Help & Documentation

Everything Buildopia's tools and panels do, in one place.

Top bar

Undo (Ctrl/Cmd+Z)	Steps the build back one action (place, paint, erase, resize, etc.).
Redo (Ctrl/Cmd+Y or Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+Z)	Re-applies an action that was just undone.
History (clock icon)	Opens the History modal — a full list of every state in the current undo/redo stack, with the current state marked by a divider. Click any past entry to jump directly to it without mashing Undo. Click any future entry (above the divider) to redo to it in one tap. See "History" below.
Reset	Resets the camera to its default framing/angle of the whole grid.
Top	Snaps the camera to a top-down (bird's-eye) view.
Side	Snaps the camera to a side-on view.
Front	Snaps the camera to a front-on view.
Additional Viewport	Opens a new movable, resizable floating camera panel each time you click it — you can have multiple open at once, each showing the build from an independent angle alongside the main view. See "Additional Viewport" below.
Presentation Mode	Hides every piece of UI from the screen, leaving only the 3D viewport, and starts a slow auto-rotate of the camera around your build. A pre-launch dialog lets you enable GIF recording (up to 6 seconds at 12 fps) before the rotation begins. Tap anywhere on the viewport to exit; if recording was on, a Save GIF / Discard dialog appears. See "Presentation Mode" below.
PNG	Captures the current 3D viewport exactly as seen and downloads it as a PNG image. No UI or overlays are included — just the rendered build from your current camera angle.
Clear	Opens a confirmation dialog and, if confirmed, wipes every block from the grid. The dialog also includes a Save to My Builds & Clear option — saves your current build as a named slot first, then clears.
Hide/show tools	Hides overlay tools from the viewport — hint text, camera/pan/draw mode toggle, wireframe/flat/hide-material toggles, block counter, layer overlay, zoom overlay, and all additional viewports — for a clearer view of the build. The top bar and axis gizmo stay visible. Tap again to bring everything back.
My Builds (top bar button)	Opens the on-device My Builds panel directly. Equivalent to the My Builds item in the main menu. See "Save / Load" below.
Help	Opens the in-app help panel (a shortcut to this page's contents).
Discord	Opens a confirmation dialog inviting you to join the Buildopia Discord community.
Community Builds (☰ menu)	Opens the Community Builds panel — see "Community Builds" below.
Settings (☰ menu)	Opens the Settings dialog — see "Settings" below.

History

The History modal (clock icon in the top bar) shows every state in the current undo/redo stack as a scrollable list. The current state is marked with a divider line — states below it are in the past, states above are redoable future states.

Click a past entry	Jumps directly to that build state — equivalent to pressing Undo the required number of times, but in one action.
Click a future entry	Re-applies actions up to that point — equivalent to pressing Redo repeatedly.
✕ / click outside	Closes the modal without changing the current state.

The history stack is cleared whenever you import a build, load from My Builds, or load a Community Build. Undo/Redo still works normally via keyboard (Ctrl/Cmd+Z / Y) without opening this modal.

A small tab with three lines, attached to the edge of the sidebar (left edge on desktop, top edge on mobile). Click/tap it to hide the sidebar completely — giving the viewport the full window — or to bring it back.

Drag the tab instead of clicking it to manually resize the sidebar — wider/narrower on desktop, taller/shorter on mobile. A quick click/tap still just shows or hides it; the size you drag to is kept until you resize it again.

Each category inside the sidebar (Tool, Shape, Templates, Material, and so on) can also be minimised on its own — click/tap its header bar to collapse just that category, and again to expand it. Collapsed/expanded state is remembered per category and stays that way next time you open Buildopia.

Camera / pan / draw mode toggle (bottom-left)

Rotate icon	"Camera mode" (default) — dragging on the viewport rotates the camera around the build instead of placing blocks.
Move icon	"Pan mode" — dragging moves the camera sideways/up/down instead of rotating it, without placing blocks. Equivalent to the two-finger/right-drag pan available in Camera mode, but usable with a single finger or click-drag.
Pencil icon (D)	"Draw mode" — dragging paints/places blocks across one layer in a single stroke. Camera movement is limited to two-finger pan/zoom while active. Pressing D again while Draw mode is active switches back to Camera mode.

Only one of the three modes can be active at a time.

