Construct Interface Guide

Last Updated: 2026-02-02

This guide covers the Construct CAD interface, including panel management, settings, and developer tools.

Main Interface

The Construct interface consists of:

• Left Panel - Scene tree and parametric view tabs
• Center - 3D viewport with real-time SDF rendering
• Right Panel - Property editors for selected items
• Toolbar - Panel toggles, file operations, and view options

Panel Management

Toggle Buttons

Use the toolbar toggle buttons to show/hide panels:

Panel visibility is saved automatically and restored on next launch.

The FPS counter

The toolbar's frame-rate readout counts rendered frames — frames whose pixels actually changed. When nothing in the scene changes, the viewport deliberately stops re-rendering and the counter shows idle; that is the editor saving your GPU, not a stall. Hover the counter to see both rates: the rendered rate (what your eye perceives as motion) and the delivered rate (how often the screen is refreshed with a frame, including re-shows of an unchanged image). The two can differ legitimately — a static scene delivers at full speed while rendering nothing new.

The color grades against your display's refresh rate: green near it, yellow at half, red below.

There is no properties panel. Everything is edited where it lives: a scene item on its own row in the scene tree, and a render layer on its row in the Layers tab (see below).

Render layers

Render layers and post-effects are a debug surface. They are not scene content — they do not live in your document, are not saved with it, and most work never needs them. They are listed in the Layers tab of the left panel, alongside the scene tree.

Selecting a layer there opens its properties directly underneath: its name, whether it is Visible, and whether it is Enabled. Selecting a post-effect shows its name and its type.

Visible and Enabled are separate switches that currently do the same thing. The renderer skips a layer unless both are on, and nothing distinguishes them anywhere else — so turning either one off has exactly the same effect. They are kept apart because they are stored apart, not because they mean different things today.

Resizing Panels

Drag the splitter bars between panels to resize. Panel widths are saved automatically.

Shader Preview Panel

A developer tool for viewing the generated GLSL shader code.

Features

Usage

1. Click the Shader toggle button to show the panel
2. The generated fragment shader is displayed
3. Use Copy to share shader code
4. Use Copy All for complete debug information

Settings Persistence

Construct automatically saves and restores:

Settings are stored in:

• Linux: ~/.config/OctoMY/OctoMY Construct.conf
• Windows: Registry under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\OctoMY\OctoMY Construct

Material Editor

Access the full material editor via:

• Toolbar material editor button, or
• Double-click a material on an item's row in the scene tree

Editor Layout

• Left panel - Material list with categories
• Right panel - Preview sphere and PBR controls

Operations

Clone Workflow

1. On an item's row in the scene tree, click Clone on any material
2. Editor opens with an unsaved copy
3. Modify properties as desired
4. Save to add to library, or close to discard

Error Indicators

The status bar shows error and warning counts:

• Red - Errors that may affect rendering
• Orange - Warnings (e.g., function name conflicts)
• Blue - Informational messages

Click the status indicator to see error details.

Function Name Conflicts

If multiple primitive definitions use the same GLSL function name, a warning appears. This typically only affects users who create custom primitives.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Related Guides

• Material System - Managing materials and PBR properties