How to use the Layout Designer: design a multi aperture mount by placing each opening exactly where you want it, tidy it up with snapping, alignment and Auto Layout, then open it in the framer to choose the mount, frame and glazing. This guide is in three parts, each with its own short narrated video.
Example: a 600 × 500mm board with three portrait openings (120 × 160mm) and two landscape openings (160 × 120mm). Recorded 20 October 2026. For the best experience, use a tablet or computer.
Part 1: Set up your board and add apertures
Set the board size, the border and the gap, add your apertures and move them into place.
The designer has three columns: on the left, the board and your apertures; in the middle, the mount board itself; on the right, the tools for arranging, checking and ordering.
The board, border and gap
- External Board Size: the width and height of the whole mount, in millimetres. The largest we can make is 1118 × 815mm.
- Border: the minimum margin between the edge of the board and any aperture, at least 20mm. It's shown as a dashed line on the board.
- Gap: the minimum space between two apertures, at least 10mm.
Add apertures
Under Add New Apertures, enter a width, a height and how many you need, then click Add Apertures. Add each size the same way. Every aperture gets a row in the list below, with its Width, Height, and its position from the Top and Left of the board.
Move them
- Drag an aperture to move it. Green means it's in a valid position; red means it's too close to the edge of the board or to another aperture.
- The selected aperture shows its distance to its neighbours and to the edge, and its centre lines turn green when it lines up with another aperture.
- For an exact position, type it into the aperture's row and press Enter. Click a row to select its aperture.
- The arrow buttons, or the arrow keys, move the selected aperture 1mm at a time.
- Copy and Paste (or Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V) duplicate it; the bin icon in its row, or the Delete key, removes it.
Part 2: Arrange your apertures
Snap apertures into place, work on several at once, and let Auto Layout tidy a rough layout.
Snap
As you drag, an aperture snaps to the border, to exactly the gap distance from a neighbour, and into line with its neighbours' edges and centres. A pink line shows what it snapped to. To drag freely, hold Alt, or switch Snap off at the top of the right-hand column.
Select several
- Shift-click apertures, or their rows in the list, to select several. Each gets a dashed outline.
- Or hold Shift and drag a box round them on the board. Ctrl+A selects them all; Esc clears the selection.
- On a tablet, switch on Multi-select and tap them.
- Drag any one of them, or use the arrow buttons, and they all move together. Delete removes them all.
With two or more selected, buttons appear to align their left edges, centres, right edges, tops, middles or bottoms; Space evens out the gaps between three or more, across or down; and Size makes them all the same size as the last one you picked.
Auto Layout
Place your apertures roughly where you want them, by eye, then click Auto Layout. Every aperture keeps its place in the arrangement, but the gaps become exactly your gap size, rows and columns line up, and the border is set.
- Resize board to fit layout: ticked, the board is sized to the layout plus the border. Unticked, your board size is kept and the layout is centred on it (if it doesn't fit, the board is enlarged and you're told).
- Align columns and Align rows: how apertures of different sizes line up, by their edges or centres.
- Re-arrange largest first: instead of keeping your arrangement, sorts the apertures by size into rows.
- Resize To Layout: just trims the board to the apertures plus the border, without moving them relative to each other.
- Undo and Redo (Ctrl+Z, Ctrl+Y) step back and forward through every change.
Part 3: Check, save and order
Check the layout, save or share it, and open it in the framer.
Check the layout
Check re-checks every aperture and tells you how many are too close to the edge or to each other. They're shown in red, and the layout can't be opened in the framer until they're all green.
The largest board we can make is 1118 × 815mm. If the board is bigger, you're told, and Open Framer is switched off until it fits.
Zoom and view
Zoom in with 125%, 150% or 200%, drag the background to look around, and click Fit to see the whole board again. The switches at the bottom turn the guide lines, the help messages and the measurements on and off.
Save and share
- Save keeps your design in this browser; Load brings it back; Clear deletes the saved copy.
- PDF downloads a plan of the layout with every measurement.
- Email sends the design to someone; Gallery saves it to your account.
Open Framer
When you're happy, click Open Framer. Your layout opens in the Advanced multi layout designer, with every opening's size and position filled in. Choose the mount, frame and glazing there, and add it to your basket. A single aperture opens in the picture framer instead.
Check every measurement carefully before you order: each mount is cut to your design.
Screenshots and videos taken from the site on 20 October 2026, narrated with a computer voice. The orange outlines and labels were added for this guide and aren't part of the site.