Canvas screen - Design Space Guide

The navigation bar across the top of Design Space for Desktop gives you easy access to many helpful functions, whether you're on Home or on Canvas. 

A. Home - Return to the home page where you can find inspiration, Cricut Access subscription information, links to My Stuff, Heat Guide, and more. 

B. Canvas - Where you can create your unique projects. 

C. Elipses (3 Dots) - On Windows this where you can find the options to open a new Design Space window, quit, reload the page, contact member care, and look up videos. On Mac File, View , and Help settings are in the top left in the Mac Menu Bar. 

D. Help Menu - Easy access to tutorial videos, cheat sheets, our online Help Center, and more. Learn more about the Help Menu.

E. Notifications - See all your notifications, including likes on your project, new projects from people you follow, and more. (You can change your notification settings in the menu).

F. Menu - Navigate to your profile page, sign out, find all your machine and Canvas settings, calibrate your machines, change your language and more. Learn more about Design Space Settings. 

G. Window buttons - Minimize Design Space, go full screen, or close Design Space. 

H. Project Name- The name of your project will appear here. If you have not yet saved your project, it will say Untitled Project. 

I. Save - Save a project to your account, making it accessible from Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android. Save As to rename your project.

J. My Stuff - Open your saved or bookmarked projects, images, and collections.

K. Machine Selection - Choose which machine you're using. Your machine selection will affect what options you have in the Canvas. (Learn More).

L. Make - Prepare your mats and send your project to your Cricut machine.

 

Help menu

Get all the Help resources you need in one place. Just click the ? icon to find links to: 

• How-to videos - a page of tutorial videos right in Design Space to help you learn the software, learn how to make different types of projects, or work with particular materials
• Cheatsheets - Printable resources for learning and reference
• Keyboard shortcuts - An at-a-glance guide to helpful keyboard shortcuts for performing certain actions
• What's New - An overview of what was new with the release of your current Design Space version
• Report a Bug - Opens a form you can use to submit feedback about Design Space
• Online Help Center – Takes you to help.cricut.com, a Cricut official site that provides information and support for Cricut products
• Contact Member Care – Takes you to a page of contact information for Cricut Member Care

 

Machine Selection

To access all the content, features, and other options applicable to your machine, be sure to select your Cricut cutting machine model from the machine selection dropdown. Simply select the machine icon and then your machine from the menu.

Note: Choose Cricut Explore Family for Cricut Explore Air 2 and older. Cricut Explore 3 is listed separately at this time. 

The panel on the left side of the Canvas contains tools that allow you to add content to the Canvas.

New - Click the New icon at any time to create a new project from scratch.

 

Templates - Use a template to help you visualize your finished product (Learn More).

 

Projects - Browse, select, and cut projects from the Projects Tab. This includes your projects as well as Ready-to-Make projects, and projects shared to the Community by other Cricut users. Learn about Ready-to-Make projects. 

 

Shapes - Quickly add basic shapes like circles, squares, triangles, and score lines to your Canvas. (Learn More.)

 

Images - Browse, select, and insert images from the Cricut image library, including your own uploaded images, to the Canvas (Learn More).

 

Text - Add custom words and phrases to the Canvas (Learn More).

 

Monogram Maker - This Cricut Access exclusive feature creates personalized monograms in seconds (Learn More).

 

Upload - Cut what you want by uploading .jpg, .gif, .png, .bmp, .svg, or .dxf image files (Learn More).

The Edit bar in Design Space gives you access to features such as Operation, Fill, Size, Rotate, Mirror, Position, etc. for editing images and text. 

Note: More options become available in the Edit Bar when you are working with text, such as options choose a font, choose a font style, size, etc. Learn more about editing Text in Design Space. 

Undo/Redo - Undo previously performed actions or Redo actions which have been undone.

 

Operation - Operation determines how the machine will interact with your material on the mat. You can cut, draw, or score with your Cricut machine. Learn more about selecting Operation.

 

Cut:

• Basic - The layer will be cut with a Fine-Point, Performance, or Deep-Point blade.
• Wavy - The layer will be cut with a Wavy Blade.
• Perforate - The layer will be cut with a Perforation Blade. 

 Draw:

• Pen - The layer will be drawn with a pen. 
• *Foil - The layer will be embossed using the Foil Transfer Tool.
• Score - The layer will be scored using a Scoring Wheel or Scoring Stylus.
• Deboss - The layer will be debossed using the Debossing Tip.
• Engrave - The layer will be engraved using the Engraving Tip. 

 Print Then Cut - The layer will be setup to print in a home printer, and then cut by the Cricut machine. Learn How to Print Then Cut in Design Space.

