Outfitting your office space from the ground up, or selecting the best office chair for your needs can be quite a daunting task. For any sized project, our experts are here to provide professional advice and to assist you with every step of the decision-making process. We'll help you create an affordable workspace that's comfortable yet flexible, designed to inspire and fit your unique needs.
Getting Started with Smart Designerback to top
SmartDesigner® uses a new technology from Google called O3D that allows users to access 3D environments inside their browsers. Click here to download the O3D plugin directly from Google. For the best performance, we recommend the latest version of Mozilla's Firefox browser when using SmartDesigner®.
When you're downloading the O3D plugin, Google recognizes the browser you're currently using and downloads the specific plugin for that browser. For those of you who use multiple browsers, this means that if you download the plugin in one browser and try to use SmartDesigner® with a second browser, you will have to download another plugin for the second browser.
If you are using a PC:download the O3D plugin then close your browser. Reopen your browser to launch the Smart Designer.
If you are using a Mac:download the O3D plugin, then close and exit your browser. Be sure to entirely exit whatever browser program you are using (this applies to all browsers for Macs, not just Safari). Once you have completely closed down your browser, reopen it to launch the Smart Designer.
Beginner
The beginner method of designing gives you a list of 6 rooms to choose from. Clicking on a room type will show a preview image of that room. To load a room and start editing it, click "Select Room".
Intermediate
The intermediate method allows you to create rectangular rooms of specific dimensions. Simply type in the width and depth of the room you want to create and hit "View in 3D" to load your room. We recommend keeping the room under 50 feet x 50 feet for usability issues.
Advanced
The advanced method allows you to draw your own room.
The first step is to draw the walls of your room. With the "Draw" icon selected, click and drag the mouse to create your walls. Your room can have as many walls as you like. Each square in the grid represents a square foot, and the drawing tool allows you to create walls in six-inch increments. Once you've created an enclosed space, the interesection points of your room will appear as white squares. You are then free to refine the room you've just created.
To create additional walls, choose the "Draw" icon, and simply click where you want your walls to be. To adjust the points where your walls meet, choose the "Select" icon, click on an intersection point, and drag it to your desired location. You can also click and drag the walls themselves to change their location in the room.
To start over, click the "New Room" icon.
To remove walls, click the "Erase" icon, then click on the wall you want to remove.
When you're drawing a wall, the length of that wall appears beside it. To check the dimensions of your room at any time, click the "Measure" icon.
Finally, to see your room in the Smart Designer, click "Create Room in 3D". If you need to return to the graph again to change the dimensions of your room, click the "Room Layout" tab.
When a room is loaded, you can select the "Home" icon located at the top of the screen to return to the Smart Furniture homepage, or you can select "Start Over" to return to the Smart Designer starting page.
Adjusting Your Viewback to top You can easily view your design from many different angles using the camera controls under the ADJUST YOUR VIEW tab. Same as the item controls, any view commands you choose will be highlighted so it's easier for you to know which command you are currently using, and you can also click or click+hold your mouse button on any of these commands.
ZOOM IN / OUT: The left side of the VIEW tab holds the zoom functions. To zoom in, click on the (+) button above the magnifiying glass, or click on the (-) to zoom out.
CAMERA UP / DOWN: The right side of the VIEW tab holds the raise/lower camera functions. To raise the camera view up, click on the arrow button above the video camera, or click on the arrow button below the camera to lower the view.
PAN LEFT/RIGHT FORWARD/BACK: To pan the camera angle along the horizontal axis, click on any of the four arrows located around the orbit tool (see below). This will move your arrows along the outer axis.
ORBIT: The 8 arrows that form a circle allow you to orbit, or rotate, the angle of your camera. Clicking these arrows allows you to rotate your point of view around your space.
To rotate the room on the horizontal axis,click on the left and right arrows.
To rotate the room on the vertical axis, click on the top and bottom arrows.
To rotate diagonally, click on the the arrows in the corners of the circle (eg "southwest", "northeast", etc. in terms of direction).
PRE-SET CAMERA VIEWS:Click on the LEFT VIEW, TOP VIEW and RIGHT VIEW buttons to view pre-set camera angles of the designer which look left, right and above your room.
