Two image types can be displayed on the Virtual Tabletop: Background Images and Tokens.
Background images are non-interactive graphics in your game that remain static and are not moved or interacted with . Examples for background images are a game board or the terrain of a battle map. We recommend placing the images on the Map & Background Layer.
Tokens are any image that you can manipulate on the Tabletop. Tokens include images of RPG minis, board game components, currency chips, etc. If you would like an image to be treated as a token, it must be placed on either the Objects & Tokens Layer or the GM Info Overlay Layer.
Tips and Tricks for Setting Up Your Game
We have some tips and tricks for Roll20's Select/Move tool, from how to select specific groups of tokens to resizing or rotating tokens without snapping to the grid.
Placing Images Onto the Tabletop
Roll20 currently accepts the following image file types: JPG, PNG, and GIF. Files with transparent elements will maintain their transparency on the Roll20 Tabletop.
Image Insertion Methods
There are two ways to place images onto the Tabletop: Direct Upload or an Image Search.
Direct Upload
To use images from your own personal files, click on an image from your computer files and drag it directly onto The Tabletop. This will initiate an upload of that image to Your Art Library. When the upload is complete, the image is displayed on the Tabletop.
If you would prefer to batch upload a series of images at once, you can do this from the Your Art Library window that you can access from the Art Library tab of the Sidebar. There is a 10 files/5 MB file size per batch limitation to batch uploads.
Art Search
This method is accomplished by going to the Art Library tab in the Sidebar and running a search for a desired art element. When you find an image that you wish to use, click the thumbnail from the search and drag it onto The Tabletop.
Manipulating Images
Snap to Grid
Anytime the grid is enabled in Page Settings, Snap To Grid is enforced on the Tabletop. Snapping affects all transformations that can be made on your Background Images as well as Tokens. Hold down the ALT Key while moving, rotating, or scaling to ignore snapping.
Rotate
When this option is selected, a handle will stick out from the top of the image. This is the rotation gizmo. Click the end of the handle for rotation. While Snap To Grid is enabled, an image rotates in increments of 45° for square grids and 30° for hex grids.
You can rotate a selected token by holding down the E key while scrolling your mouse wheel. This will rotate snap it to 45° or 30° increments. If you hold down the Alt key, the token will rotate in much finer increments.
Scale
The Scale transformation tool is available only to GMs within a game. Players cannot access this functionality regardless of their control of a token.
The Scale gizmo is the bounding box that surrounds a selected image. If you click and drag the nodes on either the top or bottom of the bounding box, you will vertically scale the image. The nodes on either side of the image will horizontally scale it. Clicking and dragging any of the corner nodes will universally scale both horizontally and vertically simultaneously. Images scale from the center of the image. While Snap To Grid is enabled, an image will scale to the nearest grid line in either direction.
Movement
Movement is achieved by clicking and dragging anywhere inside the selected image. When Snap to Grid is enabled, an image snaps to the bottom right corner of a grid square and snaps to the center of a grid hex.
Tapping ←, →, ↑, or ↓ arrow keys will move a selected token one grid unit in the specified direction. Holding down the Alt key while using the arrow keys will move a selected token in one pixel increments.
Waypoints
When moving a token, you may indicate its movement around corners or track its steps to avoid traps.. The Waypoints system allows you to indicate where you're moving to everyone in the game. To use Waypoints, just press the "Q" key while you are moving a token. A ruler will appear showing you how far your Token has moved from your current location. If you want to place a waypoint, press the "Q" again while you are on top of the space you want to move through. A waypoint will appear. You can add as many waypoints as you want showing the path of your token. When you're finished, just release the token like normal at its final destination.
Reviewing Token Movements
You can select any token and press the "X" key to view the last movement of that token, including waypoints if applicable. Tokens save their last movement indefinitely, allowing you to view the previous positions of any piece on the tabletop, regardless of the time elapsed or if it's a play-by-post game.
Undo
If you don't like how you transformed your images, using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl/Cmd Key + Z will undo the last action.
Advanced Features
You can access more advanced features by right-clicking on a graphic to bring up a graphics menu and selecting Advanced.
Grouping and Ungrouping
While a group of graphics is selected, clicking on the Group option from the Advanced menu will bind the graphics together into a singular movable block. You can remove grouping by selecting Ungroup.
Click on the entire token group once and move it by click and drag. To move a single token independently, click and drag it normally. The token group will stay highlighted, but the selected token will move without affecting other group items.
Flip Horizontal/Vertical
These two menu options will flip the graphic horizontally or vertically.
As Drawing
The "As Drawing" menu option removes token features from the graphic on Token & Objects and GM layers. . in this mode, the graphic will ignore grid snapping and can be selected with other hand drawings by holding down the Alt key while selecting items on the Tabletop.
Set Dimensions
If there is a specific pixel/unit height and width you want to force a particular graphic to conform, selecting Set Dimensions brings up a new window where you can input the desired dimensions.