---
title: "Boss’nX schema background: choose a color, pattern or image"
description: "Customize the background of a Boss’nX schema layer: color, pattern, an imported image such as a floor plan, its opacity, removal and saving."
canonical: https://wiki.can-nx.com/en/guides/boss-schema-background/
language: en
product: Boss’nX
audience:
  - administrateur
  - installateur
context: "Boss’nX schema editor on a computer: background picker of the active layer in the bottom bar"
---

# Boss’nX schema background: choose a color, pattern or image

Context: Boss’nX schema editor on a computer: background picker of the active layer in the bottom bar

In the schema editor of a Boss’nX supervision, the background picker in the bottom bar sets the backdrop of the **active layer**: a color, a decorative pattern or an imported image, for example a floor plan, with its opacity. You can give each layer a different background.

Intended for administrators and installers allowed to view and edit schemas, on a computer. To change the size of the drawing or display the placement grid, follow the [canvas dimensions and grid](https://wiki.can-nx.com/en/guides/boss-schema-canvas/) guide.

## Before you start

- Work on a computer with a screen wide enough to reach the whole bottom bar.
- For a background image, prepare an image file that you can open normally on your computer. The interface announces a limit of about **3 MB**; a lighter image may be necessary. Keep the original file so you can import it again.

## Open the schema on the right layer

1. From the Dashboard, open **Schemas** in the header bar, or **Menu → Schemas**.
2. Hover over the schema you want in the left panel, then choose **Actions → Edit schema**. Wait for its name and content to load.
3. Check the layer shown at the bottom right. To choose another one, open **Layers**, stacked-sheets icon, then click its name.
4. Find the bottom bar: after the dimension and grid commands come the background picker, the image import, its trash can when an image is present, then a slider with a percentage.

If a temporary message hides a command, wait for it to disappear.

## Choose a color and a pattern

1. Click the small color disc in the bottom bar, tooltip **Canvas background**. On a white background, it has a multicolored outline.
2. Under **Canvas color**, choose a swatch. For another shade, click the multicolored **Custom color** swatch, then use the picker that appears. The **Hex** field accepts a color code, for example the fictitious code **336699**.
3. Under **Pattern**, choose **None**, **Dots**, **Grid** or **Hatch**.
4. Watch the result on the layer. If a background image is present, it takes the place of the pattern; the pattern becomes visible again after the image is removed.
5. Close the picker with its **Close** cross or click outside it. To move this small window, drag its header, tooltip **Drag to move**.

The picker shows **Applies to this layer**: the color and pattern can differ from one layer to another. **Reset to white** sets the color back to white and removes the pattern; the background image, its opacity and the canvas dimensions are kept.

The **Grid** pattern is a decorative background. To display the placement grid and turn on snapping, use the grid button described in the [dimensions and grid](https://wiki.can-nx.com/en/guides/boss-schema-canvas/) guide.

## Import a background image

1. In the bottom bar, click the up-arrow icon, tooltip **Import a background image**.
2. Choose your file in the selection box.
3. Wait for **Image imported successfully.**, then check that the expected image is displayed. This message is about the import: the schema is not saved yet.
4. Check the dimensions and framing. On a new schema not yet saved, the import can adapt the canvas to the image dimensions. On a schema already saved, replacing the image does not resize the canvas: the **Custom** format can take the image dimensions when they are available; then read W and H again.
5. Save the schema as described below.

The image fills the whole canvas surface. If its proportions differ from those of the canvas, check the rendering and adjust the dimensions. This command is for the background only: it does not place an image as an element of the drawing.

## Set the image opacity

1. Find the slider with a percentage, next to the background image commands and before the zoom commands.
2. Move it between **0% and 100%** while watching the result. A low value fades the image toward the canvas color; at **100%**, the image is fully visible.
3. Save the schema to keep this setting.

At **0%**, the image becomes invisible but stays attached to the background, and the pattern stays hidden. To get a patterned background without an image, remove the image as described below. Without an image, this slider makes neither the color nor the pattern transparent.

This percentage is separate from the zoom percentage, located further right: opacity changes the appearance of the background, zoom changes the size of the view on screen.

## Remove a background image

1. Check the schema and the layer, then click the small **trash can next to the image import**, tooltip **Remove background image**. The trash can in the Layers list is used for a different operation.
2. The **Remove background image?** box states **This action cannot be undone.** Click **Cancel** to keep the image, or **Remove** to remove it from the background being edited.
3. Check the color and pattern that appear in its place. The canvas dimensions are kept.
4. Save to keep this result.

The removal only concerns the background image: the layer and the schema stay in place. To put an image back, import the file you want again with **Import a background image**.

## Save the schema

For a new schema, first fill in **Schema name** in the left panel. The name must stay non-empty to save.

1. Click **Save** in the left panel.
2. Review **Save schema?**, then confirm with **Save**. Handle any warnings or [conflicts between layers](https://wiki.can-nx.com/en/guides/boss-schema-conflicts/) before continuing.
3. Keep the page open during **Saving in progress**. Wait for **Configuration saved successfully.** and check the layer summary.

To leave the editor, open **Schemas** in the header bar or in the **Menu**. If the **Unsaved changes** box appears, **Stay** takes you back to the editor to review the name and run Save again. **Save & leave** is a choice in this exit box, not a button of the bottom bar: it starts the save directly. Choose it only if you want to apply the changes and the name is filled in. The other exit choices are described in the [schema saving guide](https://wiki.can-nx.com/en/guides/boss-schema-editor-save/).

## Check the result

1. Return to **Schemas**, from the header bar or the **Menu**, and explicitly select the right schema.
2. Open **Actions → Edit schema**, then choose the right layer in Layers.
3. Check the color, the pattern or the image, the opacity and the dimensions after this reload.

## Troubleshooting

- **Please select a valid image file.**: the chosen file is not an image. Choose an image file that you can open on your computer.
- **The image is too large (max. ~3 MB).**: import a lighter version of the image.
- **Failed to read file.**: check that the file opens on your computer, then run the import again.
- An expected background can no longer be found after reopening: follow the [canvas troubleshooting](https://wiki.can-nx.com/en/guides/boss-schema-canvas-help/).

If the import still fails, if the result does not match after these checks or if the save remains uncertain, contact support@can-nx.com with the product, the schema, the layer, the exact message and the steps tried. A screenshot without sensitive data can help; do not send any secret.

French labels: **Menu → Schémas**, **Actions → Modifier le schéma**, **Calques**, **Fond du canevas**, **Couleur du canevas**, **Couleur personnalisée**, **Motif**, **Aucun**, **Points**, **Grille**, **Hachures**, **Réinitialiser en blanc**, **S'applique à ce calque**, **Déplacer**, **Fermer**, **Importer une image de fond**, **Supprimer l'image de fond**, **Supprimer l'image de fond ?**, **Annuler**, **Supprimer**, **Sauvegarder**, **Sauvegarder le schéma ?**.