Platinum

Copyright  D. Peters 2007-2012 Rev. 2

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 Platinum
1 - Introduction..................................................................................1
2 - Running XSPro............................................................................4
3 - Commands....................................................................................7
4 - Labelling....................................................................................82
5 - Creating Fonts ..........................................................................86
6 - Objects.......................................................................................90
7 - Motifs.........................................................................................94
8 - Printing.....................................................................................101
9 - Exporting ................................................................................121
10 - Digitising for Machine............................................................127
11 - Colours....................................................................................132
12 - DPImage..................................................................................137
13 - DP Frame ...............................................................................143
14 - Hardanger Design....................................................................148
15 - Colour Range Editor...............................................................150
16 - Settings....................................................................................155
17 - Technical Support...................................................................162
S1 - DP Draw ................................................................................163
S2 - Custom Stitch Editor .............................................................171
S3 - Customising screen layout......................................................176
S4 - DP word..................................................................................178
S5 - Template Format.....................................................................185
S6 - Publisher Tools.......................................................................189
S7 - Special Stitches.......................................................................194
S8 - Colour Separation Printing.....................................................197

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iv
1 - Introduction

This manual is a guide to the installation and operation of the Cross Stitch
Professional for Windows application. Since this manual covers the standard,
Plus, Publisher and machine editions of the program, not all tools will be
available in your Edition. For Publisher Edition users, the supplements at the
back of the manual describe the additional features.

Machine edition users should ignore the chapters on printing charts and
exporting. Other users should ignore the chapter on digitising for the machine.

Upgrades are available to allow both machine and hand stitching in the same
program. Contact DP Software on 0845 345 2420 or visit
www.dpsoftware.co.uk

XStitch Pro for Windows allows designs to be drawn on screen in up to 75

different colours (220 in Plus, Publisher Editions) and then automatically
printed out in the normal cross stitch pattern format. This allows the designer
to see exactly what the finished design will look like without having to sew a
single stitch. To help choosing the right colours, the program has many
manufacturers thread colours pre-defined.

Unlike many programs, XStitch Pro is not simply a computerised piece of

paper where each square must be filled in individually and each correction
made by erasing each square. Instead, it allows the use of Objects. Objects
are small parts of a design such as an imported graphics picture or a piece of
text that are combined together to form the finished pattern. Each object can
be moved around the design and resized without affecting other objects or
previously drawn stitches. This gives the designer much greater flexibility in
trying various ideas without the time consuming process of redrawing whole
areas of the design.

By using the graphical interface of the Windows operating system, the user is
able to learn the program very quickly and does not have to remember
complex key sequences to access each function. This is further backed up by
the in-built windows help facility, popup hints and a prompt bar. A special
feature of Cross Stitch Professional is the video help system. This plays video
sequences to give extra guidance in the programs use (English language
versions only)

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Requirements
XStitch for windows requires a system with the following minimum
specification:

● An IBM Personal Computer or compatible

● A 80386 or higher processor (Pentium recommended)
● 32Mb RAM
● A graphics card with greater than 256 colours
● Windows version 95 , 98, ME, SE, XP, 2000, Vista, 7
(May also work with future versions)
● A graphics printer supported by Windows
● A mouse or other pointing device
● A CD drive for versions supplied on CD

Installation

It is recommended that the main program software is installed onto the hard
disk for maximum performance. This also enables the CD-ROM drive to be
freed for reading clipart or photo-CDs. The video help system will continue to
run from the CD when required but the CD may be removed while video help
is not playing.

The installation program will start automatically on most systems when a disk
is inserted with a later version than is present on the hard disk. If auto-start is
not available on your system then start the setup.exe program from the run
button on the Windows toolbar.

The software will automatically detect which operating system you are using
so the installation procedure is the same for all Windows versions.

Updating from an earlier version of XSPro

Users of previous versions of Cross Stitch Professional that still want to run
the old version must install the new version into a different directory. The
default installation directory is different to the other versions.

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Files created with previous versions can be read by the new version however
previous versions are not able to read files from this version.

To use custom thread length formulas created in the 2003 version, simply
click the formulas button in the thread length calculator and the old formulas
will be loaded from your system. Any changes made in future will override
the 2003 settings.

Uninstall

The program will automatically install an icon to remove the program should
this ever be required. Simply double click on the uninstall icon to remove the
program.

Installation of Cross Stitch Fonts

Cross Stitch Professional is supplied with a font containing cross stitch

symbols. This font is installed automatically by the program installer.

It is possible to use any TrueType font installed on your system in place of the
one supplied and up to 3 fonts can be used in each pattern.

The font is copyright but may be embedded in documents for the purpose of
displaying and printing charts created with the program.

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2 - Running XSPro

Start the program running by double clicking on the distinctive XStitch Pro
icon. If all is well you should see the opening screen similar to the one below.
For your convenience, the about box is not displayed each time your program
runs. If you wish to display the version number and copyright information,
please select About from the Help menu.

When using the machine version with Embird, the program must be started
using “Insert - 3rd party plugin – DP Software” from the Embird Editor.

(Note: Publisher edition shown. Other editions have less toolbar buttons. Layout configurable)

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The Opening Screen Explained

The main XStitch Pro window consists of a number of areas. The largest area
is called the canvas and is used to draw the design. It consists of either a
realistic representation of the chosen fabric or a grid of squares.

At the top left of the screen is the Superview that is used to show the entire
pattern in miniature no matter what zoom level is selected. Below this is a
readout of the X and Y position of the mouse pointer and optionally the width
and height of the pattern. Below the readout is a sample of the currently
selected colour, its symbol and colour number. At the bottom, is the colour
palette containing each of the colours that have been selected for the current
design. If there is not enough room to display all the colours, a scrollbar will
be provided just to the right. At the top of the colour palette are three buttons
that control the display of the colour palette.

At the top of the screen is the toolbar. This allows the type of stitch to be
selected for drawing and also contains some of the more frequently needed
tools.

The menu at the top of the screen allows selection of the remaining functions.

The scroll bars at the right and bottom of the window allow panning through
designs that are too big to fit on the screen at the current zoom level. See the
Superview description for an alternative method of panning.

At the very bottom of the screen, is the Prompt bar. This gives brief help and
changes according to which tool is selected and where the mouse pointer is
placed.

If the mouse pointer is left over a tool or other significant part of the screen
for a few seconds, a yellow popup hint will appear. This gives a brief
description of the tool or screen area.

A function of the this version is that the positions of menus, palettes and
Superview can all be moved around. More details of this are given in the
customisation section.

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Video Help

The program comes with a very comprehensive video help facility. To use
this, you will need the CD to be in the CD-drive even if the program has been
installed to the hard disk. This is due to the large amount of space required for
videos.

Whenever a dialog box is displayed that offers various options, a video help
button will be seen. Clicking on this button will play a video clip on the
computer screen that explains the options available. The length of the video
varies from a few seconds to several minutes depending on the topic. The
video player gives full control of starting, stopping, rewinding and fast
forwarding of the video.

After playing the video, the video help window should be closed using the
cross at the top right corner of the title bar of the help window.

Please note that some dialogs may not have videos associated with them even
if there is an icon present. This enables us to easily release new videos in the
future. If your video does not play, it is most likely there is not one available
at present.

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3 - Commands

Drawing Stitches

Stitches can be added to the design by selecting one of the available stitch
tools from the toolbar and drawing with the mouse. To draw any of the cross,
half or backstitches, simply select the required tool and click the left mouse
button with the mouse pointer at the correct place on the design. To add
several stitches at once, the mouse button may be held down whilst the mouse
is moved across the design. With the mouse button held down it is possible to
move in perfect straight lines with the keyboard arrow keys.

Stitches can be erased by using the right mouse button in place of the left.

The available tools are described below:

Cross Stitch Tool

The Cross Stitch tool is used to draw full cross stitches in the currently
selected colour. Only one cross stitch can be placed in each square.

Magic ¼ and ¾ stitch placement

By default, the program uses magic placement of ¼ and ¾ stitches. This

means you simply select the tool and click in a corner of a stitch position on
the chart. The program then selects the appropriate orientation of the stitch in
order to fill that corner.

If you prefer individual tools for each possible orientation of ¼ and ¾ stitch,
this can be selected on the settings menu under the toolbars sub-menu. Simply
uncheck the “use magic placement” option. Use the “save settings” option at
the bottom of the same menu to make the changes permanent.

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3/4 Stitch
This stitch represents a 3/4 cross stitch if used alone. When combined with
another stitch of a different colour, one of the stitches will be a 1/4 stitch. It is
up to the Stitcher to decide which colour should dominate and thus be the 3/4
stitch. These stitches are represented on the printed pattern by a smaller sized
symbol.

1/4 Stitch
The 1/4 stitch allows four separate colours of any combination to be placed
into a single stitch. Each colour is used for just one arm of the cross. This is
represented on a symbol pattern by a smaller symbol in each of the four
corners of a square.

Half Cross Stitch Tools

The half cross stitch is a single diagonal stitch of the same thread thickness as
used for the full cross stitch. It is represented on the printed pattern by two
identical half sized symbols in opposite corners of the square.

Petit Point, Split stitch and Straddle stitch

By changing the size of a cross stitch, it is possible to increase the detail of a
cross stitch design. Depending on the edition of Cross Stitch Professional
purchased, there are various types of reduced size stitch available.
Petit Point – a cross stitch with half the height and half the width of a
normal cross stitch.

Split Cross – a cross stitch which has normal size in one direction but
half the size in the other. This allows two stitches in the space
normally occupied by one.

Straddle – This is where a stitch is half in one stitch position and half
in the next, thus straddling a grid line. This can be done with split
cross and full size cross stitch.

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Special handling for Petit point, split and straddle

The software handles these stitch types in a slightly different way to normal
stitches which gives greater flexibility during design.

For each grid position in the design, there is stored both a normal and high
resolution version of the stitches. You can think of this as two layers in the
design, one of double normal resolution.

If you add one of the high resolution stitch types to the design then that
position switches to the higher resolution and displays a logical combination
of the original stitch and new one. The original stitch is still unchanged on its
own layer but that layer is hidden at this stitch position. For example if you
have an existing cross stitch and add a split stitch in a different colour, you
will end up with two split stitches displayed from the high resolution layer.
The standard resolution layer still contains the original cross which is hidden.

If you add a normal size stitch to the design then that stitch position switches
to the normal resolution and displays the new stitch. Any existing high
resolution stitches at that position are still unchanged on the high resolution
layer but that layer is hidden at this stitch position.

Switching between layers

Since there can be two versions of the design at each stitch position (one
normal resolution and one high resolution), it is useful to be able to switch
between these on a stitch by stitch basis.

The normal/petit-point switching tool is used for this. Using this tool, a
left click on a stitch position switches that position to the high resolution
layer. A right click switches to the standard resolution layer. You can hold
down the mouse button and paint large areas.

The power of this tool becomes more apparent when you are converting
scanned images to cross stitch. It is possible to have the image converted
automatically at both resolutions simultaneously, displaying only the standard
resolution result. Then where you are not happy with the resolution, you can
paint with the switching tool to reveal double the resolution. All double
resolution stitches are created as petit-point when scanning and importing.

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 Backstitch Line Tool

The Backstitch Line tool produces backstitches in the current colour and of
any length and angle. To start a line, click the left mouse button with the
mouse pointer over the position you want to start the line. Keeping the button
held down, move the mouse to the end of the required line and then release it.
A backstitch line should be drawn in the current colour. The format used
when printing backstitch lines is chosen in the print dialog on the format page.
If you choose custom line styles then you need to select the style of the line
for each colour. This is done using the Change Symbols command on the
palette menu. There are several line styles provided and you can also make up
your own. Alternative line formats are solid black, solid colour or lines of
symbols. In the case of lines of symbols, you are recommended to use a
simple symbol for colours used in backstitch.

Deleting backstitch lines

Backstitch lines can be erased by clicking the right mouse key anywhere over
the length of the line. The backstitch line tool must still be selected to delete
backstitch lines. The deletion point is very precise and is the tip of the mouse
pointer. This enables easy selection of closely spaced lines.

Backstitch Thickness
The default backstitch thickness is a single strand however it is possible to use
thicker lines. The current line thickness is changed by right mouse clicking
on the backstitch tool. After changing the thickness, all subsequent lines will
be added at the new thickness.

The Modify Backstitch Colour tool will also modify a backstitch thickness to
that currently in use.

There is another more flexible way to assign a number of strands to both

backstitch and cross stitch. By right mouse clicking on a colour palette patch
and selecting “Set strands” it is possible to change the number of strands used
for all stitches of that colour. The advantage of this method is that it is
possible to use a different symbol or line style to represent different
thicknesses – simply add the same colour to the palette multiple times and

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modify the thickness of each entry. The number of strands is displayed in the
palette entry whenever it is changed from the default zero setting. Zero means
use the current tool setting whilst anything else overrides the tool with the
number entered.

Backstitch Line Tool (1/2 resolution)

The half resolution backstitch line tool allows you to position backstitches to
a half stitch position. This gives the ability to stitch to every hole on an
eavenweave fabric or inbetween holes on Aida. It is advisable to zoom in
closer when using this tool as you need to be more accurate in clicking with
the mouse than with the standad backstitch tool.

Freehand Backstitch Draw

To add backstitches with this tool, simply keep the mouse button pressed
while moving the mouse around the pattern. Each time the mouse pointer
crosses a stitch position, another segment is added to the backstitching. Each
segment can be deleted separately using the right mouse button and the
standard backstitch tool.

Freehand Backstitch (Half resolution)

Similar to the standard freehand backstitch tool but this tool will backstitch to
a half stitch resolution. This gives a smoother appearance but at the expense
of making the stitching more difficult.

French knot
The French knot tool is slightly different to the other tools in that it is placed
at the intersection of two grid lines rather than between them. Other than that,

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using French knots is just as simple as cross stitches. They appear in the
currently selected colour.
By right mouse clicking on this tool, it is possible to change the display size
of the French knots. Note that the print size is configured later in the print
settings.

Long Stitch

The long stitch tool is used in a similar way to the backstitch line tool except
that it adds a long stitch. A long stitch has a thicker style as it is generally
used to give full coverage rather than outlining.

To add a long stitch, select the tool and the required colour from the palette.
Click and hold down the left mouse button where you want the stitch to start.
Move the mouse to the end of the required stitch and release the button.
Long stitches are most often used either vertically or horizontally but the
program will also allow diagonal stitches to be used if required.

Custom Stitches
The custom stitches toolbutton is used to display the custom stitches toolbar.
This is where any stitches that you have designed will appear. You add them
to the chart in the same way as the other stitch tools except that they can be
overlapped. If a stitch of one colour is placed exactly over the same stitch but
in a different colour then the stitch colour will be modified – otherwise a new
stitch will be added that overlaps the previous one.

Creating new custom stitches

To create a new stitch type, choose “Stitch Editor” from the settings menu.
This starts the stitch editor from where you can create as many stitches as you
choose. See the chapter on Stitch Editor for details on using it.

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Drawing straight lines in stitches

To draw a perfectly straight line is very difficult using the mouse alone.
Fortunately, there is an easier way in Cross Stitch Professional. Simply hold
the mouse button down as before and then use the arrow keys on the keyboard
to draw lines in each direction. The Pg Up, Pg Dn,Home and End keys can
be used to draw diagonal lines.
There is also a line drawing tool for lines of odd angles which is described
later.

Repeat Draw
To draw a line of stitches, you can also use the repeat draw feature. This is
most useful for drawing lines which connect to each other:

First, draw a single cross stitch to act as the start of the set of lines. This is the
only mouse movement you will need. Now hold down the <ctrl> key on the
keyboard and press the arrow key that corresponds to the direction you want
to draw. In the resulting dialog box, type in the number of stitches required
and click OK. You will see the line created. To continue in a different
direction, simply hold down <ctrl> and select the new direction.

Erasing Stitches
Stitches are erased in the same way as drawing but by using the right hand
mouse button. This allows erasing without having to continually select
between an erase tool and a draw tool.

Pen Width / Function

In order to allow stitches to be added at greater speed, it is possible to increase

the width of the “pen” used to draw the stitches. This means that each click
or movement of the mouse will result in more than one stitch being added. To
change the pen width, click once on the pen width tool. This will result in the
display of all the pen widths available. Simply click on the required width.
All cross stitches, lines and shapes are affected by the pen width. The pen
tool will change to show the currently selected width.

There are also two types of Pen tool available in each width:

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The standard pen will draw with the left mouse button and erase to blank
canvas with the right mouse button.

The alternative pen will draw with the left button but undo to the previous
colour with the right mouse button. This differs from using the undo tool in
that you can select which individual stitches are undone.

The undo pen is very useful when you have been drawing a large area and
have made a small mistake – perhaps over drawing another colour. If you
make such a mistake while using the standard pen, you can immediately
switch to the undo pen to correct it.

Texture Tool

The texture tool is actually a new type of pen which draws with a pre-
designed pattern. It works best when the pen width is set large so you can
cover a large area of stitches.

When the texture tool is selected from the toolbar, the texture browser will be
displayed. Simply click on the texture pattern you want to use and then start
drawing with the left mouse button just as you would with the cross stitch
tool. The stitches added to the design will form a continuous pattern
according to the texture selected.

By clicking on the word “Textures” at the top of the texture toolbar, you can
set the size of the texture thumbnails. A second click hides the settings.

A number of texture patterns are supplied with the software but you can also
create your own. Simply draw an area of the required pattern on an ordinary
design. Now area select the smallest size of that pattern that can be used to
replicate any sized area. You should be able to repeat the area selected in both
directions to form a continuous pattern with no discontinuities.

To save the pattern, select “Save area as motif” from the motif menu. You
should save the texture pattern into the programs textures folder.

