Line up the grid

The first time you open a new scene, Atlas looks for a grid in the map image. If it finds one, it sets the grid type, the cell size and the position for you.

If the map has no grid, the scene opens without a visible grid and you can add one by hand. See Place a grid by eye.

When the grid does not sit right, you can let Atlas detect it again, or measure it yourself with clicks in four areas of the map.

Open the grid settings

1. 1

   Press Space to open the command palette.

2. 2

   Click Grid settings. The Grid Settings panel opens.

   

Choose square or hex

Set Grid type to the shape on your map: Square, Hex (Pointy) or Hex (Flat). Pointy hexes have a point at the top and sit in rows. Flat hexes have a flat edge at the top and sit in columns.

Detect the grid again

Let Atlas look again when the grid is off, or when you changed the map image.

1. 1

   In Grid Settings, click Enter Alignment Mode. The Grid Alignment panel opens.

2. 2

   Click Auto-detect from map image. Atlas shows the grid it found as a preview on the map.

3. 3

   Check the preview. The message tells you on how much of the map Atlas found the grid.

4. 4

   Click Apply to keep the grid, or Cancel to keep the old one.

Auto-detect needs grid lines that you can see in the image. If it cannot find a grid, it says No grid found in the map image. Align manually instead. Then measure the grid or place it by eye.

Measure the grid

The Intersections tab is the most precise way to line up a grid. You click on the grid in four areas of the map: top left, top right, bottom left and bottom right. Atlas zooms to each area for you.

1. 1

   In Grid Alignment, open the Intersections tab.

2. 2

   On a square grid, click a point where two grid lines cross. Then click the next crossing to the right.

   On a hex grid, click a corner of a hex. Then click the next corner along the same hex edge.

3. 3

   Do the same in the other three areas. The numbers at the top of the panel show your progress.

4. 4

   Look at the preview of the whole map. If it is off by a hair, the arrow keys shift the preview by one pixel, or by less while you hold Shift.

5. 5

   Click Apply.

If the panel says Measurements disagree, one of your clicks missed a corner. Click Reset and measure again.

Place a grid by eye

The Freehand tab is for maps that have no grid lines.

1. 1

   In Grid Alignment, open the Freehand tab.

2. 2

   Choose Square, Pointy or Flat.

3. 3

   Move the pointer over the map. A small patch of grid with an empty token follows it.

4. 4

   Zoom the map with the mouse wheel until one cell of the patch covers one square or hex of the map. The patch keeps its size, so the zoom sets the cell size.

5. 5

   Click to place the grid. If it is off by a hair, the arrow keys shift it by one pixel. To start over, click Place again.

6. 6

   Click Apply.

Change how the grid looks

You set the look of the grid in the Grid Settings panel. Turn Show grid off to hide the grid. Choose a Line style (Solid, Dashed or Dotted), and set how strong and how thick the lines are with Opacity and Line width. Pick a Colour, or choose Auto, which uses black or white, whichever you can see better on the map.

While Snap to grid is on, tokens, pins and measurements settle on the centre of a cell.

Number the hexes

On a hex grid, Atlas can write a number in every hex, which helps with hex crawls. Set Hex numbers to one of these:

• Column and row (0101): the column comes first, then the row. 0304 is column 3, row 4.
• Sequential (1, 2, 3): Atlas counts the hexes in reading order.

Only whole hexes get a number, so the half hexes at the edge of the map stay empty. Use Number opacity to make the numbers stronger or fainter than the lines.

For a hex crawl, you can also link a note to a hex. See Link notes to the map.