge to edge (a side on the height, a bottom between the sides, a back). A short shelf or divider with Stretch grows by the same amount and runs into its neighbours. The app treats a panel as filling the opening when it is short of the full size by at most three board thicknesses plus 5 mm.
How the app picks anchors itself
Section titled “How the app picks anchors itself”Until you change them, the app works the anchors out on every resize:
- Carcass panels hold their own side: left side X Start, right side X End, bottom Y Start, top Y End, back Z Start, front panel Z End. On the other two axes they Stretch.
- Other panels, per axis:
- the axis of the panel’s thickness or of a locked size → Center when the panel is exactly in the middle, otherwise Start or End, whichever edge is closer;
- an axis on which the panel fills the opening → Stretch;
- everything else → Scale.
- Panels in a group the same way, against the group box.
That is why a shelf below the middle of the object gets Y Start (it follows the bottom) and a shelf above the middle Y End (it follows the top). When you change the anchor of one axis, the app stores all three — the other two keep the value they had.
Custom (references)
Section titled “Custom (references)”For exact gaps to other panels. Choose Custom (references) for the axis, then for − side and + side:
- Object edge — the end follows the object edge,
- Panel — the end follows the facing side of a chosen neighbouring panel (the app suggests the panel that touches that end),
- Free — the end is not tied.
Each end shows its current gap. You don’t type the gap — move the panel to change it. On an object resize the gap stays exactly the same.
- Both ends tied → the panel’s size is worked out from the two references.
- One end tied → the panel follows that reference and keeps its size.
A reference can only be a panel in the same frame: carcass panels, dividers and shelves among themselves, and a panel in a group only a panel of the same group. So a shelf cannot follow a drawer panel. Panels that others refer to are worked out first.
While the panel is selected, the 3D view shows markers: a solid line with a cone to an object edge, a dashed one to a referenced panel.
Custom (references) is set for one panel; when you edit several panels together, the mode is not offered.
Warnings
Section titled “Warnings”Under the axis, the form warns you when a mode probably won’t do what you expect:
| Warning | What to do |
|---|---|
| The panel doesn’t span the opening on this axis — growing the object may overlap neighboring panels. | use Scale, Start / End or Custom |
| Size on this axis is fixed (thickness or locked) — ‘Stretch’ will only pin the position to the nearer edge. | use Start, End or Center |
| The panel spans the opening — ‘Scale’ won’t track the flanking panel thicknesses. | use Stretch |
| No end is referenced or The referenced panel no longer exists | the axis behaves like Scale — tie at least one end |
A panel that refers to itself, or two panels that refer to each other, also make that axis behave like Scale on a resize.
Locks come first
Section titled “Locks come first”A locked size (the lock next to Width / Height) never changes, whatever the anchor — the anchor then only sets the position. Thickness comes from the material and anchors never change it.
So for a part of fixed size (a 100 mm rail, a cover strip, a fixed shelf) lock that size and use the anchor to say which edge it stays by. See Editing a panel.
Several panels at once
Section titled “Several panels at once”When you edit several panels together, the anchor you choose applies to all selected panels. Where their anchors differ, the field shows Multiple values. A warning shows as soon as it applies to at least one of the selected panels.
Groups and drawers
Section titled “Groups and drawers”Groups (e.g. drawers) have the same anchors on their box, without Custom: group form → Dimensions. Unchanged, a group gets Center on an axis where it sits in the middle of the object, otherwise Start or End by the closer edge.
When the object is resized, the group box adjusts first, then the panels in it follow their own anchors. A drawer with slides is fitted into its opening again: the opening and the slide decide the size and position of the drawer box and front, not the group’s anchors.
Distribution mode
Section titled “Distribution mode”When you create an object, you choose the Resize distribution mode:
- Proportional (the usual one) — every panel adjusts by its anchors;
- Even — on each axis the size change is split into equal shares among all unlocked panels.
Keep Proportional, unless you really want every unlocked panel to grow by the same amount.
Common setups
Section titled “Common setups”| Panel | X | Y | Z |
|---|---|---|---|
| Left / right side | Start / End | Stretch | Stretch |
| Bottom / top | Stretch | Start / End | Stretch |
| Back | Stretch | Stretch | Start |
| Full-width shelf, exact height from the bottom | Stretch | Start | Stretch |
| Shelves spread over the height | Stretch | Scale | Stretch |
| Divider in the middle | Center | Stretch | Stretch |
| Divider exactly 400 mm from the left side | Custom (− side: left side panel) | Stretch | Stretch |
| Front rail under the top, 100 mm | Stretch | End + locked Height | End |
The AI assistant and anchors
Section titled “The AI assistant and anchors”The AI assistant sees every panel’s anchors and the same warnings as the form. It can set them for you — tell it what you want, e.g.:
- Keep the shelves at the same height from the bottom when I change the height.
- The divider should always split the wardrobe in half.
- Check the anchors before you raise the wardrobe to 2200 mm.
Before resizing the object, the assistant reviews the warnings and tells you what will happen; afterwards it checks that nothing overlaps.