The “Default Folders” option on the settings menu allows you to change the
folder where the program looks for texture patterns.
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Area Commands
It would be quite time consuming if each stitch had to be placed individually
in a large area of the design. As well as the Pen Width tool and the Floodfill
tool, which speed up the drawing of large areas, there are the Area commands.
Each area command operates on a part of the design that has been selected by
the Area Define tool and the tools are only enabled when an area is defined:

Area Define

An Area first has to be defined for which one of the Area Define tools are
used. The first tool is represented by a dotted rectangle and is used to select
rectangular areas of the canvas.

After selecting the tool, click and hold down the left mouse key at the top left
corner of the area to be defined. Move the mouse pointer to the bottom right
corner and release the key. The defined area will have a running red dotted
line drawn around it to indicate the area selected.

Irregular Area Define

This tool allows any shape area to be defined ready for using with any of the
area commands. Simply hold down the left mouse button while drawing the
required area. When the button is released, the end points will be joined by a
straight line to produce an enclosed area.

Magic Wand Select

The magic wand is used to select an irregular shaped area of the same (or
similar) colour, without having to draw around it. Simply click the left mouse
button anywhere within the required area and an area will be selected that
contains just that colour.

When the tool is selected, the floodfill toolpanel will be displayed. This is
because the tolerance setting can be used to specify how the area is selected.

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Other settings on this toolpanel will be ignored. By increasing the tolerance
setting, the magic wand will also select colours that are close to the selected
stitch as well as those that match it exactly. Some experimentation will be
needed to ensure all stitches of interest are included without including those
that are not required. Simply try a value and then alter the tolerance and click
again until the desired area is achieved.

Select All

The SelectAll command is used to select the entire design area. This could be
used to copy the entire design to another canvas. The command is located in
the Area menu and does not have a corresponding tool button.

Deselect

Also located on the Area menu is the deselect command which is used to
remove a selection. This may be necessary if for example you want to select a
new area which is inside a currently selected area. In such a case you could
not use the area select again because clicking in a selected area would move
that area around the design.

Note that deselecting an area has no effect on the stitches in that area – it
simply removes the selection outline. To delete stitches in the selected area,
you should use the Delete tool.

Select Row/Column
The Row/Column select tool will select both the row of stitches and column
of stitches that pass through the stitch that is clicked on with the tool. In
addition, a pop-up toolbar is displayed providing a selection of tools that
operate on the row/column.

Set manual centre – Turns off the designs automatic centremarks

and sets the designs centre to the top and left of the selected

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 row/column. The automatic centremarks can be resumed from the
settings menu.

Add column before selection – Inserts a new column of stitches to

the left of the selected column. This increases the design width by
one stitch.

Add row before selection – Inserts a new row of stitches above the
currently selected column. This increases the designs height by one
stitch.

Remove selected column – Deletes the entire column of stitches that

is currently selected. This decreases the designs width by one stitch.

Remove selected row – This deletes the entire row of stitches that is
currently selected. This decreases the designs height by one stitch.

Select All - This selects the entire design.

Deselect – This will remove the selection box.

After Selecting
Any of the area commands may be used once an area is selected and will
apply to all the stitches in the highlighted area. They are found on the Area
pulldown menu and some tools are also on the toolbar. If an area is not
defined, these commands will appear greyed out on the menu.

Area Fill

The Area Fill command will place a cross stitch of the currently selected
colour at each stitch position in the defined Area. Any existing stitches in the
block will be overwritten but backstitch lines and objects are not affected.

Area Delete
The Area Delete command will erase all stitches in the currently selected area
including any objects which are completely within the area. The stitches
cannot be retrieved once they have been deleted (other than by the undo tool).

17
If the delete tool is selected from the menu instead of the toolbar button then
you get more control over what is deleted. A sub-menu is displayed allowing
you to select the type of stitch to be deleted. Selecting ‘All’ gives the tool the
same effect as the toolbar button. Other choices allow deletion of only cross
stitches, backstitches, knots, beads and special stitches. The final option
‘Hidden Backstitches’ is used to remove backstitches in cases where another
backstitch that is lying on top completely hides it. Normally deleting the top
backstitch will reveal the one underneath but this allows you to prevent this
by removing the hidden backstitches. Note that you will not remove
backstitches that are within layered objects – only those drawn directly on the
canvas.

Note
If the stitches need to be replaced later, use the Area Cut command instead of
Area Delete since this keeps a copy of the deleted stitches to enable a Paste
operation later.

Area Cut
The Area Cut command also deletes all stitches in the currently selected area
but also saves them in an internal buffer (a temporary storage area) from
which they can be recalled later with the Area Paste command. The use of
Area Cut followed by Area Paste can be used to move stitches from one part
of a design to another.

Note
The program uses its own internal buffer to store cut and copied areas so the
Windows clipboard is not affected and its contents will be preserved.

Area Copy
The Area Copy command leaves all the stitches in the design as they are but
places a copy of the currently selected area in the internal buffer. This
enables the use of the Area Paste command to place an identical copy of the
area elsewhere in the design.

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Note
The program uses its own internal buffer to store cut and copied areas so the
Windows clipboard is not affected and its contents will be preserved.

Area Paste
The Area Paste Command copies all the stitches from the internal buffer into
the design starting at the top left corner of the selected area. The size of the
currently defined area is irrelevant since the size of the copied area is equal to
the size of the area in the buffer. An area of a single stitch may therefore be
used by clicking and releasing the mouse at the required destination point.

The buffer is unaffected by the Area Paste command so the command may be
repeated to place copies at several different places. The buffer is only
overwritten by a subsequent Area Copy or Area Cut command.

Areas can be pasted into different designs since the buffer remains when a
new design is loaded. This enables portions of one design to be easily used in
another.

When pasting from one design into another, the colour palettes could of
course be different in the two designs. How the program handles the merging
of the colours is set by the Colour Preferences which can be changed from the
Motif menu. The same rules apply to pasted areas and motifs loaded from the
library.

Area Rotate 90

The area rotate command will rotate the selected group of stitches through 900
in a clockwise direction. The top left hand corner of the original area will be
used as the top left corner for the rotated area. If the area is not square then
some stitches outside the defined area will be overwritten since the rotated
area will extend outside the original area. There will also be some blank
stitches created due to the shorter dimension replacing the larger one.
Text Objects are not affected by the Area Rotate function.

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Area Rotate n

This command allows you to rotate an area by any given angle. A dialog box
appears asking for the angle of rotation which should be between 0 and 359
degrees.

Note that only full cross stitches can be rotated by an arbitrary angle. Any
other stitches in the selected area will be deleted.

Rotate 45 (Publisher only)

Rotate either clockwise and anti-clockwise by 45 degrees. Note that

fractional stitches are removed as they would no longer smooth in the same
way at this angle.

Area Vertical Flip

The Vertical Flip command will reflect all stitches in the selected area about a
line in the X-direction passing through the centre of the area. The resulting
area thus occupies the same stitch locations as the original area.

If the <Ctrl> key is held down while selecting this command, the original area
is retained and a reflected copy is placed below it.

Area Horizontal Flip

The Horizontal Flip command does the same as the Vertical Flip command
but reflects about the Y-axis.
If the <Ctrl> key is held down while selecting this command, the original area
is retained and a reflected copy is placed to the right it.

Mirror

The Area Mirror command replaces the currently selected area with a mirror
image.

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To Object

The To Object command will convert all stitches in the selected area to a
layered Object. After converting to an object, all the Object functions can be
used such as scaling, moving and overlapping - see object chapter for details.

AutoBackstitch All Colours

The AutoBackstitch command is used to add outline stitch at the boundary
between two colours. Wherever there is a colour change, a backstitch of the
appropriate orientation will be added. The colour of the backstitch will be of
the currently selected colour regardless of the areas of colour it is outlining.
Only stitches within the currently selected area are affected.

AutoBackstitch Outline

Similar to the standard autobackstitch but this command will only outline
between background and another colour and not between two colours.

Auto Smooth

The Auto Smooth Area command is used to add 3/4 stitches where jagged
edges are found. Any boundary between two colours where there is a jagged
edge will result in a 3/4 stitch being added of the appropriate colour and
orientation. Only stitches within the currently selected area are affected.
Remember that adding large numbers of 3/4 stitches will make the patter
much more difficult to stitch.

Swap Colour

The Swap Colour command is used to change all stitches of one colour with
another colour. Only stitches within the currently selected area are affected.
When this command is selected, a yellow hint box appears in place of the
Superview to guide you through the procedure.
21
First, a stitch of the colour to be replaced needs to be selected from the
design. Next, a new colour is selected from the palette. The change then
takes place.

Shape Tools

To conserve space on the toolbars, the shape tools are contained in

a special drop-down tool button. The currently selected shape will
appear on this button and can be used by clicking on the button in
the normal way. To access the other tools, click on the arrow by
the side of the tool and then select the correct tool from the button
list that appears.

The shape tools can also be accessed from the Area menu where
they are divided into open and filled shapes.

Open Shapes

Open shapes are drawn so as to touch each edge of the currently selected area.
The width of the line used to draw the shape will be that of the currently
selected pen width. If the shape buttons on the toolbar are used, the shape is
drawn by selecting the boundary area after selecting the tool rather than using
a previously defined area.

Filled Shape

The filled shape tool operates in the same way as the open shape except that
the interior is filled with stitches.

22
 Shape Browser
The shape browser allows the selection of many more filled shapes and also
provides a method of creating "Shape Objects". Shape objects look like
standard shapes but they act like Objects. They can be resized and overlapped
with other objects without destroying stitches beneath them.

When the shape browser tool is selected, the shape browser dialog will be
displayed:

If the "Objects" box is checked in this dialog then the shapes will be added to
the design as Shape Objects. If not then the shapes will be made from
standard cross stitches.

23
Selecting and drawing a shape
To select a shape, simply click on the shape required just like it were another
tool on the toolbar. Next draw a box on the screen in which the shape is to be
created.

Closing the shape dialog

If the "Auto Close" box was checked, the shape dialog will disappear as soon
as a shape is selected. This is the most useful way of adding a single shape
because it frees up the screen and allows the maximum amount of design to
be viewed. If a large number of shapes are required, the Auto Close box can
be unchecked and the dialog will remain on the screen while the tool is
selected. It will disappear as soon as another tool is selected but can also be
closed by clicking on the cross button at the top right corner of the dialogs
title bar. It can be moved around the screen by dragging it by the title bar.

Area De-speckle

The De-speckle command will remove any stitches which are not directly
connected to at least one other stitch of the same colour. This is used to
reduce the complexity of stitching but if large areas are de-speckled, detail
can be reduced significantly. The de-speckle tool gives a more controlled
method of stitch removal.

Area to Clipboard as Image

This command will place an exact copy of the screen area selected into the
Windows clipboard. This can be used to capture the design on the realistic
canvas so that it can be used in other programs. It could for example form the
basis of a front cover design for a kit. See also the "Create Photo" and "View
in Frame" commands for more versatile methods of doing this.

Auto Area Move

After selecting an area, move the mouse pointer within the area and it will
change shape. By holding down the left mouse button and dragging, the area
can be moved around the design without using cut and paste. It is easy to
place the area since the stitches remain visible during the drag.

24
Auto Area Copy

By holding down the Ctrl key on the keyboard during an auto area move, the
area is copied instead of moved.

Area Resize

With a rectangular area defined, move the mouse to the bottom right corner of
the area until it changes shape to a double headed arrow. Click and hold
down the left mouse button and then drag the mouse pointer to enlarge or
reduce the area. By holding down the <Ctrl> key at the same time, the area
will retain its aspect ratio.

Note that since the area is not an object, the original stitches are not saved and
successive enlarging and reducing of an area will degrade the picture. To
allow an area to return to its original form, use a Motif Object.

Resize area by specifying size

The “resize area” command from the area menu will display a dialog box
from where you can specify a new size for the selected area.

You can choose to enter the size in number of stitches, inches or centimetres
by selecting the appropriate checkbox next to a set of controls. If the aspect
ratio lock is set then as you move one of the width or height settings, the other
will be calculated automatically. If the lock is not set, you can distort the area
by setting the width and height independently.

When the OK button is pressed, the area is resized to the chosen dimensions.

Quick area delete

The currently selected area can be deleted by pressing the delete key in place
of selecting "delete - all" from the area menu.

25
Area - Hue change
The hue change command allows the colours within an area to be changed
without affecting shading. For example, a red rose could be transformed into a
yellow rose in one simple step without affecting the green stem.

After selecting the required area, click on the Hue change command on the
area menu and the following dialog appears:

The first step is to select the colours that we want to change. This is done by
clicking on any stitch in the design which has the required colour. This
colour will now be shown in the colour patch at the top of the dialog.

Since there may be a slight variation in the colour hue value of colours we
consider to be say "all reds", there is a method of selecting a group of colours.
This is by means of the tolerance control. Selecting say a tolerance of 10%
will result in changing all colours which have a colour hue value within 10%
of the selected stitch. After a little practice, you will be able to select the
correct value. Too small a value and some colours will not be changed. You
will then have to repeat the process for the remaining stitches. Too large a
value and you may change the colours of other item in the selected area.

Once the colours have been selected for changing, it is just a matter of
selecting the new colour hue. This is done by clicking on a colour in the

26
colour strip at the bottom of the dialog. You can also type in a hue number in
the edit box alongside or cycle through the available colours using the
up/down arrows attached to it. This can be used to select an identical hue
number to one used earlier.

Flatten Area
If the selected area contains layered objects then this command will convert
them to flat stitches in the correct order such that hidden stitches are deleted.
It can be used when the pattern is nearly complete so as to allow the finishing
touches to be added stitch by stitch. Note that since the layer structure is then
deleted, it will become much more difficult to make major changes to the
pattern.

Area Fill
This gives the choice of filling all stitches in the selected area with cross stitch
or only those stitch positions that are currently empty.

Additional Toolbar Tools

There are a number of additional tools on the toolbar which do not appear on
the menus:

Line Tool

The line tool is used to draw a straight line of cross stitches at any angle.
Simply select the tool, click and hole down the left mouse button at one end
of the line. Move the mouse to the other end of the line and release the
button. A line of crosses will be drawn in the currently selected colour.

Curve Tool

The curve tool is used to add cross stitches in the shape of a curve. First click
and hold down the left mouse button and then move the mouse to draw a
straight line. Now release the mouse button and move the mouse again to set
the required curve. Click and release the left mouse button to fix the curve.
By clicking the right mouse button in place of the left, the curve can be
cancelled.
27
 Flood Fill Tool
The Flood Fill tool is used to fill an area of the design of irregular shape. The
basic tool works from a seed stitch which is the stitch you click on using the
tool. All stitches of the same colour directly connected to this seed stitch will
be filled with the currently selected palette colour. There are however lots of
options available with this tool.

Floodfill Options
When you click on the tool, the floodfill rollup dialog appears:

The Fill style setting allows selection of what pattern will fill the
area. Choose from a solid fill (All stitches), half or quarter
density patterns, a motif or a custom pattern.
Selecting Motif will cause display of the motif browser to select
the motif required.
Selecting Custom displays an 8x8 stitch grid into which a
pattern can be drawn. Clicking on a stitch with the mouse
changes between filled and unfilled.

Checking the Gradient Fill box causes the colour of the fill to
vary. The number of steps can be selected.
To set the colours for gradient fill, choose a colour from the
palette and then click on the appropriate step of the fill boxes.

The direction of the gradient fill colour change can be selected

with one of the eight direction buttons.

The Tolerance setting indicates what percentage change in

colour from the seed stitch will stop the fill.

Having selected the required settings in the floodfill rollup, the fill is started
by a left click of the mouse on the chosen seed stitch.

28
No attempt is made to use 3/4 stitches however any existing 3/4 stitches will
not be replaced with a full cross. In this way, if the area smoothing is already
in place, it will not be damaged.

If the number of stitches affected by the command exceeds a pre-set value, the
function will be stopped and a warning given. The option is given to either
continue or reverse the effect without going any further.

Floodfill to Backstitch

This tool works the same way as the standard floodfill tool except it is
backstitch lines that stop the flooding instead of cross stitches.

This tool is very useful for blackwork since you can use the fill with motif and
the force black backstitch setting on the motif browser. All that is needed is to
draw the outline design and fill with appropriate fill patterns.

The same applies to whitework using the force white backstitch.

Smoothing Tool
The smoothing tool operates in a similar way to the AutoSmooth Area
command but gives more control over what is smoothed. Each stitch position
that is passed over with the mouse button down will be smoothed. Smoothing
consists of adding a 3/4 stitch of the appropriate colour if the surrounding
stitches form a jagged edge. You will of course need to remember that adding
fractional stitches will increase the difficulty of stitching the design.

There will be no attempt to remove fractions of stitches from the design and
in some instances it may be necessary to delete a complete stitch by hand and
re-smooth to achieve the best result.

29
 Backstitch Colour Change Tool

This tool allows the colour of existing backstitching to be changed. Simply

select the tool and then the required new colour from the palette. Hold down
the left mouse button and move the mouse pointer over the stitches to change.
You can click on any part of the backstitch and selection will take place if the
mouse is within one stitch distance of the line. Clicking on a lines end point
will ensure that line is selected in preference to another line within 1 stitch
position. Using the end point is a good way to erase lines in crowded areas.

De-speckle Tool

The de-speckle tool is used to remove any stitches that are not linked to other
stitches of the same colour. By removing such stitches, the design becomes
easier to stitch.

Select the tool and then move the mouse over the area to despeckle keeping
the left mouse button down. Note that this tool works with the pen width
setting to allow either fine precision or large area coverage.

By clicking on the tool whilst it is already selected, you can select between
the level 1 tool (default) and the level 2 tool. This second level will remove
not just single isolated stitches but also small groups

See also the Area Despeckle function.

