The Settings panel changes how the Playground looks and runs on your computer. To open it:
- Click the account button at the left of the top bar (your initial, or a person when you are signed out). The side panel opens.
- Choose Settings at the foot of the side panel.
Each heading folds open and closed. Hover a setting's name to read what it does. Your settings are kept in this browser, except the Inventory's categories, which are saved with the project.
Performance
How sharp the 3D view is, against how fast it draws. On a slow computer, pick a lower Quality first.
- Quality sets every setting below it at once. Change one of them by hand and the box shows Custom.
- Shadow quality: how sharp the shadows parts cast are. Off draws none and is fastest.
- Antialiasing smooths the jagged edges of parts and lines. Off is faster on a slow graphics card.
- Show textures draws the grain and relief of a finish, such as wood or printed layers. Off keeps the colour and gloss.
- Board quality: how much of a circuit board is drawn. High draws its copper tracks, fills and vias, pads and silkscreen; Medium its pads and silkscreen; Low the bare board. The Board Designer always draws High.
- Cap resolution draws the 3D view at one pixel per screen point, rather than the two or three a sharp display has: softer, and much faster.
What each Quality level sets:
| Quality | Shadow quality | Antialiasing | Show textures | Board quality | Cap resolution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Best Quality | High | On | On | High | Off |
| Quality | Low | On | On | High | Off |
| Balanced | Low | On | On | High | On |
| Performance | Off | On | Off | Medium | On |
| Best Performance | Off | Off | Off | Low | On |
Developer
Views for checking how a part is built, and how the 3D view is drawn.
- Graphics picks WebGPU or WebGL 2 to draw the 3D view, to test both. The choice is saved and used the next time the Playground opens, so refresh the page to switch now. A browser without WebGPU uses WebGL 2 either way.
- Drawing with says which of the two draws the view now.
- Show part gizmos draws a small X, Y and Z cross at a selected part's own origin.
- Show features draws the holes and pins a selected part declares: aqua for a pin, purple for a hole. See Holes, pins and sockets.
- Show triangles draws the edge of every triangle in a selected part's mesh.
Inventory
- Categories: which Inventory categories show. It names the template they match, or says how many show; click it to choose. Saved with the project, and a template sets them.
- Icon size: how big the Inventory's part tiles are drawn: Small, Medium or Large.
Others
- Keyboard shortcuts opens Playground shortcuts, the list of every shortcut, in a new tab.
- Show history puts the History panel, the steps Undo takes back, in the left column.