Wireframe & material preview toggles

Wireframe icon (W)	Overlays a black outline along the edges of every placed block, on top of whatever materials are showing.
Flat-grey icon	Temporarily shows every block with a plain flat grey material, so you can inspect the build's shapes/volumes without material colours or textures getting in the way.
Hidden-eye icon	Hides all materials so only block wireframes are visible — useful for checking a build's underlying structure. Turning it off restores every block's original material.

These three toggle independently and can be combined — e.g. flat-grey plus wireframe. None of them change the underlying build; they're purely visual previews.

Presentation Mode

Opened via the Presentation Mode button in the top bar. Clears every piece of UI from the screen — sidebar, top bar, overlays — leaving only the 3D viewport, and starts a slow automatic camera orbit around the build.

Pre-launch dialog	Appears before the rotation begins. Enable GIF recording here to capture up to 6 seconds of the rotation at 12 fps. Once closed, the rotation starts.
Tap/click viewport	Exits Presentation Mode. If GIF recording was enabled, a Save GIF / Discard prompt appears — Save GIF downloads the clip, Discard skips it.

The build is not affected by Presentation Mode in any way. Exiting restores the full UI exactly as it was.

Axis gizmo

A small marker (bottom-left, above the mode toggle) that mirrors the camera's rotation, showing which way X, Y, and Z currently point.

Block preview gizmo

A small 3D preview (bottom-left, directly above the axis gizmo) that shows the currently selected shape and material rendered as it will actually appear when placed — including the correct geometry for special materials such as Wooden/Iron Ladder and Sash Window. The preview rotates with the camera so the shape is always shown from the same angle as the main viewport, and updates instantly whenever the shape, material, rotation, or colour tint changes.

Additional Viewport (opened via Additional Viewport in the top bar)

Each click of the Additional Viewport button opens a new independent floating camera panel. You can have multiple open simultaneously, each showing the build from a different angle at the same time as the main view. Each panel has no drag/orbit control of its own — the buttons below are the only way to change what it shows.

Default / Top / Side / Front	Snaps this panel's camera to that preset angle.
Camera-toggle icon (header)	Shows/hides the Default/Top/Side/Front button row to free up space in the panel.
✕	Closes this additional viewport panel.
Header	Drag to move the panel anywhere within the main viewport.
Corner handle	Drag to resize the panel.

Layer overlay (top-right)

▼ Layer down	Moves the active build layer down one level (Manual mode only).
Layer number	Shows the currently active layer index. In Manual mode it's an editable text box — type a layer number directly instead of stepping to it. It's locked (read-only) in Auto mode, since the layer is calculated automatically.
▲ Layer up	Moves the active build layer up one level (Manual mode only).
Auto	Default — the build layer automatically tracks the top of whatever's already placed in that column.
Manual	Pins building to a specific Y layer you choose with the up/down arrows.

Zoom overlay (top-right)

+	Zooms the camera in one step. Keyboard: +
Slider	Drag to zoom continuously in/out.
−	Zooms the camera out one step. Keyboard: -

Pinch-to-zoom and mouse-wheel scroll also zoom, independent of this widget.

Materials-used panel

The "N blocks" pill in the bottom-right shows the total block count — tap it to open a breakdown listing every material currently placed, with a colour swatch and count for each.

Materials Picker (eyedropper icon, Material section)

An eyedropper button in the Material section header row (next to the search bar). Tap it to enter pick mode, then tap any existing block in the viewport to instantly select that block's material — exactly as if you had found and tapped that swatch in the palette manually.

Pick mode active	Tap any block in the viewport to sample its material and exit pick mode.
Tap elsewhere / Esc	Cancels pick mode without changing the active material.

The eyedropper works with all block types including doors, windows, multi-block nature items (tap any cell of a tree or boulder), and non-origin cells of multi-cell items. It does not apply to liquid or nature-only cells that have no paintable material.

Liquid (shown once the Liquid shape is selected)

Fresh / Sea / Muddy / Hot Water, Lava	Chooses which liquid type new liquid blocks use. Only one active at a time — blue, cyan, brown, light blue, and red placeholders respectively.
Low Level	New liquid blocks are 25% of a normal block's height.
High Level (default)	New liquid blocks are 75% of a normal block's height.
Cascade	When on, a newly placed liquid block flows downward and spreads horizontally across flat ground instead of staying a single block. Erasing the source block drains everything it spread into. Off by default.
Hide Liquid	Hides all liquid currently in the build without deleting it — the blocks stay in the build, they're just not rendered. Tap again to bring it back.
Erase Liquid (red border)	Removes every liquid block from the map in one tap.
Flood	Drops a source block of the currently selected liquid type/level onto every cell of the grid's topmost layer, then cascades each one downward and outward — regardless of whether Cascade is toggled on.

