The interface
Cloya spreads the controls over four fixed surfaces: the toolbar for tools, the sub-palette for quick access, the inspector for everything else and the sidebar for the pages.
The main toolbar
The toolbar sits fixed and full width along the top edge. It cannot be moved or docked, so you never have to look for it. The tools are ordered left to right in groups of meaning:
- Point: the selection (the arrow, your default tool).
- Mark up: pen, text, revision cloud, stamp, insert image, eraser.
- Measure: the measuring tool (length, area, count, quick) and the quantity ribbon.
- Fire safety: filling walls and escape routes.
- Edit plan: edit content, redaction, compare.
- View: magnifier and laser pointer.
- Documentation: the camera for site photos.
Which of these tools you see depends on the sign-in: without signing in, the bar shows only the Free tools, cleanly and without an upsell. Signed in, they all appear; what your tier does not cover yet stays visible and names the tier you need when you tap it. Details under Tiers & unlocking.
When space runs short (on an iPad mini, say), tools move into a chevron menu (▾) at the end of the bar. If a tool that has moved there is active, the chevron shows its symbol, so you always see what you are working with.
The sub-palette
A narrow capsule floats under the toolbar with the quick controls of the active tool: colour slots, line widths, mode switches, done/cancel. It shows only what you actually need while drawing; everything else is in the inspector.
The five colour slots are the same everywhere and deliberately kept desaturated: ink black, signal red, steel blue, sage green and marker yellow. Every slot can be given a colour of your own; the active slot carries a blue ring.
The inspector
The right-hand column holds the complete settings of the active tool, neatly grouped and free of jargon. While the inspector is open, the sub-palette withdraws: the same information is never on screen twice. On small iPads the inspector collapses by itself.
The page sidebar
On the left is the narrow column with the page thumbnails. The current page is highlighted and tapping jumps to it. The page operations live here too — delete, move and duplicate (Pages & organisation).
The language of selection
Cloya marks states consistently with the same colours. Once you know the legend, you read every situation at a glance:
| What you see | What it means |
|---|---|
| Pastel blue halo around an element | This element is selected. The halo follows the shape and stays equally fine at every zoom level. |
| Blue dashed rectangle or lasso | The selection tool is at work: you are dragging out a multiple selection. |
| White handles with a blue ring | Handles for scaling at corners and edges; the active handle fills blue. |
| Square white dots on an outline | Editable vertices; dragging moves the point. |
| Hollow ＋ ring on the middle of an edge | Insertion handle: dragging places a new point between two existing ones. |
| Orange lines and markers | Orange never belongs to the selection but to the aids: alignment lines, snap targets (□ endpoint, △ midpoint), hover. |
All of a piece
Colours, spacings, handles and line weights follow one single, considered set of rules. Nothing is accidental, nothing feels bolted together: the app feels all of a piece wherever you are.