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Layers and Views

PCB layers control which drawing plane is active — copper, silkscreen, solder mask, or board outline. This page covers the layer stack, the Layer panel, rendering behavior, and canvas navigation.

Default Layer Stack

Layer Color Contains
F.Cu Red Front copper — traces and pads
B.Cu Blue Back copper
F.SilkS Yellow Front silkscreen — labels, outlines, logos
B.SilkS Magenta Back silkscreen
F.Mask Purple Front solder mask openings (around pads)
B.Mask Green Back solder mask openings
F.Paste Light red Front solder paste
B.Paste Light blue Back solder paste
F.Fab Grey Front fabrication layer
B.Fab Grey Back fabrication layer
F.CrtYd Light grey Front courtyard (keep-out area per component)
B.CrtYd Light grey Back courtyard
Edge.Cuts Magenta Board outline — physical board shape
Dwgs.User Grey User annotations and notes

The Layer Panel

Open via View → Toggle Layers or from the sidebar when a PCB is active:

Layer Panel
────────────────────────────
👁  🟥  F.Cu        ← Active layer (highlighted background)
👁  🟦  B.Cu
👁  🟡  F.SilkS
    🟣  B.SilkS     ← Hidden (eye icon off)
👁  🟪  F.Mask
👁  🟢  B.Mask
👁  🟫  Edge.Cuts
Column Interaction
👁 Eye icon Click to show / hide the layer
Color swatch Click to change the layer color
Layer name Click to set as the active routing/drawing layer

The active layer has a highlighted background.

The Active Layer

The active layer determines where traces and graphics are placed:

  • Routing a trace → places it on the active copper layer
  • Drawing text → places it on the active layer (set to F.SilkS for silkscreen labels)
  • Change the active layer by clicking its name in the Layer panel

Always check your active layer before routing

F.Cu (red) and B.Cu (blue) are physically different sides of the board. Routing on the wrong layer will not connect the intended pads.

Hiding and Showing Layers

Click the eye icon next to a layer name to toggle its visibility:

  • Hidden layers — traces, pads, and graphics are not drawn on the canvas
  • The data still exists — you can still select and edit hidden-layer items if you know they are there

Practical examples:

  • Hide B.Cu while working on the front side to reduce visual clutter
  • Hide F.SilkS to inspect trace routing without text overlay
  • Re-enable all layers to review the full board

Changing Layer Colors

Click the color swatch next to any layer name to open a color picker.

Default colors are chosen for easy visual distinction (red/blue for copper). You can adjust them to your preference — the setting is saved.

How Colors Render on the Canvas

Element Color source
Trace The layer the trace is on
Pad Copper layer color
Footprint graphics Layer of each individual graphic (SilkS, Fab, etc.)
Silkscreen F.SilkS or B.SilkS layer color
Board outline Edge.Cuts layer color
Copper zone Layer color rendered semi-transparently

Canvas Navigation

Action Input
Pan Hold middle mouse button and drag
Zoom in / out Scroll wheel (centered on cursor position)
Fit to board Press F or View → Fit to Screen
Zoom to selection Press Shift+F
100% zoom Press 1

See Also