Purpose and where to find Settings
The Settings… gear in the main window title bar opens application-wide defaults. The dialog is available from Studio, Viewer, and Journal and has four sections: General, Studio, Viewer, and Journal.
Recommended first action: calibrate the physical size of your main monitor in General → Display Calibration before using a 1:1 reference at the easel. The complete procedure is in Display Calibration.
There are three different kinds of values in ARS:
| Kind | Example | Behavior |
|---|---|---|
| General setting | Language, ruler units, selected display calibration | Applies across the program, including to the presentation of already open workspaces where supported. |
| Application default | New Studio canvas size, initial Viewer image width, grid defaults | Applied when new content is created; does not overwrite an existing project’s stored dimensions or grids. |
| Project-specific setting | A particular canvas size, image grid, session or Reference placement | Belongs to its project or image; editing it does not automatically change the application default. |
Click OK in Settings to save changes. Cancel discards uncommitted changes. Some parameters, such as display units and the selected calibration, can update the open view without changing the project’s physical geometry. A Restore Defaults button affects only the currently selected section and remains reversible with Cancel until you save.
General
| Control | What it does |
|---|---|
| Language | Selects the user interface language. A restart may be required for all text to update. English uses U.S. English conventions. |
| Ruler Units | Choose centimeters (cm) or inches (in). The internal physical dimensions remain stored in centimeters. |
| Display Calibration → Calibrate… | Creates, edits, and selects named monitor profiles using a ruler and a scale slider. The calibrated physical scale applies to Studio and Viewer. |
A profile corresponds to a particular monitor configuration; in the current release, switch profiles manually when moving the artwork view to another monitor. Calibration is not a color-calibration or print-DPI setting. Read Display Calibration before using 1:1 for measurements.
Studio defaults
The Studio section contains the starting settings for newly created Studio documents. These apply whether you use New or add the first Reference to an empty Studio document.
| Group | Controls and behavior |
|---|---|
| Default Canvas | Initial canvas Width and Height in the selected ruler units. |
| Reference Grid | Independent defaults for grid Mode (Divisions or Cell Size), Columns/Rows, Cell Width/Cell Height, Diagonals, main Line Color, Diagonal Color, and whether the grid is shown by default. |
| Canvas Grid | Its own independent version of those grid settings, plus Show Coordinates. These coordinates belong to the canvas grid, not to the Reference Grid. |
| Default Colors | Canvas Color (canvas background) and Composition Guide Color. |
| Export Defaults | Initial Format (PNG, TIFF, or JPEG), Resolution (72–600 DPI), and JPEG Quality (1–100%). JPEG quality is relevant only for JPEG exports. |
Defaults are only starting values. Changing a particular Studio document later affects that document, not the application defaults. Changing export options for one export does not permanently change the defaults saved in Settings. The export dialog still validates its resulting image-size limits.
Viewer defaults
The Viewer section defines the starting configuration for a newly added image, not the real-world size automatically inferred from its pixel count.
| Group | Controls and behavior |
|---|---|
| Default Reference Size | Initial Width (50 cm by default). The Height is calculated from the new image’s aspect ratio. Both can subsequently be edited for that image. |
| Grid Settings | Mode, divisions or cell dimensions, Diagonals, shared Line Color, initial grid visibility, and Show Coordinates. |
Important: 50 cm is a convenience default, not a claim about the actual size of the photographed object. If physical accuracy matters, set the intended canvas dimensions before using 1:1. The first image in an empty Viewer uses these defaults. Further images in the same Viewer document inherit the preceding image’s grid configuration; saved images preserve their own per-image settings.
For image-specific controls, see Viewer – Images. The Viewer 1:1 button means the same physical 100% as in Studio when a calibrated display profile is active; it does not mean Actual Pixels.
Journal defaults
The Journal section has two independent initial import-mode choices:
| Control | Choices | Scope |
|---|---|---|
| Session Media | Copy or Link | New WIP photographs and video clips added to sessions. |
| Final Artwork | Copy or Link | The final artwork image. |
Copy keeps a project-owned copy of the media file; Link references the original file at its external location. These settings select the initial mode offered by Journal. You can change the import mode within Journal for an individual operation, and that does not change the application default or convert media that has already been imported.
Journal’s PDF Export options remain in their own export workflow, not in application Settings. See WIP Gallery, Final Artwork, and PDF Export.
Restore Defaults and Cancel
Click Restore Defaults while one of the four sections is selected. ARS restores only that section’s factory values in the open Settings dialog. For example, resetting Studio does not reset Viewer or Journal; resetting General restores language and ruler units but does not erase your display-calibration profiles.
To keep the restored values, click OK in the main Settings dialog. To abandon them, click Cancel. Restoring application defaults never silently rewrites a project already open in any workspace.
Practical setup checklist
- Choose Language and Ruler Units.
- Calibrate the monitor where you examine References; create another named profile for each additional display.
- Set the default Studio canvas and independent Reference/Canvas Grids to match your usual workflow.
- Set the Viewer default width and starting grid; assign the correct dimensions to each actual photograph as needed.
- Choose Journal’s initial Copy/Link modes and Studio’s export defaults.
- Save Settings with OK, then verify physical size using a ruler with Studio or Viewer set to 1:1.
Application defaults are stored in the user’s ARS settings; they are not a substitute for saving Studio, Viewer, or Journal projects. See Project Management.
