Side Menu (Sidebar)

The Side Menu is a tabbed panel on the left side of the interface. It provides access to project management, component libraries, object hierarchy, and visualization settings.

sidebar-overview.png

Left sidebar showing vertical tabs and expanded panel content

Show all tab icons visible in vertical arrangement

Tab Overview

The sidebar contains 6 tabs, accessed via vertical icons:

Icon	Tab	Purpose
	Sheets	Project and sheet management
	Library	Component library browser
	Objects	Object hierarchy view
	Scripts	Script management
	Visualization	Layer visibility and display settings
	System Settings	System settings

Click a tab icon to open that panel. Click again to collapse.

Sheets Tab

Manage your project and its sheets.

sheets-tab.png

Sheets tab showing project name and sheet list

Project Name

At the top of the panel:

Project name - displayed and editable
Click the name to rename the project
Tooltip shows project ID

Creating Sheets

click the button next to project name
Enter sheet name in dialog
Click Create

Keyboard shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+N

Sheet List

Below the project name:

Filter field - type to filter sheets by name
Sheet list - all sheets in the project

For each sheet:

Click to navigate to that sheet
Current sheet is highlighted
Click name to rename
Tooltip shows sheet ID

Sheet Operations

Action	Method
Create sheet	click button or `Ctrl`+`Shift`+`N`
Rename sheet	click button
Navigate to sheet	click sheet item

Library Tab

Browse and place components from your libraries.

library-tab.png

Library tab showing library selector and component list

Library Selector

At the top:

Select library dropdown to choose active library
Shows all available component libraries
Type to filter libraries

Flip Component

The Flip component checkbox mirrors the component horizontally when placing. Use this when you need the component oriented in the opposite direction (e.g., placing a connector on the right side of the harness instead of the left).

Component List

Below the options:

Filter components field — search components by name
Component list — available components in selected library

Placing Components

click component in list
Library Component tool activates
click on canvas to place

Objects Tab

View and manage all objects on the current sheet.

objects-tab.png

Objects tab showing list of sheet elements

Object List

Displays a flat list of all elements on the sheet. Each object shows:

Type icon/emoji prefix
Name and key properties (part number, pins count, etc.)
Sheet location
Delete button (for deletable objects)

Object types and their prefixes:

Prefix	Type
🮗	Bundle
➕	Bundle Splice
🧩	Component
•	Pin (indented under component)
🔌	Side View
⚃	Pinout
🭹	Wire
◎	Wire Node
▤	Wire Table
⚓	Anchor
📐	Dimension
💬	Text
📝	Comment
🖼️	Image
⬜	Rectangle
⭕	Circle
📏	Line

Actions

Action	Method
Open in Inspector	click object
Delete object	click button

Filtering Objects

Use the Filter objects field to search by name or properties. Supports multiple search terms.

Scripts Tab

Manage and execute saved scripts.

sidebar-script-lib.png

Scripts tab showing source selector, filter, and script list

Element	Description
Scripts	Tab title
	Paste script (enabled after copying one)
	Create new script

Create Script Dialog

click

to create a new script:

script-create-dialog.png

Create new script dialog

Field	Description
Script name	Required script name
Description	Optional description
Tags	Optional tags for organization

Filters

Element	Description
Script source	Dropdown to select current project or library
Filter scripts	Search field to filter by name
Total scripts	Count of scripts in selected source

Script Item

Each script displays:

Element	Description
Icon	Script type indicator
Name	Script name (clickable to open)
Description	Script description
Info	Script type and creation date
	Run script
	Copy script to clipboard
	Edit script info
	Delete script

Edit Script Dialog

click

to edit script metadata:

script-info-dialog.png

Edit script dialog with name, description and tags

Field	Description
Script name	Required script name
Description	Optional description
Tags	Optional tags for organization
CANCEL	Close without saving
UPDATE	Save changes

Script Details Dialog

click a script name to open the script editor:

script-details-dialog.png

Script editor dialog with code and controls

Element	Description
Script name	Displayed in header
	Save changes
	Run script
Code editor	Syntax-highlighted JavaScript editor with line numbers
CLOSE	Close dialog

Script Execution

Scripts are JavaScript code that automate LoomCAD operations:

Create components
Modify properties
Batch operations

See AI Chat - Save Script for saving scripts from AI-generated code.

Copy and Paste Scripts

Scripts can be copied between projects and libraries:

click on a script to copy it to the clipboard
Switch to the target project or library using the Script source dropdown
click in the header to paste

The paste button is enabled only when the clipboard contains a copied script.

Visualization Settings Tab

Control layer visibility and display options.

visualization-settings-tab.png

Visualization settings showing layer toggles

Layer Visibility

Toggle visibility for each layer using checkboxes:

Layer	Contents
Background	Sheet background
Grids	Reference grid
Stamp	Drawing frame
Bundlelines	Wire bundles
Components	Connectors, splices
Draw elements	Lines, circles, text, images
Control elements	Dimensions, anchors
Frozen elements	Locked elements
Tooltips	Hover tooltips
Cursor	Cursor display

Unchecked layers are hidden from the canvas.

System Settings Tab

System-wide application settings.

settings-tab.png

Settings tab showing system options

System Settings

Setting	Description
Show debug properties	Display internal object IDs and debug info in the Objects list
Show anchors	Display anchor points on the canvas
Block UI during operations	Prevent user interaction while background operations are running

Opening/Closing

Open: click any tab icon
Close: click the same tab icon again, or click on the icon strip (vertical bar with tab icons)

Panel Width

The sidebar panel has a fixed width. Content scrolls if it exceeds the available height.

Persistence

Selected tab persists during the session
Tab collapses on navigation to different views

Canvas - Main drawing area
Inspector - Property editing panel
AI Chat - AI assistant configuration

Side Menu (Sidebar)

Tab Overview