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Views And Panels

ASCII Diagram keeps the UI compact, but there are still a few important views around the canvas.

Toolbar​

The top toolbar provides the main file and output actions:

  • create a new diagram
  • open a file
  • save the current document
  • undo / redo
  • copy rendered ASCII

It also exposes the diagram name and shows whether the current document has unsaved changes.

View menu​

The View menu controls a few canvas-level display modes:

  • Rulers for visible coordinate references
  • Unicode for richer rendering where supported
  • Theme toggle for light and dark presentation

These settings affect how the editor feels, but they do not change the canonical source model.

Rulers​

Rulers are useful when the exact grid position matters.

They make it easier to:

  • line up objects
  • reason about spacing
  • compare one diagram revision to another

Right-side panel​

The right panel combines two important views:

  • Object List
  • Property Panel

On wider screens it can stay open while you work. On narrower screens it is easy to toggle.

Object list​

The object list is the inventory of the current diagram.

It helps with:

  • finding items in a dense diagram
  • understanding groups
  • reordering objects by z-index
  • selecting objects without hunting for them on the canvas

Property panel​

The property panel changes based on selection.

It can show:

  • object names
  • position
  • size
  • titles and content
  • alignment
  • arrow routing
  • group actions

This keeps low-level diagram editing close to the canvas instead of buried in a separate modal workflow.

Output-oriented workflow​

A useful pattern is to keep drawing in the center while using the surrounding panels to refine the structure and then use Copy ASCII when the current state is ready to share.

That keeps the workflow tight:

  1. edit the source
  2. inspect the structure
  3. copy the output

Why this matters​

The important design point is not the exact arrangement of panels. It is that the surrounding UI remains subordinate to the file and the grid instead of becoming a separate app-owned model.