Stitch Info Tool

The Stitch Info tool (eyedropper) allows you to set the current colour by
reading from an existing stitch on the design. With the tool selected, the
colour of the stitch beneath the mouse pointer will be displayed below the
SuperView window. This display takes the form of a colour patch with the
colour number on top. The colour of the text used will change so as to be
visible on the colour selected. Clicking the left mouse button will select this
colour and select the Cross Stitch tool. This allows continuation of drawing in
a colour very quickly.
30
 Stitch Info Backstitch Tool

A separate stitch info tool is provided for reading backstitch colours. This
allows easy reading of the thin backstitch lines without needing to be too
precise with the mouse. The tool will read the closest line to the mouse
pointer provided it is within one cross stitch position of a line.

Mirror Tool

The mirror tool is used to set mirrors in the design so that as new stitches are
drawn, they are also added in mirror image. Mirrors can be set in the
horizontal or vertical directions and are shown by a mirror symbol on the
rulers.

To set a vertical mirror, click on the mirror tool and then click at the stitch
position that you require the mirror but close to the top of the screen. A
symbol should appear on the top ruler to indicate that it is now in mirror
mode.

To set a horizontal mirror, click on the mirror tool and then click at the stitch
position that you require the mirror but close to the left side of the screen. A
symbol should appear on the left ruler to indicate that it is now in mirror
mode.

To set a 4-way mirror, click on the mirror tool, hold down the <ctrl> key and
click at the stitch position where you want the centre of the mirrors. A
symbol should appear on both rulers to indicate it is now in mirror mode.

To remove the mirrors, simply click again on the mirror tool so that the mirror
button is released.

Whilst a mirror is defined, all cross and backstitching added or deleted will
also appear reflected in the mirrors. This also applies to the shape tools and to
motifs.

31
 Undo Tool

Clicking on the undo tool will undo the previous operation. Where the
previous operation was a cross stitch draw, all drawing since the last colour
change is considered one operation.

Each click on the undo tool will undo another operation until the limit of the
undo levels is reached. The program defaults to 10 stored undo levels but the
settings can be changed from the undo menu. The more levels that are
chosen, the more memory is used.

By clicking on the downward pointing arrow next to the tool, a list of all
stored operations will be displayed. You can undo directly to a given level by
selecting from the list.

To force the storing of another undo level during long drawing sessions with
the cross stitch tool, you can re-select the cross stitch tool with the mouse.

Note that if you undo some levels and then use a drawing tool, you will no
longer be able to redo the undone levels.

The Undo menu also provides access to the undo and redo lists.

Redo Tool

The redo tool will reverse a previous undo operation. Successive clicks of the
redo tool will reverse another level of the undo tool.

By clicking on the downward pointing arrow next to the tool, a list of all
stored operations will be displayed. You can redo directly to a given level by
selecting from the list.

Note that once a drawing tool is used, the last operation will no longer be
undo, hence the redo tool will not be available.

The undo menu also provides access to the redo lists.

32
 Stitch by Stitch Undo/Redo

A second set of undo/redo tools are provided which will undo and redo one
stitch at a time. So if you draw 10 red stitches followed by 20 green stitches,
it would take 20 undo operations to remove all the green stitches and another
10 to remove the red stitches. The standard undo tool would remove all 20
green stitches with the first press ans all 10 red stitches with the second press.

The stitch by stitch undo limits are different to those set for the standard undo
tools. At time of writing, the limits are set in the program and are not
changeable however they may be made configurable from the undo menu in a
future version.

Zooming and Panning

In order to see the design clearly when drawing, it is normally necessary to
enlarge the screen view so that you are looking at only a section of the design.
In order that the section being viewed can be related to the overall design, the
program provides a SuperView window which always shows the entire
design.

The SuperView identifies the part of the design that is being viewed by
drawing black box around this section. As the zoom level is varied, the size
of this box will change and when the design is panned, the box will move to
show the new position being viewed.

Panning
Panning around the design can be done in two ways.

The traditional way with windows programs is by clicking the scrollbars at the
right and bottom edges of the design. By clicking on the arrowheads, it is
possible to move by just 10 stitches at a time. By clicking between the
arrowhead and the scrollbar position indicator, you move by an entire screen

33
at a time. Lastly, by dragging the position indicator, you can move by any
amount.

A much easier way to move to any point in the design is to use the SuperView
window. Simply click and drag the black box that represents the current view
around the SuperView window. When the mouse is released, the main
window will jump directly to that point. This avoids waiting for multiple
screen redraws whilst the scrollbars are positioned.

If the mouse pointer is moved beyond the actual canvas area with the mouse
button held down then the design will be automatically scrolled. Used with
the Area Select tool, this allows a larger area to be selected than can be
viewed on screen at once.

Zoom Menu

The Zoom menu allows the design to be enlarged or reduced on screen so as

to view more or less at one time. The zoom can also be changed using the
Zoom In and Zoom Out tools on the toolbar but the menu offers the ability to
jump several zoom levels at a time. When at maximum or minimum zoom,
the appropriate tool will be greyed out to indicate that the limit has been
reached. A third tool is provided which does not change the zoom level but
simply refreshes the screen and updates the position of the centre marks and
width/height readouts if they are displayed.

Custom Zoom
The custom option on the zoom menu allows you to set almost any zoom
factor. The number you enter for the size will be the number of pixels width
for each stitch. Note that the graphics used for each of the preset stitch sizes
have been hand crafted and thus custom zoom levels may not be as realistic as
the preset ones.

34
Palette Menu

Swap Colour

Selecting Colour Swap will display a window that allows a new colour to be
substituted for the currently selected one. There is also a shortcut to this
display. Simply double click on the colour sample display just below the X/Y
position readout.

A new colour can be selected from the colour swap window by simply
clicking on the required colour patch. The update button must be pressed to
see the effect of the change on the design. The colour can be changed any
number of times by clicking on a new colour or by holding down the mouse
button while moving the mouse over the colours.

To change a second colour, simply click on the next colour to change in the
main palette display and repeat the process.

Note: If the screen size does not permit the main palette and the colour swap
palette to be seen at the same time, the main palette can be undocked from its
normal position and moved to a more convenient location. See customisation
section of the manual for details.

To save all changes, click on the Done button. Using the Cancel button will
cause all changes to be reversed.

It is possible to select colours from ranges other than the range currently in
use by selecting a new range from the list shown. It is suggested that the text
description of the colour be changed to show the name of the colour range.
This avoids confusion on the symbol key when ranges are mixed.

35
Custom colours can also be made by moving the three scrollers that represent
the red, green and blue components of the colour. The name can be
customised by editing the name displayed.

There are two additional checkboxes in this dialog that are used to indicate if
the selected colour is either Flourescent or Metalic. Currently these are just
indicators but future versions may make use of these flags.

Variegated thread colours

Some manufacturers produce threads which change colour over their length.
Previously there has been no way to see the effect of this on the screen. With
this version of Cross Stitch Professional we provide the ability to handle
variegated threads correctly and to display them on screen.

Predefined variegated colours

If variegated colours have been provided as part of an included thread range
then they can be used as any other thread colour and the effect will be seen on
screen. Simply double click on a palette entry and select the variegated thread
from the colour swap window in the same way as any other colour. You will
see the variegated colours as the patches show each colour in the thread
giving a striped effect to the patch.

Adding a variegated colour to a palette

You can construct a variegated colour for a specific design in just the same
way as you create any custom colour. The colour swap window that displays
the colour values for the palette colour also has a variegated button next to the
large colour patch. Clicking this swaps from a single colour patch to the
variegated display.

Initially you will see just one colour patch but you can add and delete patches
using the “+” and “-” buttons. You need a patch for each colour change in the
thread.

To change the colour of a patch, click on it to select it and then either move
the colour sliders to create the colour or select a colour patch from the

36
existing manufacturers colours. When using the manufacturers colours, only
the colour value is taken – the colour number is ignored.

The number entry on the variegated display represents the distance between
repeats in the colour sequence. It should be set to the number of cm of thread
before the colour sequence repeats – that is the total length of all the colours.
It is used to show on screen a more realistic representation of the finished
effect dependant on the fabric count being used.

To set the colour number and/or name for the variegated thread, click the
variegated button again to switch back to the standard display. Note that the
single colour patch now shows the variegated bands. The colour number box
is now displayed and you an edit the name and number.

Using a variegated colour in a colour scheme

If you are using multiple colour schemes in your design, you can use a
variegated colour just like any other colour. Thus it is possible to have one
colour scheme that uses variegated threads and one that doesn't.

Adding variegated colours to a colour range

If you want to be able to use a set of variegated colours in many designs, it is
possible to create the variegated colours in the master colour range editor.
This colour range editor contains the same facilities to create a variegated
colour as the colour swap window. In this case the colours will be available
whenever that colour range is selected in the program. See section on the
colour range editor for details on creating your own ranges or modifying
existing ranges.

Blend Colour
By selecting Blend Colour, you are able to create a colour to represent using
two threads on the needle at once. These blended colours allow you to get
shades that are not part of the manufacturers normal range.

Select the palette colour you want to replace with a blend. Now select the
blend command from the palette menu and the following dialog appears:

37
To create a blended colour, we need to load the required two thread colours
into the top two colour patches. The currently selected patch will be outlined
in red. By clicking on a colour in the colour palette at the left of the screen,
that colour is loaded into the selected patch.

To load the second colour, simply click on the second patch to select it and
then on the second required colour.

The resulting blended colour will be shown in the blend patch and will
replace the current colour when you click on OK. Simply click cancel to leave
the palette unchanged.

You can also create blends of 3 colours by checking the "3 colours"
checkbox. A third colour patch is now displayed and can be filled in the same
way.

38
The program uses an averaging method to determine the colour of the blend.
This produces an approximation but the only way to see the exact colour is to
stitch a few stitches with the blended threads. When the colours blended are
far apart in colour, some interesting pattern effects are produced but the
averaged colour shown is unlikely to be close to the final result.

Match Colours

The match colours command causes each colour in the colour palette to be
substituted by the nearest thread colour in the currently selected range.

Match Colours no dupes

This command does the same as match colours but will never match more
than one colour value to the same thread. If a second colour results in a
duplicate thread colour then the next nearest colour is used. The advantage of
this is that subtle colour changes will not be lost when matching to ranges of
limited colours. Instead, a close colour is substituted giving the designer a
chance to retain the detail and manually change to a more suitable colour if
necessary.

Change Symbols
The change symbols command will display a dialog from which each colour
in the colour palette can have a symbol assigned. There will already be a
symbol assigned for each colour but these may not be considered the most
appropriate.

The dialog has three pages which can be selected to allow changing the
symbol, the backstitch style and the print colour.

39
Changing the Cross Stitch Symbol
To change the cross stitch symbol, choose the Symbol page of the dialog:

At the top of the display will be a list of each colour together with their
currently assigned symbols. Underneath, is a list of all available symbols in
the currently selected font. To assign a symbol to a colour, simply click on
the symbol, hold the mouse down and drag it onto the required colour.
Repeat for each colour.

If a symbol appears crossed out in red, it means there is another colour using
the same symbol. Under normal circumstances, you will want to avoid this as
you will not be able to tell them apart on the printed chart. If however you are
using the anti-photocopying facility in the Publisher edition, then you will
want the same symbol for more than one colour.

40
It is most effective to assign light symbols to the lighter colours and dark
symbols to the darker colours. This way, the printed pattern will be more
recognisable as the subject it is trying to portray. To help with this, there is an
Auto button that completely automates this process. It is of course possible to
use the Auto button and then reassign any colours that have undesirable
symbols.

This version of the software has 3 symbol pages. If you do not have enough
symbols in the provided font, you can switch to another symbol page and load
a second or third font. Symbols can be dragged and dropped from any of the
three pages to combine symbols from up to three fonts in one design.

Publisher
Anti-Photocopy Edition

One of the problems of selling individual charts in black and white is that they
are easily copied and shared with a large number of people. Obviously as a
designer this limits the number of patterns that will actually make money.

One solution to this is to use the same symbol in more than one colour (say
black and red). Then when the chart is copied, it becomes difficult or even
impossible to tell the difference between the colours.

Cross Stitch Professional allows the colour of each symbol to be chosen

separately. On the symbol dialog, simply click on the font change button.
The font dialog not only allows the whole font to be changed but also the
colour. Select the required colour and the entire font will change to that
colour. The existing defined symbols remain unchanged so only symbols that
you redefine after the colour change will be affected. You can see the colour
assigned to each symbol in the top window of the dialog.

To print a chart with these false colours, simply select the usual symbol mode
for the print. You will of course need a colour printer.

Changing the Backstitch Style

Backstitches can be set to print as black lines, colour lines, lines of the cross
stitch symbol or as custom line styles. The Backstitch tab of this dialog allows
the custom line styles to be assigned and even designed:
41
First click on the colour at the top of the dialog to select the thread colour for
which you want to set the backstitch style.

You can now choose a pre-set line style from the drop down list of styles or
you can define your own style.

As you select a line style, the dialog shows a sample of the line and a
magnified view used for drawing. To draw your own or modify a style based
on the selected pre-set style, click on one of the segments that makes up the
line. Each click changes that segment from White to black and also updates
the sample of the line.

42
Coloured Line Styles
Custom line styles can also have their own colour rather than just being black.
You can click the choose colour button to select any colour you want.
Clicking the “Use thread colour” button will set the line colour to the actual
thread colour.

Auto Assign
The Auto Assign button can be used to set each backstitch colour to a
different line style automatically. The program only assigns lines to colours
which are actually used for backstitch in the design. Each available line style
is used in turn. If there are more colours used for backstitch than line style
available, the program starts assigning styles again from the beginning of the
list. If this happens, you will probably want to create some custom line styles
or use different colours so you can tell them apart on the printed chart.

Print Colour
The print colour tab allows the setting of individual print colours for use when
printing coloured charts:

43
The top choice sets the print colour to the actual thread colour, which is the
default choice.

The second choice sets the same print colour but also provides a fade control.
This creates less dense colours and allows any symbols placed on top to show
up more clearly.

The third choice allows you to select a custom colour by clicking on the
“select custom” button and then selecting an appropriate colour. You may
want to use this option when the thread colour is too pale to print clearly.

Remove Duplicates
This menu command will search the colour palette for entries with the same
red, green and blue values. If any duplicates are found, the design will be
updated to use only the first entry. Each duplicate entry will then be set to
white. It is useful to use this command before printing a design as it will
prevent the same colour appearing more than once in the colour key.

Remove Unused
This will strip any colours from the palette which have not been used in the
design and make it easier to see which colours have been used.

Sort
The sort command allows the order of colours in the palette to be changed
without affecting the actual design. The following dialog is displayed:

44
Each colour appears in its current order including all the unused colours in the
current palette.

The colours can be sorted by pressing one of the predefined sort buttons
provided. From left to right they are: Sort numerical, Sort by colour hue, Sort
by intensity, sort by frequency of use in the design. The sort can be performed
in reverse order by checking the "Reverse sort" box.

It is also possible to move colours by dragging them from one position and
dropping them into a new one. The colour name is shown below the palette as
the mouse is moved over a colour.

When the OK button is clicked, the main design palette is updated to reflect
the new order. Clicking on cancel retains the original order.

Add / Remove colours

This command is used to add or remove colours from the design. Removing a
colour that is used will have the effect of deleting all the stitches of that
colour.

45
In order to add new colours, you must first create room in the current palette.
At the start of a design, this is most conveniently done by pressing the Clear
All button which results in the following display:

The required colours may now be chosen one at a time. There are two ways
to select a colour:

Firstly, you can simply click on the required colour in the top window. This
window displays an entire colour range. The range displayed can be chosen
from the “Colour Range” drop down list.

Secondly, the colour can be selected by typing the colour number or name
into the “Find” edit box. As you type, the program selects the nearest match
colour to what you have typed so far. As soon as the program has selected the
correct colour, you can hit the enter key on the keyboard to select it. The next
number can then be entered directly without erasing the first.

To delete a colour, simply click on the colour sample in the lower half of the
dialog box. All existing stitches in this colour will be deleted.

To accept the new colour palette, select the OK button. To reject all changes,
select the Cancel button.
46
Delete Current Colour
This command will delete all stitches of the currently selected colour from
anywhere in the design.

Highlighting
The highlighting menu command will display a sub-menu allowing the choice
of standard highlighting or flashing. A third choice allows the highlighting to
be configured.

Standard Highlight
This option will highlight the currently selected colour according to the
current preferences that have been set. As a new colour is selected from the
palette, the design is redrawn with the new colour highlighted.

Options
The Highlight Options command will display the option dialog to enable you
to select the method of highlighting used:

The Use thread colour option will display the selected colour in the normal
colour for that thread and all other colours will be faded by the amount of
fade specified using the slider control.

47
The Use selected colour option lets you select what colour is used to draw
stitches of the currently selected colour. Normally this would be a highly
visible colour. Again, other stitches will be faded by the amount specified.
The “No Fade” checkbox can be checked to force the fade control to be
ignored.

Flashing Highlight
When flashing is selected, the current colour will alternate between the
correct thread colour and background canvas.

The flash menu item will be checked while flashing is selected. To turn off
flashing, simply select the menu item again.

WARNING – Not all systems and versions of Windows will be successful in

flashing a colour. If your system locks up, you should avoid this command in
future. It is however a very useful tool so is provided for users who have
systems capable of using It. At time of writing, only cross stitches are flashed.

Adjust Brightness / Contrast

Sometimes it is required to change the overall brightness of a pattern or
correct for a colour cast. This tool allows brightness and red/green/blue levels
to be adjusted whilst maintaining use of available thread colours. The
following dialog is displayed:

All settings are in the form of a percentage change and adjustments are made
by moving the appropriate sliders from left to right.

48
Clicking on the preview button will update the design view whilst allowing
the settings to be changed or cancelled. Only when the OK button is pressed
will the change be made permanent.

Turn On/Off Colours

This command allows individual colours to be turned on and off. It can be
useful in finding where a colour is used. The following dialog is displayed:

Each colour has a checkbox in the centre which determines if the colour is
displayed or not. Clicking on All or None is a quick way to select or de-select
all the colours at once.

