WORKING WITH LIFT STUDIO
A clear plan starts
with clear assumptions.
Lift Studio is a concept planning and communication tool. It does not issue an approved lift plan or certify equipment, clearance or ground support.
Invitation beta access
The website is public. The planner and project workspace require a beta key from the site owner. Create your account with a beta key once, then use the same Lift Studio username on each device. A key can activate one account. Unused keys expire; activated access continues until the owner revokes it. Revocation preserves saved cloud projects. The owner manages invitations and testers at Beta access.
Choose a password of at least 15 characters and save the recovery code shown when you register. Use Account settings to change your password or sign out other devices. Recover access with your saved code, or ask the owner for a reset code valid for 24 hours. No recovery email is sent. Existing users can transfer their previous account once from the sign-in page to keep their projects.
01Start and save
Open Projects and sign in to Lift Studio to use cloud storage across devices. Choose Cloud account or This browser before creating a project. Save revision captures a checkpoint; up to eight are retained. Export JSON for backups. Archived projects can be restored.
Choose Copy browser plans on the device where your old plans are saved. Select projects or scratch drafts and copy them into your account. Originals stay in this browser; repeating the copy does not overwrite the cloud version. Cloud snapshots are limited to 1 MiB each. Clearing browser data removes local copies and unsynced recovery drafts.
02Configure the equipment
Use Crane fleet to select a model. Configure crane contains boom, hoist, hook and source records. Spider supports have individual splay and extension controls; these are geometry studies, not approved asymmetric load-chart settings.
Shared rigging tools support lifting points, bridles, spreaders and hardware records. Exact dimensions and ratings require verification.
03Review the route
Indoor screening includes estimated boom, head, block, rigging, carrier and support envelopes. Review sampled path checks discrete poses. It can miss contact between samples and omits deflection and dynamics.
An unobstructed depiction is not a clearance approval. Ground capacity, structural suitability, electrical procedures and ventilation require separate review.
04Use the right view
Planning keeps setup tools nearby. Focus gives the scene more room. Review emphasizes checks and data. Layouts change the workspace arrangement without changing the plan.
Site dimensions normally display one decimal. Calculation and saved-plan values retain their full precision until you explicitly edit a value.
Build a site before a lift
Choose Build in the main 2D or 3D viewport, then Wall, Pipe, Platform or another drawing tool. Drag to draw a length or footprint; on a phone, tap the start and end. Select an object to drag it or use its end/corner handles. In 3D, the vertical handle changes height; planar handles stay at the top elevation of the object. The camera stays still during the edit.
Snap aligns corners, endpoints, edges and X/Y coordinates with nearby objects. Choose a grid spacing separately. Hold Alt to bypass both, or Shift to constrain a drawn wall to 45-degree increments or draw a square. Snaps align plan coordinates only; they do not connect objects structurally or match their elevations.
Expand Dimensions for exact sizes, heading, base elevation and locks. Arrow keys nudge a focused handle; Shift increases the increment. Undo restores a complete drag in one step. Escape cancels an unfinished gesture; Done closes the inline controls. Environment builder remains available for provenance and source records. Committed edits refresh the working scene and its checks; update saved sequence phases explicitly before playback.
Blank sites show only objects you add. The Route assistant shows pick, set and waypoint geometry only when a single or tandem lift is active.
Choose Open site for an empty scene. Use Site & lifts to place independent cranes and Build site objects for buildings, doors, pipes and platforms. Each crane has a name, position, heading, boom length, unloaded angle, slew and support depiction.
Create separate lift records for picks around a plant. Choose the lead crane and assist cranes in the editor. Single and tandem assignments use the existing lift and rigging tools. Three or more assigned cranes remain coordination records: no connected animation, load sharing or capacity result. Shared crane edits affect every lift using that equipment; recheck those lifts. The current workspace supports up to 200 equipment records and 100 lift records, subject to device performance and cloud snapshot size.
Handle offline edits and conflicts
Wait for Saved to account before moving to another device. If the connection fails, unsynced changes are retained on this device when browser storage is available. Use Unsynced edits on this device in Projects to reopen a recovery draft, then choose Retry cloud save, Save my copy, or Export my edits. A newer cloud version stops autosave instead of overwriting it.
Use cloud version keeps unsynced edits as a recovery project in This browser before loading the server copy. Sign in on the other device with the same Lift Studio username. Planner access requires active beta membership; cloud projects are private to each account. There are no shared team projects yet.
What the labels mean
- Manufacturer reference
- Published model or equipment data, linked to its source.
- Estimated geometry
- Drawing proportions, hinge locations, envelopes and detail meshes.
- Entered record
- A value supplied by the planner, not independently verified.
- Not evaluated
- No supported result; never interpret this as zero or approval.
Crane capacity, utilization, full rigging WLL assessment, support reactions, dynamics and tandem authorization remain unavailable. The equipment roadmap lists missing evidence for upcoming families.