Type and level are independent. Block/Roof/Door/Window placed on water replace it; Pillar/Steps (including Ladder) placed on water sit inside it, and both render together.

Nature (shown once the Nature shape is selected)

Berry Tree	A tree with a rounded, bushy canopy. Occupies a 3×3 footprint and stands 4 layers tall.
Pointy Tree	A tree with a tiered, conical canopy. Occupies a 3×3 footprint and stands 4 layers tall.
Palm Tree	A tree with a ring of drooping fronds at the top of the trunk. Occupies a 3×3 footprint and stands 4 layers tall.
Shrub	A single low, rounded bush that sits within one cell.
Flowers	A small flowering clump that sits within one cell.
Grass	A cluster of grass blades that sits within one cell.
Vines	A trailing vine clump that sits within one cell — hangs naturally against walls or drapes over ledges.
Boulder	A large rounded rock. Occupies a 3×3 footprint and sits 1 layer tall.
Small Coral	A wide ruffled mushroom-cap coral with a scalloped rim on a short stem, in a pink/violet palette. Single-cell reef piece.
Tall Coral	A cluster of tapered upward-branching coral fingers in a pink/violet palette. Single-cell reef piece.

Berry Tree, Pointy Tree, and Palm Tree reserve their full 3×3×4 footprint when placed — the centre column is occupied top to bottom, so nothing else can be built inside that space until the tree is erased. Boulder reserves its 3×3 footprint at ground level. Nature items place, erase, and undo/redo like any other shape, but don't use the Material panel — there's nothing to paint on them.

Window (shown once the Window shape is selected)

Front / Middle / Back	Shifts the window's pane depth-wise within its frame. Available for vertical-pane windows: Hatch Window, Glass Window, Window Pane, Glass Pane, Stained Glass Window, Sash Window, Submarine Window, and Ornate Window.
Top / Bottom	Same idea for horizontal-pane windows: Underground Hatch, Hatch, Window Pane (Horizontal), and Glass Pane (Horizontal).
Combine	Hides the shared-edge frame between touching windows. Only available for Glass Window — no other window material supports it.

Sash Window and Ornate Window reserve a multi-cell footprint (1×2 and 2×2 respectively) the same way a Door does, but still support Front/Middle/Back positioning like any other window.

Door (shown once the Door shape is selected)

Front / Middle / Back	Shifts the door depth-wise within its frame. Available for all single-leaf doors — Rustic, Simple, Interior, Boat, Modern, Stylish, Brainy, Large Wooden, Iron, Ornate, and Ocean Door.
Combine	Mirrors handles on touching doors so they line up on the shared side. Not available for Shutter, Wooden Gate, Swinging Doors, or Iron Gate.

Tool

Build (B)	Places blocks of the selected Shape/Material.
Paint (P)	Recolours existing blocks without changing their shape. If the painted area covers a mix of shapes, only the ones the selected material can actually be applied to are repainted — everything else in the area is left untouched instead of cancelling the whole action.
Erase (E)	Removes blocks.
Cursor (C)	Switches to the Cursor tool for moving, rotating, copying, pasting, or multi-selecting existing blocks — see "Cursor" below.
Rotate (R)	Rotates the selected shape/template 90° before placing.
Mirror X (X) / Mirror Z (Z)	Toggle symmetry mode. While active, every Build, Erase, Paint, or Cursor action is duplicated onto the mirrored side(s) of the grid, reflected across the X and/or Z axis. Enable both for four-way symmetry.
Combine (Window/Door only)	Windows: hides the shared-edge frame between touching windows. Doors: mirrors handles on touching doors so they line up. Not every material supports it — see the Window/Door sections above for exceptions.
Placement Size	Sets how many blocks wide/tall/long a single placement covers (Width (X)/Height (Y)/Length (Z)), up to 75 per axis. Each axis has − / + precision step buttons flanking the slider for single-step nudges. Pushing any axis above 40 shows a one-time-per-session warning, since placing that many blocks at once can slow down or crash the app on some devices.
Padlock (under Placement Size)	When locked, X/Y/Z are chained — changing any one axis copies its value into the other two, keeping the box a cube. Tap to lock (this also equalizes all three to whichever is currently highest) or unlock. Locks automatically when a 3D template is selected and unlocks automatically when one is deselected, but can be toggled by hand at any time.
Reset	Resets Place Size back to 1×1×1.
Placement Point Of Origin	Axis Point (default) places the box from the target cell outward in the +X/+Y/+Z direction only. Centered spreads the box outward from the point of contact in both directions along X and Z — Height (Y) still only builds upward, never down.

