Your first layout

Open the app and start a new project

Open SolarLayout. On the Home screen, click + New project in the top-right of the Recent projects table. A native file picker opens — pick your KMZ.

SolarLayout uses the KMZ's filename as the project name, so name your file something your team will recognise later (most people use the customer or site name).

Watch SolarLayout read your boundary

After you pick the file, a small modal appears showing three stages: Uploading boundary file → Creating your project → Reading boundaries. Each row ticks over to "done" as it completes. This usually takes 1–7 seconds the first time you open a project in a session (cold start); subsequent projects open faster.

If the boundary can't be parsed you'll see a clear error message — see common KMZ issues.

Open the Inspector and review parameters

Once the project loads, the right-side Inspector panel shows the plant parameters. For your first layout, the defaults work — you can refine later and re-generate.

Sensible starting points already in place:

• Module — a 580 W monofacial reference module (length 2.38 m, width 1.13 m). Replace it with a PAN file from your supplier when you have one — see PAN files.
• Design mode — string inverter.
• Tilt — auto (engine derives a sensible angle for your site latitude). Toggle Override tilt if you have a specific angle in mind.
• Row spacing / GCR — auto. Toggle the override if your design brief calls for a specific GCR.

Click Generate

The Generate layout button sits in the sticky band at the top of the Inspector — visible no matter which Inspector tab you have open. Click it.

The canvas switches to in-progress mode and shows per-plot progress — each plot moves through queued → running → done. Single-plot layouts under ~100 acres usually finish in well under a minute; very large or multi-plot projects can take several minutes.

Read your layout

When generation finishes:

• The canvas shows module tables (the long thin rectangles), ICRs (Inverter Control Rooms — the small numbered squares), and, if you turned on cable calculation, the AC cable trenches.
• The Inspector's Energy modeling tab shows annual energy, P50 / P75 / P90 probabilistic yields, monthly breakdown, and the 25-year degradation curve.
• The toolbar unlocks export actions — PDF, KMZ, DXF, and the 15-minute hourly CSV.

Export your bid pack

The export actions sit on the project toolbar. Click PDF for a report with the layout, capacity summary, energy yield, and a bill of materials. KMZ, DXF, and CSV are right next to it.

That's your first deliverable. See PDF report walkthrough for what's in each section.