A preview button allows the effect to be seen without quitting the dialog
although all changes are reversable by simply repeating the command.

Reduce number of colours

This command will show the number of used colours on the screen and allow
the number to be reduced. The colours that are removed will be those least
used in the design. Stitches using these colours will e replaced with the next
nearest available colour which is already used.

This command can be useful in removing colours from scans where only a
few stitches are used. Use the thread length estimator to determine how many
colours are sparsely used and then reduce the number of colours by that
number. Sometimes though, colours using a small number of stitches are
required to give detail.

49
Whilst useful in reducing the number of colours in a complex scanned chart, a
better result is usually obtained by requesting the correct number of colours
when scanning or importing. This is because the importing algorithm use
image processing and specially written colour reduction techniques whereas
this command simply selects the least used colours for deletion. Sometimes a
combination of the two methods works well and experimentation may be
necessary for individual pictures for the very best results.

Change Colour range

This allows you to change from using one manufacturers threads to another.
Simply select the range from the list provided and click OK.

When a new range is selected, any existing stitches are matched to the nearest
thread colour in the new range based on their RGB colour value.

Use the colour range editor from the Settings menu to edit colour ranges or to
create new ones.

Colour Schemes
Colour schemes allow you to create a design but to keep various colour
palette alternatives at the same time. You might for instance draw a red car.
Now you can add a colour scheme, change all the reds to greens to create a
green car. Selecting the different colour schemes allows you to switch
between the red and green cars at will. Also any changes made to one car will
automatically be reflected in the other – but with that cars colours.

You can also use schemes to select a different manufacturers colours and
hence keep designs in equivalent colours.

There are several colour scheme commands which can be accessed from the
Colour Scheme menu item of the palette menu or alternatively by right
clicking on the current palette.

New colour scheme – Adds a new colour scheme to the design. Initially the
palette is set to the same as the master design but this can then be modified.
A drop down list of schemes appears above the palette when a design is using
schemes.

50
Delete colour scheme – Deletes the current colour scheme. If the last colour
scheme is removed, the selection list box for colour schemes will be removed.

Rename colour scheme – Allows you to specify a new name for the current
scheme. Try to be descriptive with the name so it make sense on a printed
chart. When a range is first added, it gets a default scheme name and this
should be renamed.

Save Palette – Allows you to save the current palette to a file so it can be
used in another design at a later date.

Load Palette – Allows you to load a previously saved palette to replace the
palette of the current design.

Palette Control Buttons

Above the palette display, there are four buttons that control the way the
palette is displayed:

Black & White symbols

Colour blocks

Colour symbols

Colour blocks and black symbols

Colour Merge
Sometimes it is necessary to merge two close colours into a single colour in
order to reduce the overall number of colours in the design. This is easily
done by clicking and holding down the left mouse button on the first colour in
the palette. Now move the mouse to the second colour and release. The two
colours will now be replaced by a single colour (the first colour clicked) and
all the stitches in the design will be changed accordingly. The prompt bar at
the bottom of the screen guides you in this operation. In order to prevent
accidental operation, it is necessary to hold down the <ctrl> key whilst
performing this operation.

51
It can sometimes give better results by importing images in more colours than
required and then manually merging colours in this way. This is particularly
true when an images background has colours distinct from the required
foreground detail. Simply merge all the background colours and you reduce
the overall number of colours but preserve the foreground detail. By leaving
two or three background colours, you can retain some interest.

Info Menu
The ShowWH option causes the XY readout to also show the width and
height of the pattern. The width and height are those of the occupied area of
the design regardless of any unused areas at any side. This display is only
updated when a manual redraw is performed. This is done using the redraw
tool which is next to the zoom tools on the toolbar.

Thread Lengths
Selecting Thread Lengths will display the pattern size calculating window.

52
The window displays the fabric HPI (TPI in the USA) , width and height.
There are two displays, the left column is where numbers are entered by the
user, the right column are the values calculated by the program. When either
HPI, Width or Height are entered on the left, the program calculates a set of 3
values on the right which most closely match what is typed.

The calculated value can be based on the exact number of stitches used in the
design or, when autocrop is selected, each edge of the design is extended to
the nearest multiple of 10 stitches. The number of stitches used by each
option is shown below the selector buttons.

In order to estimate the amount of thread required to stitch the design, the
number of strands used for Cross Stitches and Backstitches must be entered
together with the number of strands in the thread being used. The threads
button then displays the length estimates:

53
The output from the estimator can be seen in a mini word processor which can
be used to modify it prior to printing. Buttons are provided to send the output
to a printer or to the Windows Clipboard so that it can be used in other
applications. Note that any text modifications are not saved once the dialog is
closed.

The formatting is in a table which is compatible with a number of word

processors including Word for Windows.

Length calculation formulas

The formula used to calculate the length of thread is based on settings for the
number of stitches obtained from a given length.

For the estimator to produce a result, details need to be entered for the count
of fabric being used. The program comes with a set of values for a range of
standard fabric counts based on meter lengths but the formula can be adjusted
to give estimates based on any length and fabric count.

To adjust the formula, click on the Formula button. The following dialog is
then displayed:

54
The dialog has separate tabs for cross stitch and tapestry settings. The tapestry
settings will automatically be used when the tapestry canvas is being
displayed.

The column of figures on the left represent the different fabric counts. The
program can store settings for up to 8 fabric counts in cross stitch and a
further 8 in tapestry. They can be any 8 counts but if the length calculator uses
a count that is not listed, the program will calculate the required number
mathematically from the nearest available count.

For each count, it is necessary to set the number of stitches that can be made
from a unit length. The unit can be anything, meters, skeins, 20" lengths etc as
long as the number of stitches is set to reflect the amount of stitches for that
length. The results of the calculation will be the number of lengths required.
You should change the text of the Heading box to show what length you have
used when measuring the stitches obtained from a length. This allows the
program to display the units of measurement in the thread usage list.

The final column is on the cross stitch page only and indicates the number of
backstitches that can be stitched from a unit length.

All numbers are based on a length threaded onto a needle and do not take into
account the number of strands used - that is done in the main size calculator
dialog. So if you are using 2 strands from a 6 stranded thread, you should
measure the number of stitches obtained by say 1 meter of 2 strands on the
needle. The program will reduce the thread lengths to 1/3 because it knows
you get 3 sets of 2 strands from the purchased thread.

At the bottom of the page, there are two further settings. The cost setting
allows the cost (in pence/cents etc) of a unit length of thread to be entered. If
this value is non-zero then the total cost of each colour thread will also be
calculated together with a total cost of all threads. The value represents the
total cost of a length of thrad as supplied. So again if you are using 2 strands
from a 6 strand thread and entering the values for a meter, the value to enter is
the cost of 1 meter of 6 strand thread.

There is also a setting for adding an allowance for wastage. This increases the
amount of thread estimated by the given percentage. It is very important in
commercial kits to allow sufficient wastage. Wastage can cover things like an
55
unusual number of colour changes, unpicking of mistakes and for the fact that
any estimate is just that - an estimate.

Notes
This allows a set of notes to be entered for the pattern. The notes are stored
with the pattern and can be printed with it too. These can be used to explain
things like the number of strands to use for each colour, the type of any beads
and any special instructions for backstitching. It could also be used as a
notepad for ideas and things to so whilst designing.

If you are using the SuperKey option for printing the key, you may prefer to
enter your notes as part of the SuperKey Template. This allows notes to be
combined with the key and also to use variables like strands of thread and
design size which are updated automatically with changes in your design.

The Notes word processor can save files for reading into other word
processors like Word for Windows.

Help Menu
The Help menu is where you will find a variety of methods for getting help,
support and upgrades.

The About command displays the about box for the program giving the
version and copyright information. The build version and date are particularly
helpful when contacting technical support as it enables the person trying to
help you to use the exact same version.

The Index function will display the pdf version of the manual in the programs
own pdf reader. This allows you to search the manual much easier than with
the printed version.

The Showhints function is used to turn on and off the yellow popup hints on
the toolbar buttons.

Free Updates shows a sub-menu of options to do with updating your

program. The software comes with free access to all new versions for 2 years
from date of purchase.
56
You must first register by choosing the register item from the menu. This
will display a web page wher you can enter your details for registration. The
user ID and password are your choice and will be the details you need to enter
to access the updates.

After registering, you should get an email confirming your application for
updates. After we review your details, you will get a final email confirming
your acceptance and then you can use the updates.

Check for program updates will compare your version with that on the
Internet update page and list all the differences. You will then have the option
to automatically update your software. Note that when you do this, the
program closes and the installation begins. The first time you check, you will
need to enter your user ID and password but these will then be remembered
for that computer.

Visit upgrade page can be used to go directly to the Internet upgrade page
using your web browser. You can download the latest update or even the full
latest version in case you have problems with the automatic updates or you
need to install on a machine without Internet access.

Also on the updates page are the latest colour range files, a handy browser
utility and any new templates we release. There is also a special debug version
of the program in case you have problems – this will create bug reports for
you to send to DP Software in the event of program crashes instead of just
terminating the program. It also in some cases allows you to continue after a
crash.

Automatically check for updates – If this is checked then the program will
check on the Internet for program updates every time it starts. You will only
see a message if a new version exists.

Check for Myriastitch update – This will start the online update procedure
for the 3rd party plugin MyriaStitch. This is only relevant if the MyriaStitch
plugin has been purchased and installed. This is not a DP Software product
and the upgrade mechanism has only been built in for the convenience of
users.

57
File Menu
The File Menu contains all the commands for loading and storing information
on disk and for clearing out the design to start a new one. It also allows the
reading in of graphics files in over 30 formats.

The format of the .xsp files has been changed slightly in the header section
since the original release. This will not affect loading of files in either newer
or older versions. The reason for the change is to hide the fact that the files
are encrypted from virus scanners. Some scanners were refusing to accept
design files as attachments to emails because they could not be scanned.
There is no danger from viruses as the files are only data files and cannot be
executed.

File New
The File New command creates a new blank canvas for use with a new
design. Any existing designs will remain open and will appear as a tab at the
bottom of the canvas. You can toggle between designs by clicking on the
appropriate tab. Any designs that you are not working on should be closed to
save memory.

File Open
The File Open command allows an existing XStitch Pro file to be recalled
from disk. All files in the current directory with the XSP extension will be
listed allowing one to be picked easily.

By changing the “Files of type” setting, you can also list files from other
programs. The following file types are supported:

58
File extension Program Comments
*.xsp Cross Stitch Professional This programs design
files
*.xsm Cross Stitch Professional Motifs
*.xss Cross Stitch Professional Read only designs
*.pat Patternmaker Version 1 files only
*.pat PC-Stitch Versions 5,6,7
*.clt Aspire2
*.scc Stitchcraft
*.ptn Digistitch

Opening multiple design

Both the File Open and File Browse commands can now open multiple files at
once. Simply hold down the <ctrl> key to choose multiple files. You can also
use the <shift> key to select all files between the currently selected file and
the one you click on next.

MyriaStitch Plugin
A 3rd party program is available called MyriaStitch which when installed adds
additional formats to the File Open command. You can find purchase details
by choosing “Purchase add-ons” from the Help menu. You must purchase the
correct plugin for Cross Stitch Professional.

Please note that DP Software does not produce this plugin and cannot be held
responsible for any problems using it. Support for the plugin is from the
producers – we simply provide the interface.

Note that MyriaCross may convert fractional stitches differently

requiring stitch types to be swapped later in Cross Stitch
Professional. Colour ranges may need to be selected manually.

Additional Plugin formats:

59
File extension Program Comments
*.pat Patternmaker version 3
*.xsd Patternmaker version 4
*.pt6 Designer Gold
*.pt7 Stitch R-XP
*.jgg J Greenoff
*.chart Winstitch 2010 version
*.border Winstitch 2010 version
*.spf Stitch
*.crx MyriaCross
*.acx MyriaCross

If you are using the machine version of Cross Stitch Professional then
installing the MyriaCross plugin will add the ability to create machine output
in JEF, PCS, EXP, KSM, 10o and DXF.

60
File Browse
This allows you to browse through a folder using the preview images for each
of the designs. Simply click on a designs preview image and click the OK
button or just double click on the image to open the design.

File Save
The File Save command writes the current design to disk. If the design
already has a name due to being previously saved or recalled from disk then it
will replace the existing file immediately with no prompting. If however it is
a new design then the File Saveas command will be called to prompt for a
name.

File Saveas
The File Saveas command allows a file to be named prior to saving to disk.
This can be used to save a new version of a design whilst preserving the old
one on the disk. It is also called automatically by the File Save command if
the design has not yet been named.

The dialog shown below is displayed:

Simply type in a name for the design in the Filename box and click the save
button.
61
Be careful not to use any special characters like star, comma etc. You don't
have to type in the .xsp file extension as the program will add that for you.

If necessary you can use the icons to change the folder before saving.

A progress bar is displayed along the bottom of the screen while the save is
taking place. With small designs or fast systems this may be too brief to see
but it is useful to see the progress for large files.

File Close
The File Close command is used to remove a design from the screen. If the
design has not been saved, a warning will be given since closing an unsaved
design will lose all changes. Designs should be closed when no longer
needed since each open design uses memory. You must have at least one
open design so if the last design is closed, a blank design will be
displayed.

File Close All

A quick way to close each of the currently open designs. For each design that
has changed since the last save, you will be asked if the changes are to be
saved before closing. If you do not save the changes, they will be lost.

File Import
The File Import command is used to convert into a Cross Stitch Professional
design.

A sub-menu allows conversion of a graphics file, an image from the clipboard

or a repeat of the last image used.

Import from a file

The command is used just like the file open command except that all files are
listed not just those with a given extension.

The file to be imported can be any of the supported formats which are: BMP,
JPEG, PCX, TIFF, WMF, EMF, RLE, DIB, ICO, Kodak Photo CD (PCD),
PNG, PJPG, JPEG2000, FAX.

62
Import from the clipboard
Most programs will place a graphics file in bmp or wmf format into the
windows clipboard when using their copy command. Clipboard importing
simply selects this image instead of prompting for a filename.

Repeating last import

This function is useful when you need to repeat the importing of an image in
order to change the dimensions or number of colours. Rather than having to
find the file again, the program uses a copy it has retained for the purpose.
This command also works with the scanner thus preventing the need to re-
scan an image to try out different colour configurations.

When the source has been selected

After selecting a file to be imported, a dialog box will appear requesting the
maximum number of colours and design size. Under the preview picture
there is an edit button that will load the picture into DPImage for editing prior
to importing to cross stitch. See the separate DPImage section for instructions
on its use.

63
The Import function will allow files with up to 16.8 million colours to be read
in but the program can only allow 75 simultaneous colours to be used (220 in
plus edition). It is also very unlikely that a pattern would be required with this
many colours since it would be very tedious to stitch. A limit can thus be
placed on the number of colours to use. If more colours exist in the file then
they will be reduced by using a special algorithm that preserves the optimum
look of the image given the restriction of colours.

The design size also affects the quality of the finished results. The larger the
size, the more stitches there are to create a good effect.

The required design size is entered in stitches but the finished size is
displayed in inches and cms as the number of stitches is changed.

The fabric count can also be set in this dialog which will of course have an
effect on the finished stitched size.

After changing the colours and design size, a button appears allowing the
preview picture to be updated. This picture shows how the graphics file looks
when reduced to the selected design size and number of colours. It should
only be used as a guide since at this point the picture is not matches to real
thread colours

There are several options which can be used by the advanced user:

Use Background Colour

When checked, this option allows the very first colour in the current palette to
be used in the matching process. This results in any matching pixels in the
input file to result in a blank stitch (that is the canvas shows through). The
default is off and most pictures contain so many slight variations in shade that
selecting a single background colour is rarely acceptable.

Match to nearest thread colour

This option when checked results in all colours being matched to the nearest
thread in the currently selected thread range. Each colour will have the
manufacturers numbers assigned to it. If this option is not used, all colour
numbers and descriptions will be blank and the colours will not represent any
particular thread.

64
The currently selected thread range can be selected from the drop down list
box. The default is that currently set as the colour range on the programs
palette menu.

Match to current palette only

This option prevents the import routine from selecting the colours to use.
Instead it selects only colours in the current palette and will use the nearest
available. This option can be used to create designs in sepia or blue tone for
example. Use the Generate Custom command from the palette menu to
choose the colours prior to using Import.

Another useful feature is to allow re-importing with a palette that has been
optimised by hand from a previous import. Here's how to do this:

1) Import the picture using more colours than you really want.
2) Use the colour merge facility of the palette to merge colours used in
unimportant parts of the picture like background.
3) Use the Import last image command to re-import the picture again but
check the "match to current palette" option.

You should have steered the program into giving the best image using colours
predominantly from the foreground image. This technique requires some
practise but is worth the time.

Maintain aspect ratio

By default, a closed padlock is shown between the width and height settings.
This ensures that whenever the width or height is changed, the other
dimension is changed so as not to distort the picture. By clicking on the
padlock, it can be opened, making it possible to modify the width and height
values independently of each other.

Use Interpolation

This option is normally turned on and gives smoother results when scaling
images. It does however lead to additional colours being used to smooth
edges and may make the design more difficult to stitch.

65
A good way to think of this is with an example: If you have a white block of
stitches and a single black stitch in the middle, what should be the result of
halving the size (without using half stitches) ? Without interpolation, the
black stitch would either still remain a black stitch and look too big or it
would disappear leaving just a white block. With interpolation, you get a grey
stitch in a white block which from a distance looks like a smaller stitch.

With this version of Cross Stitch Professional, it is best to provide the

program with the largest number of colours possible in the file and allow the
program to reduce it to the number required. This is due to the excellent
colour reduction algorithm that the program uses. Also with external
programs, you are reducing to a given number of ideal colours whereas in
Cross Stitch Professional you are reducing to a given number of available
thread colours. If you import a 30 colour image and ask for 30 colours, it is
unlikely you would end up with 30 colours because several colours probably
have the same nearest available thread colour.

