> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://wiki.inels.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://wiki.inels.com/inels-bus/inels-design-manager-idm3/idm3-floors-and-the-design-tab.md).

# Floors and the Design tab

*Part 3 — Reference.*

***

## 17.1 Why floors exist

A floor is a plan of part of the building with your devices arranged on it. Floors are **organisational, not electrical** — putting a device on the "First floor" plan changes nothing about how it behaves.

What they change is whether you can find anything. On a project with 200 devices, a good floor layout is the difference between a five-second job and a five-minute one, every time.

Floors are also where wires are drawn, so devices must be placed before they can be programmed.

***

## 17.2 Managing floors

**Project** ribbon tab → **Floors** group:

| Button           | Action                                                    |
| ---------------- | --------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Add floor**    | Creates a floor                                           |
| **Edit floor**   | Opens the floor's settings — name, background image, size |
| **Delete floor** | Removes it, after *"Do you realy want to delete floor?"*  |

Each floor appears as a tab above the workspace.

> **Deleting a floor deletes the icons on it.** The units stay in the Device manager, but every icon — and therefore every wire drawn from those icons — goes. Move things off first.

***

## 17.3 Placing devices

1. Switch to the **Design** workspace tab.
2. Go to the **Controls** ribbon tab — a gallery of icons. Right-click its header to choose which category is shown.
3. **Drag** an icon onto the plan.

Icons come in two kinds:

| Kind                | Represents                                      | Example                                 |
| ------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------- |
| **Basic object**    | a single input or output                        | one relay output, one button            |
| **Compound object** | a whole unit, or all system devices of one type | an SA3-02M, all timers, all system bits |

Both behave identically.

***

## 17.4 The yellow dot

**A freshly placed icon carries a yellow dot — it is a picture, connected to nothing.**

Click the icon and the settings panel appears on the right:

| Control         | What it does                                                                                                                              |
| --------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Name**        | What this object is called throughout the project                                                                                         |
| **Connect**     | Opens **Select device** — the list of every connectable input and output, each with its hex address and name. **Double-click** to assign. |
| **Disconnect**  | Breaks the assignment                                                                                                                     |
| **Delete**      | Removes the icon from the plan                                                                                                            |
| **size**        | Icon size on the plan                                                                                                                     |
| **layer**       | Which layer it appears on                                                                                                                 |
| **description** | Free text                                                                                                                                 |

Assigning clears the yellow dot.

> **When a wire does nothing, check for yellow dots first.** An unassigned icon can be wired, named, and included in groups, and none of it has any effect.

***

## 17.5 Background images

Floor plans are much easier to read over an actual drawing. Set the image in **Edit floor**.

Image opacity is set **per workspace tab**, in `[☰]` → **Settings** → **Floors image opacity**:

| Setting         | Applies to         |
| --------------- | ------------------ |
| **Design:**     | the Design tab     |
| **Groups:**     | the Groups tab     |
| **Functions:**  | the Function tab   |
| **Simulation:** | the Simulation tab |

Separate values are genuinely useful: a strong plan helps while placing devices, and a faint one keeps wires readable while programming.

***

## 17.6 Layers, grid and alignment

| Control                                        | Where               | What it does                    |
| ---------------------------------------------- | ------------------- | ------------------------------- |
| **Visible layers:**                            | above the workspace | Which layers are shown          |
| **All layers visible** / **All layers hidden** |                     | Show or hide everything at once |
| **Visible grid**                               |                     | Shows the alignment grid        |
| **Snap to grid**                               |                     | Snaps icons to it               |

Layers separate lighting from heating from blinds on the same plan, so you can look at one system at a time. **Snap to grid** is worth leaving on — aligned plans are quicker to read.

***

## 17.7 Wire animation

`[☰]` → **Settings** → **Visual effects**:

| Setting                              | Effect                                   |
| ------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------- |
| **Show device wires animation**      | Animates the connections between devices |
| **Show group connections animation** | Animates group membership lines          |

Both are helpful when learning and distracting later. Turn them off on large projects — they cost redraw time.

***

## 17.8 Practical advice

|                                            |                                                               |
| ------------------------------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **One floor per storey or zone**           | Matching the real building beats any clever scheme            |
| **Use a real drawing as the background**   | Costs a minute, saves hours                                   |
| **Name icons as you place them**           | Renaming 200 icons later is nobody's idea of a good afternoon |
| **Layers per system**                      | Lighting, heating, blinds                                     |
| **Check for yellow dots before uploading** | The cheapest bug you will ever fix                            |

***

**Next:** [Chapter 18 — The wire editor](/inels-bus/inels-design-manager-idm3/idm3-wire-editor-reference.md).