Every tool in CADsnip

Drawing tools

In the top bar. Click the button or press its key; Esc or a right-click returns to Select.

• SelectV

  Select, move and resize markups and pictures. Click empty space to deselect.

• PenP

  Freehand drawing, smoothed.

• HighlighterH

  Wide, see-through freehand strokes in the current colour.

• LineL

  A straight line. Hold Shift to snap to 0°, 45° and 90°.

• ArrowA

  A line with an arrowhead. Hold Shift to snap to 0°, 45° and 90°.

• RectangleR

  An outline rectangle. Hold Shift for a square.

• CircleO

  An ellipse. Hold Shift for a circle.

• CloudC

  A revision cloud: a rectangle with scalloped edges.

• TextT

  Click to place text and type. It is black until you pick another colour.

Colours, line thickness and line type

Next to the tools in the top bar. They apply to the selected markup and to anything you draw next.

• Colours

  Quick colours: red, yellow and green.

• Custom colour

  A full colour picker with a transparency slider, a hex code and your last five custom colours.

• Line thickness

  Six line thicknesses, from XS to XXL.

• Line type

  Solid, dashed or dotted, for lines, arrows, shapes, clouds and leader lines.

Callouts and side notes

In the top bar, after the drawing tools.

• Floating calloutF

  A text box with a leader line pointing to a spot on the picture. The leader stays attached when either end moves.

• Side callout, leftShift+S

  A numbered note in a margin on the left of the picture, with a leader to the spot it refers to. Needs a picture.

• Side callout, rightS

  The same, in a margin on the right. Notes sort themselves from top to bottom so leaders never cross, and renumber automatically. Needs a picture.

• CropK

  Crop the selected picture by dragging the frame’s handles. Drag past the edge to add white space around the picture, as in Word. Markups are not affected. Press K again to show the whole picture.

• Status badges

  Add ✓, ✕, ⚠ or ? to a note’s number, in the margin and on the picture, to show its status.

• Margin width arrows

  Two small arrows beside each margin make it wider or narrower. They appear on screen only and are never exported.

• Margin title

  Double-click a margin’s title (NOTES) to rename it.

Drafting

In the side bar. One click picks the tool with its settings; the keys 1 to 9 pick the first nine. Symbols and levels are drawn in the current colour, and their text grows and shrinks with the edit bar’s − and +.

• Poly area1

  A yellow, see-through area. Drag for a rectangle, or click corner by corner for any polygon.

• Poly cloud2

  A red revision cloud around any shape. Click corner by corner, or drag for a rectangle.

• Dimension3

  A dimension line with ticks at both ends and a value you type above it. It measures nothing: you give the number.

• Blur4

  Pixelates the area you drag over, or click corner by corner for any shape, on screen and in exports, so text underneath cannot be read. Right-click a blur and choose Flatten into picture to paint it in for good, so nobody can take it off.

• Section5

  A section mark: drag the cut line. Each end gets a split circle (section letter above, sheet number below) and an arrow showing the view direction, to the right of the way you drew it. Double-click the lower half of a circle for the sheet number.

• Level6

  A level mark for sections and elevations: an open triangle on a short line, with the value above it. One click places it; type the value, for example FFL +3.200.

• Spot level7

  A spot level for plans: a cross in a small circle, with the value beside it. One click places it; type the value, for example +3.250.

• Detail8

  A detail mark: drag a dashed circle round the area (hold Shift for a true circle). A leader runs to a split bubble with the detail number above and the sheet number below; drag the bubble wherever it reads best.

Hatches

In the side bar, under Drafting. Each hatch draws like Poly area. Once drawn, the edit bar’s Hatch button changes the pattern or its colour, Border colour changes only the outline and Background adds a fill under the hatch.

• Diagonal hatch9

  Diagonal lines at 45°, in the current colour, on a see-through background. Drag for a rectangle, or click corner by corner for any shape.

• Cross-hatch

  Cross-hatching in the current colour. Drag for a rectangle, or click corner by corner for any shape.

