A slide gate moves laterally along a track instead of swinging open. Slide gates are commonly used for wide openings such as commercial driveways, parking lots, and industrial entries where a swinging gate would be impractical.
Slide gates share many settings with swing gates (frame, pickets, rails, top profile, etc.), but several areas are unique to sliding operation:
These are the foundational settings for your gate.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Width | The horizontal span of the gate panel. This is the frame-to-frame width of the main gate body (not including the cantilever tail, if applicable). |
| Height | The vertical height of the gate frame. The top profile (arch, peak) adds height above this value. |
| Fill Color | The color applied to all gate elements in the drawing. Click the color swatch to open the color picker. |
These settings are unique to slide gates and control the sliding mechanism, direction, and cantilever tail configuration.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Slide Style | V-track — the gate rolls on wheels along a ground-mounted V-shaped rail. Bottom-track cantilever — the gate is suspended from rollers and does not touch the ground, with a counterbalance tail section. |
| Slide Direction | Which direction the gate slides to open: left or right. This determines where the tail section appears on cantilever gates. |
| Tail Length | How far the gate extends beyond the opening on V-track gates. This extra length provides overlap when the gate is closed. |
| Show Track | Toggle visibility of the bottom track rail in the drawing. |
| Track Size | The size of the bottom track rail. |
These settings appear only when the slide style is set to bottom-track cantilever.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Tail Percentage | The length of the tail (counterbalance) section as a percentage of the opening width (25% to 50%). A longer tail provides more counterbalance but requires more stacking space. |
| Tail Uprights | Add vertical structural members inside the tail section. |
| Tail Diagonal Braces | Add diagonal bracing inside the tail section for structural rigidity. |
| Tail Section Panels | Configure independent infill for the tail section (pickets, solid panels, chainlink, or none). |
| Tail Upright Caps | Add decorative caps to the uprights within the tail section. |
| Tail Barb Wire | Extend barb wire across the tail section independently from the main gate body. |
Wheel boxes are the rolling assemblies that support a V-track slide gate on the ground rail. This section only appears when the slide style is set to V-track.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Enable / Disable | Toggle wheel boxes on or off in the drawing. |
| Wheel Size | Diameter of the wheels. |
| Show Wheels | Toggle visibility of the wheel circles inside the wheel box. |
| Position 1 | Distance from the left edge of the gate to the first wheel box. |
| Position 2 | Distance from the left edge of the gate to the second wheel box. |
| Vertical Offset | Adjusts the vertical placement of the wheel boxes relative to the bottom of the gate frame. |
The frame defines the tube sizes for each side of the gate. All values represent the outer dimension of the tubing.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Left Frame | Width of the left vertical frame member. |
| Right Frame | Width of the right vertical frame member. |
| Top Frame | Height of the top horizontal frame member. For arched gates, this is the tube that follows the arch profile. |
| Bottom Frame | Height of the bottom horizontal frame member. |
The top profile determines the shape of the top edge of your gate. This affects both the frame shape and how pickets/spears extend above it.
A straight horizontal top. The simplest and most common profile. No additional settings.
A curved arc rising above the frame height. Configure the arch height. The designer automatically calculates and displays the outside radius — useful for ordering bent tube from your supplier.
A downward curve (dip) below the frame top. Configure the dip depth. Also shows the calculated radius.
A triangular peak. Configure the peak height and peak position (0% = left edge, 50% = center, 100% = right edge).
A complex profile with a center arch flanked by lower side arches. Configure: center arch height, side arch height, side arch radius, center width, and straight section length on each side.