Cursor (shown once the Cursor tool is selected)

The Cursor tool has two modes — Single and Multi — toggled by the Single / Multi buttons that appear in the Cursor section of the sidebar.

Single mode

Move	Tap an existing block to pick it up, then tap a destination to drop it there.
Rotate	Tap an existing block to turn it 90° in place.
Copy	Tap an existing block to remember it for pasting. Stays in the clipboard until replaced.
Paste	Tap a spot to place a new copy of whatever was last copied. The clipboard persists so you can paste in multiple spots without re-copying.

Multi Select mode

Multi Select operates on a rectangular 3D region rather than individual blocks.

Draw region	Tap one corner of your target area on the grid, then tap the opposite corner. The XZ footprint highlights between the two points.
Selection Height popup	Appears after the footprint is drawn. Set how many layers tall the selection should extend and whether it grows Up or Down from the anchor layer. The 3D preview box updates live. Confirm to finalise.
Copy	Copies all blocks in the confirmed region to the multi-select clipboard, preserving relative positions.
Move	Lifts the region; your next tap on the grid places the whole group anchored at the new point.
Erase	Removes every block inside the region in one step. Undoable.
Paste	Places the most recently copied multi-select region at a new anchor point. Only available when a multi-select clipboard entry exists.

The height and action panels are floating and draggable — grab the dot handle at the top of either panel to reposition it anywhere on screen. The multi-select clipboard is separate from the single-block clipboard used in Single mode; copying a region does not overwrite a single-block copy, and vice versa.

Shape

Selecting any shape here turns off an active template (equivalent to picking Orientation: None in the Templates section) and returns to placing individual blocks.

Block / Wall	A standard full cube.
Steps	A staircase-profile block. Selecting the Wooden Ladder or Iron Ladder material (Material panel, Steps category) instead places a climbable ladder shape flush against a wall face.
Door	A door; footprint size (width × height) is fixed per material — pick one from the Doors category in the Material panel — orientation via Rotate. See the Door section above for position and Combine options.
Window	A window frame set into a wall face — see the Window section above for position and Combine options. Selecting Sash Window reserves a 1-wide × 2-tall footprint; selecting Ornate Window reserves a 2-wide × 2-tall footprint.
Roof	An angled roof block. When selected, a Roof style row appears with nine pieces: Sloped (standard full-width ramp, all materials), Hipped (outer corner cap, all materials), Valley (inner corner/channel, all materials), Flat (low flat cap for ridge tops, all materials), Dormered (Brick only — sloped ramp with a raised dormer front), Decor (Brick, Stone, Tiled, Wavy Roof, Scale Roof — flat cap with a curved ridge tile), Fish (Tiled only — flat cap with a gold fish finial), Awning (Scale Roof only — quarter-circle canopy, tintable), and Fancy (Wavy Roof only — two-block decorative eave overhang, tintable). Use Rotate to orient each piece.
Misc Building	Small building trim pieces: Glossy Awning, Corrugated Metal, Curved Eave (reserves a 2-wide, 1-deep footprint), Protruding Wall, and Iron Frame.
Fence	Post/enclosure shapes. Most post materials (Wooden Enclosure, Iron Enclosure, Wooden Fencing, Metal Fencing, Stone Fencing, Boat Railing, Wooden Handrail, Handrail, Harbor Pole, Seashell Fencing) auto-join with a connecting rail to an adjacent post of the same material or a plain Block-shape material placed directly beside it; removing either side removes the rail. Arched Barrier is a fixed free-standing hurdle. Arched Fencing spans a 2-wide footprint. Wooden Siding Panel, Wooden Siding Corner are flush wall-mounted siding. Wooden Posts is a fixed 3-post cluster. Wooden Partition reserves a 1-wide × 2-tall footprint; Grate Fencing and Ornate Partition each reserve a 2-wide × 2-tall footprint. Netting is a single-cell woven lattice face.
Pathing	Flat ground-cover pieces: Wooden Path, Stepping Stones, Walkway, Bridge Planks, Grate Flooring, and Concrete Slab. Arch Bridge reserves a 2-wide × 2-tall × 1-deep footprint. Floating Log reserves a 2-wide × 1-deep footprint. Wooden Border, Concrete Border, Brick Border, and Pathway Light reveal a Border row (Line / Single / Corner) for picking which of the 3 edging pieces gets placed next; Wooden and Concrete Border are colour-tintable.
Pillar / Post	A thinner vertical post shape. House Partition (Small) reserves a 1-wide × 2-tall footprint, House Partition (Medium) a 1-wide × 4-tall footprint, and House Partition (Big) a 2-wide × 4-tall footprint.
Liquid	Places water/lava (see Liquid section above).
Outdoor	Small decorative rocks that sit within one cell: Heat Rock, Icy Rock, Smooth Rock, and Damp Rock.
Furniture	Freestanding interior pieces — storage units, sofas, tables, beds, and more. Single-cell items place like a standard block. Multi-cell pieces (Sofa, tables, beds, Tall Mirror) require a clear open area matching their footprint; placement fails silently if any cell is occupied. Use Rotate to orient directional pieces before placing. Tapping any cell of a multi-cell piece with the Erase or Cursor tool affects the whole piece.
Utilities	Functional fixtures. Mini Floodgate reserves a 1-wide × 2-tall × 1-deep footprint. Laser Sensor is a wall-mounted sensor that projects a red laser beam 2 blocks forward.

