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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

CutOptim interface with numbered callouts for each panel: 1 input sidebar, 2 canvas, 3 toolbar
The three main areas: (1) Input Panel, (2) Canvas, (3) Top bar.

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 Trim per side, Calibration cut, Max. cutting stages and Minimise rotation Workshop, First Cut Direction, Optimization Goal, Show price columns and Currency. The panel-saw controls appear in 2D mode only; in 1D and Wood the Start / End trim pair takes the place of the per-side grid.
  • Custom Fields — your own labelled text fields for the PDF header.
  • Stock table — your available raw material (sheets, bars or timber). Each row has dimensions 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. A quantity column appears only when Sheet supply is set to Limited; in Unlimited (the default) the optimizer takes as many of each size as the plan needs.
  • Parts table (headed Parts (2D), Parts (1D) or Parts 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 — 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 inventory. When Material-specific mode is on, the stock and parts tables gain a Material column, and a row of one-click material chips appears above each box for adding a pre-tagged row — see Material-specific mode.

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. A 2D run also reports Cuts (with a saw-passes sub-line) and Cut length, on every plan.

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.

After a run in any of the three modes, a Cutting Sequence bar sits directly above the sheet or bar diagrams it steps through — not at the top of the whole canvas. Left to right: ◀ Previous, the step readout, ▶ Next, ⏮ Restart (back to step 1) and ▶ Play, which advances automatically. Below the cut list the same plan is listed as a table whose rows are clickable — clicking one jumps the player to that step. It is available on every plan. See Cutting Sequence.

3. Top Bar

  • Projects button — opens the project panel (the folder icon, far left)
  • Mode tabs — two top-level tabs, 2D and 1D; 2D reveals the Panel and Nesting sub-tabs, 1D reveals the Linear and Wood cutting sub-tabs
  • Live statistics — Pieces, Yield and Waste, updating as you type and run. Once the optimizer has measured savings on this device, a Saved: total joins them — material saved versus a simple layout, added up across your runs
  • Downloads — dropdown: PDF, CSV, Excel, SVG, DXF
  • Share & Print — dropdown: save offcuts to inventory, print labels, share link, 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, Wood, and Nesting

Close-up of the mode tab bar showing the 2D Panel and 1D Linear tabs
Mode tabs in the top bar.

There are two top-level tabs, 2D and 1D, and each carries two sub-tabs: 2D → Panel and Nesting; 1D → Linear and Wood cutting. Grouping them this way keeps the top bar to two tabs (and fits mobile). Panel, Linear and Wood cutting cut rectangles with a guillotine saw; Nesting is a different class — true-shape nesting of irregular polygons, for laser, plasma and waterjet.

Mode Input fields Algorithm Best for
2D → Panel Width × Height, qty, price Bin-packing / guillotine Sheet goods: plywood, glass, metal sheet
2D → Nesting Polygon outline (SVG/DXF import), qty True-shape nesting (geometric) Irregular parts on laser, plasma, waterjet
1D → Linear Length, qty, price Linear bin-packing Bars, pipes, rods, linear profiles
1D → 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, so the same cut opens on any device — but saving is a Pro feature. The free plan cannot save projects or cuts to the cloud; a free user can run and export, while Pro unlocks saving an unlimited number of projects.

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.

FAQ

How do I switch between 2D, 1D, Wood and Nesting modes?
Use the mode tabs in the top bar. There are two top-level tabs, 2D and 1D, and each reveals two sub-tabs: 2D → Panel and Nesting; 1D → Linear and Wood cutting. Panel, Linear and Wood cut rectangles with a guillotine saw; Nesting is true-shape nesting of irregular polygons for laser, plasma and waterjet. Switching modes keeps the data you entered in the other modes.
Where do I find the Settings?
Settings are the first section of the left sidebar, above the Stock table — not in a separate dialog. Advanced Settings sit inside that same section, behind the Advanced toggle.
Where is the Run button?
At the very bottom of the left sidebar, below the Stock, Parts and offcut sections. You can also run from anywhere with Ctrl+Enter.
Is there a dark mode?
Yes. The theme toggle is in the main site navigation bar at the top of the page, and it applies to the whole site including the app.
Can I resize the input sidebar?
No. The split between the sidebar and the canvas is fixed. On screens narrower than 768px the two areas become separate tabs, Input and Results, so each gets the full width.

Last updated: August 14, 2026