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Give your classroom design a clear visual foundation. Choose a base color, add a quiet repeating pattern, and coordinate the simple outer frame from Board → Appearance in the right inspector.
About 5 minutesBeginner friendlyColors, patterns, and frame
1. Open the board styling controls
Open your design. Choose a saved board from Boards, or create one with the Quick Start guide.
Select Board in the right inspector. It sits beside Properties and Layers. If the inspector is hidden, show it with the toolbar's inspector toggle, whose tooltip is Properties, layers and board settings.
Scroll to Appearance below Settings. Solid Color and Pattern appear first in this section. Pattern settings, border controls, and Editor canvas background follow.
Background and frame changes appear directly in the editor. You do not need to select your text, images, or shapes first, and these changes do not replace their individual fills.
2. Choose the base color
Under Solid Color, choose a palette swatch. Recent colors also appear above the palette as you use them.
For an exact color, use the color picker square or enter a hex value in the field beside it. Include the #, for example #E9F2FF for the light blue shown here. Click outside the field when you finish entering the value.
A light base is a useful starting point behind dark text. Check the actual design, especially when your lettering or artwork already contains several colors.
3. Add and adjust a pattern
The Pattern section contains six preview tiles. In the current desktop panel, they are arranged in two rows of three. The tiles show previews rather than printed names:
Preview | Position | Appearance |
|---|---|---|
None | Top left | A plain tile; returns to the base color without a pattern. |
Grid | Top middle | A repeating grid of horizontal and vertical lines. |
Star | Top right | Small repeating star motifs. |
Stripes | Bottom left | Vertical bands. |
Dots | Bottom middle | Repeating circular dots. |
Lines | Bottom right |
4. Style the simple outer frame
Scroll to Board Border Color and Board Border Width below the pattern settings.
Choose the frame color. Use a swatch, the color picker, or the hex field under Board Border Color.
Set the width. Use the slider, minus and plus buttons, or number field under Board Border Width.
Inspect the edges. Use Fit to screen or zoom out if you cannot see the whole frame.
The width control runs from 0 to 100. Increase the value for a stronger frame or lower it for a thinner edge. Set it to 0 to remove the frame without removing the background or pattern.
5. Change the board or the surrounding workspace
The brown area around the example board is a separate editor setting. Open Board → Appearance → Editor canvas background in the right inspector to change that surrounding color. It is below the board border controls. Use its reset button to return to the default workspace color.
What you want to change | Where to go |
|---|---|
The board's base color or built-in pattern | Right inspector → Board → Appearance. |
The simple solid outer frame | Board → Appearance → Board Border Color / Board Border Width. |
The workspace surrounding the board | Board → Appearance → Editor canvas background. |
An individual item's fill or outline |
6. Save and check the intended output
Use Undo and Redo to review changes during your editing session. When the design looks right, open the board-name menu at the top left and choose Save board, or use Ctrl/Cmd+S. Check the toolbar's Saved status before leaving.
For a full-board image or PDF: review the base color and pattern as part of the composition. Open the downloaded result before sharing or printing.
For the simple outer frame: it is drawn outside the board area, while full-board exports crop to the board area. Do not rely on that outer frame as printable trim. Use a border element within the design when the border must appear in the output.
For Export for Printing: a Print Pack prepares board elements as pieces to cut and assemble. The board background and simple frame are not separate cutout elements.
If you are assembling pieces on colored backing paper, choose a board base color that helps you preview that paper. For a complete printed composition, consider how much ink a large colored background will use and test the output first.
See Which BoardCraft Export Should I Use? for format choices.
Quick fixes
Pattern Color and Pattern size are missing? Select a pattern preview first, then scroll beneath the preview grid.
The pattern disappeared after changing the base? A Solid Color action switches to a solid background. Reselect the pattern and adjust its color and size.
The frame is missing? Check that Board Border Width is above 0 and that the frame color is visible against its surroundings.
The board did not change when you chose a workspace color? Use Board → Appearance → Solid Color or Pattern to edit the board itself. Editor canvas background only changes its surroundings.
