Layers Sidebar

The Layers Sidebar is where you will see all the gauges on your canvas, each with the list of all the layers that make it up. You will find as well any actions related to gauges and layers, like add, duplicate, import or delete.

The layer order matters

On the Layers Sidebar the order of the layers determines the order how the layers are rendered, being the top most layer on the list the top most layer on the canvas.

Gauge Wizards

Next to the Add Layer button, on the layer sidebar header, there is the Gauge Wizards button, a tool that can speed up dramatically the creation of gauges for specific industries. See the dedicated Gauge Wizards section for more details.

Licensing

Some of the features on this page require a subscription, as described on the Login & Subscriptions page:

Standard

• Adding multiple gauges
• Import Gauges

Gauges

Each gauge on the canvas is a collapsible section on the sidebar, with its own layer list, plus a header with the gauge name and its own visibility and printable toggle buttons.

• Toggling visibility or printable on a gauge header does not select or expand that gauge, so you can manage collapsed gauges without losing your current selection.
• Selecting any layer in a gauge scrolls it into view on the sidebar.
• The expanded/collapsed state of each gauge is saved with the file.

New in GaugeMaster Pro 2

Multi-gauge canvases are the headline feature of GaugeMaster Pro 2: the Canvas can hold any number of gauges, from zero to many, and each gauge is designed, positioned, printed and exported as part of a single document. Fear not if you only ever design one gauge at a time, as your usual workflow doesn’t change at all.

The Active Gauge

At most one gauge is active at any time. Layer editing, the Gauge settings pane, and the layer keyboard shortcuts always act on the active gauge.

To activate a gauge simply click on it, or on any of its layers, on the Canvas, or click its header on the sidebar. The sidebar gauge header and the on-canvas gauge frame header share the same highlight color, so the active gauge is easy to spot in both places. The Up and Down keys also select gauges and layers from the keyboard, see Keyboard Navigation.

Clicking on an empty canvas area will deselect any active layer or gauge, leaving no gauge selected. This will remove the gauge frame and all editing aids allowing you to view a clean canvas with just your gauge designs.

Select a gauge before adding layers

With no gauge selected there is nothing to add layers to, so the Add Layer entries and the Gauge Wizards button stay disabled until a gauge is selected again. Only the entire canvas can be printed or exported when no gauge is selected.

All the gauge management actions below are available from the sidebar’s + dropdown menu, as well as with their own keyboard shortcuts.

Add Gauge

Add Gauge creates a new empty gauge and makes it the active gauge. The new gauge is inserted directly above the selected gauge on the sidebar, and so on top of it on the canvas, or at the top of the list when no gauge is selected, matching how new layers are added.

Duplicate Gauge

Duplicate Gauge creates a full copy of the active gauge. Since this new gauge will overlap the original exactly, the copy will have Copy added to its name so you can tell them apart.

Delete Gauge

Delete Gauge removes the active gauge.

An empty canvas is a valid canvas

Deleting the last gauge is allowed, as a canvas with no gauges is a perfectly valid state. The way back is simply Add Gauge, Import Gauges or New Canvas.

Import Gauges

Import Gauges loads another .gmpro file and adds all of its gauges to the current canvas, instead of replacing it. Each imported gauge keeps its saved position, and any fonts embedded in the imported file come along too. Imported gauges are appended to the bottom of the list, rendering below existing gauges.

Moving Layers Between Gauges

You can drag and drop any layer from one gauge onto another on the sidebar. The layer will move to the new gauge and be selected in its new home.

Gauge Rendering Order

The gauge order matters too

Just like with layers, the order of the gauges on the Layers Sidebar determines the order in which they are rendered, being the top most gauge on the list the top most gauge on the canvas.

Keyboard Navigation

The Layers Sidebar can be navigated from the keyboard, see the Keyboard Shortcuts page for the full reference.

Layer Navigation

The Up and Down keys step through the visible rows of the sidebar across all gauges. This means the gauge headers and all its layers, while a gauge is expanded, so a collapsed gauge is passed over as a single row. Past the last layer of a gauge, Down lands on the next gauge’s header, and from a gauge’s header, Up lands on the previous gauge’s last visible row. Option/Alt + Up/Down jumps between gauges directly.

Collapsible Gauges

Left collapses the selected gauge’s layer list and Right expands it. Option/Alt + Left/Right collapses or expands every gauge at once, the same as Option/Alt + clicking a gauge’s chevron. The sidebar keeps the selected gauge’s header in view whenever gauges are collapsed or expanded.

Add Layers

Use this button to add a new layer, a drop down menu will display all the available layer types, choose the type you want to add and it will be added right above the currently selected layer, or the top of the list if none is currently selected. The layer creation entries always apply to the active gauge.

For details about each layer type please refer to their corresponding pages:

• Color Arc Layer
• Tickmarks Arc Layer
• Text Arc Layer
• Text Detail Layer
• Image Detail Layer
• Shape Detail Layer

Duplicate Layers

Use this button to create a copy of the currently selected layer, and insert it right above it. Since this new layer will have the same exact radii and angles as the duplicated layer, the new copied layer will have copy added to its name so you can tell them apart.

Sort Layers

You can sort the layers on the list at any time by dragging and dropping the layers to a new location within the layer list. As you drag a layer you will be able to see the targeted location where it will be dropped.

Delete Layers

To delete a layer click on the bin button on the layer cell. This is an instant action, there is no confirmation requested, so if you delete a layer by mistake use Undo to restore it.

Layer Toggles

Visibility

Press to toggle a layer’s visibility on the canvas.

Snapping

Press to enable or disable if a layer must be included on layer snapping interactions.

Guides

Press to enable or disable displaying a layer’s radii and angles snap guides.

Printable

Press to enable or disable printing/exporting of a layer.

Visible vs Printable

When printing or exporting, GaugeMaster Pro will calculate the max perimeter of your gauge based on all the layers and their settings, to make sure your gauge is always printed at its true size, or at the diameter specified by the Diam. Override option within the Gauge Settings. When calculating this max perimeter, Visibility and Printability will have different effects which are important to understand.

• Visibility will allow layers to be visible or not on the canvas, exports and printing, but invisible layers are still part of the max perimeter calculations. This is to allow printing of individual layers or groups of layers, while preserving the dimensions of the gauge overall at all times, so they can be overlayed if necessary.
• Printable will decide if layers are visible or not on exporting or printing, but they will always be visible on the canvas, and non-printing layers are excluded from the print/export max perimeter calculations as they are not part of the output at all. Non-printable layers are usually used to add reference information on your gauge designs, while never being part of the final output.

Selecting Layers

You can select the layer you want to edit either on the Layers Sidebar list or directly on the Canvas by clicking on the layer to edit.

Hidden layers and gauges cannot be clicked

A layer whose visibility is off, and a hidden gauge with all of its layers, are skipped by canvas click-to-select and by the right-click context menu, so an invisible element is never selected by accident. To select a hidden layer or gauge, use the Layers Sidebar instead.

Selecting overlapping layers

If the canvas has multiple layers in close proximity it can be difficult at times to select the desired layer. In these cases you can use right-click to display the layer context menu, which will display the names of all the layers under the cursor, where you can choose the one to select.