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The panel

Customize your workspace.

Save named Layouts, change the grid size, rename and recolor Tools, and let new Tools arrive in your own layout.

Once the Canvas is arranged, you can save it as a Layout, resize the grid and restyle Tools.

Save Layouts

A Layout is a named snapshot of your arrangement: where every Tool and Group sits, their sizes, and what each Group contains. Use one per kind of job, such as animation, cleanup and delivery.

Open the Layout menu from the bar at the bottom left in Edit mode, or from Layouts in the right-click menu. It lists your Layouts and offers:

  • Save changes to current - overwrite the Layout with what you see now. In Edit mode, a dot next to the Layout name on the bar means there are unsaved changes.
  • Save as new… - keep the current Layout as it is and save this as another one.
  • Rename…
  • Reset to saved… - throw away unsaved changes.
  • Delete… - grayed out until you have at least two Layouts.

Pick another Layout from the list to switch. If you have unsaved changes, Altar asks whether to save or discard them first.

A Layout stores arrangement only. The settings inside a Widget stay as they are.

Resize the grid

Open Settings → Appearance and use Grid:

  • Unit size - the pixel size of one grid cell, from 16 to 96. Default 36.
  • Gap - the space between cells, from 0 to 16. Default 2.

Changes apply live. Smaller units fit more Tools into a narrow panel.

Name, icon and color

Open a Tool’s settings from the gear on a built-in Tool in Edit mode, or from the right-click menu. The Appearance section has:

  • Custom name - for Widgets. Leave it blank to keep the default.
  • Icon - pick a library icon, upload an SVG, or use letters.
  • Accent color and Background color - empty means the theme default.
  • Show name and Show icon - what a Button cell displays.
  • Close on action - for an overlay Widget, close it right after it runs.

Changes apply live. Reset to defaults on a built-in Tool’s page puts its look and options back.

Compact mode under Settings → Appearance → Widgets hides the title on every Widget on your Canvas. A Tool’s own Show name setting still applies when Compact mode is off.

Theme

Settings → Appearance → Theme controls fill, icons, corners and type for the Altar panel and the Settings window. The panel itself is always dark, to sit with After Effects.

New Tools arrive on their own

When an update adds Tools, Altar can place them in a New in [version] Group on your Layout so you do not have to hunt for them. Turn this on or off with Automatically add new tools under Settings → General. It is on by default.

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