diff --git a/GUI/coregui/Models/BeamItems.cpp b/GUI/coregui/Models/BeamItems.cpp
index 4427715e7135906be30fcf0f271a54f616e4b2a5..fd3aab175c902407a2e0d94f16ad6b91de1d1e42 100644
--- a/GUI/coregui/Models/BeamItems.cpp
+++ b/GUI/coregui/Models/BeamItems.cpp
@@ -13,6 +13,7 @@
 // ************************************************************************** //
 
 #include "BeamItems.h"
+#include "AxesItems.h"
 #include "Beam.h"
 #include "BeamAngleItems.h"
 #include "BeamDistributionItem.h"
@@ -22,6 +23,7 @@
 #include "GUIHelpers.h"
 #include "ParameterTranslators.h"
 #include "SessionItemUtils.h"
+#include "SpecularBeamInclinationItem.h"
 #include "Units.h"
 
 using SessionItemUtils::GetVectorItem;
@@ -151,6 +153,12 @@ void SpecularBeamItem::setInclinationAngle(double value)
     BeamItem::setInclinationAngle(value);
 }
 
+BasicAxisItem& SpecularBeamItem::getInclinationAngleAxis()
+{
+    return getItem(BeamItem::P_INCLINATION_ANGLE)
+        ->item<BasicAxisItem>(SpecularBeamInclinationItem::P_ALPHA_AXIS);
+}
+
 FootprintItem* SpecularBeamItem::currentFootprintItem() const
 {
     return &groupItem<FootprintItem>(P_FOOPTPRINT);
diff --git a/GUI/coregui/Models/BeamItems.h b/GUI/coregui/Models/BeamItems.h
index 3a7a7305a56e3dfdec4d9299e9ca7b2b33cb32bd..f527045743eb6e3cd3fe47357e2b1a79b6a648c7 100644
--- a/GUI/coregui/Models/BeamItems.h
+++ b/GUI/coregui/Models/BeamItems.h
@@ -17,6 +17,7 @@
 
 #include "SessionItem.h"
 
+class BasicAxisItem;
 class Beam;
 class FootprintItem;
 
@@ -62,6 +63,7 @@ public:
     double getInclinationAngle() const override;
     void setInclinationAngle(double value) override;
 
+    BasicAxisItem& getInclinationAngleAxis();
     FootprintItem* currentFootprintItem() const;
 };
 
diff --git a/GUI/coregui/Models/DataItem.h b/GUI/coregui/Models/DataItem.h
index 8bd0680a76f074bb4ca100f33190f50665673a6e..2ba274af3134ab84e65dce72d6942b63f156d01f 100644
--- a/GUI/coregui/Models/DataItem.h
+++ b/GUI/coregui/Models/DataItem.h
@@ -45,6 +45,7 @@ public:
     virtual void setYaxisTitle(QString ytitle) = 0;
     virtual void setAxesRangeToData() = 0;
     virtual void updateAxesUnits(const InstrumentItem* instrument) = 0;
+    virtual std::vector<int> shape() const = 0;
 
     //! Returns data to default state (no dimensional units, default axes' names)
     virtual void resetToDefault() = 0;
diff --git a/GUI/coregui/Models/DetectorItems.h b/GUI/coregui/Models/DetectorItems.h
index e10858df1471d4f275dea24ec4d34f6cd0573a0a..3a11d88c5e085979b39dc2a8f086284c2968e03b 100644
--- a/GUI/coregui/Models/DetectorItems.h
+++ b/GUI/coregui/Models/DetectorItems.h
@@ -34,7 +34,18 @@ public:
 
     std::unique_ptr<IDetector2D> createDetector() const;
 