Pickets are the vertical bars that fill the gate. These settings control their size, spacing, and decorative treatment.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Show Pickets | Toggle pickets on or off. Turn off for gates that use only solid panels or other infill. |
| Picket Size | The width of each picket. |
| Picket Spacing | The center-to-center distance between pickets. |
| Picket Style | Standard — straight bars. All Twisted — every picket has a decorative twist. Alternating Twisted — every other picket is twisted. |
| Surface | Standard — smooth surface. Hammered — textured hammered finish. |
Rails are horizontal members that run across the gate between the frame. You can add multiple rails at any position.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Enable Rails | Master toggle for all rails. |
| Position | Distance from the top (or bottom, via the reference selector) of the gate. |
| Size | Tube size of the rail. |
| Shape | Flat — straight horizontal. Follow Top — curves to match the top profile. Follow Bottom — mirrors the bottom edge. |
| Bulk Add | Add multiple rails at once with equal or custom spacing. Specify count and spacing mode. |
| Pickets Extend Through | When enabled, pickets pass through the rail continuously. When disabled, pickets stop at the rail. |
Posts are the vertical columns at each end of the slide gate opening. Unlike swing gates, slide gate posts do not carry hinges — the gate passes behind or in front of them as it opens and closes.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Transparency | Opacity of the posts in the drawing (0 = fully transparent, 1 = fully opaque). Defaults to 0.35 for slide gates, since the gate panel passes behind the posts when closed. Adjust to make posts more or less visible. |
| Post Count | 0 (no posts), 1 (one side), or 2 (both sides). |
| Post Side | When using 1 post: left, right, or both sides. |
| Post Size | Width of the post. |
| Post Height | Total height of the post. |
| Post Extension | How far the post extends above the gate frame. |
| Below Gate | Post clearance below the bottom of the gate (ground clearance). |
| Left / Right Placement | The distance each post is positioned inward from the gate ends. This controls the gap between the gate edge and the post face. |
| Cap Style | Decorative cap on top: none, flat, pressed, pyramid, ball, pointed, urn, acorn, dome, or fluted. |
| Library Cap | Select a custom SVG cap from the component library. Adjust scale and X/Y offset. |
| Baseplate | Toggle a flat baseplate at the bottom of the post. Configure width. |
Spear points sit on top of pickets, extending above the top frame profile.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Enable / Disable | Toggle spear points on or off. |
| Extension Height | How far the spear extends above the frame top. |
| Finial Height | The height of the decorative spear tip itself. |
| Spear Style | Choose from: none, pressed, classic, quad, ball, fleur-de-lis, trident, acorn, pineapple, spade, diamond, arrow, scroll-top. |
| Pattern | Apply spears to: all pickets, alternating, every 2nd, or every 3rd picket. |
| Alternate Spear | When pattern is not "all", configure a different spear style, extension height, and finial height for the non-primary pickets. |
Dog pickets are shorter pickets at the bottom of the gate, typically used to fill the gap between the bottom rail and the ground.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Enable | Toggle dog pickets on or off. |
| Extend Above Rail | Allow dog pickets to extend above the bottom rail, with a configurable extension distance. |
| Spear Points | Add downward-facing spear points on dog pickets with configurable style and height. |
| Twist Pattern | None, all twisted, or alternating twisted. |
Uprights are additional vertical structural members (larger than pickets) that divide the gate into sections.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Count | Number of additional uprights to place. |
| Width | Tube size of the uprights. |
| Spacing Mode | Equal — evenly spaced across the gate. Custom — manually position each upright. |
| Extend Through Rails | Choose whether uprights extend through the top and/or bottom rail. |
| Upright Caps | Add decorative caps to upright tops. Styles: flat, pressed, pyramid, ball, pointed, urn, acorn, dome, fluted. Configure extension height and cap height. |
Braces add structural rigidity and a decorative element. They run diagonally across sections of the gate.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Direction | Top-left to bottom-right (\), bottom-left to top-right (/), or both (X pattern). |
| Width | Tube size of the brace. |
| Per Section | When enabled, braces appear in each section created by uprights. When disabled, braces span the entire gate. |
| Rails Create Sections | When enabled, horizontal rails also create section boundaries for bracing. |
| Per-Section Overrides | Enable or disable braces and set direction independently for each section. |
Fill sections of the gate with solid panels, chainlink, or hybrid infill.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Fill Mode | Inset — panel sits inside the frame with an air gap. Overlay — panel lays on top of the frame. |
| Per-Section Type | Choose a fill type for each section independently: none, pickets, solid, chainlink, or pickets-solid combo. |
| Mounting Tabs | For solid panels — add welding tabs along edges. Configure tab width, height, spacing, and which edges. |
| Chain Link Settings | When chainlink is selected: mesh size, tension bar (width, visibility), tension band (width, spacing, edge placement). |
Add barb wire strands above the gate for security applications.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Strand Count | 2 or 3 strands of barb wire. |
| Spacing | Distance between strands. |
Place ornamental components from your component library onto the gate — finials, scrollwork, rosettes, and more.
| Setting | Description |
|---|---|
| Library Finials | Select a finial component from the library to place on picket tops. Choose placement pattern: every picket, alternating, every 2nd, or every 3rd. |
| Library Post Caps | Select a custom post cap component. Adjust scale and offset. |
| Custom Overlays | Add any library component anywhere on the gate. Position with X/Y coordinates, rotate, scale, duplicate with spacing, flip, and assign to panels (for double gates). |