The canvas
Frames and grouping
A frame crops what sits inside it and can lay its contents out for you, which is what separates it from a group.
A frame is the only container on the canvas that changes what its contents do. Everything else on a board holds objects together; a frame crops them, arranges them, and gives the set an edge you can hand to somebody. ## Frame or group They look similar and solve different problems. | | Group | Frame | |---|---|---| | Moves as one | Yes | Yes | | Crops its contents | No | Yes, members are clipped to the frame's rectangle | | Can lay contents out | No | Yes, with Auto Layout on | | Has an edge and a size | No, it is the bounds of what is in it | Yes, you draw it and resize it | | Corner radius | No | Yes | Reach for a group when a handful of things should travel together. Reach for a frame when the set needs to read as one composition. ## Drawing one Pick the frame tool from the bottom toolbar and drag out a rectangle. A size pill follows the drag so you can hit a specific dimension, and the corners take a radius afterwards. Anything you drop inside becomes a member and is clipped to the frame's edge. That clip is what makes a frame useful for holding a look: an oversized image can sit inside a 16:9 frame and only the part you want shows. ## Auto Layout Turn Auto Layout on from the toolbar that appears when a single frame is selected and the frame takes over placement, arranging its members on a grid. Turn it off and the members go back to free placement exactly where you put them. Off is the default, because most boards want a frame as a crop rather than as a layout engine. On is the one to use when a frame is a contact sheet and the ordering matters more than the exact position of any one item. :::tip[The layers panel] A selected frame shows its members in a list, which is faster than clicking around the canvas when a frame has a dozen things in it and some of them are behind others. ::: ## What a frame is for Five uses cover most boards, and the last two are the ones people find late: - **Holding a look.** A frame around a set says "this group is the direction", and the crop keeps it reading as a composition rather than as loose parts. - **Sizing to an output.** Draw the frame at the aspect you have to deliver and compose inside it, so nothing is a surprise at export. - **Handing over a section.** A frame is a natural unit to point a teammate at, and it travels as one thing when the board grows around it. - **Collecting a batch.** A [locked tool](/docs/using-plnty/using-a-tool/locking-a-card/) fires run after run into a frame's grid, so twenty results land arranged instead of stacked on top of each other. - **Crossing to Figma.** A frame is the unit the [Figma plugin](/docs/using-plnty/bringing-your-work-in/figma/) moves, in both directions, keeping its corner radius, stroke and layout guides. :::note[Frames and generated sets] Some tools return their results already grouped inside a frame. **layerize** does this: the transparent layers it pulls out of an image land together, in order, framed, so you can rearrange them without first collecting them off the canvas. :::A frame is the only container on the canvas that changes what its contents do. Everything else on a board holds objects together; a frame crops them, arranges them, and gives the set an edge you can hand to somebody.
Frame or group
Section titled “Frame or group”They look similar and solve different problems.
| Group | Frame | |
|---|---|---|
| Moves as one | Yes | Yes |
| Crops its contents | No | Yes, members are clipped to the frame’s rectangle |
| Can lay contents out | No | Yes, with Auto Layout on |
| Has an edge and a size | No, it is the bounds of what is in it | Yes, you draw it and resize it |
| Corner radius | No | Yes |
Reach for a group when a handful of things should travel together. Reach for a frame when the set needs to read as one composition.
Drawing one
Section titled “Drawing one”Pick the frame tool from the bottom toolbar and drag out a rectangle. A size pill follows the drag so you can hit a specific dimension, and the corners take a radius afterwards.
Anything you drop inside becomes a member and is clipped to the frame’s edge. That clip is what makes a frame useful for holding a look: an oversized image can sit inside a 16:9 frame and only the part you want shows.
Auto Layout
Section titled “Auto Layout”Turn Auto Layout on from the toolbar that appears when a single frame is selected and the frame takes over placement, arranging its members on a grid. Turn it off and the members go back to free placement exactly where you put them.
Off is the default, because most boards want a frame as a crop rather than as a layout engine. On is the one to use when a frame is a contact sheet and the ordering matters more than the exact position of any one item.
What a frame is for
Section titled “What a frame is for”Five uses cover most boards, and the last two are the ones people find late:
- Holding a look. A frame around a set says “this group is the direction”, and the crop keeps it reading as a composition rather than as loose parts.
- Sizing to an output. Draw the frame at the aspect you have to deliver and compose inside it, so nothing is a surprise at export.
- Handing over a section. A frame is a natural unit to point a teammate at, and it travels as one thing when the board grows around it.
- Collecting a batch. A locked tool fires run after run into a frame’s grid, so twenty results land arranged instead of stacked on top of each other.
- Crossing to Figma. A frame is the unit the Figma plugin moves, in both directions, keeping its corner radius, stroke and layout guides.