Templates

Square / Circle / Heart / Triangle / Diamond / Pentagon / Star / Moon (2D)	Flat stamp shapes for laying out floor patterns or wall art quickly. Stamped onto a single plane — use Orientation (Width (X)/Height (Y)/Length (Z)) to choose which one.
Custom (2D)	Import your own PNG/JPEG and stamp its silhouette across the Placement Size, the same way as the other 2D templates. After picking a file, a crop dialog opens first — drag to reposition and use the zoom slider to pick which square region of the image is used; nothing is applied until you press Done (Cancel discards the image and leaves any previous template untouched). A Sensitivity slider (0–99) sets the cutoff for which parts of the image count as "filled" — at 0, almost everything counts as filled — and Invert flips which side of that cutoff is used. Turn on Pixel-art colour match to tint each stamped block to the closest match of its source pixel's colour from the currently selected material's tint palette, instead of stamping a single flat material. Selecting the Custom template automatically locks the Placement Size padlock and sets fill to Filled.
Cube / Sphere / Cylinder / Pyramid / Cone / Dome / Torus / Helix (3D)	Solid volumetric stamps built from whatever Shape/Material is currently selected. Selecting one locks the Place Size padlock, chaining Width/Height/Length into a single cube size while it's active. Unlock the padlock by hand to stretch a 3D template non-uniformly. Orientation still applies — it picks which axis the shape treats as its primary axis.
Filled	The stamped template is solid throughout. Applies to both 2D and 3D templates.
Hollow (default)	The stamped template places blocks only along its outline (shell, for 3D templates), one block thick. Applies to both 2D and 3D templates.
Seamless Hollow	Same as Hollow, but the outline/shell is two blocks thick — thick enough that curved or pointed templates (Circle, Heart, Sphere, Pyramid, etc.) no longer leave diagonal gaps where the shell only touches itself corner-to-corner.
Orientation: None / Width (X) / Height (Y) / Length (Z)	Which axis a template is built around. For 2D templates, this is the plane it stamps onto. For 3D templates, it's the shape's primary axis. Selecting any template automatically sets this to Height (Y); picking None turns off template stamping and returns to placing individual blocks from the Shape section.

Material

Search	Type to filter the swatch grid by name, searching across every material group available for the current Shape — overrides the active category tab until cleared (✕ button clears it).
Category tabs	Filters the swatch grid by category. Which tabs and materials are available changes depending on the selected Shape.
Item count	Shows how many materials exist in the active category.
Swatch grid	Tap a swatch to select it for building/painting. Right-click or long-press a swatch to open the colour tint picker for that material.
Material name	Shows the name of the currently selected material.
Colour tint picker (right-click or long-press a swatch)	Opens a colour picker for that material, adding a tinted colour-overlay variant (shown in the grid as "Material Name (Colour)") that you can select and build/paint with like any other material. Not all materials have colour variants.