 Guide - The layer will not be cut, but will show on the Canvas to be used as a guide. 

* Only available on Windows/Mac; not supported on iOS/Android. 

Note: Not all these Operation types are available for all machines. The Operation types that are available for your machine selection will be shown in this menu. 

Operation swatch

Select the Operation swatch to choose additional attributes for your layer. Available options are based on the selected Operation. The swatch will appear solid when Cut is selected, as an outline when Draw is selected, and a / will appear through the swatch when Perforate, Score, Deboss, or Engrave is selected.

• Cut attributes
  Available while a cut layer is selected. A color picker window will appear. You can change your material to a basic color, or click Advanced to choose any color you want. You can also enter the hex code of your color at the bottom of the window.
  
  
  
• Draw attributes
  Available when a draw layer is selected. Choose the thickness and color of the pen you would like to use. Use the drop-down in the window to change the pen thickness. 
  
  
  

•  Fill attributes
  Available when a Print Then Cut layer is selected. Choose to have the image print in one of three ways.
  • Original artwork: Print the image as it appeared when it was first inserted on the Canvas. 
  • Color: Print the image as a single solid color. 
  • Pattern: Fill the image shape with a pattern. After selecting a pattern, you can click "Edit Pattern" to change the scale and orientation of the pattern. Learn more about Pattern fills.
    
    
    

 Select All/Deselect – Select or deselect all items on the Canvas simultaneously.

 

Edit - Use this drop-down to find common edit tools: Cut, Copy, Paste, Duplicate, and Delete. 

• Cut - Remove an image from the Canvas and copy it to your clipboard so you can paste it at a later time.
• Copy – Copy an image to the clipboard to paste at a later time.
• Paste – Paste a copied or cut object from the clipboard onto the Canvas.
• Duplicate – Create an exact copy of the layer you have selected.
• Delete – Delete the selected layer from the Canvas.

 

Align - Define the margin that aligns two or more objects. You can have your objects line up to the left, right, top, or bottom, or have horizontal or vertical centers. You can also distribute your objects evenly vertically or horizontally.

 Align Left - Define the left margin of two or more objects. The margin will take on the left-most edge of your left-most object.

 

 Center Horizontally - Define the horizontal center point of two or more objects. The central point will take on the exact horizontal center of all selected objects.

 

 Align Right - Define the right margin of two or more objects. The margin will take on the right-most edge of your right-most object.

 

Align Top - Define the top margin of two or more objects. The margin will take on the top-most edge of your top-most object.

 

Center Vertically - Define the vertical center point of two or more objects. The central point will take on the exact vertical center of all selected objects.

 

Align Bottom - Define the bottom margin of two or more objects. The margin will take on the bottom-most edge of your bottom-most object.

 

Center - Move all selected images so that the center points line up. Images will be stacked on top of each other.

 

Distribute Horizontally - Moves selected images so they are spaced evenly between the left and right edges of your selection.

 

 Distribute Vertically - Moves selected images so they are spaced evenly between the top and bottom edges of your selection.

 

Arrange - Change the order in which objects appear on the Canvas, including Move to Back, Move Backward, Move to Front, and Move Forward. Changes will be reflected in the Layers Panel.

Bring to Front - Bring the selected object to the front of the stacking order. This will make the object appear at the top of the Layers Panel.

Bring Forward - Move the selected object one layer forward in stacking order. This will make the object appear one layer higher in the Layers Panel.

 Send Backward - Move the selected object one layer backward in stacking order. This will make the object appear one layer lower on the Layers Panel.

 Send to Back - Send the selected object to the back of the stacking order. This will make the object appear at the bottom of the Layers Panel.

 Group - Make the selected layers grouped on the Canvas. Does not affect how the layers will cut.

 

 Ungroup - Undo a group of layers.

 

Tip: The Arrange, Align, and Distribute functions are available under the Edit menu in the Design Space iOS and Android Apps. There is no button for "Select All" in these apps; simply tap and drag your finger on the screen to select all of the items.

 

Flip - Flip an object horizontally or vertically.

 Flip Horizontal - Flip an object horizontally at the center of the object.

 Flip Vertical - Flip an object vertically at the center of the object.

 

Offset - Add a proportionally larger or smaller layer that matches the outline of the selected layer. You can adjust the size of the offset, if it has rounded or sharp edges, and if the offset pieces are welded together or not. Learn more about Offset.

 

Create Sticker - Create pro-looking kiss- or die-cut printable stickers in a snap with this Cricut Access exclusive tool! Create Sticker automatically makes your sticker design printable, and you can quickly and easily customize the cut result. Learn more about Create Sticker.

