The Layers panel — every switch explained
Every name, number, and note drawn on top of your plan is a layer you can switch on or off from the Layers button. Here is what each switch does, with before-and-after pictures, and which ones change your printouts.
The Layers button in the canvas toolbar (the stacked-sheets icon, next to the multi-select button; it used to be called Labels) controls everything that is drawn on top of your plan: wall measurements, room names, furniture names and sizes, alignment guides, vaulted-ceiling outlines, floor patterns, sticky notes, and tape measurements you kept.
Switching a layer off only hides it. Nothing is deleted, and you can switch it back on at any time. Your choices are remembered on the device you made them on, for every design you open there.
In this guide
- 1
Can't see something? Start here
Open Layers and check the row for what's missing: - Room names are gone → Show room labels. On a phone it starts off, so the plan isn't crowded. - Room names show only a letter tag → tap the tag to open it, or tick Keep labels expanded. - Wall measurements are gone → Show dimension lines. - Only the overall wall length shows, not room by room → Split at wall intersections. - Furniture names or sizes aren't on the plan → Show furniture labels / Show furniture dimensions (both start off; a selected piece always shows its own name and size). - Sticky notes are gone → Show sticky notes. - A measurement you kept with the tape is gone → Show tape measurements. - The vaulted-ceiling outline is gone (or you can't tap furniture under one) → Show vaulted ceilings. - The wood, tile, or carpet pattern is gone → Show flooring. Still stuck? Reset to defaults at the bottom of the menu puts every switch back the way it was on day one.
- 2
Open the Layers menu
Click Layers in the toolbar above the plan. A ticked box means the layer is showing. Click a row to switch it; the plan updates straight away and the menu stays open, so you can try a few. Click anywhere outside to close it. Indented rows belong to the row above them and are greyed out until that row is on.
Layers on a computer: every overlay on the plan, one switch each. - 3
On a phone or tablet
The same Layers button sits in the toolbar row under the floor picker. The list is identical, but a phone starts with Show room labels off to keep a small screen readable. Tick it if you want room names.
On a phone, room labels start off. Tick Show room labels to see room names. - 4
Show dimension lines
The measurement lines around your walls: the overall length of each wall outside the plan, plus the measurements along each wall. Turn it off for a clean drawing while you arrange furniture. Prints? It sets the starting value of Measurements in the export dialog, which you can still change there.
Off: just walls. On: wall lengths and room-by-room measurements. - 5
Split at wall intersections
Part of Show dimension lines. Where an inside wall meets an outside wall, the measurement breaks into room-by-room pieces, measured from wall face to wall face (126.5″, 91.5″, 126.5″ here), so every number is usable space. Off leaves only the overall wall length. Prints? Exports always include the room-by-room breakdown when Measurements is on in the export dialog. This switch only changes the screen.
Off: one overall length. On: each room's inside width along that wall. - 6
Show room labels
Room names. Each room you've closed off with walls gets a label, and so does any label you add yourself. By default a label sits as a small tag showing the first letter of the name; tap it to see the full name and size, rename the room, or auto-furnish it. Add label under this row drops a new label you can type into and drag anywhere. It's handy for an open-plan area with no walls of its own. Prints? Room names print when Labels is ticked in the export dialog.
On: a tag in each room. Tap a tag to open it. - 7
Keep labels expanded
Shows every room label fully open, with the name, size, and area, instead of the small tag. It's useful when you want to read the whole plan at a glance or take a screenshot.
Collapsed tags vs. labels kept open: Bedroom 1, 127″ × 151″, 133 sq ft. - 8
Show room dimensions and area
Only used while Keep labels expanded is on. Untick it to show just the room names, without the size and square footage under them.
Off: names only. On: size and area under each name. - 9
Show furniture labels
Writes each piece's name on it: Queen Bed, Nightstand, 6-Drawer Dresser. It starts off because a fully labelled plan gets busy. The piece you've selected always shows its own name. Prints? Exports use their own Labels switch, which covers furniture names and sizes, room names, and your own labels together. It's ticked when the dialog opens if any of room labels, furniture labels, or furniture dimensions is showing.
On: every piece is named on the plan. - 10
Show furniture dimensions
Writes each piece's width × depth on it (60″ × 80″ for a queen bed). This is the quickest way to check sizes across a whole room. It also starts off, and a selected piece always shows its size. Prints? Covered by the export dialog's Labels switch (see above).
On: width × depth on every piece. - 11
Show alignment guides
Dashed lines through the middle of the plan, with a marker at the centre and at each wall's midpoint. While you drag a piece, pink lines also show when it lines up with something else. This switch only controls whether you see the guides. Snapping is the separate magnet button in the toolbar. See alignment guides and snap. Prints? Not from this switch. The export dialog has its own Center / wall midpoint guides option, which is off by default.
On: centre lines and the orange centre marker. - 12
Show vaulted ceilings
The dashed outline of each vaulted ceiling, with its ridge line and slope arrows. The ceiling sits above the room, so its outline covers the furniture underneath. Turn this off when you want to tap or move furniture in that room, and back on to edit the vault. The 3D view always shows the real ceiling. See vaulted and cathedral ceilings. Prints? Yes. Vaulted ceilings always appear on exported and printed plans, whatever this switch says.