Layers & Blueprint Reveal

Reveal sliders

Reveal layers from bottom (slider, top of section)	Temporarily hides layers above the chosen height so you can see/build on lower floors — purely visual, doesn't delete anything. Hidden layers are also off-limits to every tool (Build, Paint, Erase, Cursor) until they're revealed again. Use the − / + precision step buttons flanking the slider to nudge one layer at a time.
X Reveal / Z Reveal	Two additional sliders that slice into the build from the X and Z axes respectively — hiding columns beyond the chosen cut point. Combined with the height Reveal, these let you expose a full cross-section of the build from any direction. Columns hidden by X or Z Reveal are also locked to all tools. The X and Z Reveal state is saved in the exported build file and restored on import.

Layer list

Lists every vertical layer in the build. Click a row to jump the active layer there. Each row has five inline action buttons:

C (Copy layer)	Copies the entire contents of this layer to a layer clipboard buffer. Persists until you copy a different layer.
P (Paste layer)	Pastes the previously copied layer into this one, replacing all its current blocks. Undoable.
↑ (Swap up)	Swaps this layer's contents with the layer directly above it. Disabled on the topmost layer.
↓ (Swap down)	Swaps this layer's contents with the layer directly below it. Disabled on the bottom layer.
✕ (Clear layer)	Removes all blocks on this layer after a confirmation prompt. Undoable.

All five layer actions are fully undoable with Ctrl/Cmd+Z.

Grid Size

Width (X) / Height (Y) / Length (Z)	Sets the build grid's dimensions. Each axis has a labelled slider plus − / + precision step buttons and a number field (all kept in sync) and accepts 2–100 cells by default. The − and + buttons nudge the value by one step at a time.
Resize	Applies the new dimensions to the grid. Width (X) and Length (Z) grow or shrink from the centre, evenly on both sides. Height (Y) behaviour depends on the Y Axis Direction setting.
Y Axis Direction: Up (default)	Height grows upward — increasing it adds new layers above the existing build.
Y Axis Direction: Down	Height grows downward — increasing it shifts the existing build upward so new empty space appears below it. A prompt asks what to do with the existing grass base layer: Maintain moves it up with the rest of the build, Drop removes it and fills the new bottom layer with fresh grass, or Remove strips it and leaves the new bottom layer empty.

The per-axis cap can be raised above 100 (up to 1000) in Settings → Advanced → Max Grid Size Override.

Quick Build

Generate House

Generates a complete house in one tap — four walls, a pitched or flat roof, a floor, windows on every wall, and a centred front door. Opens a six-step wizard:

Step 1 — House Size	Set Width (X, 4–40), Depth (Z, 4–40), and Wall Height (Y, 3–20). The roof adds further height on top of the wall height.
Step 2 — Wall Material	Pick from the Walls, Flooring, Misc, Prints, and Terrain categories. Double-tap/right-click an eligible swatch to add a colour tint before generating.
Step 3 — Roof Material & Style	Pick any roofing material, then choose Sloped (classic gabled A-frame) or Flat (solid flat cap). Any material works with either style here.
Step 4 — Floor Material	Pick the material for the single-block-thick base layer inside the house.
Step 5 — Door & Window Material	Pick the door material (Doors category) and window material (Windows category).
Step 6 — Review & Build	Shows a summary of all choices. Press Build House to place the house on the grid, or use Back to revise any step.

Nothing is placed until Build House is pressed on the final step. The house is placed starting at the current grid origin and respects the active layer. The entire generation is a single undoable action.

Bulk Paint

Replaces every block of one material across the entire build with a different material in a single action. Only paintable shapes are included — liquid and nature blocks are excluded.

Material list (Phase 1)	Shows every material in the build, sorted by block count (most-used first). Entries are grouped by material + shape — if you've used Brick Wall as a cube and as steps, those appear as two separate rows so you can replace them independently. A search bar at the top filters the list by name as you type.
Replacement picker (Phase 2)	Tap any row to open the replacement picker, filtered to materials valid for that shape. A summary strip shows what's being replaced and how many blocks are affected. Tap a swatch, then tap Replace All to apply.
Replace All	Snapshots the build state onto the undo stack, then swaps every matching block instantly. Fully undoable.

Terrain Generator

Procedurally fills the grid with terrain in one tap. Accessible from the Quick Build section or main menu. Configure a biome preset, height variation, and optional features, then tap Generate.

