Editor Basics

The Draftila editor is where you create and edit your designs. It consists of a canvas, toolbar, left panel (layers and pages), and right panel (properties).

Canvas Navigation

Panning

  • Hand tool — Press H to activate, then click and drag to pan
  • Space + drag — Hold Space while using any tool to temporarily pan
  • Middle-click drag — Pan with the middle mouse button

Zooming

ActionShortcut
Zoom inCmd/Ctrl + +
Zoom outCmd/Ctrl + -
Fit all shapesShift + 1
Zoom to selectionShift + 2
You can also zoom with the scroll wheel while holding Cmd/Ctrl.

Toolbar

The toolbar at the top provides access to all creation and editing tools:

ToolShortcutDescription
MoveVSelect, move, resize, and rotate shapes
HandHPan the canvas
CommentCCreate comments on the canvas
FrameFCreate frame containers
RectangleRDraw rectangles
EllipseODraw circles and ellipses
PolygonYDraw polygons (configurable sides)
StarSDraw stars (configurable points)
LineLDraw lines with optional arrowheads
ArrowADraw arrows
TextTCreate text elements
PenPDraw precise vector paths
PencilShift + PFreehand drawing

Shape tools (Rectangle, Ellipse, Polygon, Star, Line, Arrow) are grouped in a dropdown. Pen and Pencil share another dropdown.

Selecting Shapes

  • Click a shape to select it
  • Shift + click to add/remove shapes from selection
  • Cmd/Ctrl + A to select all shapes on the page
  • Drag on empty canvas to create a selection box
  • Tab / Shift + Tab to cycle through sibling shapes
  • Escape to deselect all or exit group editing

Moving and Resizing

  • Drag a selected shape to move it
  • Arrow keys nudge by 1px, Shift + Arrow nudges by 10px
  • Drag handles on the selection box to resize
  • Hold Shift while resizing to maintain aspect ratio
  • Hold Cmd/Ctrl while drawing to constrain to squares or snap to 45/90 degree angles

Rotating

Hover just outside a corner handle of a selected shape to reveal the rotation cursor. Drag to rotate.

Flipping

ActionShortcut
Flip horizontalShift + H
Flip verticalShift + V

Stacking Order (Z-Order)

ActionShortcut
Move forwardCmd/Ctrl + ]
Move backwardCmd/Ctrl + [
Bring to frontCmd/Ctrl + Alt + ]
Send to backCmd/Ctrl + Alt + [

Grouping

ActionShortcut
Group shapesCmd/Ctrl + G
Ungroup shapesCmd/Ctrl + Shift + G
Wrap in frameCmd/Ctrl + Alt + G

Copy, Paste, and Duplicate

ActionShortcut
CopyCmd/Ctrl + C
CutCmd/Ctrl + X
PasteCmd/Ctrl + V
Paste in placeCmd/Ctrl + Shift + V
DuplicateCmd/Ctrl + D
Copy styleCmd/Ctrl + Alt + C
Paste styleCmd/Ctrl + Alt + V
DeleteDelete / Backspace

Undo and Redo

ActionShortcut
UndoCmd/Ctrl + Z
RedoCmd/Ctrl + Shift + Z

Full history is maintained throughout your session and works with all operations.

Rulers and Guides

Toggle rulers with Shift + R. Guides help you align shapes precisely on the canvas.

Smart alignment guides appear automatically when moving or resizing shapes near other shapes.