Drawing tools and cables
Drawing tools and cables
What it is
When a map is open, a drawing toolbar appears at the top of the canvas (admin accounts only). It lets you annotate the plan — walls, zones, labels, network shapes — and connect racks with cables. Cable appearance is controlled separately from the Cable Tools section in the left sidebar.
The drawing toolbar
The toolbar buttons show text, not icons: Select, Rectangle, Circle, Line, Dotted, Arrow, Text, Rack, Library, Cable, Duplicate and Delete. Each tool has a keyboard shortcut, shown in its tooltip (where the longer names below appear):
| Tool | Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Selection Tool | V | Select, move, and resize elements |
| Rectangle Tool | R | Draw rectangles (rooms, zones) |
| Circle Tool | C | Draw circles |
| Line Tool | L | Draw solid lines (walls) |
| Dotted Line | D | Draw dashed lines (aisles, boundaries) |
| Arrow Tool | A | Draw arrows |
| Text Tool | T | Click the canvas and type a label |
| Rack Tool | K | Click the canvas to create a real rack (“New Rack”) — it goes into your inventory, not just the drawing |
| Shapes Library | Shift+L | Open the Shapes panel (see below) |
| Cable Tool | N | Connect racks and shapes (see below) |
Next to the tools you find the Fill and Stroke color pickers and a Width slider for line thickness. With the Selection tool active, changing a setting applies it to the selected element.
The Shapes panel
Clicking Shapes Library (Shift+L) opens a panel on the right with a library of over 140 professional shapes, organized in collapsible categories:
- Basic — the classic network icons (switch, router, firewall, server, cloud…).
- Network — 57 detailed shapes: UPS units, patch panels, security cameras, wireless gear, phones, storage…
- Floorplan — walls-and-furniture elements (doors, stairs, tables, chairs) to draw rooms.
- Racks / Racks APC — real 19” rack fronts from 1U to 48U, rack-mount servers, switches, and APC UPS units.
Working with shapes:
- Search — type in the search box (“ups”, “door”, “rack”…) to filter across every category at once.
- Insert — drag a shape onto the canvas to drop it exactly where you want it, or click it to insert it at the center of the view.
- Rename — double-click the label under a shape to give it a real name (“Core Switch A”, “UPS Room 2”). The label is saved with the map.
- Shapes take the current Stroke color when inserted, can be moved and resized like any element, and accept cable connections.
Full-size rack shapes create real racks. The 19” rack fronts (12U to 48U) and the “Rack” shape in Network are special: inserting one creates a real rack in your inventory — it appears on the Dashboard, its border reflects monitoring status, cables connect to it like to any rack, and right-click → Open Rack jumps to its Rack Editor. It is named after the shape; double-click the label to rename it. Rack equipment shapes (1U-6U servers, patch panels, UPS units) remain drawings.
The Rack Tool (K) uses the same look: racks you create with it are drawn with the 42U rack stencil (existing rectangle-style racks are not changed).
Two action buttons close the bar:
- Duplicate (Ctrl+D) — copies the selected element.
- Delete (Del or Backspace) — removes the selection. Deleting a real rack asks you to type its name to confirm; deleting several at once asks you to type DELETE.
Everything you draw is saved to the map automatically.
How to connect racks with cables
- Press N or click the Cable Tool.
- Press the mouse button on the source rack (it highlights blue).
- Drag to the target rack or shape. A valid target highlights green.
- Release to create the connection.
Cable color reflects monitoring status when both endpoints are monitored: green (both online), yellow (warning), red (one side offline). Unmonitored cables are blue.
To delete a cable, click it with the Selection tool and press Delete.
Routing modes
The Routing Mode: selector in the Cable Tools sidebar section sets how all cables on the map are drawn:
- Smooth Curves (editable) — default. Bezier curves; click a cable to show handles and bend it by hand.
- Manhattan (Simple) — right-angle routes through a shared channel.
- Simple Orthogonal — right-angle routes through the midpoint.
- Direct Point-to-Point — straight lines.
- Metro Map (45°) — subway-style routes with 45-degree segments.
- Smart (Avoid Obstacles) — right-angle routes that automatically find a path around racks and title blocks instead of crossing them.
The mode is saved per map. Refresh Routes recalculates every cable and clears any manual bend adjustments.
Cable sliders
- Spread: (0–100 px) — horizontal spacing between parallel cables, so they don’t pile on top of each other.
- Curvature: (0.1x–2.5x) — how pronounced the bends are in Smooth Curves mode.
- Width: (1–10 px) — cable thickness.
Values are saved with the map. Moving Spread: or Curvature: resets manual bezier adjustments, since all routes are recalculated.
Undo and redo
Use the Undo and Redo buttons or Ctrl+Z (undo) and Ctrl+Y (redo). History covers drawing, moving, deleting, and connection changes.
Troubleshooting
- Cables overlap and are hard to read. Increase Spread:, or switch to Manhattan (Simple) for dense topologies.
- My manual cable bends disappeared. Touching the Spread:/Curvature: sliders or clicking Refresh Routes recalculates all routes and discards manual adjustments. Re-bend after you settle on slider values.
- Keyboard shortcuts don’t respond. Shortcuts are ignored while you type in a text field. Click the canvas first.
Related
- [[crearack—blueprints—que-es-map-editor]]
- [[crearack—blueprints—posicionar-racks]]
- [[crearack—blueprints—auto-plan-ai]]
- [[crearack—blueprints—print]]
Véase también
- [[crearack—blueprints—que-es-map-editor]]
- [[crearack—blueprints—posicionar-racks]]
- [[crearack—blueprints—auto-plan-ai]]
- [[crearack—blueprints—print]]