Visual Editors (Advanced Builders)
TimberCloud's visual editors are the advanced, power-user tools behind the Product Builder. They let you turn a product into real prices, real parts, and real shop paperwork — all with point-and-click screens, no code. This page is the map: what each editor does, where it lives, and which subscription plan unlocks it.
You'll reach these editors from two tabs inside a product:
- The Configurator tab — the Visual Part Builder (parts, 2D/3D layouts, and the storefront 3D preview) and the Formula Builder that calculates part dimensions.
- The Production tab — the Build Sheet Builder, the Export Builders (CSV and ORD), and the Labels designer.
Note: These are separate tabs. The Configurator defines what the product is (its parts and 3D shape). The Production tab defines what you print and export about it (build sheets, CNC exports, labels). See the Product Builder overview for how all seven tabs fit together.
The editors at a glance
| Editor | Where it lives | What it does | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|
| Formula Builder | Pricing tab, and inside Parts/Inventory | Calculate prices, part sizes, quantities, weights, and material usage step by step | Pricing formulas: Commerce and up |
| Visual Part Builder | Configurator tab | Turn a product into doors, panels, cabinets and boxes with automatic cut dimensions and a live 3D preview | Commerce and up |
| Build Sheet Builder | Production tab | Design shop-floor production tables that print as PDF pages | Build and up |
| Export Builders | Production tab | Build CSV exports (spreadsheets/CNC) and ORD exports (Cabinet Vision) | Build and up |
| Labels designer | Production tab | Lay out barcode/QR labels on Avery templates — see Labels | Build and up |
Availability: The Formula Builder for pricing, and the Visual Part Builder with its 3D preview, are part of Commerce (paid plans). Build Sheets, Exports and Labels are advanced product features that require Build and up. On Free, these tabs appear as blurred upgrade previews rather than being hidden.
Formula Builder
The step-based Formula Builder is the calculation engine used across TimberCloud. You build a formula by stacking steps — a field, a number, a named variable, a pre-built measurement (Square Feet, Board Feet, Linear Feet…), a group of steps, or an IF/ELSE conditional — and connecting them with math operators. Learn it once and it works the same everywhere:
- Pricing — calculate a product's price from dimensions, materials and options (Commerce+)
- Part dimensions — size stiles, rails, sides and shelves automatically
- Part quantities — decide how many of a part per order
- Part weight — compute weight from volume and material density for shipping
- Inventory deductions — figure material usage with waste factors
Prefer plain English? The AI Formula Assistant writes the step formula for you from a description like "material price per square foot plus $25 if the finish is Premium." See the AI Pricing Assistant guide.
Note: There is no JavaScript code editor and no drag-and-drop node/flow builder for pricing. The visual Formula Builder and the AI Assistant are the only ways you author formulas. Older products may still evaluate a legacy calculation on the backend, but saving a new step formula replaces it.
Visual Part Builder
The Visual Part Builder lives on the Configurator tab and is where a product becomes physical parts. Pick a ready-made layout type — a framed door, a shaker face, a flat panel, a base cabinet, a drawer box and more — map your line-item fields to its dimensions, and the builder generates the cut list automatically. The same setup powers the interactive 3D storefront preview customers see, updating live as they change size and options.
It's the deep mechanical reference for cut sizes, framing members, glass lites and custom 3D models. For the everyday workflow of setting up parts and cut lists, see Parts & Cut Lists.
Learn the Visual Part Builder →
Build Sheet Builder
The Build Sheet Builder lives on the Production tab. Drag fields into columns to design production tables for the shop floor — a panel cut list, a hardware list, an assembly page. Each table becomes a page in the printed PDF, with multi-level sorting and grouping so parts land in cutting or assembly order.
Learn the Build Sheet Builder →
Export Builders
The Export Builders also live on the Production tab:
- CSV Export Builder — table-based exports for spreadsheets and CNC machines, with number formatting, quantity expansion, and sort/group.
- ORD Export Builder — Cabinet Vision-compatible files built from
[Header],[Catalog]and[Cabinets]sections using{{field}}templates.
For neutral CNC/CAM nested DXF output (and an opt-in G-code path), see the export page's CAM section and CAM / DXF Layers.
Next Steps
- The Product Builder — how the seven tabs fit together
- Formula Builder — build calculations step by step
- Visual Part Builder — layouts, cut lists and 3D
- Build Sheet Builder — shop-floor production tables
- Export Builders — CSV and ORD (and CAM/DXF)
- Parts & Cut Lists — the everyday parts workflow