What's New in Easel
July 2025
Measurement tool updates
We've updated the measurement tool based on your feedback!
Easier Path Tracing
You can now trace along the path of a volume when placing measurement points more easily.
A circle indicator will appear when your point is close to the path.
Boundary Edge Detection
You can also trace along the boundary edges of volumes.
A dotted line will appear when you are on the edge of a volume's boundary.
Linked Measurement Lines
Lastly, we've added linked measurement lines.
For horizontal or vertical lines between two volume edges, you can set up one measurement line that updates dynamically.
To use: 1. Place the first measurement point along the boundary edge of one volume. 2. Hold Shift. 3. Place the second point on the boundary edge of another volume.
These measurements cannot be manually edited but will update dynamically as you reposition or update your design.
New bits in the toolbox
We’re making it easier than ever to add the bits you use to your Easel toolbox. Today, we’ve added nearly 600 new bits from 5 popular brands.
- Amana Tools
- Bits&Bits Company
- IDC Woodcraft
- SpeTool
- Whiteside Machine Company
Find them in your Toolbox under Add Bits:
*For now, these new bits won’t include cut settings.
We’d love to hear your feedback as you explore the new additions. Let us know if you find any mistakes or have any suggestions for how we can make this feature even better.
Offset Shapes
You can now quickly offset shapes in Easel without having to go into the app library!
Offsetting creates a new shape from an existing one by widening or shrinking the existing shape.
One instance where this can prove useful is when you want to cut out around a design to remove it from the stock, such as when making signs.
Pro tip: When cutting out shapes, offsetting pairs well with the new Outline Bit feature that is currently in early access.
How to Use
There are 2 new ways to offset shapes in Easel:
- Right-click on a shape, and then select the "Offset" option. (You can also right-click with multiple shapes selected.)
- With one or more shapes selected, choose "Offset" from the Edit menu.
From Right-click Menu
From Edit Menu
After selecting the offset action, a modal will appear letting you choose the offset distance and direction (inward or outward):
Happy offsetting!
June 2025
Sharing Tools & Trending Projects
It’s now easier than ever to share your Easel projects with the community. Check out the video below to learn more about these recent updates!
Here’s an overview of what’s new:
- Sharing Button
- Instantly share your projects with other makers, collaborators, and community members. Check out the new Share button next to the Carve and Jog options in Easel.
- Publishing to the Project Gallery
- It’s easier than ever to share your work to the Project Gallery. Enjoy auto-filled details, capture additional details about your project, and easily edit and manage your published content.
- Trending Collection
- Check out the hottest new projects in the gallery in the Trending collection. See what the community is making and contribute your own work for a chance to be featured!
As always, let us know what you think and stay tuned for more to come!
Outline Bits (Beta)
More control over your cutouts — no workarounds needed. You can now assign a dedicated bit just for outline cuts in multi-stage carves.
Previously, Easel always used your detail bit for outline cuts – including final cutouts – even if it was a small V-bit or 1/32" bit. That often led to slow carves, broken bits, or complex workarounds.
Now, with Outline Bit, you can:
- Choose a separate, sturdier bit (like a 1/8" or 1/4" end mill) just for the outline
- Skip duplicating workpieces or manually hiding shapes
- Keep everything in one carve with three distinct toolpaths: Roughing, Detail, and Outline
After you select an Outline Bit, Easel will assign it to shapes where the Cut Path is set to “on shape path”, “outside shape path”, or “inside shape path”:
Pockets will be carved by the Roughing and Detail Bits
Outlines will be carved by the new Outline Bit
How to use it:
- Opt-in to use the new Outline Bits feature in beta
- Load or create a project in Easel with a roughing and detail pass
- Click the “+” next to your Detail Bit and select an Outline Bit
- Simulate your carve — the outline pass will appear as a separate orange toolpath
- During carving or downloading G-code, you'll now see a new “Outline Pass” option when selecting toolpaths
This feature is currently in beta — and available to all Easel users. Try it out, share your feedback, and help us shape the final version.
Opt in on the top, right hand side of this page and try it out today!
May 2025
Copy/Paste from the Clipboard
We’re excited to announce that Easel now integrates with the system clipboard for copy and paste. Any app or website that copies SVG data to the clipboard can now be pasted directly into Easel and vice versa.
This happens automatically via the existing Edit menu actions or the keyboard shortcuts.
See the launch video for more details and examples.
Text Alignment
Easel now supports center, left, and right aligned multiline text. The new Text Alignment buttons are located in the Shape panel.
April 2025
Mesh Optimizer
We’re removing the 100MB file limit when importing a 3D STL mesh. Going forward, Easel will automatically simplify the file if it’s above 100MB to meet the limit. Otherwise, most files will import as-is.
The simplification process eliminates minor geometrical details that don't have a major impact on the overall shape. This results in reduced file sizes and faster project load times without affecting the final carved outcome.
If you happen to use large STL files that don’t turn out well after import, please let us know below. You’ll know it was simplified if you see this notification after the import.
Measurement Input Upgrades
We’re excited to announce several upgrades to our measurement input controls.
- Addition and subtraction of measurement terms
- Improved fraction support
- More units and formatting options
The goal is to more naturally support how we write measurements and lengths. To give a sense of what’s possible, all of the following are valid input expressions for 2 ¾ inches.
- 2 3/4"
- 2.75in
- 11/4"
- 3 inches - 1/4 inch
- 1 1/4" + 1.5 in
- 2+3/4"
- 0'2 3/4"
- 0ft 2.75in
- 25.4mm + 1.75in
- 2.54cm + 1 3/4"
- 1' - 9 1/4"
Most inputs in Easel and Cabinetmaker have been updated to support these new features. Although, there are a few stragglers that you may run into. We plan to finish migrating the remaining inputs in the near term.
Publishing Easel Projects to the Project Gallery
Hi folks! You may have noticed recently that the ability to publish your projects from Easel was temporarily disabled while the Project Gallery was under maintenance. We're happy to inform everyone that this functionality has been restored!
If you have a project that you would like to share with the Easel community, you can do so directly from Easel. Simply load the Easel project that you want to share, click "Project" in the toolbar at the top of the page, and select "Publish" from the dropdown list. You can the add the title for the project, include a brief description, and attach images of the project to share on the Project Gallery.
To view all of the amazing projects published by other members of the Easel community, head on over to https://easel.com/gallery!
But wait, there's more! We're working on a variety of improvements to the Project Gallery, and we want your input! Please let us know below if you have any feedback, suggestions, or concerns when it comes to sharing and publishing your work, as well as finding inspiration for your next project.