+    // TODO: consider using index-based access functions
+
+    //! returns the size of x-axis of the detector
+    virtual int xSize() const = 0;
+
+    //! returns the size of y-axis of the detector
+    virtual int ySize() const = 0;
+
+    //! sets the size of x-axis of the detector
     virtual void setXSize(int nx) = 0;
+
+    //! sets the size of y-axis of the detector
     virtual void setYSize(int ny) = 0;
 
     void clearMasks();
diff --git a/GUI/coregui/Models/InstrumentItems.cpp b/GUI/coregui/Models/InstrumentItems.cpp
index f012f48d345ae09a4e3e78ba445cad4d5189ac7f..a2e85f5d968507fef17cf674561739e0b0985d07 100644
--- a/GUI/coregui/Models/InstrumentItems.cpp
+++ b/GUI/coregui/Models/InstrumentItems.cpp
@@ -114,6 +114,12 @@ std::unique_ptr<Instrument> SpecularInstrumentItem::createInstrument() const
     return InstrumentItem::createInstrument();
 }
 
+std::vector<int> SpecularInstrumentItem::shape() const
+{
+    const auto& axis_item = beamItem()->getInclinationAngleAxis();
+    return {axis_item.getItemValue(BasicAxisItem::P_NBINS).toInt()};
+}
+
 const QString Instrument2DItem::P_DETECTOR = "Detector";
 
 Instrument2DItem::Instrument2DItem(const QString& modelType)
@@ -167,6 +173,12 @@ GISASInstrumentItem::GISASInstrumentItem()
 {
 }
 
+std::vector<int> GISASInstrumentItem::shape() const
+{
+    auto detector_item = detectorItem();
+    return {detector_item->xSize(), detector_item->ySize()};
+}
+
 const QString OffSpecInstrumentItem::P_ALPHA_AXIS = "Alpha axis";
 
 OffSpecInstrumentItem::OffSpecInstrumentItem()
@@ -175,6 +187,13 @@ OffSpecInstrumentItem::OffSpecInstrumentItem()
     addAxisGroupProperty(this, P_ALPHA_AXIS);
 }
 
+std::vector<int> OffSpecInstrumentItem::shape() const
+{
+    const int x_size = getItem(P_ALPHA_AXIS)->getItemValue(BasicAxisItem::P_NBINS).toInt();
+    auto detector_item = detectorItem();
+    return {x_size, detector_item->ySize()};
+}
+
 namespace
 {
 void addAxisGroupProperty(SessionItem* parent, const QString& tag)
diff --git a/GUI/coregui/Models/InstrumentItems.h b/GUI/coregui/Models/InstrumentItems.h
index f0dc2c31eb544b60df7445cad16be45df151b887..18a8cea6fc1f4c53bb00c53f649e543722804d47 100644
--- a/GUI/coregui/Models/InstrumentItems.h
+++ b/GUI/coregui/Models/InstrumentItems.h
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ public:
     GroupItem* backgroundGroup();
 
     virtual std::unique_ptr<Instrument> createInstrument() const = 0;
+    virtual std::vector<int> shape() const = 0;
 
 protected:
     explicit InstrumentItem(const QString& modelType);
@@ -53,6 +54,7 @@ public:
     SpecularBeamItem* beamItem() const override;
 
     std::unique_ptr<Instrument> createInstrument() const override;
+    std::vector<int> shape() const override;
 };
 
 class BA_CORE_API_ Instrument2DItem : public InstrumentItem
@@ -81,6 +83,7 @@ class BA_CORE_API_ GISASInstrumentItem : public Instrument2DItem
 {
 public:
     GISASInstrumentItem();
+    std::vector<int> shape() const override;
 };
 
 class BA_CORE_API_ OffSpecInstrumentItem : public Instrument2DItem
@@ -89,6 +92,7 @@ public:
     static const QString P_ALPHA_AXIS;
 
     OffSpecInstrumentItem();
+    std::vector<int> shape() const override;
 };
 
 #endif // INSTRUMENTITEMS_H
diff --git a/GUI/coregui/Models/IntensityDataItem.cpp b/GUI/coregui/Models/IntensityDataItem.cpp
index fefede9d047d62536942903eaefc7aceddafdd25..031cc59d0f88360c6d249c7b6b95d4af8db35974 100644
--- a/GUI/coregui/Models/IntensityDataItem.cpp
+++ b/GUI/coregui/Models/IntensityDataItem.cpp
@@ -224,6 +224,11 @@ void IntensityDataItem::updateAxesUnits(const InstrumentItem* instrument)
     converter.convertFromNbins(this);
 }
 
