Engines overview
What engines are, how to add one, the shared tools they all use, and how they export.
Engines turn one drawing into many deliverables. Each is a focused overlay that adds its own tools and exports — without changing the plan underneath.
What an engine is
An engine is a non-destructive layer attached to a drawing and saved alongside it (a .kengine file). Add it, work in it, and the source .kalar is untouched. Remove it and your clean plan is exactly as it was.
Adding an engine
From a drawing, open the engine picker and choose a kind. The new engine opens in its editor, already reading your rooms, walls and openings.
Shared tools
Every 2-D engine uses the same chrome, so once you learn one you know them all:
- Tool rail — pointer plus the engine’s tool categories (a labelled rail on iPad/Mac, a bubble on iPhone).
- Colour-by — colour the overlay by category, and where relevant by VLAN, switch or zone.
- Overlay visibility — hide the overlay to check the plan beneath.
- Editor panel — a side panel on iPad/Mac, a half-sheet on iPhone, for the selected item.
- Export — PNG, multi-page PDF or CSV, depending on the engine.
The seven engines
| Engine | Use it to… | Guide |
|---|---|---|
| Fire Escape Plan | Lay escape routes, exits and safety symbols | Guide · Overview |
| 3D | Walk the plan in a lit 3-D model | Guide · Overview |
| Fire Alarm Zone | Colour rooms by detection zone | Guide · Overview |
| CCTV & Security | Place cameras with coverage cones | Guide · Overview |
| WiFi Coverage | Model an RF coverage heat-map | Guide · Overview |
| Marketing | Export a property brochure | Guide · Overview |
| Network & IT | Map patching and generate reports | Guide · Overview |
Regions & standards
The active region — US, UK, EU or AU — is a single app-wide Setting (Settings → Region), not a per-engine control. It changes symbol artwork, default colours, units (imperial in the US, metric elsewhere), page size and the compliance guidance every engine shows. Change it once and every engine follows.