Armorsmith Designer Preferences: Units and Display Settings

Configure Armorsmith Designer Preferences to set your unit system (mm, cm, or inches), adjust the viewport grid, and tune display options.

These instructions are for Armorsmith Designer 2.1.1.0. Earlier versions, including 2.1.0.10, can show different panels and labels.

Armorsmith Designer’s Preferences window lets you tailor the application to the way you work — from the unit system your measurements use to how the 3D Viewport’s grid and display options behave. Taking a few minutes to configure Preferences before you start a project will save you from confusing mismatches between your real-world measurements and the values you see on screen.

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Preferences

Preferences are divided into four tabs:

• General — Language, environment, autosave, and Color Key settings.
• Measurements — Units, grid spacing, and snapping settings.
• Rendering — Display-effect switches.
• Graphics Hardware — Requested and current graphics processor.

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General

The General tab contains settings that control general application behavior.

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Localization

Language

Selects the language used throughout the Armorsmith Designer interface.

A restart may be required for all interface elements to update after changing the language.

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General

Draw Environment

Controls whether the 3D environment surrounding the Work Area is displayed.

Disable this option if you prefer a simple background or want to reduce the amount of environment geometry being rendered.

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AutoSave

Autosave can periodically save backup copies of your work while you are using Armorsmith Designer.

Enable Autosave

Enables or disables automatic saving.

Number of Autosaves

Sets the number of autosave files Armorsmith Designer will keep.

Older autosaves are replaced as new autosaves are created once this limit is reached.

Minutes Between Saves

Sets how frequently an autosave is created, measured in minutes.

Enabling Autosave is recommended when working on larger projects. A shorter autosave interval provides more frequent recovery points, while a longer interval reduces the frequency of saves.

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Color Key Mode

Color Key Mode provides controls for the rotating color key used when viewing your project.

Spin Speed

Controls how quickly the Color Key rotates.

Color Key

Sets the color used by the Color Key.

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Units & Snapping

The Measurements tab controls the measurement system, grid, and snapping behavior used throughout Armorsmith Designer.

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Current Units

Current Units

Selects the measurement system used to display dimensions throughout Armorsmith Designer.

Changing the current units changes how measurements are displayed but does not change the physical size of your project.

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Grid

The grid provides a visual measurement reference within the Work Area.

Grid Spacing

Sets the distance between each line of the grid.

Show Grid

Controls whether the measurement grid is displayed in the Work Area.

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Snap

Position snapping constrains movement to fixed increments, making it easier to precisely position objects.

Snap Spacing

Sets the distance between each position snapping increment.

Use Snap

Enables or disables position snapping.

Snapping is useful when you need to position objects at consistent or precisely measured intervals.

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Rotation Snap

Rotation snapping constrains object rotation to fixed angular increments.

Snap Spacing

Sets the angle between each rotation snapping increment.

Use Rotation Snap

Enables or disables rotation snapping.

Position Snap and Rotation Snap are independent. You can enable either option individually or use both at the same time.

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Rendering

Rendering preferences control display effects without changing costume dimensions.

Use Settings → Preferences → Rendering to enable or disable visual effects. Available switches include EnableFXAA, Ambient Occlusion, EnableBloom, Depth Of Field, EnableShadows, EnableLighting, EnableReflections, and Reflection Imposters.

Depth Of Field allows the background-blur settings used by the environment. Turning it off preserves those room settings. Reflection Imposters similarly permits reflections supplied by the environment. Disabling Ambient Occlusion preserves stored AO maps and tuning.

Use clear lighting and disable depth blur when checking small edges. Room-specific tuning is handled internally. For a clear fitting view, see lighting and rendering.

Display effects change appearance, not costume dimensions or pattern scale. Click OK to save Preferences.

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Graphics Hardware

Current Graphics Processor reports the active device. Changing the requested processor takes effect after restart.

Open Graphics Hardware to choose Graphics Processor (Restart Required):

Choice	When to use it
High Performance (Recommended)	Prefer the higher-performance graphics device. It can use more battery power.
Power Saving	Prefer a lower-power device when supported.
System Default	Let the system choose.
A named adapter	Request a specific listed device.

Current Graphics Processor shows the active adapter. Restart Armorsmith after changing the requested processor, then check that value again. Help → About also reports the graphics processor, which is useful when describing a rendering problem.

An unavailable saved adapter can appear as Unavailable Adapter (Use Fallback). Choose an available device or a preference mode and restart.