Using Petit-Point stitches to enhance resolution

There is an additional checkbox on the import dialog, “Calculate petit stitches
for later enhancement”. If this is checked, the program will convert the image
to cross stitch as normal but will also convert to cross stitch at double the
stitch count. This means the second conversion will have 4 stitches for every
stitch in the normal conversion. This petit-point layer will initially be hidden
and will not form part of the design.

After the conversion, any areas where the resolution looks poor (for example
around the eyes of a portrait) can be enhanced by allowing the petit-point
layer to replace the standard stitches. This is done by painting over the area
using the normal/petit-point conversion tool.

Since the petit-point stitches are finer than the cross stitches, they increase the
difficulty for the stitcher so should only be used where required.

File Import from Scanner

The file scan command is used to scan an image directly into the program
using any Twain compliant device. The command can also be used from the
Scan tool on the toolbar.

66
Twain is the industry standard software interface for scanning devices and
allows programs to communicate directly with the scanner driver supplied
with the scanner.

To scan a photograph, place the original on the scanner and start the scan
command.

When your scanner dialog appears, there should be a setting for resolution.
The recommended setting is around 150 DPI. This will ensure there is
sufficient resolution and ensure scanning at a reasonable speed. Higher
resolutions can be used but the processing time will be longer and the results
are not likely to be any different.

After scanning, a dialog will be displayed allowing the number of desired

colours to be entered. The process from this point is the same as with the File
Import command.

File Scan Source

The Scan Source command from the file menu is only used when there is
more than one Twain device installed on the computer. It allows selection of
a single Twain device for use by the Scan command.

File – Import – From WIA Device

If a Windows WIA device is installed, this will allow you to import a
photograph from it. This could involve scanning with a scanner or choosing a
picture from a digital camera. If no WIA devices are installed on your
machine, this option will be disabled and shown in grey. If your scanner is
not a WIA device then use the Import from Scanner function instead which
can be used with any TWAIN compliant device.

File Printer Set-up

The Printer Set-up command allows the selecting of the printer to be used for
printing out the pattern. It is only necessary to use this command if a printer
other than your default printer is to be used (that is you have more than one
printer). It can also be used to call the printer set-up dialog for the selected
printer. The functions available in this dialog depend on the printer driver
installed but usually includes selection of portrait or landscape orientation.
The changes made under XStitch will apply only whilst printing from the

67
program unless the current windows set-up does not support local printer set-
ups in which case the default values for windows will be changed.

The printer setup command can also be activated by clicking on the setup
button from the print dialog.

File Print
The File Print command is used to convert the design to a pattern and print it
out on the currently selected printer. A large dialog will be displayed
allowing many options. See the chapter on printing for details.

Print organiser
This command is used to print a thread organiser. These are the cardboard
strips to which threads are normally attached in commercial kits. The format
is very configurable and almost any size and configuration of organiser card is
possible. The following dialog is displayed consisting of a number of pages
arranged in a tabbed notebook style:

The first page of the notebook is for the header settings. This is the
information that will be printed at the top of each organiser strip. The X and
Y settings determine the starting point of the header with respect to the top of
the strip.

68
The editing window is used to enter the text for the header. This text can
simply be typed in and formatted with the supplied word processor functions,
or you can use <shift><instert> to paste formatted text and graphics from the
Windows clipboard. Most word processors can be used to place text into the
clipboard by simply selecting some text and using the copy command. Text
copied in this way should retain all the font size, colour and justification
settings of the original text.

The second page is identical but for the footer - printed at the bottom of each
strip.

The Threads tab is more complex and determines the relationship between
each thread on the printed strip:

The top row is the X,Y location of the first thread number with respect to the
top left corner of the strip.

The 2nd Offset determines the distance in X and Y between successive threads.
In the example above, the threads will be one underneath the other 15mm
apart.

The symbol offset determines the spacing between the thread number and the
key symbol.

69
The threads per card determines how many threads are printed before a new
strip is started.

Check boxes are provided to allow the full colour name to be printed and also
for punch marks. Punch marks indicate where a hole punch should be used to
provide the hole for the threads. They make judging the punch point much
easier.

The final page is for the page layout:

The 1st card setting is used to determine the reference point from the top left
of the sheet for the first strip on a sheet.
The 2nd offset indicates the distance between successive strips on the page.

The cards per sheet simply determines how many cards will be printed before
starting a new sheet.

At the bottom of the dialog there are also settings to set the paper orientation
and the number of copies to print.

70
Exporting the organiser
By clicking the export button, a preview of the organiser card is
created. From the preview screen you can save as a pdf, jpg or
metafile.

Make Photo
This command can be used to create a "Photograph" of the stitched design. It
will generate a graphics file either in a file or directly to the Windows
clipboard. A wide variety of graphics file formats are available.

71
The graphics file created is at the current screen settings of zoom, canvas and
stitch displays. It is very similar to copying the screen area to the clipboard
but it uses the entire design area rather than just the currently selected area.

Not all zoom settings will generate a photo due to many reasons including
limitations in system memory, video driver capability etc. If one setting
produces an error, try a smaller zoom setting.

Having generated the image in the Windows clipboard, it should be possible

to transfer to most windows programs by selecting their paste command.

Printing a photo Publisher

Edition
A third option allows the "Photo" to be sent straight to the printer. The
advantage of this is that the memory limitation is overcome and the highest
zoom resolution can be used. Providing the printer driver is capable of
handling the images, it is possible to produce very large prints at full
resolution.

When printing the photo, a dialog is used to specify the required size. This
setting is in stitches per inch so it can be used to specify a life size image.
This is useful for producing exhibition displays of "stitched" designs without
having to actually stitch them. Best results are obtained from a large format
printer but the program will divide into multiple sheets for smaller format
printers.

There are two options for print resolution/quality. Selecting "Exact" will
produce a print that exactly matches the stitched design size but at the
expense of some slight imperfections or "joins" in the printout.

Selecting "nearest printer DPI" results in a perfect image but there may be a
slight size difference when compared to the real stitched design. This is
because the program selects the nearest whole number of printer pixels per
stitch instead of calculating to fractions of a pixel. The error will be smaller
the higher the printer resolution. There will be no error if the printer
resolution (DPI) is evenly divisible by the "stitches per inch".

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View in Frame
This command displays the current design in a bevel cut mount and picture
frame complete with realistic fabric and stitching. This is ideal for kit front
covers. See the separate chapter on DPFrame.

Language
On multilingual versions, this option allows the programs language to be
changed. If you require the program in a different language, please contact
technical support for availability. We are often able to produce programs with
other languages if you can supply translations for the strings used in the
program. We have a special spreadsheet containing all the strings required for
translation. Not all languages shown on the menus are available.

File – Recent Files

This menu item will display the most recently accessed files. By choosing one
of the files you can load it more easily than using the Open command. Any
file which is currently unavailable will be greyed out and cannot be selected.
This can happen if you delete a file or if the file was on a disk that is no
longer attached to your computer.
If a required file is not shown in the list it simply means it is not one of the
recently accessed files and you need to use the Open command from the File
menu to find it.

File Exit
The File Exit command is used to quit the program. A warning will be issued
if the current design has not been saved since the last change.

Canvas Menu
Aida

Selects the Aida fabric simulation. A secondary menu will appear allowing
the selection of a number of colours. The design will then be redrawn to
show the new fabric background. This mode looks best when used with the
'photo cross stitch' and 'cross stitch' modes.

Tapestry

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Selects a tapestry canvas simulation. A secondary menu will appear allowing
the selection of a number of colours. The design will then be redrawn to
show the new canvas background. This mode looks best when used with the
realistic tapestry stitch mode.

Plastic
Selects a plastic canvas simulation. A secondary menu will appear allowing
the selection of a number of colours. The design will then be redrawn to
show the new plastic canvas background. This mode looks best with either
the realistic cross stitch or the realistic tapestry modes.

Evenweave
Selects an evenweave fabric simulation. A secondary menu will appear
allowing the selection of a number of colours. The design will then be
redrawn to show the new fabric background. This mode looks best when
used with the realistic cross stitch mode.

Rug
Selects a rug making canvas simulation. This is in fact similar to the Tapestry
canvas but is rotated by 90 degrees.

Grid
Selects a square grid with no fabric simulation. This mode can be used for
non-square aspect ratio stitches which cannot be shown on the fabric
simulations. It is also used to view the symbol chart. It looks best when used
with the Block, Cross or Symbol modes.

Beading
There are options for both horizontal and vertical brick stitch patterns for bead
looming.

None
With this mode, all drawing is done on a blank screen. It is useful in viewing
the design at small magnifications when the grid may otherwise dominate the
picture.

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Image
This is perhaps one of the most useful backgrounds although it is not really a
background in the same way as the fabrics at all.

It allows an image to be displayed behind a grid so as to allow easy tracing on

the screen. This provides for a more controllable way of converting a scanned
image or piece of clipart than simply importing it.

When this background is selected, the display will automatically change to

grid display since the image will only be visible with a grid background or no
background at all.

The image rollup is then displayed on screen which contains all of the settings
available when using a background image:

The top panel of the image rollup displays a small

copy of the currently selected image. If no image
is loaded, this will be blank.

The load button allows a file to be specified for

the background image. Most of the file formats
available for import can be used..

The width and height settings allow the image to

be scaled to fit the required number of stitches.
Watch the main window as this is changed.

The X and Y offsets allow the picture to be moved

around the design.

The Fade setting allows the colour saturation to be

reduced so as to make any stitching stand out from
the background image. A check box allows the
fade to be taken out quickly.
The visible check box allows the image to be
turned on and off quickly.

The two tools at the bottom of the dialog allow

colours to be read from the background.

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The colour drawing tools will read colours from the background image and
choose a stitch colour. They draw stitches as the mouse is moved over the
design - changing colour to match the background at all times.

The difference is that the left tool will add new colours to the palette whereas
the right tool will use only the nearest match from the current palette.

Tips in using the Image background

Start off with an empty palette by using "Generate custom" from the palette
menu. Select the ClearAll button to empty the palette and click OK.

Load the image and set the sizes you want.

Using the left hand tool, rub the mouse over the most important areas of the
design watching to see the total number of colours added to the palette. Now
ensure there are a range of colours to approximately represent the remainder
of the design by individually clicking on representative colours.

Switch to the right hand tool and paint in the rest of the design using the
selected colours.

If an area lacks detail, use the right mouse button to erase it and then switch
back to the left hand tool to paint over again. More colours will be added in
that area.

Save the design and try importing the image using the normal import routine.
Check the box for matching to current palette and you will import the whole
image with your optimised palette.

Compare the hand drawn version with the imported one and select the best.

You can of course just use the background image as a guide and freehand
draw the design on top.

Grid Interval / Colours

This allows the number of squares between dark lines to be changed. The
default in 10 small squares between each dark line which gives the easiest
76
counting of stitches. An alternative is to set this to the HPI of the fabric being
used such that each dark grid line will represent one inch. This parameter is
only useful when the canvas is set to Grid.

The colour can also be set for both minor and major grid lines.

Centre Marks

This allows the display of centre lines on screen. These are shown in red as a
dash-dot line as used in engineering for centres. The position of the centre
lines is only updated after a manual redraw. A manual redraw performed by
the redraw tool (located next to the zoom tools).

Count of Fabric

There are separate settings for horizontal and vertical count. The count of a
fabric is the number of stitches per inch. For cross stitch, it is usual to stitch
on a fabric which has the same vertical and horizontal counts. For methods
such as Duplicate Stitch (Swiss Darning), the count can be set to represent the
aspect ratio of the garment being stitched. This is also useful for producing
knitting designs where the grid can be set to match the tension.

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Also on this dialog, you can set the number of strands that you are intending
to stitch with. There are separate settings for cross stitch and backstitch.

There is also a second set of settings for embroidery machines. These will
only be used in the machine version of the program but you can still apply the
settings to create a design file suitable for both programs.

For hand stitching, it is normal to do backstitching in less strands than cross

stitch. Typically 1 strand for backstitch and 2 or 3 strands for cross stitch.

Due to the way embroidery machines work, it is necessary for all strands to be
a multiple of 2 strands. Without this, the machine cannot travel back along the
sewn line to arrive back at its starting point for the next stitch. Typically we
use 2 strands for both cross stitch and backstitch for 14 count or finer. For
counts below 14, you may need to increase the cross stitch strands to 4 to get
sufficient coverage.

Design Size
The size of the canvas available for the design may be set to anything within
the maximum 500 x 500 stitches available (1200 x 1200 Plus Edition).

Expand / Crop Size

The expand size command allows extra room to be added at any of the four
sides of the design. This is useful if you run out of room at the top or left
edges and prevents having to do a cut and paste operation on the whole design
in order to move it. A dialog is displayed allowing you to enter the number of
extra stitches required in each direction:

78
Entering a negative value will result in cropping of the canvas size.

There are pre-set buttons for setting the sizes to the currently
used design area or the currently selected area (if an area is selected).

An additional setting allows a border to be specified. This will result in the

specified number of blank stitches on each edge of the design.

Be very careful with this command since no checking is performed to see how
many stitches fall off the ends of the design when it is cropped. The command
also cannot be undone. If in doubt, save the file first !

Centre Design on Canvas

With the AutoCrop printing function, there is little need to centre the design
on the canvas but it can be useful if you are intending to add a border around
the outside. It simply moves the entire design so that it is centred about the
current canvas centre.

Stitches Menu
The Stitches menu allows the style of the stitches to be selected:

Photo Cross Stitch

This option displays the stitches as a realistic cross stitch. It is based on
actual pictures of stitched designs. Due to special programming techniques
the program performs at the same high speed in this mode and it is thus
possible to design in this mode instead of just using it as a preview function.

One of the main purposes of the realistic cross stitch display is to use it with
the 'generate photo' and 'view in frame' functions. Together with a word
processor these allow the creation of front covers for cross stitch kits.

Photo Tapestry
As realistic cross stitch but for tapestry work.

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Photo Arraiolos
As realistic cross stitch but for Arraiolos work. For those not familiar with the
name, it is an old form of rug making based on a long legged cross stitch. It is
much quicker to work than latch hook rugs.

Cross Stitch
A realistic mode which shows a cross stitch with depth and where one half
stitch appears to go underneath the other. This stitch looks best on the Aida,
Evenweave and Plastic Canvas simulations.

Tapestry
A realistic mode where a cross stitch is shown as a thick diagonal stitch
instead of a cross. This stitch looks best on the Tapestry Canvas simulation.

Blocks
Fills the entire stitch position with a block of the correct colour for each stitch.
Half stitches are represented by triangles. This simple mode is best shown on
the Grid or plain canvas modes.

Symbols
Draws the symbol used on the printout in black. Half stitches are represented
by half size symbols in the appropriate corner of the square. This is useful to
see the effect of the symbol assignment on the printed pattern. It is best
shown on the Grid or Plain canvas modes.
Colour Symbols
Draws the symbols as above but coloured rather than black.

Symbols + Blocks
Draws the Blocks in the appropriate colours and then draws the black symbol
on top.

Knit Style 1 and 2

Two alternative stitch styles designed to represent knitting. These work best
when the fabric count is set differently in the horizontal and vertical directions
to match the tension of the knitting.
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Blocks – print preview colours – Colour blocks but with the colours
changed to those that will appear on the chart printout if the print settings
specify a different colour scheme for the prints.

Symbols + Blocks – print preview colours – Colour blocks and symbols but
with the colours changed to those that will appear on the chart printout if the
print settings specify a different colour scheme for the prints.

On the toolbar there is also a drop down selection for the canvas hole colour.

Changing the hole colour can be useful to create a softer look to printed
canvases.

Show backstitch print style

This option will display the backstitches in the style of the current print settings.
This enable you to make changes to the backstitch print styles without having to
continuously go to the print dialog to preview the chart.

Hide backstitches
Simply turns on/off the display of backstitches

Hide non-backstitches
Turns on/off all stitches that are not backstitches. Useful for finding small parts of
backstitch that are not easy to see when the rest of the design is displayed.

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4 - Labelling

Labelling is the addition of stitches to form text characters. This can of

course be done manually by copying stitch by stitch from a pre-designed font
but this is rather time consuming.

Cross Stitch Professional for Windows offers a very versatile way to do this
automatically in the form of the Text Tool.

Simply select the text tool and click the left mouse button on the design at the
point where the text is required. A dialog box will appear:

The required text should first be typed into the edit box. In the case of this
example we have used the name FRED.

To select the style of the text, click on the Font button underneath the text.
This results in a font selection dialog:

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By selecting a font from the list (here we chose Times New Roman) the
program is instructed to put down stitches in the style of that font. You can
also select italic, bold or bold italic. The size indicates the approximate
height of the text in stitches. Click on OK when your selections are complete.

Referring back to the previous Text Dialog, there is an option to allow the use
of 3/4 stitches and diagonal backstitches. When checked, this option will give
a smoother result but will of course increase the stitching difficulty.

There are now four separate types of labelling that can be selected:

Object
Using only full crosses, this option gives the ability to alter the text later by
returning to the Text Dialog. The colour, style, size, wording and position on
the design can all be changed at a later date. The penalty for using this mode
is speed of drawing will be reduced and you will not be able to modify the
letters stitch by stitch. See the Objects section later in the manual for a fuller
explanation of Text Objects.

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Cross
Using full crosses and 3/4 stitches if the option is checked, this mode puts
down the stitches on the design where they become stitches with no links
between them. This mode will not slow display redrawing and allows
individual stitches to be removed, added or changed. The wording, size or
style cannot be changed later as there is no way back to the Text Dialog. If a
major change must be made then the text needs to be deleted and a new start
made.

Back
This mode operates like the Cross mode but instead of producing characters
filled with crosses, produces an outline character in backstitch. This works
much better when the diagonal backstitch mode is checked.

Cross / Back
Simply a combination of the cross and backstitch modes to produce solid
characters outlined in backstitch.

