Document Version v2026.08.31.0

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2D Viewer

Goal

Help you handle the most important day-to-day work in 2D: inspect, select, locate, verify, and prepare exports.

Supported Platforms

• iOS
• macOS

Intended Audience

• Users doing day-to-day board inspection in the workspace
• Testers validating 2D interaction, object info, and export readiness

Prerequisites

• A board document is already open in the workspace
• The viewer has finished its initial preparation and published the first 2D frame

Steps

1. Use 2D to pan, zoom, and select objects in the current board view.
2. Select an object, then open Info from the floating toolbar below the canvas to review the object details you need.
3. Use the bottom floating toolbar to switch among 2D / 3D / Data and to open export configuration in 2D.
4. Adjust visibility or filtering through Workbench, then return to 2D for final confirmation and export preparation.

Result

• 2D serves as the primary working view for precise inspection, object lookup, and export preparation.

2D Is the Main Working View in the Current Version

Inside the workspace, 2D handles most of the high-frequency work:

• pan, zoom, box-select, and point-select
• open Info from the floating toolbar below the canvas
• work with Workbench for visibility, filtering, and object targeting
• review the current selection, coordinates, or display status in the status bar
• switch among 2D / 3D / Data and launch every export flow from the bottom floating toolbar

Supporting Capabilities You Will See

• Object info card: after selecting a PCB or schematic object, open it with Info in the bottom floating toolbar. PCB objects that support local footprint preview can switch between Info / 3D in the card.
• Mini viewer: shown at the upper left of the canvas by default, compares the current viewport with the global board range, and temporarily makes room when the object info card opens
• Crosshair guideline: when enabled in settings, follows the pointer
• Status bar: the left side summarizes the current selection; the right side defaults to resource status and can switch to coordinates, frame metrics, or off
• DRC markers: after the board finishes first-frame preparation, DRC runs in the background. When complete, locatable results appear as red circles, crosses, and optional evidence connector lines. Workbench’s 2D Display Grid controls their visibility globally or by layer.

What the Bottom Floating Toolbar Can Do

The persistent floating toolbar below the canvas concentrates viewing and editing actions:

• shows the available 2D / 3D / Data modes and highlights the current mode
• shows an export entry in 2D
• shows Info for an exact selected object in a PCB or schematic, opening the matching in-canvas object-details card
• shows Save and Undo when an editing session is available
• after selecting a supported via or track segment, shows the applicable move, Slide, track-width, or delete actions

Buttons that cannot run in the current context are hidden. Available actions update when the selection, view, or editing state changes.

The map collapse menu on the left side of the toolbar hosts global viewer actions:

• Fit All
• toggle axis visibility
• regenerate thumbnail
• Scene info

Scene info opens as a centered card. The Info tab shows and copies the current scene, import source, camera, and viewport data. The Camera tab can paste a teammate's shared Scene info or PCBAtlas 2D Camera text, parse camera.center and camera.zoom, and apply them to the current 2D view. It does not validate that source paths match, which keeps it useful for manually sharing screen positions on the same device model and the same case.

Inside the mini viewer, pressing and dragging the current viewport pans the viewport. Pressing outside the viewport and dragging draws a new viewing range. The main 2D canvas right-click / long-press menu still keeps only context actions for the current object and chat capability; it no longer hosts Info or the mini viewer’s global viewer actions.

When a KiCad project opens both a PCB and schematic, 2D Viewer shows dual canvases. It splits vertically when the available canvas aspect ratio is below 1.5:1, horizontally when it is above 1.5:1, and retains the current split orientation between those thresholds so resizing near the boundary does not make it flip repeatedly.

How Schematics Behave in 2D

Schematic documents are also viewed through the 2D canvas, but their interaction model is different from PCB review:

• Pick hits come from the schematic document data, not visual guessing.
• Current pick coverage includes sheet / symbol / pin / wire / bus / label / text / junction / marker.
• A single candidate selects and highlights immediately. Non-net objects also show a high-contrast locate frame, and point-like pins retain a clear minimum visible extent. Multiple candidates let you cycle overlapping objects.
• Clicking empty space clears schematic selection and highlight.
• Schematic object details synchronize to Workbench Selection / Details and can also be opened in the schematic canvas through toolbar Info. PCB objects continue to use the equivalent card in their PCB canvas.

Schematic review supports sheet navigation, object search, details, locate, highlight, and canvas pick. Layout edits, ERC fixes, and property writeback stay in dedicated EDA tools. When a schematic opens for the first time, it fits the full paper range rather than mistaking the paper’s lower-left (0, 0) for the center of the view.

PCB-to-Schematic Cross-Probing

KiCad projects that contain both a PCB and schematics use exact project-object relationships for cross-probing:

• Selecting a schematic symbol or pin in dual canvases locates and highlights the corresponding footprint or pad in the PCB canvas. Selecting a PCB footprint or pad does the reverse for the corresponding symbol or pin.
• After a PCB-to-schematic symbol or pin jump succeeds, the target locate frame expands twice and then stays static. Ordinary schematic picks do not replay the animation, and a system Reduce Motion setting shows only a static locate frame.
• Selecting a net, track, via, copper graphic, or schematic net object highlights the exact related net in the other canvas instead of arbitrarily selecting one object on a sheet.
• The other canvas has only two states: exact associated object highlighted or not selected. Selecting empty space, or selecting an object with no jump relationship, clears prior cross-canvas selection and highlighting instead of dimming the entire schematic.
• Single-canvas mode keeps the current local selection and offers View related design object from the floating toolbar, Workbench, or the Board command. After a successful jump, a return button restores the original canvas, camera, and selection.
• Selecting empty space, changing projects, or closing dual canvases clears an unfinished cross-probe request.

Cross-probing accepts only unique, verifiable object relationships; it does not guess from coordinates, displayed text, or similar names. BOM-only components, symbols without PCB footprints, board footprints without an associated schematic, and missing or ambiguous relationships do not create a jump. The UI keeps the local selection and reports that the associated target is unavailable.

Division of Responsibility Across Views

• 2D: precise inspection, object info review, and export preparation
• 3D: overall structure review for board sessions, with board-level geometry and renderable imported 3D models
• Data: document, revision, statistics, status, and issue summaries

How Export Relates to 2D

Export starts from 2D:

• the export button is unavailable in 3D and Data
• PNG / PDF are capture exports
• board-file export is split into two paths:
• Original source export: returns the original DSN / KiCad / IPC-2581 / ODB++ / Gerber-Drill data stored for the current revision
• Converted export: currently keeps DSN and KiCad 8

Recommendations

• Narrow the visible scope with Workbench first, then use 2D for local confirmation.
• When checking design-rule issues, use the DRC column in Workbench to narrow marker scope by layer. Hiding markers does not change the board or DRC result.
• When you need to record an issue, select the target in 2D first and then copy its details from the info card.
• When you need a support-ready snapshot, use More > Copy Support Bundle. It summarizes the current document, Board Problems, Quick Estimate state, AI activity summary, and recent reproduction clues without including AI credentials or full design file contents.
• Before exporting, return to 2D and confirm that the visible layers, visibility state, and framing are correct.

Common Questions

Why can’t I interact with 2D immediately after opening a document?

During import or render preparation, the app shows the Viewer progress page. A project presents interactive content directly after its canvases are ready.

Why isn’t object detail shown in Workbench anymore?

The current design moves object detail into the floating info card in 2D. Workbench now focuses on visibility, filtering, and object browsing.

Why is the export button unavailable?

Because export starts from 2D. If you are in 3D or Data, return to 2D; if another export task is running, wait for it to finish.