On: the vault's outline and ridge line over Bedroom 2. - 13
Show flooring
The wood, tile, and carpet patterns you've given each room in Materials → Flooring. Off gives a plain drawing. Your flooring choices are kept, and 3D always shows them. See per-room flooring. Prints? No. Exported and printed 2D plans show each room's soft colour tint (the Room tints option), not the floor pattern.
On: Bedroom 1's hardwood shows on the plan. - 14
Show sticky notes
Your sticky notes on the plan. Tap one to read or edit it. See labels and sticky notes. Prints? This switch only affects the screen. When you export or print, the export dialog's Sticky notes option, which is on by default, puts a numbered pin where each note sits and lists the full text on a Notes page. See What prints below.
On: the note sits where you put it. - 15
Show tape measurements
Lengths and areas you measured with the tape measure and kept with the pin. They stay on the plan and are saved with your design. Keeping a new one switches this layer back on, so it never seems to vanish. See the tape measure. Prints? Through the export dialog's own Tape measurements option, which is on by default.
On: the 55″ you measured between island and counter. - 16
Show other floors (multi-floor homes)
Only appears when your design has more than one floor. It draws the walls and stairs of the floors above and below faintly on the floor you're editing, so you can line up stairs and walls between levels. It's on by default. See multi-floor designs. Prints? No. Each floor exports on its own.
On: the ground floor's walls (thin grey lines) and its staircase show under the floor above. - 17
Show original plan (traced photo)
Only appears on a floor you traced from a photo or a PDF. It lays the original picture faintly under your drawing so you can check every wall against it. It's off by default. While it's on, a button next to the 3D view hides your drawing for a moment so you can see the original on its own. See tracing a floor plan. Prints? No. The original picture never goes into exports or prints.
- 18
What prints: Layers vs. the export options
Layers decide what you see while you work. Export / Print / Share → PNG/PDF or Print has its own options for the file: - Labels: room names (with size and area), your own labels, and furniture names and sizes. Ticked to start if any label layer is showing. - Measurements: wall lengths with the room-by-room breakdown. Ticked to start if Show dimension lines is on. - Tape measurements: your kept lengths and areas. On by default. - Sticky notes: numbered pins plus the Notes page. Only listed when your plan has at least one note with text. On by default. - Room tints, Grid, Center / wall midpoint guides: their own choices. - Vaulted ceilings always print. Floor patterns, the traced photo, and other floors never do. So a layer you hid on screen can still print, and the other way round. Always check the boxes in the export dialog before you export.
A real export. Furniture names print because Labels was ticked in the export dialog, even though they were hidden on screen. - 19
Reset to defaults
The last row puts every switch back to how this device started: on a computer, dimension lines, room labels, vaulted ceilings, flooring, sticky notes, and tape measurements on, with furniture labels, furniture sizes, and guides off. A phone starts the same, but with room labels off as well.
Tips
Clean plan for arranging, full plan for sharing
Hide furniture labels and sizes while you move things around. Turn them on, or tick Labels in the export dialog, when you send the plan to someone.
Faster on a big plan
On a large design or an older laptop, switching off Show flooring, furniture labels, and furniture dimensions gives the canvas less to draw. See browser support and performance.
Can't tap the bed under a vaulted ceiling?
The vault's outline is on top of it. Switch off Show vaulted ceilings, move the furniture, then switch it back on.
Common confusions
Thinking a hidden layer is deleted
Layers only hide things. Your notes, labels, kept measurements, and vaults are all still in the design. Tick the row again to see them.
Expecting the screen to decide what prints
Exports have their own options. Hidden sticky notes and tape measurements still print unless you untick them in the export dialog, and furniture names print whenever Labels is ticked there.
Setting it on one device and expecting it on another
Layer choices are remembered per device and browser, not saved in the design. Your phone keeps its own settings, and someone you share the design with sees their own.
Frequently asked questions
Where did my room labels go?
Open Layers and tick Show room labels. On a phone it starts off. If you see only small letter tags, tap a tag or tick Keep labels expanded to show the full names.
Where did my measurements go?
Wall measurements come back with Layers → Show dimension lines. A distance you measured with the tape measure and kept comes back with Show tape measurements. If you closed the tape without tapping the pin, the measurement wasn't kept. Measure it again and tap Keep this measurement.
How do I show furniture names or sizes on the plan?
Tick Show furniture labels for names and Show furniture dimensions for width × depth. Both start off, and the piece you've selected always shows its own name and size.
My sticky notes disappeared. Are they deleted?
Probably not. Check Layers → Show sticky notes. Hiding notes doesn't delete them, and they still print unless you untick Sticky notes in the export dialog.
Do my Layers choices save with the design?
No. They're remembered on the device and browser you set them on, for every design you open there. A phone and a computer each keep their own, and people you share a design with use their own settings.
Why don't I see "Show other floors" or "Show original plan"?
Those rows only appear when they apply. Show other floors appears when the design has more than one floor, and Show original plan (traced photo) appears on a floor you traced from a photo or PDF.
Why do furniture names appear in my PDF when I hid them?
Exports use their own Labels option, which covers furniture names and sizes as well as room names. Untick Labels in the export dialog if you don't want them, or see exporting a plan image.
Start designing your room
Put this into practice in the floor planner: draw it, furnish it, walk through it in 3D — on web, iOS, and Android.
Open RoomSketch3DOne-time purchase · No subscription · Web, iOS & Android