Biome preset	Sets the material palette: Field (grass and soil), Desert, Snowy, Volcanic, Underwater, and others. Each preset defines which materials are used for the ground surface, sub-surface, and any special features.
Height variation	Controls how dramatically the terrain rises and falls. Low values produce flat plains; high values produce dramatic hills, cliffs, and valleys.
Ocean / Water	When enabled, lower areas of the terrain are filled with water to a set level.
Caves	Carves hollow cave systems into the terrain below ground level.
Floating chunks	Removes isolated blocks left hanging without ground support after the cave pass, cleaning up the result.
Volcano	Generates a conical mountain with fractal noise on the slopes and a hollow crater at the peak.
Generate	Clears the current build and fills the grid with the new terrain. The entire generation is a single undoable action.

Terrain generation replaces your current build entirely. Export or save to My Builds first if you want to keep it.

Save / Load

My Builds	Opens the on-device save panel with two tabs. Saved Builds: save named build slots (each with a thumbnail), load, rename, or delete any slot. A search bar filters saves by name. Autosaves: browse and restore any of the last 30 automatic snapshots. Saves are stored in this browser only — they won't appear on another device or survive clearing browser data. Use Export for long-term or cross-device storage.
Export	Downloads the current build as a JSON file. The file includes grid dimensions, Blueprint Reveal levels (including X/Z Reveal state), and every placed block with position, shape, material, rotation, and colour tint.
Import	Opens a file picker to load a previously exported build back into the app. The file is validated before loading — an invalid file shows an error and leaves the current build untouched.
Resource List	Opens a panel showing the total base crafting resources needed for every block in the current build, accounting for recipe yields. Sorted alphabetically. Can be saved as a .txt file or copied to the clipboard.
Material List	Shows a count of each finished material used in the build, sorted by quantity (most used first). Can be saved as a .txt file or copied to the clipboard.
Plan View PNG	Exports a true orthographic top-down image of the full build, rendered fresh from directly above — pixel-accurate regardless of current camera angle. A pre-export dialog offers: Image Size (16, 32, 64, or 128 px per cell — the modal shows exact output dimensions for each) and Shadows (on/off for this export only, defaulting to the current Advanced setting).
Layer Sheet PNG	Renders a top-down view of every occupied layer and downloads them as a single PNG grid — one tile per layer, labelled and colour-coded by material, with block-count numbers along the X and Z axes. A materials-used tile is appended at the end.
Message area	Shows the result of the last export/import action.
Autosave	The current build is automatically saved to this browser shortly after each change, and again when you close or switch away from the tab. On reload, if a saved build is found you'll be asked whether to restore it or discard it. Clearing browser data, using a different browser/device, or private browsing will not carry autosaves over.

Recent Materials panel

A panel in the sidebar showing the last 8 materials you applied, in order, so you can jump straight back to a recently used material without hunting through the full list. Updates in real time and persists across sessions.

Material swatch	Click/tap any swatch to make it the active material — exactly as you would from the main Materials list.

Settings (opened via the ☰ main menu)

Opens the Settings dialog, organised into seven tabs. All changes apply instantly and save automatically.

Display tab

Theme	Choose Dark, Light, or System. System follows your OS dark/light preference and updates immediately if you change it while the app is open.
Accent palettes	Four built-in palettes (Forest, Ocean, Sunset, Berry), each a Primary + Secondary pair. Selecting a preset updates both colour pickers.
Primary / Secondary colour pickers	Choose any custom colours. Picking a custom colour deselects any preset and switches the palette to Custom. Primary is the colour you'll see most — active states, selected borders, sliders. Secondary appears in a smaller number of places (active template button, section headings in the Help panel).

Camera tab

Orbit / Pan / Zoom sensitivity	Three sliders, each from 0.25× to 3×, controlling how quickly each camera action responds to input.
Invert X / Invert Y	Reverses horizontal and/or vertical drag direction in Orbit mode only.
Field of View	FOV slider from 30° to 90° (default 45°). Lower = tighter/telephoto; higher = wider/more immersive.
Set current view as default	Saves the current camera position and angle so Buildopia opens on that view every session. A Clear button reverts to the automatic default.

Accessibility tab

Reduced Motion	Disables UI animations and snaps camera moves to their target instantly. Also respects your OS reduced-motion preference automatically.
High Contrast	Strengthens borders, dividers, and secondary text for easier readability. Does not change colours — only increases the visual weight of borders.
Colour-blind Mode	Applies a colour correction filter across the entire app including the 3D canvas. Three modes: Protanopia (red-blind), Deuteranopia (green-blind), Tritanopia (blue-blind). Select Off to remove the filter.