+std::vector<int> IntensityDataItem::shape() const
+{
+    return {getNbinsX(), getNbinsY()};
+}
+
 void IntensityDataItem::resetToDefault()
 {
     assert(getOutputData()
diff --git a/GUI/coregui/Models/IntensityDataItem.h b/GUI/coregui/Models/IntensityDataItem.h
index e0cd3a11c03610cdec8f88286fce1ac0e73cb7f1..ba1bd55d246b9e227252c86c0ab16155bc998eca 100644
--- a/GUI/coregui/Models/IntensityDataItem.h
+++ b/GUI/coregui/Models/IntensityDataItem.h
@@ -39,6 +39,8 @@ public:
     void setOutputData(OutputData<double>* data) override;
     void setRawDataVector(const OutputData<double>* data) override;
 
+    // TODO: consider using index-based functions for axes' handlers
+
     int getNbinsX() const;
     int getNbinsY() const;
 
@@ -92,6 +94,7 @@ public:
     void setYaxisTitle(QString ytitle) override;
     void setAxesRangeToData() override;
     void updateAxesUnits(const InstrumentItem* instrument) override;
+    std::vector<int> shape() const override;
 
     //! Returns data to default state (no dimensional units, default axes' names)
     void resetToDefault() override;
diff --git a/GUI/coregui/Models/RealDataItem.cpp b/GUI/coregui/Models/RealDataItem.cpp
index 67d205a8ead9ab3e7252b51a7599190fbff4f9a0..65b90affc14be66ec59ce47d0dde5e8ed08e4569 100644
--- a/GUI/coregui/Models/RealDataItem.cpp
+++ b/GUI/coregui/Models/RealDataItem.cpp
@@ -107,6 +107,16 @@ void RealDataItem::linkToInstrument(const InstrumentItem *instrument, bool make_
         updateToInstrument();
 }
 
+std::vector<int> RealDataItem::shape() const
+{
+    auto data_item = dataItem();
+    if (!data_item) {
+        assert(data_item);
+        return {};
+    }
+    return data_item->shape();
+}
+
 //! Updates the name of file to store intensity data.
 
 void RealDataItem::updateIntensityDataFileName()
diff --git a/GUI/coregui/Models/RealDataItem.h b/GUI/coregui/Models/RealDataItem.h
index 5b90f196f13806e605ac6f3ae6b1b11ac140c23b..37df08ad6a2ce2811caa065ec7ca4f4e36955033 100644
--- a/GUI/coregui/Models/RealDataItem.h
+++ b/GUI/coregui/Models/RealDataItem.h
@@ -42,6 +42,9 @@ public:
 
     void linkToInstrument(const InstrumentItem* instrument, bool make_update = true);
 
+    //! Returns the shape of undelying data item
+    std::vector<int> shape() const;
+
 private:
     void updateIntensityDataFileName();
     void updateToInstrument();
diff --git a/GUI/coregui/Models/RectangularDetectorItem.cpp b/GUI/coregui/Models/RectangularDetectorItem.cpp
index 98f4a615c0204781d2e261b9bb5c4019e8d17447..fa1f7c507a73aaad2517b01f1a8ef6011e902858 100644
--- a/GUI/coregui/Models/RectangularDetectorItem.cpp
+++ b/GUI/coregui/Models/RectangularDetectorItem.cpp
@@ -134,6 +134,16 @@ void RectangularDetectorItem::setDetectorAlignment(const QString& alignment)
     setItemValue(RectangularDetectorItem::P_ALIGNMENT, combo_property.variant());
 }
 
+int RectangularDetectorItem::xSize() const
+{
+    return getItem(RectangularDetectorItem::P_X_AXIS)->getItemValue(BasicAxisItem::P_NBINS).toInt();
+}
+
+int RectangularDetectorItem::ySize() const
+{
+    return getItem(RectangularDetectorItem::P_Y_AXIS)->getItemValue(BasicAxisItem::P_NBINS).toInt();
+}
+
 void RectangularDetectorItem::setXSize(int nx)
 {
     getItem(RectangularDetectorItem::P_X_AXIS)->setItemValue(BasicAxisItem::P_NBINS, nx);
diff --git a/GUI/coregui/Models/RectangularDetectorItem.h b/GUI/coregui/Models/RectangularDetectorItem.h
index 1f9db868ab9592cfa038dd009249f9fcf488ff1f..69f5e56e3ba6a7bb63e3f37af9d7b51c05873191 100644
--- a/GUI/coregui/Models/RectangularDetectorItem.h
+++ b/GUI/coregui/Models/RectangularDetectorItem.h
@@ -35,6 +35,9 @@ public:
     RectangularDetectorItem();
 