Some fonts produce better lettering than others so some experimentation may
be necessary for best results. The size chosen will also affect the success of
the final result.

When using Text Objects, the Text Dialog box can be re-entered which gives
the ability to convert to ordinary stitch lettering. This enables the Object
function to be used when initially placing the text but then the superior speed
of the stitch mode to be used when the final position is set.

XSPro Font Text Tool

This tool is used to add text using fonts that are designed in Cross Stitch
Professional. The advantage with these fonts is that they can contain any
combination of Cross Stitch, Backstitch, knots and beads. It is also possible to
use multiple colours defined within the font thus allowing pictures as part of
the letters. Unlike the standard text tool, text is not limited to a single line.

Simply select the tool and click where you want the top left corner of the text.
Now type the text into the dialog box, select the correct colour option and the
required font.

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By selecting Current Colour, all stitches will be set to the currently selected
palette colour regardless of the colour used in creating the font.

Selecting Colour From Font will give an exact duplicate of all the colour used
in the original font. If the colours required are not already in the palette, they
will be added according to the Motif Colour Preferences (See Motif
commands for more details).

Selecting From Font + Black Backstitch will keep the colours from the
original font but substitute black for all backstitches.

Buttons are also provided to allow the text to be left, right or centre justified.

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5 - Creating Fonts

The Cross Stitch Professional font Text Tool allows great versatility as the
fonts can be designed in the program. This section tells you how to create a
suitable font.

The XSPro font type was originally designed to allow pure backstitch
lettering since TrueType fonts do not readily lend themselves to conversion to
backstitch. However, it is also possible to use cross stitches and multiple
colours to create pictorial fonts.

Generally speaking, an XSPro font is created for a specific size of lettering

and is not scaleable like the TrueType fonts.

The following steps are required:

1 / Create a blank font sheet

2 / Draw the characters
3 / Define the character spacings
4 / Optionally add character positioning objects
5 / Removing unwanted canvas and colours
6 / Save the font
Creating a blank font sheet

The first step is to create a blank font sheet. Although the font patterns look
identical to a standard XSPro pattern, you must create the blank design using
the New Font command from the Text menu. This instructs the program that
the design will be treated as a font and ensures the correct file extensions are
used.

Drawing the Characters

The font can contain as many or as few characters as you wish. There must of
course be a unique key on the keyboard to represent each character.

86
There are no rules about where you must draw each character or what size
they must be. The position of each character and its size will be defined in
the next step.

You can use the standard save command at regular intervals to ensure you
don’t lose your work in the event of a power failure or system crash. The file
extension for fonts is .xsf

In order to maintain a fast drawing speed for the font when adding your text,
it is recommended that you keep the design size to the minimum required.
This means keeping your characters orderly and close together rather than
dotted around a large design. See the example font that comes with the
program.

You can use any combination of Cross Stitch (including fractional stitches),
backstitch, knots and beads. You can also use as many colours as you want
but remember that those colours will be added to your designs palette when
you use the font.

Defining Character Spacings

You should now have a single design containing all the characters you wish to
use in the font. The only problem now is that the program does not know
where each character starts and ends or what keyboard key is assigned to each
character. So now we must define what area of the pattern is used for each
character.

Use the area select tool to select the area used by the first character. You
need to include any space that should be left between characters otherwise
they will run into each other. Don’t worry if you are not sure how much to
leave since it is easy to change if the font doesn’t work correctly.

With the area defined, select Define Letter from the Text menu. A dialog box
will be displayed containing a small edit box (single character), This is where
you type the letter that this character is to represent. Now click on the OK
button and the letter is defined. Remember that upper and lower case letters
are different so you need to use the correct case when defining the letter.

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A box should appear around the letter that you have just defined. Whenever
you type this letter whilst using the font, everything inside the box will be
added to your pattern.

The letter definition box is in fact an Object and can be moved around the
design and resized using the Object Select tool.

Advanced Spacing

The single object described above which defines the extent of the character is
the minimum requirement for creating a font. However the problem with this
simple method is that the spacing between characters is dependant on just the
width of the character. This prevents us designing fonts where successive
letters overlap each other – such as long tails on letters like y.

Fortunately there is a second object that we can apply to each letter that
defines the actual spacing used for the letter.

The “Character positioning” object is added in exactly the same way as the
“Define Character” object and defines how much space is allocated to the
character. Any stitches that appear outside the character position object will
still be added to the pattern when the letter is used but will overlap the
previous or next character.

If a letter does not have a character positioning object then the positioning is
taken from the define character object. So there is no need to add these
objects to characters unless you need to change the default spacing.

Removing Unwanted Canvas and Colours

This step is critical to maintaining a fast speed when using your fonts.

The design size should be trimmed to fit the characters by using the Design
Size command from the Canvas menu. Be careful not to make it too small as
any stitches lost off the edge of the design are gone forever ! You may wish
to save your design before you start. If you need to recall your saved design,
use the Modify Font command from the Text menu rather than the file open
command.

88
Unwanted colours must also be removed from the palette. If there are
duplicate colours, they should be removed by the use of Remove Duplicates
from the Palette menu. Next, remove any unused colours using Remove
Unused Colours from the Palette menu.

Font designs with full palettes of unused colours will be very very slow to use.
This is because the program has no time to search the entire font to see which
colours it needs. This means each colour in the palette must be fitted into the
current design palette.

Saving the font

Finally, save the font using the Save command from the File menu. Of course
you have been doing that throughout the design process !

Modifying an existing font

To modify an existing font, use the Modify Font command from the Text
menu. This will automatically show only font files and make it easier to find
the font you are looking for. It also tells Cross Stitch Professional that you
are working with a font and enables the use of the Character definition
objects.

You may find it much easier to load an existing font of similar size to the one
you want to create and then just modify it – using SaveAs to create your new
font. This way you don’t have to add all the character definition objects by
hand.

89
6 - Objects

Introduction

The use of Objects give a previously unknown freedom to pattern design.

An Object is a collection of stitches that is normally small in comparison to

the complete design. It can be a piece of text typed at the keyboard and
translated into stitches by the program or any area of a pattern or a motif
loaded from the library.

The unique property of an Object is that it can be moved around the complete
design as if it were a single item. If the Object is moved over some existing
stitches, it does not affect them in any way so it can be moved away again
without having to re-enter the stitches beneath it. Objects can also be resized
at any time by dragging a corner with the mouse. Each change of size is
calculated from the original imported graphics so reducing and then enlarging
an object will not result in loss of detail.

With a text object, not only can the size be changed, but the text itself can be
edited or the font changed at any time. After each change, the stitch pattern is
recalculated.

Motif Objects

A motif object can be added in two ways:

Firstly, an existing motif can be loaded directly as an object by using "Load

motif as Object" from the Motif menu or using the motif browser. See the
Motif chapter for further details.

Secondly, any selected area can be converted to an object. Simply select an

area of the design using any of the area selection tools. Now select "To
Object" from the Area menu.

A Motif object can contain not only cross stitches but also fractional stitches,
backstitches, knots and beads. It can be moved and resized just like any other
object but note that some scales may not produce a good correlation between
backstitching and cross stitches.
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Text Objects
The creation of Text Objects is dealt with in the labelling chapter.

Selecting an Object

In order to perform an operation on an Object in the design, it is first

necessary to select which object is to be changed. This is done using the
Select tool which is identified by a picture of a hand. First click on the Select
tool then click anywhere on the object to be selected. A blue rotating box
should be drawn around the object. To change the selected object, simply
click on a new one. The object will automatically become deselected when
another tool is chosen.

Some operations can be performed on multiple objects. To select multiple

objects, hold down the <shift> or <ctrl> key while selecting further objects.
The blue box will surround each object individually.

Resizing an Object
Before an object can be resized, it must first be selected using the Select tool.

To resize a selected object, move the mouse over a corner of the surrounding
box. The cursor should change to the resize arrow. Click and hold down the
left button while the box is stretched to the required size. When the mouse is
released, the object will be resized to fit the box. Continually changing the
size of a motif Object will not degrade it since a copy of the original design is
kept within the pattern and is used for each change in size.

Moving an Object
Before an object can be moved, it must first be selected using the Select tool.

To move a selected object, click and hold down the left mouse button with the
mouse pointer anywhere within the objects surrounding box. Move the object
by dragging the mouse to the required new position. There may be a delay
before the object starts moving but once it has moved, it should be faster.

If an object is moved so as to overlap another object then the last one

imported will take priority at the points of overlap. The priority can be
changed thus allowing objects to be moved forward or backwards through the
design layers.
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Changing the Colour of Text Objects
The colour of a text object can be changed by selecting the object with the
Select tool and then clicking on the required colour in the colour palette. The
whole of the object will be coloured with the new colour. There is no way of
selectively colouring different letters without creating a separate object for
each letter.

The Object PopUp Menu

There are many operations which can be performed on objects. Some
operations will only work on single selected objects whilst other work on
multiple selected objects.

The menu for object operations is obtained by right mouse clicking on a

selected object. Each command applies to all selected objects. Commands not
applicable to all selected objects will be greyed out:

+ represents plus edition only

Erases objects
+ Rotate clockwise 90o
+ Mirror about x-axis
+ Mirror about y-axis
+ Produce a copy
Undo previous resizing

Make highest priority

Make lowest priority
Increase priority
Decrease priority
+ Line up object tops
+ Line up bottoms
+ Line up left sides
+ Line up right sides
+Make objects into one
+ Reversable combine
+ Reverse combine
Modify selected object
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Changing the Text of Text Objects
The text or font of a Text Object can be changed by clicking on the Modify
tool after first selecting the object. Alternatively select modify from the object
popup menu.

The original dialog will be displayed with the existing text entered ready for
editing. The font and point size can also be changed in this way but the size is
more easily changed by the dragging technique already described.

Rendering an Object
Rendering an object is the process of converting from an Object to individual
stitches.

To convert a Motif Object to individual stitches, click on the Modify tool after
first selecting the object or use the popup object menu. Since any existing
stitches beneath the object will be erased, a dialog box appears asking for
confirmation before the operation takes place.

To convert a Text Object to individual stitches, click on the Modify tool after
first selecting the object and then on the Stitches button. Note that this is a
one way process and there is no way to go back to the original text and
change it or to use any of the object functions. It does however allow
modifications to be made to the final stitch layout of the text on a stitch by
stitch basis which cannot be done whilst it remains as an Object.

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7 - Motifs

Motifs are a convenient way of using previously designed objects in a new

pattern. The Motif menu allows for the creation of new motifs and the easy
use of existing motifs.

To create a motif, simply select an area of your design using the area select
tool and then choose the Save as Motif option from the motif menu. You will
be asked for a filename to use for the motif and you should always use the
extension XSM for your motif files. If you don't type in the extension, the
program will add it for you.

To load a motif into an existing design, either select the Load Motif item from
the Motif menu or click on the Motif browser on the toolbar.

Loading motif from the menu

You will be given a file selection dialog from which you can select your motif
file.

After selecting the motif, a copy of that motif will be attached to the mouse
pointer. Each left click of the mouse will place a copy of the motif into the
design. To stop adding motifs, click the right mouse button to display the
motif pop-up menu.

The motif pop-up menu allows you to cancel (which stops adding more
motifs) or to rotate or flip.

To add a motif in the form of an Object, follow the same procedure but use
the "Load motif as Object" command. Each click will place an object into the
design which can be individually resized and moved about the design using
the Object Select tool. See Objects chapter.

94
 Using the Motif Browser

The motif browser is a very convenient way to load motifs into the design.
Selecting the motif browser displays the following dialog:
Number of tabs depends on the motifs you have created.

Note that the picture shows the motif browser as a floating window. By
default, the program will dock the browser window to the bottom of the
screen. This can be undocked and moved around – see cutomisation section of
the manual.

The motifs displayed default to the programs motifs folder. It is recommended

that you keep your motifs in sub-folders from here.

Each tab of the multi-page notebook displays the motifs from one sub-folder
of the motifs folder.

Selecting a motif
To select a motif, simply click and hold down the left mouse button on the
motif and drag it onto the canvas. When the motif is dropped, it will become
attached to the mouse pointer and can be placed with a left mouse click or
cancelled, rotated or flipped with a right click.

Selecting multiple motifs

A check box marked "repeat" can be used to add several motifs of the same
type. Simply check the box before selecting the motif and every left mouse
click adds a new motif. A right click cancels the command when you have
finished.

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Backstitch Options
If the motif contains backstitching, there are several options available in the
drop down selection box at the top right corner of the browser:

Normal: Backstitches appear as they were designed.

Force Black: All backstitches are changed to black
Force White: All backstitches are changed to white
Current Clr: All backstitches are changed to the currently selected colour.
Delete: All backstitching is deleted

Adding Motif Objects

To create a Motif Object instead of adding a regular motif, simply check the
"Object" box before selecting the motif.

Motif Objects have the advantage of priority ordered layers and can be re-
sized as many times as required without destroying the original design. See
chapter on Objects for details.

Motif Browser Options

The motif browser allows the size of the thumbnail images to be varied.
Simply choose from the available options in the drop down list box near the
top left of the browser window.

It is generally recommended that you adhere to the recommended folder for

storing motifs however it is possible to change the base folder of the browser.
Click on the top left button of the browser and select a new folder. Note that
only motifs in sub-folders of the selected folder will be displayed.

Update previews

There is an update button that loads all motifs and regenerates the preview
images. This can be used with motifs from older program versions which
stored lower resolution preview images. Note there is no undo for this
operation.

Setting the image for each tab

The sample image on each tab of the motif browser can be changed. Simply
drag any motif and drop it onto the tab. A small image will be created and will
replace the existing tab image.
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Printing a catalogue
To create a printed catalogue of the motifs, click on the print button. The
following dialog will be displayed:

Printed Size
The size of the printing is selected in stitches per inch. This is not the same as
the fabric count you are using since generally you will want to print much
smaller than life size. The size can be changed by typing in a new number or
by using the up/down arrow buttons.

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Quality
The number of pixels used to represent a stitch can be changed to vary the
quality of the printout. The higher the number of dots, the better the print but
the longer the process will take. Since a catalogue print may require the
loading and printing of many designs, print times may become excessive if
this setting is increased too far.

Style
The motifs may be printed in a variety of styles which correspond to the
available stitch styles displayed on the screen.

Horizontal / Vertical Spacing

These settings allow the distance between motifs on the printed page to be
specified. The units are inches.

Print motif names

When checked, this setting prints the name of the motif underneath each
picture.

Print directory name

When checked, this setting will print the name of the directory containing the
motifs at the top of the page.

Print motif sizes

When checked, this setting will put the size of the motif (in stitches)
underneath each picture.

Print this category / all categories

Allows printing of just the currently viewed page of motifs or the entire
library. Printing the entire library may take a considerable time depending on
the number of motifs.

Page margins
Settings for each edge of the page allow additional margins to be left for
things like punching and binding.

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Cancel Printing

Once the printing has started, the command can be cancelled with the
displayed cancel button. This will have the effect of stopping the generation
of further pages however it will not prevent the printing of pages that have
already been created.

Motif Borders

Sometimes, you want either a line or a complete border of repeated motifs

without having to work out the accurate placement yourself. The Motif
Border command allows you to create these automatically.

Select Motif Border from the motif menu and choose either a line or full
border. Again you will get the motif selection dialog to choose your motif.
Borders are available as squares/rectangles or circles/ellipses. The toolbar
button is a quick way to select a rectangular border.

After choosing the motif, click and hold down the mouse at the start of the
line or border. Move the mouse to the end of the required line or border and
release. The program will calculate the positions for the motifs and add them
to the design.

Colour control with Motifs

Since there is a limit to the number of colours per design, it is possible that the
colours you currently have in the palette, do not match those of the motif you
are adding. There are several ways that the program can handle this and your
preference can be set using the “Set Colour Preferences” item from the motif
menu.

Match to Nearest Colour

With this preference selected, the program will always match each colour in
the motif with the closest colour already in the palette.

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Add New Colours to Palette
This preference will cause any colour in the motif which is not already in the
palette to be added. This will only work if there is space in the palette to add
new colours.

It is always recommended that you use the Remove Unused Colours option
from the Palette menu prior to using motifs in order to make room for new
colours.

Match Within Tolerance

This preference will cause any motif colour not in the palette to be matched
with a close colour within the tolerance set. If a colour is not available within
the tolerance set then a new colour will be added. If there is no room in the
palette then a match will be made to the nearest available colour.

Magic Border
This command is not strictly a motif command but is included on the motif
menu for convenience.
It allows a complete border to be generated with automatic spacing, flipping
and rotating. You simply specify the size of the corner, top/bottom and
left/right sections to allow the program to make the relevant calculations.
Three "Magic Boxes" are then displayed at the top left corner of the pattern.
Whatever is drawn in the corner box is simultaneously drawn in each of the
other three corners of the pattern with appropriate rotations.
Drawing in the box to the right causes repeated copies to be drawn across the
top of the pattern and reflected copies to be drawn across the bottom.
Drawing in the box underneath the corner does the same for the left and right
sides of the pattern.
The corner boxes can remain on the pattern if you wish as they will not be
printed but they can be removed by re-selecting the command and selecting
cancel. The existing stitches will remain.

By selecting a box size that divides evenly into the pattern size, the best
results are obtained. If however there are stitch positions left over, the
program will place them as near to centre as possible.

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8 - Printing

This chapter refers to the printing of charts. To print pictures of the finished
design, see the "view in frame" and "Make Photo" commands.
The File Print command will display the Print dialog which allows many
different configurations. The defaults are designed to give a reasonable
printout if you just click on the OK button however there are many different
options that can be selected.

General printing advice

There are now printers on the market which report extremely high resolutions.
Unfortunately these use large amounts of memory to create each page. Whilst
this gives good results for printing a photograph, it can lead to problems when
printing multi-page graphics. It is generally recommended that you set these
printers to a lower resolution when printing charts. This will prevent
problems, speed up printing and still give high quality results. To change
resolutions, use the Setup button on the print dialog of the program.

