--- title: Layouts and Pads description: "## Layouts The built-in layouts in the **Layout** dropdown are **Classic** (the default), **Ergonomic**, **Ableton**, **SP404**, **OP-1 / OP-XY** and **FL Studio**. A layout you save yourself appears as **Custom**. ![The Layout panel: dropdown, Save button and the 4x4 pad…" url: "https://www.kit-maker.com/docs/km3-layouts-and-pads/" updated: "2026-10-12" category: Customizing Kits --- # Layouts and Pads ## Layouts The built-in layouts in the **Layout** dropdown are **Classic** (the default), **Ergonomic**, **Ableton**, **SP404**, **OP-1 / OP-XY** and **FL Studio**. A layout you save yourself appears as **Custom**. ![The Layout panel: dropdown, Save button and the 4x4 pad grid](/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/km3-manual-layout-panel.png) To make your own, drag and swap pad positions. Then click the Save button and Kit Maker keeps your Custom pad layout for future use. Pads are numbered the way the app shows them: pad 1 is bottom-left, pad 16 is top-right. ## Group Toms The full name of this option is **Group Toms onto Tom 1/2/3 pads (kit-based imports)**. It's in Preferences under General, off by default, and it gathers a kit's tom samples onto three pads instead of leaving them wherever the standard sort places them. It only applies to kits that arrive as complete kits: Kit Folders, Maschine kits, and MPC/Akai expansions. Typical sample pack imports, which have no pre-established kits, are not affected. **On.** A kit's toms are grouped onto three adjacent pads, ordered low, mid, and high, with small "Tom 1/2/3" labels. By default they go on the top-left three pads and move with the layout while **Toms Follow Pad Layout** (on by default) is enabled. Turn that off to keep the tom pads where you put them. Right-click a pad to place Tom 1, 2, or 3 (these items only appear while Group Toms is on). Kits with fewer than two toms are unaffected. **Layouts that copy their source's exact pad order are left alone.** On the Classic layout, Maschine kits with "Use Original Layouts" on, and MPC/Akai expansions with "Use Original MPC Layouts" on, keep their own tom placement. Pick a different layout if you want toms grouped. ## Priority Pads A priority pad gets its sample first. If a kit has only one kick available, it goes to the priority Kick pad, so the pads you play most are always the ones that get filled. Priority pads have a bright white label; ordinary pads have a grey one. The difference is subtle, but you can spot it once you know to look. ![Pad 1 is a priority pad (bright label); pad 5 is not (grey label)](/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/km3-manual-priority-pads.png) Some pads are priority pads by default. To change one, right-click it and turn **Priority Pad** on or off. This matters most with Balance Categories on, which can leave a thin category with only one pad per kit. Use priority pads sparingly, so you always know which pads get filled when samples run short. ## Fill All Pads ![The Fill All Pads button](/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/km3-manual-fill-all-pads.png) **Fill All Pads** lives on the main screen and is recommended (on by default). **On.** Every kit comes out full. If a category runs short (say, no Perc samples left), those pads get other samples instead. See [How kits are filled](/docs/km3-how-kits-are-filled/). **Off.** A pad only gets a sample from its own category, so pads stay empty when that category runs out. You get more kits, but many will be sparse. That's useful if you only play a few pads: a pack of kicks, snares and hats makes a lot more kits this way. ### Balance Categories ![The Balance Categories button](/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/km3-manual-balance-categories.png) **Balance Categories** works with Fill All Pads on. It's off by default, and the app recommends it. It changes some pads in your layout so the kits match what's in each pack. For example, if a pack is 25% kicks, the layout goes from 2 kick pads to 4. **Pros.** Each kit matches the feel of the pack. **Cons.** Kit Maker decides which pads to swap, so you have less control over the layout. ## Edit the Category of a Pad In addition to moving pads around, individual pads can have their categories edited. If you want more pads of one category and less of another category, this is where editing pads is useful. Right-click a pad to open its menu. Under the **Set Category** header you'll see the 7 categories, with a check mark on the pad's current one. Choose a category to change which one the pad belongs to. The menu also has **Priority Pad**, the Tom 1/2/3 items (when Group Toms is on), and **Reset All Pads to Default**, which puts every pad back to its default category. ![The pad right-click menu](/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/km3-manual-pad-menu.png) **Removing a category entirely.** If you completely remove a category (e.g. Percussion) from your pad layout by changing every Percussion pad to other categories, any samples collected into that category will be left out. They won't be placed on a pad or included in any kit. Important: it's best to get as close as you can to your desired layout by swapping the pad positions in the layout first. Then edit pad categories. Remember: pads are linked between Sample Pack Mode and Maschine Mode. If you swap a kick and a snare in one mode, they will be swapped in the other mode as well. Keep in mind, Maschine Mode pad categories cannot be edited. If you edit the category of a pad in Sample Pack Mode, the equivalent pad in Maschine mode will still keep its same category. ### Second-pick categories Advanced tip: if a pad has no sample for its category, it falls back to a second pick. To set one, right-click the pad and choose the fallback category first (for example Percussion), then right-click again and choose the main category (for example Closed HH). The order you choose them in is the order the pad uses. ## Pad Colors A pad's color is determined by its category. Category colors can be edited and are discussed in [Category Colors](/docs/km3-categories-keywords-colors/#category-colors).