Keybindings tab

Keyboard shortcuts	Reassign any shortcut — click the key badge next to a shortcut to enter rebind mode, then press the new key. Conflicts are flagged inline. Press Escape to cancel without saving.
Mouse buttons	Reassign Pan Camera, Move Camera, and Draw Mode to any mouse button. Middle-click and right-click are valid assignments.
Reset to defaults	Reverts all keyboard shortcuts and mouse button assignments in one click. Changes save automatically as you make them.

Advanced tab

Sun-Cast Shadows	Enables a directional shadow pass — every block casts a shadow based on the sun's position. Disabled by default due to the performance cost (an additional depth render pass per frame). Recommended: turn off before large block operations, then re-enable to review the result.
Sun Angle (Height)	Visible when shadows are on. Controls sun elevation from 5° (near-grazing, very long shadows) to 80° (near-overhead, compact shadows).
Sun Angle (Direction)	Visible when shadows are on. Rotates the light source 360° — value is a compass bearing: 0° = north (shadows fall south), 90° = east, 180° = south, 270° = west.
Max Grid Size Override	Three inputs (Width, Height, Length) that raise the per-axis cap above the default 100, up to a maximum of 1000 each. The Grid Size sliders update their range immediately. Very large grids (above ~200 on any axis) can cause significant slowdown.
Time of Day	Sets the ambient lighting preset for the scene. Morning — warm low-angle golden tint. Day — neutral overhead light (default). Evening — rich golden-hour tones. Night — cool, reduced-ambient light. Works independently of Sun-Cast Shadows.

Builder tab

Tool Preset	Basic opens the sidebar in a simplified layout with a curated tool set. Advanced exposes every tool and option. Sets the default on load; you can still switch between presets at any time from inside the app without returning to Settings.

Membership tab

Entering a key	Paste or type your membership key and tap Activate. Validated immediately — status and perks update on the spot.
Custom Accent Colours	Unlocks additional accent colour options beyond the four built-in palettes in the Display tab.
Settings Export/Import	Export your entire Settings configuration to a file and import it on another device or browser.
Community Flair	Adds a gold ★ badge to your cards in the Community Builds gallery so other players can identify member submissions.
Gold Logo	Applies a gold tint to the Buildopia logo in the interface.
Username Field	Enables the Username field in the Community Builds share panel, pre-filling your author name automatically on every submission.

Sidebar drag-to-reorder

Hover any sidebar section header to reveal its drag handle, then drag the section to a new position in the sidebar. Your layout is saved automatically and restored on every visit.

Confirmation dialogs

Clear build	"No" cancels, keeping the current build. "Yes, erase it" confirms and wipes the entire build. "Save to My Builds & Clear" saves a named snapshot first, then clears.
Discord invite	"No" closes the dialog. "Yes" opens the Discord invite in a new tab.

Community Builds

A gallery for browsing and sharing builds with other players. Open it via the Community button in the top bar or the main menu (☰).

Build of the Week	A single pinned card at the very top of the Browse tab, highlighted with a gold border and a 🏆 trophy icon. Stays pinned for the week regardless of sort order. Works like any other card — you can like it, load it, and copy a shareable link.
Browse tab	Lists builds shared by the community. Each card shows a thumbnail, title, author, and like count. Click a card to load that build — a confirmation dialog appears first.
Newest / Most Liked	Sort the gallery by submission date (newest first) or by total likes (most liked first).
Tags & tag filter	Builds can have one or more tags from nine categories. A tag filter strip runs below the sort controls — tap a tag to show only builds carrying it; tap again to clear. Tags stack with sorting.
Search	Type in the search field to filter already-loaded cards by title and tag simultaneously. Results update as you type.
Load more	Fetches the next page of builds and appends them to the current list.
♥ (like button)	Likes a build. Each build can only be liked once per device — the button disables itself after tapping and the liked state persists across reloads.
Shareable link (🔗 icon on each card)	Copies a direct link to that build card to the clipboard. Anyone opening the link is taken straight to that build in the Community Builds browser.
Member Flair	Build cards from active Buildopia members carry a gold ★ badge. Members can set a Username in Settings → Membership, which pre-fills the author field on every share automatically.
Share tab	Submits your current build to the community gallery. Enter a title (required) and an optional author name, select any applicable tags, then press Share. A thumbnail of the current viewport is captured automatically.

Loading a community build replaces your current build — export or save to My Builds first if you want to keep it. Shared builds are public and visible to all users.

Community

Join the Buildopia Discord to share builds, get help, and chat with other builders.

Join the Discord