Some printers are not capable of printing a solid black line at the resolutions
they claim. In this case, some grid lines can disappear. If this happens, the
solution is to increase the thickness of the grid lines or set a lower print
resolution in the printer setup.

The Print Dialog Explained

The Print Dialog consists of a number of pages arranged as a notebook. A
page is selected by clicking on the title tab at the top of the book and that page
is then brought to the front.

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The Area page above is used to specify what part of the design to print and at
what size.
Auto Crop will trim off any unused portion of the canvas to the nearest 10th
stitch and print the rest.
All will print the entire design including any unused areas.
Key Only will only print the colour key.
Manual allows you to specify the starting and ending stitches in both X and
Y directions.

Manual Print Area - Autofill

On the Area tab of the print dialog there is a button next to the Manual print
area selector. This will fill in the manual print settings so that only the area
currently selected on the design will be printed. It is thus possible to print any
area of a design easily by selecting the required area before choosing the print
command.

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Pages to print allows you to specify what pages will be printed. You can
choose between:
• All – Print every page
• Single – Print the specified page number
• List – Print the specified list of pages

A list of pages consists of page numbers separated by commas. You can also
use a range such as 2-4 meaning print pages 2,3,4 or 4-2 meaning print pages
4,3,2 (reversed order). Page numbers can be repeated in the list if you want
more than one copy of a particular page.

Squares per inch is what sets the size of each grid square on the printed
page. As you change this value, the total number of pages required for the
design will change. This number of pages is displayed above the book of
setup pages. Increasing the stitches per inch will reduce the number of pages
required but at the expense of making the chart more difficult to read. Do not
confuse this setting with the canvas count which determines the number of
stitches per inch on the finished stitching. It is normal for instance to print a
14-count design at 10 squares per inch to create an easy to read chart.
Title and Designer are lines of text that can be printed on the pattern and are
stored when the pattern is saved to disk.

There is a copyright button that will insert the copyright symbol into the title
or designers name at the current cursor position.

Number of Copies allows multiple copies of the pattern to be printed whilst

being left unattended.

Orientation allows the paper orientation to be set for the main pattern.

Choosing the design origin

There is an option on the Area tab of the print dialog to “use centre as origin”.
This will cause the centre of the chart to correspond to a major grid line and
for any grid numbers to start from zero at the centre and increase towards
each side. Without this option selected, the grid and numbering will start from
the top left corner.

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CMYK Colour Separations (Publisher Edition only)
On the Area tab of the print dialog, there is an option to select colour
separations. This is only available in the Publisher Edition. If selected, the
Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black components of the printout will be printed
as separate charts. This is intended for publishing charts using professional
print machines which use the CMYK colour model. The CMYK colours
chosen are those entered for each thread colour in the program when in
CMYK mode – not conversions from RGB values unless you enter colours in
RGB mode. This allows publishers to specify true CMYK values either in an
individual chart or by editing the master thread colour ranges in CMYK
mode. The colour separations option is also available when exporting to
graphics files.

Load / Save print dialog settings

There are now load and save icons on the top right cormer of the printer
dialog (area tab). These allow the print settings to be loaded from another
design or the current settings to be saved into other designs. This is a useful
tool if you need to change the settings in a number of designs. You could also
use it to keep several standard settings for different uses and apply them to
designs as required.

The second page of the dialog specifies how the Key is to be printed.

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The default is to have the SuperKey selected. The SuperKey gives the most
professional result but is always on its own sheet. The style is completely
customisable using a template.

SuperKey Templates
The program is supplied with a default template which will be used to create
the SuperKey unless it is changed. This template allows for the maximum
number of cross stitch and backstitch colours that the program is capable of.
It also changes its format according to the settings on the format tab of the
print dialog.

Increasing Superkey performance

You can achieve a performance increase in the SuperKey generation time by

creating a template that allows less colours but you must then be careful not to
produce designs with more colours than the template allows for as some will
be missing from the key.

Changing the SuperKey template

You can change the template which is used for a particular design by clicking
on the “Change Template” button. This will load the current key template
into the word processor. From here, you can edit the template and also save
and load templates to and from the hard disk.

Changed templates are automatically saved when the design is next saved
however you may also want to save the template from the word processor to
make it easier to load into another design.

The format of the template file is discussed in the “Superkey Template”

section.

Preview / Export Key

Clicking on the preview/export button will generate the Superkey according
to the current template and display it in the word processor. From here you
are able to print the key and save it as an RTF text file. These files are
compatible with most Windows word processors.

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You can also edit the key in the word processor but note that changes will be
lost unless you save the RTF file. Any saved RTF files are not of course
updated when the design changes so it is much better to do any editing in the
designs template. Any changes to the template will produce the change in any
future keys for that design. So if you add more colours to the design, the key
will then reflect this and have your changes applied.

Remove Template
This button is supplied to remove the template completely from the design.
This will only be temporary because as soon as a SuperKey is generated
again, the standard template will be applied. It’s purpose is to allow you to
save the design without the template in order to reduce file size when the
recipient of the file does not need the template or you are no longer going to
use the Superkey with that design.

Turning off SuperKey

Sometimes you may not want the complete page key provided by the
SuperKey. For smaller designs especially you may want a simple key on the
same page as the chart. By unchecking the SuperKey box, you can revert to
the simple key used by previous versions of the program:

The Simple Key

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The options are to have the key on its own sheet, every sheet or not at all.
The font used in the key can be changed with the Font button.

If the Separate Backstitch Key is checked then a second key will be printed
just containing the backstitch. In this case, any thread colour used only in
backstitch will not appear in the main key.

The Show names and Show numbers allow selection of ho the colour
descriptions will appear for each thread.

When using a Publisher Key object on the pattern, you would normally turn
off the key on this dialog by selecting “None”

The third page allows the setting of various scales.

The Design scale is provided only for compatibility with previous versions of
the program. If the squares per inch setting on page 1 is set to zero then the
Design scale is used to control the print size. 100% forces everything to print
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on one page, 200% makes it twice as big, etc. Normally, this setting is
ignored. If the squares per inch setting is not zero then this control has no
effect.
The Symbol scale sets how big the symbols are as a percentage of the grid
size. If this is set to 100% then the symbols and grid will run into each other.
The Backstitch Line Width sets the width of pen used to draw the
backstitches. This is again a percentage of the grid size.

Grid Tab settings (fourth page)

The Major Grid Thickness sets the width of pen used to draw a thick grid line.
This value is in pixels (dots) of the printer. For colour printers, the colour can
also be changed by clicking on the Colour button. A small colour sample
next to the button displays the current colour.

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The Minor Grid Thickness does the same for the thin grid lines between
each stitch.

Note that some printers are not capable of printing a single pixel width line.
If your grid lines are broken up or completely missing, this is not a program
fault but simply that your printer is not capable of the resolution it claims.
This is quite common among photo quality printers since photos do not rely
on having to reproduce every dot perfectly over the entire sheet. Instead it is
the average resolution that counts for photos. The solution is to reduce the
printer resolution or to increase the grid thickness.

Middle grid thickness – Sets the thickness of the pen to be used for gridlines
which are halfway between major grid lines. For example if the major grid
lines were every 10 stitches, there would be major grid lines at positions 10,
20, 30... and middle grid lines would be at stitch positions 15, 25, 35 ... The
colour button next to this setting allows you to set the colour for the gridlines.

Border – Sets the number of pixels thickness for the outer edge of the chart.
This allows you to have a thicker line around the chart edge. The colour
button next to this setting allows you to set the colour for the border.

Grid to Border Gap – This setting allows you to move the chart border lines
away from the gridlines by a set amount. The units are in gridlines. So a
setting of 1 would give a white area equivalent to one stitch width all around
the chart and then the border line around the outside of that.

CenterLine – If this setting is zero, there will be no special line thickness at

the centre of the chart. Any other value will indicate the thickness in pixels of
the gridlines at the centre of the chart. The colour button next to this setting
allows you to set the colour for the centreline. This setting does not affect the
centermarks which are completely separate and appear outside the grid.

¾ Separator – If this setting is zero, there will be no line separating two ¾

stitches in the same square. Any other value will be the width of the line in
pixels that is drawn diagonally to separate the two stitches.

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Move Center marks to nearest grid - If this option is selected and the
centreline falls between a grid line then the centermarks will be moved to the
nearest gridline. If the option is not selected then centermarks will be placed
between gridlines if the design has an odd number of stitches width or height.

The fifth page sets the type of printout required.

Black and White Symbols

Each stitch is printed as its symbol in black. The exception is in the publisher
edition where the symbol colours have been individually defined. In this case,
the selected colours are used.

Colour Symbols
Each stitch is printed as its symbol but the colour is changed to that of the
thread it represents.

Colour Blocks
Each stitch is printed as a block of the colour that it represents.
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Colour Blocks with Symbols
Each stitch is printed as a block of the colour it represents. A black symbol is
then placed on top of the colour block. This works well with light colours but
may be difficult to read with darker colours.

White on dark colours

This check box changes the symbols to white when printing darker colours.
Light colours will still have black symbols.

Colour Blocks with Symbols on White Background

Each stitch is printed as a black symbol on a white background. The very
edge of each square is then tinted with the colour that it represents. This gives
some coloration but still allows easy reading of the symbols.

Colour Crosses
Each stitch is printed as a cross in the appropriate thread colour. This method
when combined with turning off the grid, allows a stamped cross stitch
design. Some printer now accept paper backed fabric or you can use a T-Shirt
transfer paper.

Note:
The actual colour used when printing colour options can be changed in the
“Change Symbols” command from the Palette menu of the main program.
This allows you to change the colours for difficult to print shades.

Backstitch Style
There are a number of alternatives to the way backstitches are printed. These
can be selected from the backstitch style drop-down list box:

Solid Black
Does not attempt to use colour or symbols for backstitching but uses
solid black lines.

Solid Colour
Uses solid lines of the actual thread colour for the backstitch.

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Line of Symbols
Uses the standard symbol assigned for cross stitches but in a smaller
font size to create a line of symbols.

Custom Style
Uses a line in the style assigned to the colour in the “Change
Symbols” command from the Palette menu of the main menu. This
can be in black or colour as defined when assigning the style.

Longstitch Style – This allows you to specify the style used to draw
longstitches:

Outline only – A black sausage shaped outline with no indication of thread

colour.

Outline + Colour – A black outline but filled with the print colour for the
thread used.

Outline + Symbols – A black outline filled with the same symbols used for
cross stitch.

Ouline + Colour + Symbols – Black outline filled with the print colour for
that thread colour with the same symbol used for cross stitch in the middle.

Symbol only – A line of symbols the same as used for cross stitch.

Special Stitch Style (Publisher edition only)

The stitches from the special stitches toolbar in the Publisher edition can be
printed in a variety of ways.:

Outline only – A black only line drawing of the stitch with no indication of
colour.

Outline + Colour – An outline but filled with the correct print colour for the
stitch.

Outline + symbols – An outline with a symbol in the centre of the stitch the
same as used for cross stitches.

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Outline + Colour + Symbol – An outline filled with colour and with a symbol
in the centre.

French knot style

If set to colour, the french knots will be a circle of the correct colour for the
stitch. If set to symbol, they will be a symbol like the cross stitches. If set to
both, they will be circles of colour with a symbol in the centre.

Bead style
Beads can be set to a filled circle of the correct colour or a simple black
unfilled circle. The is usually not enough room to display a symbol in the
space o a bead so this option is not provided.

½ Cross Format
Normally the diagonal half crosses are represented on the chart as two small
symbols in opposite corners of the square. Sometimes when a large number
of half crosses are used on a chart it is better to use a full size symbol and to
indicate that the colour should be stitched as a half cross in the key or
instructions.

By selecting full size symbol for this setting, all half crosses will be given a
full size symbol. It will then be necessary to change the colour description for
this colour to indicate they are half crosses.

If the same color is used also for full crosses, you should add the colour to the
palette twice and use one for the full cross and one for the ½ cross. Since each
palette position has its own description and symbol, they will be easily
identified on the chart.

Print Hardanger in Colour

If checked, the hardanger stitches will be printed in colour. Otherwise they
will be solid black.

Colour Intensity %
A setting of 100% results in colours that most closely resemble the real thread
colours. As the percentage is reduced, the colours become lighter and less
saturated. This gives a washed out effect and enables symbols to be seen over
the top of otherwise dark colours.

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Note:

The “Change Symbols” command from the Palette menu of the main menus
will allow individual fade values to be placed on each colour. This gives
more control over lighter colours which may otherwise all fade to white. The
general fade control here is intended for compatibility with earlier versions
which did not have individual fade control.

Publisher
Silk Screen Mode Edition
The publisher edition has a special button to switch into silk screen mode.
This is detailed in the Publisher Edition supplement to the manual.

The sixth page contains various options:

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Centre Marks - Prints triangular marks to indicate the centre of the stitched
area when checked.

Grid - Prints the grid when checked (default)

Grid Numbers – prints small numbers at every major grid line to show the
stitch number.
The grid numbers have an option to move them to the grid line rather than the
space between the lines. There is also a font button to allow choosing of the
font and size of the numbers.
Page Nos. - Prints the page number on each sheet when checked.
Title Page 1 - Prints the title but only on the first page.
Title on all pages - Prints the title on every page.
Designer page 1 - Prints the designers name only on the first page.
Designer all pages - Prints the designers name on every page.
Notes - Prints the design notes.
Modify notes - This button lets you check the design notes and make last
minute changes without having to cancel the print dialog.

Backstitches - When checked, the backstitches will be printed. Used in

conjunction with All Other Stitches, this can be used to print separate patterns
for the backstitch in complex charts.

Non-backstitches - When checked, all stitches except backstitches will be

printed. To print backstitches as well, the backstitches box must also be
checked.

3/4 Stitch Separators - When checked, the two symbols in a square that
represent 3/4 stitches will have a diagonal line drawn between them.

Printing background images

There is now an option in the print dialog to have the background image to a
design printed behind the grid. Background images are added to a design on
the canvas menu. This can be useful when the design is intended to be
stitched onto a pre-printed canvas where the printed canvas forms part of the
final design.
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The seventh page of the Printer Setup dialog allows additional margins to be
set. Normally, the printer driver reports the printable area of the page to the
program and maximum use is made of that area. By specifying an additional
margin at any side of the paper, you can force extra room to be left on each
page. This is useful if you want to leave space for overprinting or you are
printing on headed paper. The values entered are in pixels for your printer.
For a typical laser printer, 300 will give one inch (2 1/2 cm) of additional
space.

Overlap Stitches

When printouts exceed a single page, it is often useful to have a few stitches
repeated on the continuation sheet. The overlap stitches setting allows you to
specify the number of repeated stitches. Stitches will be repeated on both
vertical and horizontal page breaks.

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If no overlap stitches are required, set this number to zero and the next sheet
will continue with the very next stitch.

Overlap Shading
To avoid confusion when stitching, it is normal to shade the areas of the
pattern which are repeated on the continuation sheet.

Click on the "choose" button to select the style and colour of the overlap
shading. A sample of the current shading is above the button.
The fill style for the shading can be selected by clicking on the button next to

the pattern required. Some patterns will work better than others with your
printer - it’s a matter of experimenting because all printer drivers are different.

The colour of the shading can also be selected. This can be done by altering
the colour scrollbars or by selecting one of the 3 pre-set colours.

Note that some combinations make no sense - such as solid fill black which
would simply cover up all the stitches completely.

The fill can be set to apply on both sheets of the split pages or one just one.
Simply select the picture that represents the required option.

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Colour Schemes tab
If various colour schemes have been added to the design, this tab of the print
dialog will allow you to choose which scheme is used for each type of stitch
in the design. It is therefore possible to have cross stitches with a faded
colour scheme to allow symbols to be easily seen whilst backstitches are
shown in true thread colours for most colours but darkened colours for those
which would otherwise not show up on the prints (like white).

If there are no colour schemes in the design, these options will not be
displayed. Otherwise you can set a colour scheme for each of the following:

Cross Stitches (including fractional stitches)

Backstitches
French knots
Beads
Special Stitches (Publisher edition only)
Publisher shapes (Publisher edition only)
Longstitches

If the “Use for all elements” box is checked then the scheme selected for cross
stitches will be used for all types of stitches. This is useful if you are using
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colour schemes to switch from say a red car design to a green car design but
you are not using different colours for differing stitch types. It is then only a
single setting to print the car design in each colour scheme.

Petit Point Tab

When a large number of petit-point stitches are used to increase the resolution
of the design in certain areas, it can be difficult to read the chart in the petit-
point areas due to the small symbol size.

These settings allow you to print a chart without the petit-point areas and a
separate chart for the petit-point stitches at an increased scale. The petit-point
chart will look like a standrad cross stitch chart rather than using quarter-
stitch symbols. The difference is that each square represents a stitch over a
single evenweave thread rather than the normal two threads.

Defining what makes a petit-point area

The first setting specifies how many petit-point stitches should be in an area
before the program treats it as a separate area. Any areas containing less than
the specified number of stitches will be left as individual small symbols on the

119
main chart. Any areas containing more than the specified number of stitches
will be removed from the main chart and placed on a separate chart.
Main chart shading
This allows you to specify how the main chart is shaded (if at all) where the
petit-point stitches have been removed.
Area Title
Specifies the text that appears on all petit-point areas in the main chart. This is
followed by the identifier. Note that this text should be short enough to fit into
the smallest petit-point area of the design otherwise it will overlap the
adjacent stitches.

Area Identifier
The setting to the right of the area title selects what is used to identify the area
on the chart. It is printed after the area title on the main chart and as a
heading on the petit-point chart.

Letter – Uses a unique letter for each petit-point area in the design.
Number – Uses a unique number for each petit-point area in the design.
None – Uses no identifier. Only useful when there is a single petit-point area
or where multiple areas are easily identified by their shape or size.

