8 Hidden xTool Studio Features That Save You Time

These are my top seven xTool Studio tips, plus a bonus one at the end. None of them are big headline features, and xTool doesn't really point them out, but every one of them has made my day to day work in Studio quicker and easier.

I filmed the video in February 2026 on my F2, F2 Ultra UV and F1 Ultra. Everything below is still in Studio today. If you're after the newest features, I've covered those in my latest xTool Studio update guide.

Jump to: Several machines at once · Rename your machine · Fill light brightness · Framing light power · Stop the scaling prompt · Smart engraving path · Export to other software · Hotkeys

1. Connect more than one machine at the same time

Did you know you can have more than one xTool machine connected to Studio at once? I run my F2, F2 Ultra UV and F1 Ultra side by side, each in its own tab.

1. Click the + at the top to open a new tab. It connects to the machine you're already using by default.
2. Click the switch button next to the machine name at the top right. It brings up your list of machines.
3. Click Switch next to the one you want. When it's connected you'll see the green status and its camera view.
4. Repeat for a third machine if you have one.

Each tab shows which machine it's talking to, so you can see at a glance which job is going where.

2. Give your machine a proper name

This goes hand in hand with tip one. By default my F2 was called something like XTO_F2v2, which is a bit long winded. If you've got several machines, or two of the same one, a clear name makes life much easier.

1. Click Device settings at the top right, next to your machine.
2. Under Basic info, type a new name into Device name.
3. Click away and close the window. The new name shows at the top right straight away.

3. Turn the fill light up or down

Most xTool machines have a light inside (the standard F1 doesn't). On some materials you'll want it dimmer so you can see the framing box, and on others you'll want it brighter so you can see the item properly.

1. Click Device settings at the top right.
2. Pick Device settings on the left and scroll down to Fill light brightness.
3. On the F2 you get Front light and Back light. Type in a percentage for each and press Enter.

Update the camera picture and it'll look brighter, and you'll see the machine itself light up. This screen is laid out differently on the F1 Ultra and F2 Ultra UV, so it may not look exactly like mine.

4. Make the framing light brighter

This one links straight to the last tip. On dark materials, like the black business card I used in the video, the framing light can be really hard to see.

1. At the bottom right, click the three dots next to Framing.
2. Move the Light power slider. It goes from 1 to 10%.

Turn the framing light up and the enclosure light down, and you get a good contrast that makes it easy to place your item. Studio warns you that the material can get burnt if the light power is too high, so keep an eye on anything delicate.

5. Choose what happens with big images

When you import an image that's bigger than the working area, Studio asks if you want to scale it to fit. You can keep the size (it comes in huge) or click Scale to fit. If you always want the same answer, you can stop the question coming up.

1. Click the xTool logo at the top left and choose Settings.
2. Go to Editor and find Imported image too large for the canvas.
3. Leave it asking you every time, or pick Auto-scale it to remove the prompt completely.

Keeping the full size is handy if you want to crop a photo down. Auto-scale saves you a click every time if you don't. It's just a bit of extra control.

6. The smart engraving path

I had some text to engrave on a cork coaster, and Studio estimated 1 minute 17 seconds. With this one setting it came down to 58 seconds.

1. At the bottom right, open the settings next to the Process button to get Processing settings.
2. Change Processing path from Auto planning to User defining.
3. In the list that appears, turn on Smart.

Normally an engrave goes side to side, all the way from top to bottom. With Smart turned on, it follows the shape and curve of the text instead, so the laser isn't travelling over empty space. That's where the time saving comes from. Check the estimate before and after on your own designs to see how much it saves.

7. Export your design to use in other software

You can take a design out of Studio and use it somewhere else. I took my coaster design into LightBurn as an SVG.

1. Click the xTool logo at the top left, go to File, then Export at the bottom.
2. Pick your format. XCS is xTool's own file, SVG is a vector file, and there's PNG and JPG too.
3. Choose which canvases to export (I went for all of them), click Confirm and save it.

When I imported it into LightBurn, everything came in selectable and editable, ready to use.

Bonus tip: learn the hotkeys

Most people click through the icons for everything. Hotkeys let you do the same jobs from the keyboard, much quicker. To see them all, click the xTool logo at the top left and pick Hotkeys near the bottom. It opens a web page with the full list for Windows and macOS.

My favorite is Align center: Ctrl+Alt+Shift+M on Windows. It centers your design without a single click. You can't change the shortcuts yourself at the moment, so it's worth learning the few you use most.

Which tip will you use?

Try them in your own workflow and see which ones stick. If you've got a hidden Studio feature of your own, share it in the comments on the video and I'll take a look. When you're ready to engrave, my free Laser Settings Library has tested settings for xTool machines.