Interface

How to arrange and save your window layout

The CaptureGRID interface is built around a docking system. The main application window hosts a large number of dockable panes — the Dashboard, Cameras, Camera Controls, Photos, Filmstrip, Preview, Live View, Loupe, Network, Session, Trigger Controls, Script Controls, Backup, Log, and so on. Each of these can be docked into the main window, floated as its own free-standing window, grouped into tabbed docks, or hidden entirely.

This flexibility is important because the right layout for a multi-camera shoot is rarely the same as the right layout for reviewing photos after the fact. The interface is designed to be arranged for the task at hand, and the result can be saved as a workspace so the same layout can be brought back later without re-arranging everything by hand.

Note

Screenshot pending — Main application window with several panes docked and the View menu open.

Showing and Hiding Panes

Every pane in the app can be opened or closed individually from the View menu. The menu shows the full list of available panes — selecting one toggles it open or closed.

If a layout starts to feel cluttered, the simplest fix is to close the panes you are not currently using. They can be reopened any time from the same menu.

Docking and Floating

Each pane has a title bar at the top. Dragging the title bar lets you move the pane:

  • Dock — drop the pane onto one of the dock zones at the edge of the main window (top, bottom, left, right) or onto an existing docked pane to share the same area

  • Float — drop the pane away from any dock zone to leave it as a free-standing window. Floating panes can be moved to a second monitor, which is useful when working with multiple displays

  • Re-dock — drag a floating pane’s title bar back to a dock zone to attach it again

Docked panes can be resized by dragging the splitter bar between adjacent panes.

Note

Screenshot pending — A pane being dragged with the dock zone indicators visible.

Tabbed Docks

When a pane is dropped onto an existing docked pane (rather than onto a dock zone at the edge), the two panes share the same area and appear as tabs at the bottom of the dock. This is a useful way to keep related panes available without using more screen space — for example, the Photos table and the Filmstrip can occupy the same area, with a tab to switch between them.

Note

Screenshot pending — Two panes sharing a tabbed dock, with the tab strip visible at the bottom.

Workspaces

A workspace is a saved snapshot of the current window layout — which panes are open, where they are docked, how they are sized, and which tabs are grouped together. Workspaces let you build a layout once and switch between them as the task changes.

All workspace actions are available from the Layout menu.

Save Workspace

Save the current layout as a named workspace.

Switch Workspace

Open a submenu showing all saved workspaces; selecting one restores its layout.

Delete Workspace

Remove a saved workspace.

Reset Workspace

Restore the layout to the app’s default arrangement. Useful when a layout has been changed in a way that is hard to undo.

Note

Screenshot pending — Layout menu showing the workspace actions and a list of saved workspaces.

Tip

A common pattern is to save two or three workspaces aligned with your most common tasks — for example, one Capture workspace that prioritises the Dashboard, Live View, and Camera Controls, and one Review workspace that prioritises the Filmstrip, Preview, Loupe, and Photos table. Switching between them is then a single click.

Default Focus

When the app starts, the Dashboard is given default focus. This ensures that the multi-camera overview is the first thing you see, and that keyboard shortcuts such as T (take photo) or F (auto focus) act on the cameras visible in the Dashboard. For more on the Dashboard, see Dashboard.