 

Warp - Bend and distort images and text for amazing effects with this Cricut Access exclusive feature. Adjust how much the image is warped or bent. Learn more about Warp. 

 

Size - Adjust the width or height of an object by typing in an exact value or use the stepper to adjust the size by 0.1 at a time.

Note: Adjusting the size of the width or height will proportionally adjust the other variable if the size is locked. Simply click the Lock icon to unlock the image aspect ratio. Then you can freely adjust the width or height independently.

 

More – Some screen resolutions will be too narrow for all tools to show on the Edit bar. If this is the case, a “More” drop-down will appear.

 

Rotate - Adjust the rotation angle of your object by typing in an exact degree or use the stepper to adjust the angle by 1 degree at a time.

 

Position - Adjust the position of your object by typing in an exact distance from the top left corner of the Canvas or use the stepper to adjust the distance by 0.1 at a time.

Tip: Tool and feature icons are consistent across Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS versions of Design Space for easier understanding.

The Layers panel gives you access to features such as Group, Ungroup, Duplicate, Delete, Slice, Attach, Flatten, and more! 

Functions available in the Layers Panel

Group/Ungroup (Ctrl + G) — Group multiple layers, images, or text together so that they move and size together on the Canvas. This will not affect how images are laid out on the cutting mats. Ungroup a set of layers, images, or text so that they move and size independently from one another on the Canvas. For text, selecting "Ungroup" once allows you to move and resize each layer of text independently, but keeps the letters grouped together. Selecting "Ungroup" on a single layer of text will allow you to move and resize each letter of text independently.  

 

 Duplicate (Ctrl + D) — Copy and paste an object in one step to create multiples of the same object. (It is best practice to increase the project copies after clicking make it if you wish to create multiple copies of one project)

 

 Delete (Delete, or Backspace) — Remove selected object from the Canvas.

 

Slice  (Shift + ALT + Q) — Split two overlapping layers into separate parts. This will only work if you have exactly two layers selected. 

 

 Attach/Detach (ALT + A) — Attach to hold your objects in position so that objects on the cutting mat will appear exactly as they are arranged on your Canvas. Attach can also fasten a draw or score layer to a cut layer to tell the machine on which image layer the text or score line should be placed. Detach separates attached layers so they are no longer connected and will cut, draw, or score independently from all other layers. Learn more about using Attach. 

 

 Flatten/Unflatten (ALT + F, or Shift + ALT + F to Unflatten) — Flatten turns any image into a printable image, merging all selected layers into a single layer. Unflatten separates layers from a single printable image into individual printable layers. Learn How to Print Then Cut in Design Space.

Visible/Hidden Layer — The open eyeball icon indicates that the layer is visible on the Canvas and will cut, draw, score, or print. Click the icon to hide the selected layer. Hidden layers will not cut, draw, score, or print. Clicking the icon again makes the layer visible on the Canvas.

 

 Contour — Hide or unhide contour lines or cut paths on a layer. If the image has multiple layers, you must first Ungroup in order to use Contour.  Learn more about using Contour.

 

Combine Functions

The Combine tool provides several actions which allow you to combine objects in Design Space to make completely new shapes. Four of these actions - Unite, Subtract, Intersect, and Exclude - allow you to create new shapes while keeping all shapes in the group completely editable – every action can be adjusted or undone. Learn more about the Combine tool in this article: Using Combine, Slice, and Weld to create new shapes in Design Space.

Weld — Joins multiple objects together to create a new shape, removing any overlapping cut lines. This action is permanent. 

Unite — Also joins two or more shapes together into one new shape, but all objects used in the Unite remain completely editable.

 Subtract — Removes shapes from the last or bottom layer of any selected group of objects. Unlike Slice, you can Subtract multiple objects all at once. 

Intersect — Results in a new cut shape consisting of only the overlapping parts of two or more shapes.

Exclude — Results in a new cut shape consisting of only the non-overlapping parts of two or more shapes. It "excludes" or removes the overlapping sections. 

 

Move and rename layers

To help you more easily keep track of the design elements in your project, you can rename objects or groups of objects in the Design Space Layers panel, change the order of groups or layers in the Layers panel, and even move layers into or between groups! Learn More. 

 

Selecting Multiple Layers

One can select multiple layers at once by holding Shift or Ctrl while clicking multiple items either on the Canvas or in the Layers panel. (On Mac, Shift or Command).

Another option is to click and drag the mouse on the Canvas, covering multiple items with the grey box that follows the mouse, and release.

Design Space has a Color Sync panel to help you to match colors, or consolidate colors of a project in order to reduce the number of different materials you plan to use. You can sync layer colors by dragging an image layer in the Color Sync panel and dropping it on another layer whose color you want to match.