Lock wall lengths, measurements and furniture
Measured a wall and don't want it to change? Placed a sofa exactly where it goes? Tap the padlock. A locked wall length or measurement can't be changed by any other edit, and a locked piece of furniture can't be moved, turned, resized or deleted until you unlock it.
Some numbers are final: the wall you measured with a tape, the gap between two doors, the spot where the piano has to go. Locks keep them that way. There are three kinds, each with a padlock button:
- Furniture: Lock in place in the item's panel. The piece can't be moved, turned, flipped, resized or deleted. - Wall length: next to Length for any outer or interior wall. Nothing else you do can change that length. - One measurement: each piece of a wall's split-up measurement (for example the width of one room along a long wall) has its own padlock.
Locks are saved with your design. The padlocks you see on the plan are only on screen; they never appear in prints or exports. If something won't move or change, look for a padlock first.
What you'll need
- •A design open in the editor, on a computer, tablet or phone
Step by step
- 1
Lock a piece of furniture in place
Tap the piece to select it. In its panel, tap the padlock at the top right, next to Duplicate and Delete (its label is Lock in place). The padlock turns blue and closed. Tap it again (Unlock) to free the piece.
Blue and closed: the sofa is locked in place. - 2
What a locked piece can and can't do
A locked piece shows a small blue padlock on the plan, and its rotate handle disappears. Until you unlock it, it can't be moved (dragged, nudged with the arrow keys or pinched), turned, flipped, resized or deleted, on its own or as part of a group. You can still rename it and change its color or finish. A copy you make with Duplicate starts unlocked. Moving, flipping or re-scaling the whole plan still carries a locked piece along, because it's locked to the room, not to the screen.
The padlock on the plan shows which pieces are locked. - 3
If you try to move or delete it
The app stops and explains: This item is locked in place. To move it, select it and tap the padlock. With several pieces selected, it says how many are locked (2 of these items are locked in place.) and nothing in the selection moves. Unlock the piece, make the change, and lock it again if you like.
Pressing Delete on a locked sofa. - 4
Lock a wall's length
Tap the wall. Next to Length in its panel there's a padlock (Lock this length); the small panel beside the wall on the plan has one too. Tap it: the padlock turns blue and the length can't be typed over. Interior walls have the same padlock in the Interior Wall panel. To change a locked length, tap the padlock again (Unlock this length) first. If you try to change it anyway, the app says This length is locked. Tap the padlock to unlock it first.
Locked: the length stays exactly as it is. - 5
Lock one measurement (desktop: hover it)
Where other walls meet a wall, its measurement is split into pieces, one per room. Each piece can be locked on its own: tap the number on the plan, then tap the padlock. On a computer, just hover over the number and a padlock appears beside it; click it to lock or unlock without opening anything. A locked piece keeps the distance between the two walls on either side of it.
Hover a measurement and click the padlock beside it. - 6
See what's locked at a glance
A locked length or measurement shows a small blue padlock in its label on the plan, like the 7′ 7.5″ piece and the 12′ 6.5″ beside the bedroom–bathroom wall here. A locked interior wall whose measurement is split into pieces also gets a padlock badge on the wall itself. These padlocks are only on screen; prints and exports never show them.
Blue padlocks mark the locked numbers. - 7
What moves when some walls are locked
When you type a new length with locks in the plan, the change comes out of walls that aren't locked: - The end that stays put (the pin) starts on the end that meets a locked wall. - Walls that take up the change flash light blue. A wall that would have broken a lock flashes amber, and the edit is refused with That would change a locked wall length. To change it, select the wall and tap the padlock next to Length. - Typing one piece of a measurement takes the change from the pieces next to it that aren't locked. If the wall's whole length is locked, its total stays the same and the piece next door gives way. - If everything around it is locked, nothing moves: Nothing can move: the measurements beside this one are locked. or Nothing can move: the wall's length and the measurements beside this one are locked. Unlock one of them first. - An edit that would change a locked piece is refused with That would change a locked measurement. To change it, tap the measurement and tap its padlock.
- 8
Settings that wait until you unlock
A few whole-plan changes would change every length, so they're refused while wall lengths are locked: - Plan Settings → Walls → Exterior Wall Placement (Outside / Center / Inside): Wall placement can't change while wall lengths are locked, because it would change them. Unlock those walls first. - Re-scale in the Outline Editor with All floors chosen, when another floor has a locked wall: All floors can't be re-scaled while wall lengths are locked on another floor. Unlock those walls first, or re-scale this floor only. - Split on a locked wall: Unlock this wall's measurements first.
Changing Exterior Wall Placement with a locked wall.
Tips
Lock what you've measured
After typing a length from your tape measure, lock it. Later edits, like dragging a neighbouring wall, then adjust the other walls instead of undoing your measurement.
Lock built-ins and the big pieces
Lock a kitchen island, a piano or a bed once it's placed, then rearrange everything around it without nudging it by accident.
Unlock, change, lock again
A lock is never permanent. When a number really has to change, tap its padlock, make the change, and tap it again.
Common mistakes
Thinking the app is stuck
If a sofa won't drag or a wall won't change, read the message at the top of the plan: it names the lock that's in the way. Select the item or wall and tap its blue padlock.
Looking for the hover padlock on a tablet or phone
Hovering only works with a mouse. On a touch screen, tap the measurement on the plan, then tap the padlock that appears with it.
Expecting a copy to be locked
Duplicated furniture starts unlocked, so you can place the copy. Lock it once it's where it belongs.
Frequently asked questions
How do I stop furniture from moving by accident?
Select the piece and tap the padlock in its panel (Lock in place). It then can't be moved, turned, flipped, resized or deleted until you tap the padlock again (Unlock).
Why can't I move or delete my sofa?
It's probably locked: look for a small blue padlock on it. Select it and tap the blue padlock in its panel to unlock it. The message This item is locked in place. To move it, select it and tap the padlock. means the same thing.
How do I lock a measurement so it doesn't change?
For a whole wall, select it and tap the padlock next to Length. For one piece of a split measurement, tap the number on the plan and tap its padlock (on a computer, hover the number and click the padlock beside it).
My wall keeps changing length when I edit another wall. How do I stop that?
Lock the wall you want to keep: select it and tap the padlock next to Length. Other edits then take the change from walls that aren't locked, or are stopped with a message if they can't.
Can I still rename or recolor a locked piece?
Yes. Renaming and changing its color or finish still work. Only moving, turning, flipping, resizing and deleting are blocked.
Do the padlocks show in my PDF or shared link?
No. The padlocks are only on your screen. Prints, exports and shared links show the plan without them.
Why can't I change Exterior Wall Placement?
Switching between Outside, Center and Inside would change every wall length, so it's refused while any wall length is locked. Unlock those walls, change the placement, then lock them again.
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