Grid Maker Help Center

Modes & Workflow

Reference Mode (default)

Use grid paper overlays: adjust rows/cols, gap, color, thickness, opacity; supports A1/B2 labels and sub-grids.
Great for alignment and annotation—export PNGs with grid overlay while keeping all layers and brush strokes.
Image adjustments (brightness, contrast, saturation, grayscale, invert) make grid overlays clearer.

Slicer Mode (export)

Perfect for social media grids and custom slices: merge/split cells, hide cells with masks, keep spacing precise.
Exports are auto-named by coordinates (A1, B2) and packed as a ZIP; upload or AI-fill cells at the right size.
Shares the same grid maker canvas setup as Reference—align once, slice directly.

Toolbar & Canvas

Tools & hotkeys

V Select: choose/move layers, multi-select with Shift; Delete/Backspace removes layers.

S Grid Select: select one or many cells, Shift multi-select; Delete merges dividers or hides cells.

Space/Hand: hold Space to pan; wheel + Ctrl/⌘ to zoom; Shift + wheel to scroll horizontally.

P/L/R/C/F/E: freehand, line, rectangle, circle, fill, eraser—color/width adjustable in the sidebar.

Ctrl/⌘+Z / Ctrl/⌘+Y: undo/redo for drawings and layer edits.

Top controls

Mode toggle: switch Reference/Slicer; on mobile it appears in the Settings popover.

Grid size & canvas size: enter rows/cols and width/height to update the grid overlay and slicing base.

Zoom controls: - / percent / + for quick 100% reset or fine tuning.

Upload/Download: uploads create new layers; Reference downloads PNG with grid overlay, Slicer downloads ZIP slices.

Sidebar toggle: useful on small screens to focus on the canvas.

Sidebar, Layers & Adjustments

Layers & tool options

Layer list supports multi-select merge, reordering, and delete; single select exposes position, size, opacity, stroke/fill.
Tool options adapt to the active tool: brush/shape color & width, eraser size, grid-select cell actions.
“Merge Selected” combines AI-generated layers with hand-drawn overlays for a clean stack.

Grid & image adjustments

Grid settings: toggle overlay, opacity, thickness, color, label color, subdivisions, and snap-to-grid.
Image adjustments: brightness, contrast, saturation sliders plus grayscale/invert toggles to clarify grid overlays.
Toast alerts indicate locked cells during AI generation to avoid accidental edits.

AI Generation (Nanobanana via OpenRouter)

Sign in and ensure you have credits. The sidebar shows remaining credits; upgrade in Billing when you run out.

Selection defines scope: cell selected → generate into that cell and center-cover; single layer selected (no cells) → update that layer; nothing selected → full-canvas generation.
Use Reference: when checked, only the selected region (cell or layer bounds) is cropped and sent, keeping context tight.
Resolution: 1K/2K cap the longest side at 1024/2048, preserving aspect ratio for balanced quality and speed.
Locking: cells being generated are temporarily locked; on failure credits are refreshed and a toast appears.
Placement: results auto cover the target area and stay centered; cell generations create new layers, layer updates replace in place.

Tip: In Slicer Mode, select a cell + Use Reference to precisely replace a slice; in Reference Mode, generate a full-canvas high-res grid paper background.

Slicing & Export

Merge/Split: in Grid Select, Delete on dividers merges cells; split horizontally/vertically for 3×3, 4×4, or custom layouts.
Hide/Restore: Delete on selected cells adds a mask to the chosen layer; Restore brings hidden areas back.
Cell fill: upload via Quick Fill or run AI Cell Generation to match exact cell dimensions.
Naming & export: Slicer export auto-names by coordinates and zips; Reference export outputs PNG with grid overlay for printable grid paper.

Shortcuts & Interactions

Pan/Zoom: Space + drag to pan; Ctrl/⌘ + wheel to zoom; Shift + wheel to scroll horizontally.

Selection: Shift + click to multi-select cells or layers; Delete removes dividers/masks or layers; click empty space to clear.

Draw: P/L/R/C/F/E switches tools; adjust stroke and color in the right panel; snap to grid and sub-grid for clean lines.

History: Ctrl/⌘+Z undo; Ctrl/⌘+Shift+Z or Ctrl/⌘+Y redo.

View: top zoom controls return to 100% fast; sidebar toggle frees space when drawing.

Import/Export: uploads create a named image layer; Reference downloads PNG with grid overlay, Slicer downloads ZIP slices.