Planscaper Guide: From 2D Plan to 3D Scene

Planscaper is a free browser tool that turns a simple 2D plan into a textured 3D scene with buildings, roads, lawns, fences, lamps and trees. This guide covers every feature, step by step.

Open the tool

1. Quick start (2 minutes)

Open the tool. The Plan view shows a grid (one grid square = 10 meters).
Choose Face, pick a tag such as lawn, then tap on the grid to place corner points (at least 3).
Press ✔ Finish to close the shape.
Choose Line, pick fence, tap 2 or more points, press Finish.
Press ▶ Build 3D. Drag to orbit, use + / − to zoom.
Press ⬇ GLB to download your scene.

2. Controls

Action	How
Add a point	Tap once (points snap to 0.5 m)
Pan the plan	Drag with one finger
Zoom	+ / − buttons (works in Plan and 3D)
Undo	Removes the last point, or the last shape
Select a shape	Choose Select, then tap it. Change its tag from the dropdown.
Delete a shape	Select it, then press the trash button

3. Faces (areas)

Tag	Result in 3D
road	Flat asphalt surface
lawn	Grass surface
pavement	Concrete surface, slightly raised
building	Walls with brick texture, roof, windows and a door
water	Transparent blue surface

4. Lines (edges)

Tag	Result in 3D
curb	Low concrete curb along the line
wall	Brick wall, 2.5 m high
fence	Fence models repeated along the line
lamp	Street lamps every 12 m
trees	Large and small trees every 7 m
bench	Benches every 15 m

Tip: draw a long line for lamps or trees, the spacing is automatic.

5. Buildings: floors and roof

Before you press Finish on a building face, choose the number of floors (1 to 6) and the roof type (flat or pitched). To change them later, use Select, tap the building, then change the dropdowns. Each floor is 3 m high. Windows appear on every floor and one door is placed on the longest wall. Roof types: flat, pitched, hip, gable and shed. The ridge runs along the longer side of the building. All roof types look best on rectangular buildings.

6. Import a DXF file

Press DXF and choose a .dxf file. Planscaper reads LINE, LWPOLYLINE, POLYLINE, ARC and CIRCLE entities.

Units: the drawing units stored in the file (millimeters, centimeters, inches, feet or meters) are converted to meters automatically. If the file has no unit, meters are assumed.
Closed shapes: closed outlines become faces, and loose lines that meet end to end are joined into one outline automatically.
Layer names: a layer name sets the tag. For example, a layer called ROAD becomes road, GRASS or LAWN becomes lawn, BUILDING becomes building, WATER becomes water, PAVEMENT becomes pavement, and FENCE, LAMP, TREE, CURB, WALL and BENCH become the matching line tags.
Closed outlines on other layers become lawn faces and open lines become curb lines. Use Select to change tags after import.

Not supported yet: curved polyline segments (bulges), splines, ellipses, text and blocks.

7. Trace over an image

Press Trace img, choose a photo or scanned plan, and enter its real width in meters. The image appears behind the grid so you can draw over it. The image stays on your device.

8. Measure and units

Press 📏 Measure, then tap two points to see the distance. Use the unit dropdown to switch between meters (m) and feet (ft). Press Measure again to go back to drawing.

9. Save, load and autosave

Save downloads a project file (.json) to your device.
Load opens a saved project file.
Your work is also autosaved in your browser and restored next time. Clearing browser data removes it, so use Save for important work.

10. Export and use your 3D scene

Press ⬇ GLB after building. The .glb file works in Blender, Unity, Unreal Engine, Godot, Three.js and most web 3D viewers.

Blender: File → Import → glTF 2.0
Unity / Unreal: import the file into your assets folder
Web: load it with Three.js or model-viewer

11. Undo, redo, copy and new project

↶ Undo removes the last point you placed. When there are no unfinished points, it steps back through your changes.
↷ Redo brings back a change you undid.
⧉ Copy duplicates the selected shape and moves it 5 meters. Use Select first.
🆕 New clears the whole project and the autosave. It asks for confirmation first.

Undo, Redo and Delete work in the Plan view. In the 3D view they take you back to the Plan.

12. Demo project, screenshot and time of day

✨ Demo loads a sample street with lawn, road, curbs, lamps, trees, road markings, a fence and two buildings. Press ▶ Build 3D to see it.
📷 PNG saves a picture of the current 3D view. Build the scene first and rotate the camera to the angle you like.
☀ slider changes the time of day (6:00 to 20:00). It changes the sun direction, light and sky color in the 3D view. It is not included in exported files.

13. Road markings and crosswalks

Line tag	Result
marking	Dashed white road line (2 m dashes every 5 m). Draw it along the middle of a road.
crosswalk	Zebra crossing stripes. Draw the line across the road, from curb to curb.

14. Add your own 3D models

Press ＋ Model and choose a .glb file from your device.
Enter a name (letters and numbers), the spacing along a line in meters, and the scale (1 = original size).
Your model appears as a new tag in the Line dropdown. Draw a line with that tag and press Build 3D.

14b. Smart templates (tile and stretch)

By default, models such as lamps and benches are placed at a fixed spacing along a line. With ⚙ Template you can change how a model fits the line.

Mode	What it does	Best for
repeat	Places the model at a fixed spacing	Lamps, benches
tile	Uses whole copies that fit each segment exactly, so there are no gaps or overlaps at corners	Fences
stretch	Uses one copy per segment, stretched to its full length	Walls, barriers, curb-like models

Press ⚙ Template.
Enter the model tag (for example fence), then the mode.
Optionally enter a post model (for example lamp) that is placed at every corner and end of the line.
Press ▶ Build 3D.

