FireDeck

Submittals · Updated

Canvas Builder

Draw the floor plan, place devices with NFPA symbols, wire the circuits, and print a full plan set — on the same projects you submit.

Canvas Builder is FireDeck's in-app floor-plan drawing tool. You draw walls and rooms, place devices with plan symbols, run wire between them, and print a full plan set — all on the same projects you generate submittals for.

Open a project in the canvas

  1. Click Canvas Builder in the Submittals group in the sidebar. The page lists every project in your shop with its status.
  2. Click a project card (Open floor plan →). The first time you open one, FireDeck creates its drawing layer; after that you land straight back in the editor.
  3. To start from scratch, click New Project — it creates a normal project, the same one described in Projects.

You can also open the canvas from the project itself: on the project page, click Open in Canvas.

Set up a floor

The floor bar sits above the toolbar. Type a Floor name, set W ft and H ft, and click + Floor. Click a floor's tab to switch to it; the × next to the active tab deletes it and everything on it.

If you have a plan to work from, click 🖼 Underlay and pick an image or PDF. Once it's in place the button opens a menu: ⬆ Replace image / PDF…, ↔ Move / resize, ✨ AI trace rooms + walls, ▭ Re-trace an area… (drag a box to redo just that region — your manual work is untouched), and ✕ Remove underlay.

Then draw with the Wall and Room tools. Each click adds a segment or corner; Esc ends the run.

Place devices

  1. Click the Device tool. A palette appears with one row of groups — Fire Alarm — Initiating, Notification, Panels, Modules, BDA / ERRCS, and Architectural.
  2. Pick a group, then a device type. Each button shows the symbol as it will draw.
  3. Click on the plan to place it. Doors and windows snap onto the nearest wall, and Snap keeps everything on a 1 ft grid.
  4. Switch to Select to drag a device somewhere else. ↩ and ↪ (Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Y) undo and redo.

Selecting a device opens the properties panel. Set Model # — the → all button applies it to every device of that type on the floor — plus Loop, Address, Circuit, and Zone.

Use the Wire tool to chain wire from one device to the next. Once the wiring is drawn, ⚡ Address fills in loops, addresses, NAC circuits, and zones from it; anything you type by hand overrides it. ⚡ Auto-place FA drops NFPA 72 detectors and appliances into every drawn room, Coverage overlays detector and strobe circles, and Compliance audits the floor against NFPA 72 / IFC 510.

Placed devices become project parts

What you draw mirrors into the project's parts list automatically, so the battery calc and device matrix reflect the plan. Rows that came from the drawing are marked, and their quantity follows the canvas — you change it by adding or removing devices on the plan. Hand-added parts are left alone. On the Devices tab, Sync from Plan re-runs it on demand; see Devices & Circuits.

Sheet view and the plan set

Toggle Sheet to see the whole printed set: the cover, one plan sheet per floor, and the riser and sequence-of-operations page. Every box drags and resizes where it prints. In Sheet view you can also add ＋ Text and ＋ Image to the Cover or Notes page, and ＋ Add Page appends sheets carrying Battery Calculation (NFPA), Manufacturer Battery Calc, Voltage Drop, Device Matrix, Device Schedule (from plan), or Sequence of Operations blocks.

Open Legend/Notes to edit the device legend, general notes, cover text, title-block names, and which boxes appear. Under Sheet Templates, name your setup and click Save current to reuse it — then Apply it on the next job so every plan set leaves the shop looking the same.

Export with ⬇ Plan Set (the whole set as a PDF), ⬇ PNG (the floor plan as an image for a submittal block), or ⬇ Schedule (the device schedule as CSV). The AHJ package itself is still built on the submittal side — see Generating a Submittal.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to start a new project to use the canvas?

No. Canvas Builder and Submittals share one project pool. Opening a project in the canvas adds a drawing layer to the project you already have — the device list, calculations, and submittals stay attached to it.

Why can't I change a device's quantity on the Devices tab?

That row was mirrored from the floor plan, so its quantity follows the drawing. Add or remove the device on the canvas and the count updates on the next sync. Parts you added by hand are never touched by the sync.

A part from my plan came across as TBD — how do I fix it?

That device has no model number on the drawing. Select it in the canvas, fill in Model #, and use the → all button to apply it to every device of that type. The parts list picks it up on the next sync.

Do I have to draw the riser diagram myself?

No. The riser is generated from the wiring you drew — the FACP at the base, the SLC running through each addressable device with its address, and one line per NAC circuit ending in an EOL resistor. It appears on the notes page in Sheet view and in the Plan Set PDF.

Why don't I see Canvas Builder in my sidebar?

Canvas Builder is granted per shop rather than bought at checkout, and your account also needs canvas permission. If the shop has it but you don't see it, ask an owner to check your permissions.