Managing Library Items

This page covers the full lifecycle of items in the Item Library — creating, editing, searching, bulk importing, and deleting.

Creating an Item

1. Go to Item Library in the left sidebar
2. Click + New Item
3. Fill in the item form:

Required Fields

• Name — a clear, descriptive name. Use a consistent naming convention across your team (e.g., "Carton — 600×400×400 Standard")
• Type — Box (carton, crate, pallet), Cylinder (drum, roll, pipe), or STEP-CAD (use for items with a CAD file — STEP, STL, OBJ, or PLY)
• Dimensions — for cuboids: length, width, height in mm. For cylinders: diameter and height in mm. You can enter in inches if your preferences are set to imperial — LOP converts automatically
• Weight — per-unit weight in kg (or lbs in imperial mode). A weight that does not fit the item's size shows a warning under the field; it never blocks a save

Recommended Fields

• SKU — your product code or stock identifier. Appears on packing lists and export documents
• Fragile — check this if no items should ever be placed on top. The optimizer treats this as a hard constraint
• Stackable — check this if items can be placed on top of this item. If unchecked, nothing is placed above it
• Max weight on top — if stackable, optionally set a weight limit for items above (kg). Leave blank for unlimited
• Orientation preference — controls how the optimizer is allowed to rotate the item:
  • Any rotation — optimizer chooses the best of all 6 rotations
  • This side up — item always placed with original Y-axis pointing up
  • Vertical only — item must stand upright, no laying flat
  • Horizontal only — item must lay flat, no standing upright

Optional Fields

• Separation tags — add tags like hazmat_class_3, food_grade, wet to enforce minimum separation distances from incompatible items
• Crush strength — the supplier's pressure limit for the top face, in kg/m² (lb/ft² with imperial units). A hard constraint: the optimizer will not stack a load that exceeds it. See Crush Strength
• Packaging — choose Corrugated carton to open the collapsed Carton section and record the supplier's or the lab's carton data: board and flute, ECT with its unit and test method, measured thickness, a measured box compression (BCT) with its test conditions, and the source. With the plan's transit conditions entered, Validate calculates a compression estimate from carton data; they never replace the two limits above. See Packaging and Carton Data
• Color — color used in the 3D editor viewport. Helpful for visually distinguishing item types
• Notes — free text for internal reference, handling instructions, or sourcing notes

4. Click Save Item

The item is immediately available in the library and can be added to any plan.

Editing an Item

1. In the Item Library, click the item's name or the edit (pencil) icon
2. Modify any properties
3. Click Save Item

Searching and Filtering

The Item Library has three controls above the list: a search box, a tag filter, and a sort dropdown.

Search matches an item's name and SKU. Results update as you type — there is no need to press Enter.

All Tags is a dropdown listing every tag currently in use across your library; choose one to show only the items carrying it. These are the free-form tags on the item record — not separation tags, which are a separate field and are not filterable.

Sort offers five orders:

• Most Used — how many plans include the item. This is the default
• Name A–Z
• Name Z–A
• Newest — most recently created first
• Oldest

There are no filters for item type, fragile, stackable, or "has a 3D model", and no sort by weight. Use search and the tag filter to narrow a large library.

Viewing Usage Count

Each item card in the library shows a usage count — the number of load plans that include this item. Click the count to see a list of those plans. This helps you understand which items are actively in production use and which may be candidates for cleanup.

Bulk Import from Excel or CSV

If you have a large catalog of items, importing from Excel or CSV is faster than creating items one by one.

1. In the Item Library, click Import Items
2. Click Download the import template (.xlsx) in the upload step — a file generated from the importer's own fields (name, SKU, length, width, height, weight, quantity, stackable, fragile, notes; units in the headers) with one sample row
3. Fill in your item data in the template (or map your existing spreadsheet columns in the next step)
4. Upload the file
5. In the column mapping screen, confirm which spreadsheet columns map to which item properties
6. Click Preview to see the items that will be created
7. Click Import to create all items

The import creates new items and does not modify existing ones. If you need to update existing items in bulk, contact support.

Duplicating an Item

The Item Library has no Duplicate action; to make a variant of a library item, create it with + New Item.

In a plan, a placed item can be duplicated: right-click it in the 3D view and select Duplicate, or select it and press Ctrl+D. The copy is added to the plan's items as one unplaced unit. The copy of a library item is taken from the library item, with its current values. An item that is not in the library is copied with all its properties, crush strength, carton data, separation tags, SKU and notes included; to keep it in the library, choose Save to library from its menu in the Items Panel.

Deleting Items

To delete a single item:

1. Click the menu icon on the item card
2. Select Delete
3. Confirm in the dialog

To delete multiple items:

1. Select items using the checkboxes on the left of each card
2. Click Delete Selected in the action bar that appears at the top

Items that are currently included in active plans (status: optimizing) cannot be deleted. Wait for the optimization to complete before deleting.