Artboards

You can use Artboards to create separate frames or pages of your design at the same time. This is useful for a variety of projects, including web design. In Vectornator, Artboards work similar to a layer, with the main difference being that they are represented on the canvas as fixed frames.

Since our 4.11.3 update, you can place objects or elements outside the Artboard. When an Artboard is exported in the SVG format, the objects outside the Artboard will be included within the exported document. If you export the document in the PNG or the JPG format, your objects’ areas outside the Artboard will be clipped.

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Disable Artboard Clipping

You can set the clipping behavior of your Artboard regarding objects that overlap outside the Artboard borders. You can choose between two clipping behaviors:

1. Disable Clipping for selected Artboards

Objects or parts of objects outside the borders of your selected Artboard will not be clipped and will be visible with reduced opacity.

2. Clip all

All objects or parts of objects outside Artboards will be automatically clipped.

You can find these settings in the View drop-down menu at the top of your canvas. In the drop-down menu, select Clip Artboards and choose between Disable clipping for selected Artboards or Clip all.  

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Disclaimer: The document interface will vary if you don't have the macOS 13.0.1 update or later versions installed.

Adding a new Artboard

In Vectornator there are three different ways to add a new Artboard into your document: clicking once, holding and drawing, or using a preset template.

To access these options in the Artboard Panel, you need to first click the <key>+<key button at the top of the Layers Tab and then select New Artboard.

As soon as you click the button, a suggestion box will appear at the top center of the Canvas, which reads: “Tap or draw anywhere to create Artboard”.

Adding a new Artboard by clicking

Once you have clicked the Artboard icon, you can click anywhere on the canvas. This will create a new Artboard with the same dimensions as the previous one.

Adding a new Artboard by drawing

With the Artboard Panel active, draw a new Artboard by simply clicking and dragging anywhere on the canvas.

Adding a new Artboard using a Template

The Artboard Panel will be displayed on the right of the interface once you click the New Artboard button. Here you have access to:

A - The Template Category dropdown menu

B - The Direction toggle which allows you to invert the document's width and height.

C - The Templates List with its Title and size of the board.

To create a new Artboard using a standard size, simply click on one of the templates. By scrolling through this section you will find all the different template formats divided per categories: Devices, Resolutions, Paper Formats, Social Media, and Icons.

Note: You can’t create overlapping Artboards in Vectornator.

Selecting an Artboard

Any Artboard can be selected by clicking the Artboard’s borders or its title. Alternatively, you can open the Layers Tab and click on an Artboard’s name. The selected Artboard will immediately be displayed.

Note: In Vectornator, it’s not yet possible to select more than one Artboard at once.

Renaming an Artboard

You can rename any Artboard in the same way that you rename layers. Navigate to the Layers Tab and click on the Artboard’s name to enter the Edit mode. Then, type your new Artboard's title.

Deleting an Artboard

Right-click on the Artboard's Title to access specific options as Delete, Copy, Paste, and Duplicate.

Moving the Artboard

To move an Artboard, and all the layers it contains, click on the Artboard title in the canvas, and drag and drop it to where you would like to have it.

Switching between Artboard

You can quickly jump between Artboards by simply clicking on its title either on the canvas or in the Layers Tab.

Resizing the Artboard

Select the Artboard by clicking close to its border on the canvas. The layers of that selected artboard (1) will show up in the Layers Panel. The Artboard Size panel (2) will show up automatically in the Inspector at the right of your Mac screen.

By clicking the Width and Height fields, you will have the possibility to directly define the width (W) and height (H) of your Artboard. Simply click on it and the keypad will show up.

You can also resize the board by clicking and dragging the border.

Duplicating the Artboard

You can now duplicate Artboards using <key>CMD+C<key> + <key>CMD+V<key> or using the top bar copy-paste options.

How to Change the Artboard Fill Color

Since our 4.13.3 update, we have replaced the previous checkerboard background with a white default background (#FFFFFF) that does not blend with other elements. (“Fake White”).

The background Fill ~ic-fill~~ic-fill~ color can be toggled on or off. Curve displays a white Artboard ~ic-artboard~~ic-artboard~ background color per default if the background Fill color is toggled off. The background fill for Artboards is toggled off by default.

You can set a custom background color for an Artboard by clicking on the Parent Layer in the Layers Panel. This action then displays a content-aware Fill Section in the Inspector.

You can set the background Fill color by clicking on the Color Well or setting a numeric value in the Hex Field.

Additionally, you can set the numeric alpha value of the Artboard background color in the Fill Section.

If you use a transparent background while applying blend modes to your layers, it is advised to add blended coverage.

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Moving elements between Artboards

Select the element on your Artboard. Then, open the Layers Tab. Finally, drag and drop your element from Artboard 1 to Artboard 2.

Printing Artboards

You can also print your different Artboards directly from Vectornator.

Learn more: How to Export Files from Vectornator Mac ➞