Interface Overview
CutOptim’s interface is built around a single-page workflow: you enter your materials on the left, the optimized layout appears on the right, and a top bar carries the mode tabs, the live statistics and the export actions. This article explains every area.
The Three Main Areas
1. Input Panel (Left)
The left sidebar holds everything you type, stacked in this order from top to bottom:
- Settings — units, kerf, trims and the rest, including an Advanced toggle for First Cut Direction, Optimization Goal, Show price columns and Currency.
- Custom Fields Pro — your own labelled text fields for the PDF header.
- Stock table — your available raw material (sheets, bars or timber). Each row has dimensions, quantity and an optional price, plus a ★ priority star at the left edge: star a row and the optimizer reaches for that material first, which is how you burn down old stock before cutting into fresh sheets.
- Parts table (headed
Parts (2D),Parts (1D)orParts to cut) — the pieces you need cut. Each row has a colour swatch, a name, dimensions, quantity, and mode-specific columns such as rotation or edge banding. - Offcut inventory Pro — leftovers you saved from earlier runs, ready to feed back in as stock.
- CSV format — a short reminder of the column order each mode expects.
- Run — the primary button, at the very bottom.
Each table’s header carries its own controls: an i tooltip, a Paste button, an Add button, and a CSV ⌄ dropdown holding Import CSV and Template. The Stock table’s header also has a 📦 button for the Material Library Pro .
The Run button sits at the bottom of the sidebar rather than in the top bar, so it stays directly under the data you just typed. Ctrl +Enter runs from anywhere.
2. Canvas (Right)
The canvas shows the optimization result. Each sheet or bar is drawn as a rectangle, with pieces in distinct colours and their labels overlaid. Below the diagram, CutOptim renders the summary: yield, waste, material requirements, offcuts, the “how we optimized” breakdown, and — in limited-stock mode — any pieces that did not fit.
Before your first run the canvas shows an empty state with a Try with demo data button, which fills all three tables with a realistic sample job.
A cutting-sequence playback strip is planned for this area but is not in the app yet — see Cutting Sequence.
3. Top Bar
- Projects button — opens the project panel (the folder icon, far left)
- Mode tabs —
2D Paneland1D Linear; picking1D Linearreveals theLinearandWood cuttingsub-tabs - Live statistics — Pieces, Yield and Waste, updating as you type and run
- Downloads — dropdown: PDF, CSV, Excel, SVG, DXF
- Actions — dropdown: save offcuts to inventory, print labels, quotation
- Save — saves the current cut ( Ctrl +S )
The theme toggle, language switcher and account menu live in the main site navigation above the app, not in the app’s own top bar.
Mode Tabs: 2D, 1D, and Wood
2D Panel and 1D Linear are the two top-level tabs. Wood is not a third tab — it is a sub-tab of 1D Linear, because it runs the same linear engine with cross-section grouping on top.
| Mode | Input fields | Algorithm | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2D Panel | Width × Height, qty, price | Bin-packing / guillotine | Sheet goods: plywood, glass, metal sheet |
| 1D Linear → Linear | Length, qty, price | Linear bin-packing | Bars, pipes, rods, linear profiles |
| 1D Linear → Wood cutting | Width × Height × Length, qty | Linear + cross-section grouping | Structural timber, dressed lumber |
Switching modes does not delete the data in the other modes — all three are stored independently within the same cut.
A single project can contain multiple cuts, and each cut has its own mode. A shop-fitting project might have a 2D cut for the panels and a 1D cut for the aluminium extrusions.
The Project Panel
The Project Panel slides out from the left when you click the Projects button in the top bar. It lists your saved projects; expanding one shows its cuts, and clicking a cut loads it into the workspace. Each project and cut has inline ✏ rename and 🗑 delete buttons, and a search box filters the list.
Projects are stored on CutOptim’s servers for every signed-in user, free plan included, so the same cut opens on any device. The plan caps how many projects you may keep, not where they live.
If you have run an optimization and have not saved it, clicking a link out of the app opens a dialog offering to save it first — including a chooser for which project and cut to save into. Closing the tab triggers the browser’s own “leave site?” prompt for the same reason.
Mobile Layout
Below 768px the sidebar and canvas no longer sit side by side. Two tabs appear instead — Input and Results — and each takes the full width. Everything above still applies; you just switch between the two halves rather than seeing both at once.
Keyboard
CutOptim has a small set of shortcuts: Ctrl +Enter to run, Ctrl +S to save, and Enter inside a Stock or Parts cell to add a new row. See Keyboard Shortcuts for the full list — it is short, and nothing outside it is bound.