How to Set Up Applied Doors in Mozaik – Phill Anton Consulting

To set up an applied door in Mozaik, open the cabinet, go to its Shape tab, select the side you want to dress up, and change that side's property type to Applied Door. Mozaik attaches a door panel to that face and pulls the panel's specs from your end and back-panel settings, so the new door matches the rest of the cabinet automatically.

Applied doors let you finish the exposed sides and backs of cabinets and islands so they read as built furniture instead of bare cabinet ends. Below is the full workflow, step by step.

This guide follows Mozaik's official walkthrough. Watch the original on Mozaik's channel:

What is an applied door?

An applied door is a door panel attached to the side (end) or exposed face of a cabinet rather than to the front opening. It dresses an exposed end of a wall or base cabinet, or the run-out end of an island, so the finished side matches the look of the real doors elsewhere on the cabinet. It's a small upgrade that noticeably improves the look of a job — and it's the kind of detail you can charge a bit more for.

Step 1 — Open the cabinet and go to the Shape tab

Select the cabinet you want to work on and double-click it to open it. Then switch to the Shape tab.

For end placement, work in your top view so you can clearly see and pick the correct side. The selectable side highlights (in the video it shows in a dark orange-ish color) so you know which face you're about to change.

Breadcrumb: Double-click cabinet > Shape tab > top view > select the side (e.g., right)

Step 2 — Change the side's type to Applied Door

With the side selected, change that side's property type to Applied Door. Mozaik adds the applied door to that face of the cabinet.

If you flip to top view, you'll see Mozaik account for the thickness of the bumper pad so the applied door sits flush with the end of the cabinet's actual door.

Breadcrumb: Shape tab > [selected side] type > Applied Door

Step 3 — Understand the small gap (the APLDoorW parameter)

When you add an applied door, you may see Mozaik allow for a small gap (the video shows roughly a 1/8" gap). That offset is controlled by a job parameter under the Doors category — referred to in the video as APLDoorW. It sets how far the applied door is pushed out from the face of the cabinet.

Breadcrumb: Job Parameters > Doors > APLDoorW

You generally don't need to touch this for a standard result — just know that's where the spacing comes from if you ever need to adjust it.

Step 4 — Know where the applied door pulls its specs from

An applied door added this way inherits its build information from your end and back-panel settings, not from a separate door definition.

An applied door on a wall cabinet pulls from the Wall ends and back panels information.
An applied door on a base cabinet pulls from the Base ends and back panels information.

Breadcrumb: Settings tab > Ends and back panels > Wall (or Base)

That's why the applied door matches the rest of the cabinet automatically — it's reading the same panel rules.

Step 5 — Control the toe-kick notch on base cabinets

When you add an applied door to a base cabinet, Mozaik automatically notches the applied door around the toe base (the toe kick). Check the result in your product view / perspective.

If you don't want that notch — for example, you're not cutting that detail on this cabinet — turn it off:

Go to the cabinet's Ends settings.
Find the end whose type is Applied Door.
Uncheck Notch Front Toe.

Breadcrumb: Ends > [Applied Door end] > uncheck Notch Front Toe

Leave it checked if you do want the notch cut.

Step 6 — Extend an applied door to sit flush (Adjust Side)

On an island, you often want a side applied door to run out so it's flush with the outside edge of the back cabinets' doors. To push the panel out:

Double-click the filler/cabinet and go to the Shape tab.
Select the side that has the applied door.
Go to Adjust Side.

You'll see an Applied Door +/- adjustment. Adjusting the value moves that edge:

The left edge adjustment moves the panel toward the back of the product.
The right edge adjustment moves it toward the front of the product.

In the video, the panel is extended so it lands flush with the back cabinets' doors. The extension amount equals the depth of the cabinet plus the bumper pad plus the door thickness (the video uses 12 7/8" as that combined figure for that specific island — your number will differ based on your own depth, bumper pad, and door thickness).

Breadcrumb: Shape tab > select side > Adjust Side > Applied Door +/- (left or right edge)

Step 7 — Add a center stile to a wide applied door

A wide applied door can look too plain. To break it up with a center stile:

Double-click the cabinet and go to the Shape tab.
Choose Applied Door for that side again.
Go to the Section, select the panel on the applied door, and add a center stile. You can also split the section vertically once to create that center stile.

Breadcrumb: Shape tab > Applied Door > Section > add center stile (or split vertically once)

This gives a wide panel the proportions of a real framed door.

Step 8 — Make the toe base flush on exposed cabinets

To finish the look on cabinets whose sides are exposed, you can make the toe base run flush with the outside of the cabinet:

Select the base cabinet.
Go to the Parameters tab and choose Product Parameters.
Bring in the toe base and set the toe recess to 0.

With the recess at zero, the toe base sits flush with the outside of that cabinet.

Breadcrumb: Parameters tab > Product Parameters > toe base > toe recess = 0

From here you can copy and paste cabinets as needed and add a furniture toe kick around the bottom — the result is a clean island, trimmed out with applied doors, that looks like built furniture.

Related guides

Get it done-for-you

You can set this up yourself using the steps above. If you'd rather skip the setup, PAC's Mozaik training and done-for-you services can help — phillanton.com.

Full disclosure: this guide is published by Phill Anton Consulting.

FAQ

Where does an applied door get its material and build specs?

From your end and back-panel settings. A wall-cabinet applied door pulls from the Wall ends and back panels; a base-cabinet applied door pulls from the Base ends and back panels. That's why it automatically matches the rest of the cabinet.

How do I remove the toe-kick notch that appears on a base cabinet's applied door?

Go to the cabinet's Ends settings, select the end whose type is Applied Door, and uncheck Notch Front Toe. Leave it checked if you want the notch cut.

How do I make an applied door extend out flush with adjacent cabinet doors?

Use Adjust Side on the Shape tab and change the Applied Door +/- value for that edge. The amount to push it out equals your cabinet depth plus bumper pad plus door thickness — measure those for your own setup rather than copying a fixed number.