# Grids

> A grid is a card divided into cells, and every cell holds any kind of content — an image, text, a link, a video, a file, even another cluster. Split and merge cells by dragging the dividers, start from a preset like storyboard or 2x2, or generate an empty matrix of any size. Grids have a defined reading order, so a storyboard reads in sequence.

_Source: https://clusters.soleilpictures.com/docs/canvas/grids · Updated 2026-08-08_

A grid is a card that is divided up. Every cell holds real content, and the
divisions are yours to move.

Press `G`, or use the tool rail.

## What a cell holds

Not just images. A cell takes an image, a piece of text, a link, a video, a
file, or a nested cluster. A storyboard panel can be the frame in one cell and
the action line in the cell beneath it.

Drop a file directly into a cell to fill it. Each cell has its own menu for
replacing, clearing, or — for images — the full set of
[photo controls](/docs/canvas/images).

## Building a layout

Grids are not fixed rows and columns. The structure is a tree of splits, which
is why an asymmetric storyboard layout is as easy as a regular one.

- **Drag a divider** to resize the cells either side of it.
- **Split a cell** to divide it further, horizontally or vertically.
- **Merge** adjacent cells back together.

Everything reflows around what you changed.

## Presets

Rather than starting from nothing:

| Preset | Layout |
|---|---|
| `single` | One cell |
| `2x2` | Four equal cells |
| `3up` | Three across |
| `storyboard-1-2` | One wide panel on top, two beneath |
| `db-row-1-3` | One, then a row of three |

**Generate matrix** builds an empty N×M grid at whatever size you name — the
fast path to a contact sheet.

## Reading order

Cells have a defined order, which is what makes a grid different from a set of
images that happen to be arranged in rows. A storyboard reads in sequence, and
that sequence is what exports and what a reader follows.

## Grid families

Grids created from the same template stay linked as a family. Change the layout
in one and the change can carry to the others — the mechanism that keeps a
twelve-page storyboard from drifting into twelve slightly different layouts.

## Discovering grids

Put four or more images on a board and the app suggests a grid, once. That
suggestion is a [power reveal](/docs/canvas): it fires a single time, ever, and
never again.

## Grids versus schedules

They look similar and are not the same thing:

- A **grid** is a spatial layout. Cells mean position.
- A **[schedule](/docs/canvas/schedule)** is a calendar. Cells mean *dates* — real ones, with month, week, day and hour views.

If the cells represent time, you want a schedule.

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Building a storyboard specifically? The
[storyboard maker](/tools/storyboard-maker) guide covers the whole workflow.