Fill Tool
The Fill tool (also known as the paint bucket) lets you quickly fill enclosed areas with a character or color. It's essential for coloring large regions, replacing characters, and creating solid backgrounds.
Quick access: Press F to activate the Fill tool from anywhere in the application.
Basic Usage
Select the Fill Tool
Click the paint bucket icon in the toolbar or press F.
Choose Your Fill
Select the character and/or color you want to fill with.
Click to Fill
Click inside any enclosed area to fill it. The fill will spread to all connected cells that match the original content.
Fill Modes
Character Fill replaces all matching characters with your selected character.
- Original spaces become your fill character
- Preserves existing colors
- Great for adding texture to empty areas
Before: After (fill with ░):
┌────────┐ ┌────────┐
│ │ → │░░░░░░░░│
│ │ │░░░░░░░░│
└────────┘ └────────┘
Fill Options
Tolerance
Tolerance controls how similar cells must be to be included in the fill:
| Tolerance | Behavior |
|---|---|
| 0 | Exact match only |
| 1-25 | Slight variations included |
| 26-50 | Moderate variations |
| 51-100 | Wide range of similar content |
Higher tolerance is useful when filling areas with slight color variations or anti-aliased edges.
Contiguous vs Global
Contiguous (default) fills only connected cells that touch each other.
┌───┐ ┌───┐
│ A │ │ A │ Click here fills
└───┘ └───┘ only this region
↑
Click
Anti-leak Protection
Prevent fills from leaking through diagonal gaps:
Without anti-leak: With anti-leak:
╲ ╲ ╲ ╲
████╲ Fills ╲ ╲ Stays
████╲ through ╲ ╲ contained
Enable Anti-leak in the tool options when working with diagonal boundaries.
Advanced Fill Techniques
Pattern Fill
Instead of a single character, fill with a repeating pattern:
Enable Pattern Mode
Toggle "Pattern Fill" in the tool options.
Define Your Pattern
Enter a pattern string or select from presets.
Apply the Fill
Click to fill the area with the repeating pattern.
Example patterns:
Checkerboard: ░▓░▓
Dots: . . . .
Bricks: ▀▄▀▄▀▄
Waves: ∿∿∿∿
Gradient Fill
Combine the Fill tool with gradients for smooth transitions:
- Select an area with the Selection tool
- Choose Fill tool with gradient mode
- Click and drag to define gradient direction
See Gradients for detailed gradient options.
Replace All
Quickly replace one character with another across the entire canvas:
Set Fill Mode to Global
Disable "Contiguous" in tool options.
Select Target Character
Hold Alt and click on the character you want to replace.
Choose Replacement
Select your new character in the character picker.
Click Any Instance
Click on any instance of the target character to replace all.
Fill Boundaries
Understanding what stops a fill is crucial:
Hard Boundaries
These always stop fill operations:
- Any non-matching character
- Canvas edges
- Selection boundaries (if active)
Soft Boundaries
These may or may not stop fills depending on settings:
- Color differences (affected by tolerance)
- Diagonal gaps (affected by anti-leak setting)
- Transparent cells
Common Use Cases
Creating Backgrounds
Before: After:
★ ★ ★ ░░░★░░░░★░░░░★░░░
★ ★ ░░░░★░░░░░░░★░░░░
★ ★ ★ → ░★░░░░░★░░░░░░░★░
★ ★ ░░░░★░░░░░★░░░░░░
Filling Shapes
After creating an outline with the Shapes tool:
┌────────────┐ ┌────────────┐
│ │ → │████████████│
│ │ │████████████│
└────────────┘ └────────────┘
Recoloring Artwork
Change colors while preserving character structure:
- Set Fill to "Color Only" mode
- Select your new color
- Click on the area to recolor
Keyboard Shortcuts
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
F | Select Fill tool |
Alt + Click | Sample color/character from canvas |
Cmd/Ctrl + Z | Undo last fill |