The fence uses tile mode by default. The model's long side should run along its x axis. If a model points the wrong way, rotate it in a 3D editor before adding it. Do not use stretch for models like lamps, because they would be distorted. Your template settings are saved in your browser.

Custom models are saved in your browser on this device, so they are still there after you refresh. They are never uploaded.
They are not included in Share links or Save files. The project keeps the tag name, so add the same model with the same name on another device.
🗑 Models deletes all saved custom models.
Tips: keep files under 1 to 2 MB, and make sure the model uses meters as its unit. If a model faces the wrong way, rotate it in a 3D editor such as Blender first.

15. Auto-tag from an image

Press Trace img and load a plan image with clear colors. Enter its real width in meters.
Press 🪄 Auto-tag and choose a detail size in meters (default 2). A smaller size gives more detail and more shapes.
Planscaper finds areas by color and creates faces for you.

Color in the image	Tag
Green	lawn
Blue	water
Red, brown, orange	building
Dark grey	road
Light grey	pavement
White	ignored (paper background)

Auto-tag works best on clean, flat-color plans. It will not work well on blurry photos. Use Select to fix any wrong tag. Undo removes all auto-tag shapes at once.

16. Share link

Press 🔗 Share to copy a link that contains your whole project. Anyone who opens the link sees the 3D scene built automatically, and can edit their own copy. Very large projects cannot fit in a link, so use Save instead. Custom models are not included. Opening a shared link replaces the autosaved project in that browser, so press Save first if you want to keep your own work.

17. Export formats

Button	File	Best for
⬇ GLB	.glb	Full scene with textures. Blender, Unity, Unreal, Godot, web viewers.
⬇ OBJ	.obj	Shapes only, without textures. Older 3D software.
⬇ USDZ	.usdz	Apple devices. Open it in the Files app on iPhone or iPad to view it in AR.

Build the scene first. Terrain and the time-of-day lighting are for viewing only and are not part of exported files.

18. Terrain

Press ⛰ Terrain and enter a hill height in meters (0 turns it off). Hills rise around your scene while the ground under your plan stays flat. The terrain updates when you rebuild the scene.

19. Install Planscaper as an app

Android (Chrome): tap Install when the popup appears, or open the menu (⋮) and choose Install app or Add to Home screen.
iPhone and iPad (Safari): tap Share, then Add to Home Screen.
Desktop (Chrome or Edge): click the install icon in the address bar.

After your first visit the tool also works offline. Ads and the first load of new files need an internet connection.

19b. Connect an AI agent

Planscaper has a remote MCP server, so AI assistants that support MCP can create scenes for you. Add this server URL in your AI app's connector settings:

https://planscaper.globaltoolsbox.online/api/mcp

In your AI app, open the connector settings and add a custom connector with the URL above.
Describe a scene, for example: "Create a street with a lawn, a road in the middle, two houses and street lamps."
The assistant sends the shapes and gets back a short link, such as planscaper.globaltoolsbox.online/#s=abcd234.
Open the link. Planscaper builds the 3D scene automatically.

The assistant can create up to 200 shapes per scene.
Scenes created this way (coordinates and tags only, no personal data) are stored on our server for 60 days so the short link can open them. See the Privacy Policy.
Check the result, fix tags with Select, then export as usual. Press Save if you want to keep the project.
The assistant can use these tags: road, lawn, pavement, building, water, curb, fence, wall, lamp, trees, bench, marking and crosswalk.

20. Troubleshooting

Problem	Fix
Nothing appears after Build 3D	Draw at least one face or line first
Models do not show	Use the tags fence, lamp, trees or bench on a Line, and check your internet connection
Shapes are tiny or huge	Check the unit and zoom. One grid square is 10 m.
Work disappeared	Browser data was cleared. Use Save regularly.
Undo and trash do nothing in 3D	They work in the Plan view only
Install popup does not appear	Use the browser menu: Install app or Add to Home screen. On iPhone use Share, then Add to Home Screen.
My custom model disappeared	Models are saved per browser and device. Add it again if you cleared browser data or switched devices.
Auto-tag finds nothing	Load an image first with Trace img, and use a plan with clear colors.
Share link says invalid	Copy the full link again. It may have been cut off.
USDZ export fails	Try a smaller scene, or use GLB instead.
PNG is empty	Press Build 3D first and stay in the 3D view.
DXF shapes are tiny or huge	The file may have no unit set. Planscaper assumes meters then. Scale the drawing in your CAD program, or check its units setting.
Fence or model looks stretched or sideways	Press ⚙ Template and set the mode to repeat. Make sure the model's long side runs along its x axis.
AI assistant link says "not found or expired"	Scenes are kept for 60 days. Ask the assistant to create the scene again.

21. FAQ

Is Planscaper free?

Yes. It is free to use and supported by ads.

Are my files uploaded to a server?

No. Plans, images and DXF files are processed in your browser and stay on your device. The only exception is a scene created by an AI assistant through our MCP server: its shapes (coordinates and tags) are stored for 60 days so the short link can open them.

Which devices work?

Any modern browser on phone, tablet or desktop.

Can I use the exported models commercially?

The scene you build is yours. Some included models and textures come from CC0 (public domain) sources. See our Terms for details.

Found a bug or have an idea?

Write to us on the Contact page.

Can I use Planscaper offline?

Yes. After your first visit the tool works offline. Install it as an app for the best experience.

Where are my custom models stored?

Only in your own browser on your device. They are never uploaded to our servers.