• Concrete hatch

  Dots and small triangles, as for concrete in section. Drag for a rectangle, or click corner by corner for any shape.

• Insulation hatch

  A zigzag, as for insulation. Drag for a rectangle, or click corner by corner for any shape.

Symbols

In the side bar. One click places a symbol in the middle of the view; then move, resize or delete it.

• Tick

  A green tick: OK or closed.

• Cross

  A red cross: not acceptable.

• Warning

  An amber warning triangle.

• Question

  A blue question mark.

BRAG stamps

In the side bar. One click places a stamp in the middle of the view; then move, resize and edit it like any markup. Each colour has one meaning.

QA

In the side bar. Helpers for drawings that go out for review.

• Title bar

  Adds or removes a bar along the sheet, at the top or bottom, with date, name and company. Edit the fields, resize the text and change its colours. Needs a picture.

• Title block

  Places a movable block with date, name and company that sits above everything. Add as many as you like.

• Date stamp

  Places today’s date as a stamp.

• Date and time stamp

  Places today’s date and time as a stamp, fixed at the moment you place it.

Selection and editing

A small edit bar appears below whatever you select.

• Move and resize

  Selected markups show handles to move and resize them; line ends and leader tips can be dragged.

• Edit

  Edit the text of a note, callout, stamp or text box. Double-click does the same.

• Text size

  Step the text size smaller or larger.

• Border colour

  Change the outline colour of the selected markup.

• Background

  Change the fill colour of a callout, note or area, or choose None. The preset colours keep how see-through the fill is, and a hatch stays on top of it.

• Hatch

  For poly areas, poly clouds, hatched areas, rectangles and clouds: choose a hatch pattern (or none) and its own colour, separate from the border and the background.

• Stacking order

  Right-click a markup with Select to bring it to the front, bring it forward, send it backward or send it to the back. Blur areas always stay just above the pictures, so they never hide markups.

• Delete

  Remove the selected markup.

• Zoom, fit and pan

  Zoom with Ctrl and the mouse wheel or the buttons at the bottom right; Fit shows the whole sketch. Hold Space and drag to pan.

• Grid

  Show or hide the dotted grid behind your drawing with the Grid button at the bottom right. It is shown in the Snip theme to begin with, and your choice is remembered.

Copy, save and reopen

Everything stays on your device. Nothing is uploaded.

• Paste

  Press Ctrl+V to paste a picture, for example a Win+Shift+S snip. More pictures are added beside the first.

• Drop a file

  Drop an image file (PNG, JPG or WebP) onto the page.

• PDF pages

  Drop a PDF and choose a page; it opens as a picture to mark up.

• Copy imageCtrl+Shift+C

  Copies the whole sketch as a flat PNG, exactly as you see it, ready to paste into an email, Teams or a report.

• Export (.png)Ctrl+E

  Downloads the sketch as a flat PNG named with the date and time. Blurs are painted in and cropped parts left out, so nothing can be undone by whoever receives it.

• Save and open sketchesCtrl+S

  Work in progress? Save as keeps everything, editable, in a .cadsnip file on your device. Open it or drop it back in and carry on where you left off; in Chrome and Edge the disk button next to the logo (or Ctrl+S) then saves straight into that file.

• cadsnip.com tag

  Exported images carry a small cadsnip.com tag in the bottom-right corner (removable from the menu).

• Autosave

  Your sketch is saved on this device as you work, so a refresh or a closed tab does not lose it.

Themes and settings

Settings is in the menu at the top left; folding is in the side bar. Themes change the look of the app only: your drawing and exports always look the same.

• Theme

  Snip (the CAD style), Light or Dark. They change the app only: your drawing and exports always look the same.

• Icon size

  Small, Medium or Large buttons and icons.

• Language

  English (UK) or English (US).

• New sketch

  Clears the workspace after asking you to confirm.

• Side bar tools

  Collapse the side bar to a thin strip, or fold each of its sections. Both are remembered.

Keyboard shortcuts

Keys work anywhere except while you are typing.