Designations menu

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v50.14 · v0.47.05 This article is about the current version of DF. Note that some content may still need to be updated. More Info · V

The Designations menu can be accessed by d and provides the means to mark tiles with various designations including Mining, Wood Cutting, Plant Gathering, Stone Detailing as well as removing constructions, controlling traffic and other miscellaneous designations.

If d is pressed when the view is centered on an outside/above ground tile, the designation defaults to Chop down trees - t. If the view was centered inside/below ground, the designation defaults to Mine - d.

To designate an area select the desired designation from the menu, pick a tile and press Enter to select one corner of a rectangle, then pick a second tile and press Enter again to mark the other corner. This also works across Z-levels, allowing 3-dimensional designations in the shape of a cuboid.

To cancel a designation use Remove Designations (x). As of 0.40.20, all designations gained the ability to be prioritized. with 1 being highest and 7 lowest priority. They also can now be assigned as "Marker only", which is similar to the job being suspended. Such designations will appear cyan on your screen.

_{Mouse controls: Left Click: paint, Right Click: move marker, Right click on screen border: Move screen. The main designations menu is mouse-enabled, but sub-menus are not.}

Designations Menu

• Mine (d) - Mark tiles to be mined out. Removing stone/soil walls and leaving stone/soil floors. May leave stone/ore/gems. (req. Mining labor)
• Channel (h) - Mark tiles to be channeled out. Removing the stone/soil wall on that tile, the floor, and replacing the stone/soil floor below with a ramp. May leave stone/ore/gem. (req. Mining labor)
• Remove Up Stairs/Ramps (z) - Mark tiles to remove natural ramps and dug ramps/stairs. (req. Mining labor)
• Upward Stairway (u) - Mark walls to be dug out and replaced with upward stairs (req. Mining labor)
• Downward Stairway (j) - Mark walls to be dug out and replaced with downard stairs (req. Mining labor)
• Up/Down Stairway (i) - Mark walls to be dug out and replaced with upward/downward stairs (req. Mining labor)
• Upward Ramp (r) - Mark walls to be dug out and replaced with upward ramps (req. Mining labor)
• Chop Down Trees (t) - Mark Trees to be chopped down. (req. Wood cutting labor)
• Gather Plants (p) - Mark Shrubs to be gathered. (req. Plant gathering labor)
• Smooth Stone (s) - Mark stone walls to be smoothed. (req. Stone detailing labor)
• Engrave Stone (e) - Mark smoothed walls to be engraved. (req. Stone detailing labor)
• Carve Fortifications (F) - Mark smoothed walls to have fortifications carved. (req. Stone detailing labor)
• Carve Track (T) - Mark stone walls to be turned into track for minecarts. (req. Stone detailing labor)
• Toggle Engravings (v) - Mark tiles to display/hide engravings.
• Toggle Marker (M) Unsuspend/Suspend a designation.
• Remove Designation (x) - Remove all designation markings.
• Remove Construction (n) - Mark constructions to be removed
• Bulk designation of items: (b)
  • c: Reclaim Items/Buildings - Mark area of objects to be claimed.
  • f: Forbid Items/Buildings - Mark area of objects to be forbidden.
  • m: Melt Items - Mark area of objects to be melted.
  • M: Remove Melt - Remove melt marking from area.
  • d: Dump Items - Mark area of objects to be dumped.
  • D: Remove Dump - Remove dump marking from area.
  • h: Hide Items/Buildings - Mark area of objects to be hidden.
  • H: Unhide Items/Buildings - Remove hide marking from area.
• Set Traffic Areas (o) - Traffic area values determine where dwarves will travel. Large values for cost mean that dwarves will avoid that area if at all possible; smaller costs mean they will prefer that path even if it is longer than “normal”.
  • h: High Traffic Area - Mark areas with the “cost” listed in “High Traffic Cost”
  • n: Normal Traffic Area - Mark areas with the “cost” listed in “Normal Traffic Cost”
  • l: Low Traffic Area - Mark areas with the “cost” listed in “Low Traffic Cost”
  • r: Restricted Traffic Area - Mark areas with the “cost” listed in “Restricted Traffic Cost”
  • /-+ *: Move between type of areas to change with QqwW.
  • QqwW: Change cost by -5/-1/1/5.

Designations modification

Mining, stair carving, and ramp carving can also be modified to change their behavior. These modifiers can be switched with a.

• Designate all: Standard behavior.
• Automating Ore/Gems: Once this tile has been processed, all orthogonally neighboring tiles will be marked for mining, if they contain ore or gems. Can only be designated on revealed ores/gems. Will appear green.
• Designating Ores/Gems: What it says on the tin. Only works on revealed tiles.
• Designating Gems: See above.