FULL SCREEN MODE: In the bottom left corner of the space planning platform is an icon (see image to the right) that allows you to enter full screen mode. In full screen mode, the space planning platform occupies the entire screen, allowing you to see more of your space at one time. Take a look at our keyboard shortcuts before trying to use the Smart Designer in full screen mode as you won't have access to the item and navigation controls at the bottom of the screen while in full screen mode. To return to standard screen mode, press Escape at any time.
To change the colors of your floors and walls, click the "Floors and Walls" tab. Scroll through the options to see available colors and finishes, and simply click on a color to apply it to your room.
After choosing a room template to work with, you can browse through items that you'd like to add to your room using the left-hand column. Click on the different product groups to open up the available selection of items within that group.
Once you have selected a product group, you have the option to filter products within that category by brand or specific product type.
To add an item to your room, click on the image of the item and it will add it to the middle of the room, or around the middle if there's already an item placed there.
Controlling and Customizing Itemsback to top Choose the item you want to manipulate, and then choose one of the command buttons to move it around as you wish. Clicking on any of the commands manipulates the item slightly, while clicking and holding down the commands allows you to manipulate the item in a continuous manner. Each command button is highlighted when chosen, making it easier for you to know which command you are currently using. SELECT ITEM:Click on an item to select it. When an item is selected, an orange box appears beneath it. Once an item is selected, it can then be manipulated. MOVE ITEM:Click on any of the arrows to move your item around the room on the horizontal axis.
ROTATE LEFT / RIGHT:This command lets you spin an item clockwise or counterclockwise on its horizontal axis.
RAISE / LOWER:These commands let you move the item up and down on its vertical axis.
REMOVE:Choose the item and click on this command to remove it from your room.
CUSTOMIZE:Select an item and click the customize wand to change its color. Select products have numerous features that you can customize- when you customize these items, a new window appears that walks you through the different options for each feature. Once you have selected an option for every feature, click "Save this Item" on the last step and the window will close. You can close this window at any point in the customization process. The CUSTOMIZE ITEM tab also acts in the same manner as the wand.
Keyboard Shortcutsback to top
These shortcut keys make the SmartDesigner easier to use. They also work in full screen mode.
Shortcuts for Adjusting Your View
Up Arrow: Move Camera Forward
Down Arrow: Move Camera Back
Left Arrow: Move Camera Left
Right Arrow: Move Camera Right
Space Bar: Zoom to Selected Object
" Z " Key: Zoom Tool. After pressing "Z", left-click and move the mouse to zoom in and out.
( + ) Key: Zoom In
( - ) Key: Zoom Out
Page Up: Raise Camera View
Page Down: Lower Camera View
" O " Key: Orbit Tool. After pressing "O", left click and move mouse. Also, hold down "Shift" during left click and mouse movement to Pan.
" 1 " Key: Top View
" 2 " Key: Previous View
" 3 " Key: Next View
Enter Key: Original View
Shortcuts for moving & customizing objects
" M " Key: Move Object. After pressing "M", left click and move mouse to where you want to place the object.
( < ) Key: Rotate Counter-Clockwise
( > ) Key: Rotate Clockwise
" R " Key: Raise Object
" L " Key: Lower
" C " Key: Customize Object
Saving Your Room & Saved Designsback to top
To save your room with the items it contains, click "Save Room," located near the top right hand corner of the screen. A small window will appear at the bottom of the screen and prompt you to make a name and description for your design. Once you've saved this information, the room will appear under the "Saved Designs" button in the left hand column, and will be there the next time you log in and use SmartDesigner®. The Saved Designs button can be open and closed just like Featured Products and Featured Designs.
Adding Items to the Shopping Cartback to top
You can add items in your room to your shopping cart at any time. Just click the "Add to Cart" button in the top left corner of the screen, and you'll be taken to your shopping cart to review the items you've chosen.
You can easily view your design from many different angles using the camera controls under the ADJUST YOUR VIEW tab. Same as the item controls, any view commands you choose will be highlighted so it's easier for you to know which command you are currently using, and you can also click or click+hold your mouse button on any of these commands. 
Choose the item you want to manipulate, and then choose one of the command buttons to move it around as you wish. Clicking on any of the commands manipulates the item slightly, while clicking and holding down the commands allows you to manipulate the item in a continuous manner. Each command button is highlighted when chosen, making it easier for you to know which command you are currently using.