Preview
The structure drawn in the player's client before anything is placed.
Right-clicking with a blueprint opens a preview. The player sees where the structure will stand, in which direction it faces, and whether it is allowed there, before any money or blocks change hands.
Two layers
| Layer | What it is |
|---|---|
| Silhouette | The structure's outer blocks sent to that player's client as fake block changes. No block is placed and no entity spawns; other players see nothing |
| Outline | A particle box around the footprint and an arrow on the front face. Green where allowed, red where not |
preview.mode: BOX keeps only the outline. A schematic with more surface blocks than
preview.silhouetteMaxBlocks falls back to the outline on its own, which guards the player's bandwidth.
Controls
| Input | Does |
|---|---|
| Right-click (first time) | Open the preview |
| Left-click | Rotate by 90 degrees |
| Shift + left-click | Mirror |
| Shift + scroll one step | Shift the height by one block, up to 5 |
/builders rotate, mirror, offset <x> <y> <z> | The same from chat |
| Right-click | Confirm and start the build |
The preview follows the block the player looks at, up to preview.maxDistance blocks away, and sits on
top of it, at it, or below it according to start.origin.yMode.
Why it turns red
The colour is the same check the build runs when it starts, so a green preview is never refused.
| Reason | Message |
|---|---|
| Land protection denies building | errorRegionDenied, naming the plugin and the area |
| The world is not allowed | errorWorldNotAllowed |
| The build leaves the height limits | errorHeightLimit |
| Too close to spawn | errorTooCloseToSpawn |
The reason is said once when the preview turns red, not on every refresh. The check runs again at the moment of confirming, so a spot that just turned red cannot slip through.
When it closes
The preview closes when the blueprint leaves the main hand: switching slots, dropping it, moving it in the inventory, swapping hands, or dying. Holding another blueprint switches the preview to that package.
/builders preview <package> opens a preview without a blueprint, so a player can see a package on the
ground before buying it. /builders preview with no argument closes it.
Settings
| Key | Default | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
preview.enabled | true | Off means a blueprint right-click builds where the player looks, facing away from them |
preview.mode | SILHOUETTE | SILHOUETTE or BOX |
preview.refreshTicks | 10 | How often the colour and outline refresh |
preview.maxDistance | 64 | How far away the player may aim |
preview.silhouetteMaxBlocks | 20000 | Above this, the outline only |
preview.colors.* | green, red, yellow | valid, invalid and direction as hex |
Related: Placement rules, Land protection
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