     void setDetectorAlignment(const QString& alignment);
+
+    int xSize() const override;
+    int ySize() const override;
     void setXSize(int nx) override;
     void setYSize(int ny) override;
 
diff --git a/GUI/coregui/Models/SpecularDataItem.cpp b/GUI/coregui/Models/SpecularDataItem.cpp
index 857c348c69e0a727c78d5f65e57b42969db347ea..234f5c29d9cc0581b4bfa4092b18bbff2930ffec 100644
--- a/GUI/coregui/Models/SpecularDataItem.cpp
+++ b/GUI/coregui/Models/SpecularDataItem.cpp
@@ -155,6 +155,11 @@ void SpecularDataItem::updateAxesUnits(const InstrumentItem* instrument)
     JobItemUtils::updateDataAxes(this, instrument);
 }
 
+std::vector<int> SpecularDataItem::shape() const
+{
+    return {getNbins()};
+}
+
 void SpecularDataItem::resetToDefault()
 {
     assert(getOutputData()
diff --git a/GUI/coregui/Models/SpecularDataItem.h b/GUI/coregui/Models/SpecularDataItem.h
index aebe4824689636e466d16f50968a0f0c677c6d5b..971581c7848daabcbf76c9fe188ca349cc2845be 100644
--- a/GUI/coregui/Models/SpecularDataItem.h
+++ b/GUI/coregui/Models/SpecularDataItem.h
@@ -69,6 +69,7 @@ public:
     void setYaxisTitle(QString ytitle) override;
     void setAxesRangeToData() override;
     void updateAxesUnits(const InstrumentItem* instrument) override;
+    std::vector<int> shape() const override;
 
     //! Returns data to default state (no dimensional units, default axes' names)
     void resetToDefault() override;
diff --git a/GUI/coregui/Models/SphericalDetectorItem.cpp b/GUI/coregui/Models/SphericalDetectorItem.cpp
index 1a8f185f7f85411b64db7fb805363c5bbbce1dae..df35d8bcc4d088f2ae303efad2759f9b112f61f5 100644
--- a/GUI/coregui/Models/SphericalDetectorItem.cpp
+++ b/GUI/coregui/Models/SphericalDetectorItem.cpp
@@ -65,6 +65,18 @@ std::unique_ptr<IDetector2D> SphericalDetectorItem::createDomainDetector() const
     return std::move(result);
 }
 
+int SphericalDetectorItem::xSize() const
+{
+    return getItem(SphericalDetectorItem::P_PHI_AXIS)->getItemValue(BasicAxisItem::P_NBINS).toInt();
+}
+
+int SphericalDetectorItem::ySize() const
+{
+    return getItem(SphericalDetectorItem::P_ALPHA_AXIS)
+        ->getItemValue(BasicAxisItem::P_NBINS)
+        .toInt();
+}
+
 void SphericalDetectorItem::setXSize(int nx)
 {
     getItem(SphericalDetectorItem::P_PHI_AXIS)->setItemValue(BasicAxisItem::P_NBINS, nx);
diff --git a/GUI/coregui/Models/SphericalDetectorItem.h b/GUI/coregui/Models/SphericalDetectorItem.h
index db4f9ccbc37e3288b7799b56ac2d1255f4930b6a..348743635740fcaca1185eae05d187a86e1ac595 100644
--- a/GUI/coregui/Models/SphericalDetectorItem.h
+++ b/GUI/coregui/Models/SphericalDetectorItem.h
@@ -24,6 +24,8 @@ public:
     static const QString P_ALPHA_AXIS;
     SphericalDetectorItem();
 
+    int xSize() const override;
+    int ySize() const override;
     void setXSize(int nx) override;
     void setYSize(int ny) override;