Stencils and the device library
What a stencil is
A stencil is a reusable device template. Think of it as a mold: when you drag a stencil onto a rack in the Rack Editor, CreaRack creates a new device with the stencil’s defaults already filled in. The device is then independent — editing it never changes the stencil.
Every stencil defines:
- Name — the device type (e.g. “Network Switch 1U”).
- Image — the front-panel artwork drawn on the canvas.
- Default U height — how many rack units a new device of this type occupies.
- Manufacturer — optional brand.
- Category — the folder it lives in inside the library.
Global vs your organization’s stencils
The library mixes two kinds of stencils:
| Kind | Who sees it | Who can change it |
|---|---|---|
| Global (Default Pack) | Every organization | Nobody — they are read-only system content |
| Custom | Only your organization | Your organization |
The Default Pack ships with 25 global stencils covering the most common gear — generic servers (1U/2U/4U), a blade chassis, switches, a core router, patch panels, NAS/SAN units, a tape library, UPS units, PDUs, blank panels, cable managers, shelves, a firewall, a load balancer and more.
Custom stencils belong to your organization alone: no other tenant can see or use them.
Categories (library folders)
The Library panel in the Rack Editor groups stencils into expandable categories. The Default Pack uses six: Servers, Networking, Storage, Power, Infrastructure and Telecom. Your custom stencils go into any category you name — when importing, you choose or create one (e.g. “Cisco Switches”).
You can rename or delete your own categories, and hide folders you rarely use with the Toggle Hidden button to keep the panel short.
Where stencils come from
There are four sources:
- The Default Pack — preinstalled, ready on day one.
- Image import — the Import JPG/PNG button turns a front-panel photo or render into a stencil. PNG with a transparent background works best.
- Visio import — the Import Visio button accepts .vssx, .vdx, .vss and .svg files. CreaRack extracts the master shapes, lets you select which ones to import, and converts them into stencils.
- Save from a device — the Save to Lib button in a device’s properties panel saves that configured device back to the library as a template, ports included.
Step-by-step instructions: [[crearack—racks—stencils-crear]].
Backup and restore
The library has its own portability tools in the panel header:
- Backup downloads a ZIP with your stencil images and a manifest.
- Restore uploads a previously exported ZIP and lets you pick which stencils to bring back — handy after an accidental delete or to move a library between organizations.
Related
- [[crearack—conceptos—rack-editor-conceptos]] — where stencils are used: the editor, canvas and devices
- [[crearack—conceptos—glosario]] — quick definitions of every product term
- [[crearack—racks—stencils-crear]] — how to create custom stencils, step by step
- [[crearack—racks—dispositivos]] — placing devices (stencil instances) in a rack
Véase también
- [[crearack—conceptos—rack-editor-conceptos]]
- [[crearack—conceptos—glosario]]
- [[crearack—racks—stencils-crear]]
- [[crearack—racks—dispositivos]]