Grid scale factor

Normally this would be set to 2 which makes each petit-point stitch in the
separate charts the same size as a cross stitch on the main chart. You can
however set any scale including decimal points.

Main print dialog buttons

Beneath the pages of setup are buttons to start the print, cancel the print, setup
the printer and call up the help.

A print preview button will display how the printed page will look. This
enables you to determine if the page breaks are in a convenient place without
wasting paper. Buttons are provided to change page.

Note that the minor grid lines will not show in the preview for ease of
viewing. Also the quality is lower than the actual print to keep program speed
reasonable. It is not intended that individual stitches can be viewed in the
preview.
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9 - Exporting

The Export command is selected from the File menu of the main program.
This differs substantially from earlier program versions where exports were
performed from the print dialog. The reason for the change is that the export
of this version is much more flexible – it no longer depends on printer
resolution and paper size.

There are currently two options on the export menu:

The Patternmaker export will save the design in Patternmaker 1 format. This
should be compatible with most Patternmaker versions and some other
program may also be capable of opening Patternmaker charts.

The graphics export is the standard export used to create graphics files of the
printed chart or PDF files for printing with Adobe Acrobat reader.
The graphics export function is intended for power users only. It demands a
lot of memory and disk space to produce quality graphics files and unless you
intend to publish the patterns, there is little to be achieved by producing
graphics files rather than direct printing. The exception is PDF files which
are relatively small and can be printed by anyone with the freely available
Acrobat Reader.

When you press the export button, the program displays a dialog very similar
to the print dialog. All the settings from your current print settings are used
and can be changed just as if you were going to print.

Setup for Graphics Export

The setup button will display a dialog where you can select page size and
resolution for the graphics pages. Note that the program still uses the concept
of pages when exporting graphics files so you can split the design into
sections. If you just want one large graphics file, simply select a large enough
page size.

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The first tab of the setup dialog is where the page size is selected. You have
the choice of choosing a pre-defined size from the drop-down list box or
selecting a custom size. When specifying a custom size, you can use Inches,
millimetres or pixels by selecting the appropriate units.

Whatever units you choose, the final page size is displayed on the right hand
side of the dialog in both Inches and millimetres. There is also a pixel size and
final graphics file size shown at the bottom. The graphics file size assumes
that you are going to save as a 24-bit image. If a 256 colour image or a jpg file
is used, the final size will be smaller.

Note that large graphics sizes will cause the program to tile the image. This
simply means the program will generate sections of the page and then join
them all up to form the large file required. The result is the same but the time
taken to generate the image will be longer. This technique is required to get
around system limitations and in fact allows files to be created which are
larger than available system memory.

The second page of the export dialog allows the specification of margins.

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For a PDF format file, the margins act as you would expect and cause white
space to be left at the side of the page.
For general graphics formats, the margins do not add white space but instead
reduce the size of the image created. This allows a graphics file to be
produced that will fit on the chosen paper size whilst leaving the specified
margins.

Margins can be entered for each side of the page in inches millimetres or
pixels.

The final tab allows the resolution of the image to be selected. Many
publishers will use 300 DPI so this is a good starting point if you are not sure
what to use. If you are sending the file to a publisher it is always best to ask
there preferred resolution.

Formats
The formats tab allows you to specify which graphics format you want to
produce and what options to use.

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When a graphics format is selected, the options appropriate to that format will
be displayed.

Number of colours
If the selected file format allows it, you can choose 256 colours or Truecolour
(16.8 million colours). 256 colour files will be smaller.

Colour space (Publisher edition only)

Some formats allow colours to be represented as CMYK layers rather than
RGB. This is often used by publishers as it corresponds to professional print
processes. It takes longer to export in CMYK format since each layer is
generated separately and then combined. Note that although there is an option
for CMYK PDF files, the Superkey cannot be produced in CMYK PDF
format. It is suggested that the simple key be used if you need to export to
PDF in CMYK format.

Transparent Colour
When the “use transparent colour” is checked, the exported file will make one
colour transparent. The colour to use for the transparent colour can be
selected by clicking the arrow button after the colour sample. Very few file
formats allow transparency and the receiving software must also support it.

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Jpeg Quality
When using the jpg format, you can specify the required quality from 1-100.
The higher the number the higher the quality and the larger the file.

When the export button is pressed, you will be asked for the filename and file
format for the graphics file. You only need to specify a single filename for
multi-page exports as the program will add “Page 1”, “Page 2” etc to the base
filename you supply.

A progress dialog is displayed while exporting as the process can take a

considerable time for large files and especially when tiling very large images.
You can cancel the exporting at any time if it becomes clear it will take an
unacceptable time.

Creating Postscript Files

The easiest way to create a postscript file is to install a postscript printer
driver and use the print function rather than export. You don't have to own the
printer to do this as the drivers are supplied with Windows. Set the "Printer"
to print to File: instead of selecting a printer port. Now when you print to this
printer, you will be asked for a filename to create the postscript file.

Ensure you set the printers options to generate postscript.

Exporting to PDF
When choosing the pdf format, a separate button for pdf setup will be
displayed. This allows various options:

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Compression: How the program will compress text inside the pdf file. Unless
you have a good reason to change this, the default is recommended.

Encode Binary: Generally set to “no encoding” unless you know what you
are doing.

Show Mode: Defines how the Acrobat reader program should display.

Fonts Mode: This defines how fonts are handled in the pdf file. If you know
the pdf file will be viewed on a machine which has all the fonts needed
(including the cross stitch symbols) you can select “Use Truetype fonts” and
get a smaller file. Otherwise you need to select one of the embedding modes
so that the fonts are stored in the pdf file. The “only used chars” option will
embed everything that is used so that the file looks identical on the receiving
machine but is as small as possible. The “Embed TrueType fonts” will store
everything even if certain letters are not used. The “Embed only symbol
Truetype fonts” will ensure the symbols are identical but any text fonts not on
the receiving machine may look different.

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10 - Digitising for Machine

This section is for users of the Machine version or the Embird Plugin version
only.

When the design is complete, it should first be saved and then digitised to
create the file that is sent to the machine.

For Embird Plugin users

When used with Embird, the machine program will automatically close after
digitising and return the finished design to the Embird editor.

For Stand-alone Machine users

When used without Embird, the machine program will create a Tajima (DST)
format file and a colour (CLR) file that is in BuzzTools format. BuzzTools is
included in the multi-format version of the software and can also be
purchased separately.

By loading the DST format file into BuzzTools, it can be converted to a

variety of machine formats. BuzzTools will automatically load the CLR file in
order to display the correct colours. Normally DST files do not show correct
colours because they contain no colour information – just breaks between
colours.

Additional support for MyriaCross in Machine version

The MyriaCross plugin is a 3rd party product which can be purchased directly
from the producers. See “purchase add-ons” from the help menu for details.

Installing the MyriaCross plugin will add the ability to create machine output
in JEF, PCS, EXP, KSM, 10o and DXF. The additional formats are
automatically added as check-boxes to the output file selection dialog. Note
that the digitising is still done by Cross Stitch Professional and only the
format conversion by MyriaCross.

Colours and various file formats

You should be aware that many machine file formats can only contain preset
colours which have been defined by the manufacturer of the specific machine.

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So we recommend that you use the colour list provided by the cross stitch
program in determining which colours to thread your machine with.

Both Embird and BuzzTools will choose colours which they think most
closely match the RGB colour values in the file produced by the cross stitch
program.

Starting the Digitising

Fortunately, cross stitch digitising is an easy process. It is a simply matter of
clicking on the machine Icon. This results in the following dialog:

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The design filename cannot be changed – it is the saved filename of the
design.

The output filename defaults to the same name as the design but with the DST
extension. It is the file that the program will create for your machine.
(This setting is not available in the Embird plugin program since the result is
sent directly to Embird)

The colour filename is the name of the text file that the program creates which
lists all the colours used and in stitching order. It defaults to the design
filename with the TXT extension.

Checking the “View colour file when finished” box will cause the colour file
to be opened with Notepad after digitising.

Stitch size
The Stitch Size button allows a quick link to the fabric count, and number of
stand settings without having to go back to the canvas menu. Using this you
can check and make any last minute changes before digitising.

Stitching order
The program will use the palette order to determine which colours to stitch
first. Backstitching is always done last to ensure the outlines show up and are
not overstitched with crosses. In order to do this, it is possible that the same
colour is needed twice – once for cross stitch and once for backstitch.

To change the stitching order, use the Sort command from the palette menu to
re-order the palette.

Forcing Top/Bottom and Left/Right

Normally, the program will finish one area of stitches and jump to the next
nearest block of the same colour. This keeps the amount of thread used for
jump stitches to a minimum. If you have a machine that cuts threads before
jumping, you can override this behaviour and force the stitching order to
progress from left to right and top to bottom by checking this box.

Click the OK button to proceed with the digitising. Note that if the colour and
output files already exist they will be overwritten with the new ones without
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warning. For this reason it is recommended that you keep to the default
filenames.

Converting to your machines format

After digitising, Embird users can simply save the design in their machines
format from the main Embird program.

BuzzTools users should start BuzzTools and open the DST file created by
digitising. You can then use BuzzTools to convert to your machines format.

Industrial machine users will probably find that their usual software will
accept the DST files directly, however if you miss out the conversion to your
machines own format, you will not be able to see the correct colouring in your
machines software.

If you have the 3rd party plugin “MyriaCross” installed then you will have the
additional file formats JEF, PCS, EXP, KSM,10o and DXF available directly
in the dialog box (as shown in the previous picture).

Multiple output files

The program has a very powerful option for those needing to supply theit
designs in multiple stitch counts or number of strands. Selecting this option
expands the dialog box as follows:

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You can generate up to 10 different output files at once. Simply
enable each line you want to use with the enable check box.

For each enabled line, you can set the follwing:

Filename: the default will name the file according to the design
name, stitch count and number of default strands. You can change
the file suffix to anything you want.

Stitch size: The count of stitches per inch

Default strands: The number of strands to use for stitches that do not
have a specific strand setting in the designs palette.

1 strand: The number of strands to be used for stitches that are set to
1 strand in the designs palette.

2 strand: The number of strands to use for stitches that are set to 2
strands in the designs palette.

( and so on for 3,4,5 strands)

0 Backstitch: The number of strands to use for the default backstitch

width.

1-5 backstitches: The number of strands to use for backstitches set

to 1-5 strands in the designs palette.

Note that using odd numbers of strands will result in many more
jump stitches as the machine needs to return to its starting position
on the even numbered strand. Odd numbers would normally only be
used for backstitches that require a particularly thin look.

There are buttons to load and save the dialog contents so you can
easily apply the same settings to other designs.
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11 - Colours

Cross Stitch Professional for Windows is limited to 75 colours (220 Plus

Edition) including the colour of the background material. This is only the
limit that can be used simultaneously in a design. A manufacturers colour
range can contain many more colours from which those 75 or 220 can be
selected.

Due to the complex realistic images used for each colour, the program will
not work on 256 colour systems.

Changing the Palette

The colour palette in XStitch Pro is changed by double clicking the mouse
whilst over the colour to be changed in the palette. Alternatively, select the
Colour Change option from the Palette menu or double click on the colour
sample display.

If selecting colours at the start of a design, it may be easier to use the “Add /
Remove Colours” command from the palette menu.

To select a colour for new stitches, left mouse click on a colour in the palette.
You will see the sample patch at the top of the palette change to the colour
you selected. This is the new colour that will be used when adding new
stitches to the design.

Some custom stitches (like rice stitch) are made from two colours of thread
and are displayed on the toolbar in two colours. To allow selecting of two
stitch colours, the palette colour sample will be split into two halves when the
custom stitches are in use.

To set the normal stitch colour, click on the left hand half of the palettes
colour sample. It will appear with a red border. Now choose the colour from
the main colour palette in the normal way.

To set the secondary stitch colour, click on the right hand half of the palettes
colour sample. The right hand half should now appear with a red border.
Again choose the colour from the main palette.

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When a stitch needing two colours is placed on the design, the currently
selected two colours will be used. If the stitch requires only one colour, the
left hand colour is used.

Palette used colour markers

After each complete redraw of the design, the palette colour markers are
updated. These are small markers at the left corners of the colour patches to
indicate the colour is used. The top left corner indicates a colour used for
cross stitch. The bottom left corner indicates a colour used for backstitch.

In the example below, the first colour after the background is used for cross
stitch while the second colour is used for both cross stitch and backstitch.

Palette pop-up menu

By right mouse clicking on a palette colour, some additional commands are
available:

Set strands – allows the default strand settings to be overridden for a specific
olour. There are separate settings for the cross stitch and backstitch. A setting
of zero is used to represent the default. Any other number is the actual
number of strands.

When the number of strands is not set to default, they are displayed over the
colour patches.

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Colour locked – When checked, this will prevent the colour moving or being
deleted by other palette commands such as sort and reduce colours. It can be
useful if you want to prevent a little used but important colour from being
removed while reducing colours.

Freeze highlighted colour – Normally when a new colour is clicked and a

colour is highlighted, the highlighted colour will switch to the new selection.
If this item is checked then the highlighted colour remains highlighted despite
new colours being selected for use. A letter H is placed on that colour to
indicate it is the highlighted colour.

CMYK colours

Publisher edition
Can work with CMYK colours from the thread definition stage, through
designing right through to colour separated output or CMYK graphics file.

Plus and Basic editions

Can work with CMYK colours in the design and send CMYK design files to
publishers that use this software package. Cannot produce CMYK graphics
files or colour separated output.

Explanation of CMYK

Most publishers use CMYK colours in preference to RGB colours because

that is the way most print processes work. Windows however uses RGB
colours to write to the screen and most printers. If programs need to use
CMYK colours then the programmers must do all the hard work themselves.
This is why true CMYK support is found mainly on the most expensive
software packages. I say true CMYK because many programs offer
conversion from RGB to CMYK which is usually not good for publishing.

RGB is where the colours are defined by specifying the amount of red, green
and blue that they contain.

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CMYK is where colours are defined by specifying the amount of Cyan,
Magenta, Yellow and Black they contain.

With a CMYK print process, you normally print each of the 4 colours
separately to produce the final colour result.

The problem with programs that convert to CMYK is that they will choose
one of the many CMYK values that represent a given RGB value – but not
necessarily the one that looks best on the printing press. There are many
equivalent theoretical CMYK values for each RGB value that will simply not
print correctly.

What is required is the ability to enter CMYK values for each possible thread
colour and have those values end up in the final output file. That is what
Cross Stitch Professional will do in its publisher edition.

The CMYK values can be produced in cooperation with your printer or in the
case of publishers that use this software package may be given to you as a
colour range file.

Setting CMYK colours

If you are not using the publisher version and not using colour range files
provided by a publisher wanting to publish your designs then it will probably
not matter to you which you use. Choose RGB or CMYK according to what
you find easier.

If you want to use CMYK colours then you need to set “use cmyk colours”
from the programs settings menu. All colour inputs are then specified using
CMYK values.

Note that if you enter CMYK values, you can easily switch to RGB to get the
equivalents as there is only one RGB value for each possible CMYK value.
The reverse is not true though – so entering an RGB value will not necessarily
give you the required CMYK value.

If you change to RGB and then back to CMYK then provided you didn't
change any RGB colour values, you will get back the original CMYK colours
and not a conversion.

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If you enter any RGB colour values in the program then when you swap to
CMYK, the program will create a conversion which will be one possible
CMYK colour value that represents the RGB value you entered.

No matter if you use CMYK or RGB values, if you print a chart on a

standard Windows printer, it will be RGB values that are sent to your printer
as that is what your printer driver is expecting.

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12 - DPImage

DPImage is a 32-bit image editor designed specially for Cross Stitch

Professional for Windows. It allows any scanned or imported image to be
corrected prior to its conversion to stitches. One of the most important
features is the ability to choose a specific area of the image for conversion.

DPImage can be started by clicking the “Edit” button beneath the preview
picture in the Import dialog. When you exit DPImage, the changes are
retuned to the Import dialog.

Any of the image manipulation functions can now be used to produce the
desired results. When finished, simply choose “exit with changes” from the
File menu. Alternatively you can exit with the original image and lose the
changes.

Note that the program is a full multi-document program so you can load and
save images at any time. You must have the image you want to return with
selected at the time you exit.

The Toolbar

New – Starts a blank graphics image

Open – loads a graphics image from disk

Save – stores a graphics image to disk

Cut – remove the selected image section

Copy – make a copy of the selected area

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Paste – add cut or copied area to image

Print preview – show page layout for print

Effects – choose various effects to add to image

Colour Adjust – modify colour balance

Deselect – remove the current selection box

Rectangle select – select a rectangular area

Polygon select – select a polygon area

Elliptical select – select elliptical or circular area

Lasso select – select freehand drawn area

Magic wand select – select area of similar colours. Use the

tolerance control to determine how close a colour needs to
be in order to get included in the selection.

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 Move tool – move a selection

Zoom - zoom in and out

Undo – undo the last operation

File Menu

New – Starts a blank graphics image

Select Scanner – Used to select which TWAIN compliant device is used on

systems with more than one.
Acquire – Start the scanning process if using a scanner or other acquisition
process for other image sources.

Open - Opens a new image and discards the current one. The same function
as the Open tool on the toolbar.

Close – Close the currently selected image

Save – Save the currently selected image

SaveAs – Save the currently selected image with a new name.

Printer Setup – Display the printer setup dialog

Print Preview – Show the page layout for the currently selected image.

Print – Print the currently selected image

Exit with selected image - Keep any changes and return to the import
routine with the currently selected image.

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Exit with original image - Discard any changes and return to the import
routine with the original image.

Edit Menu

Undo – Reverses the previous operation

Cut – Remove the selected image section
Copy – Make a copy of the selected image section
Paste – Add cut or copied area to image
Paste to rect – Add cut or copied area to image within the selected rectangle
Crop – Crop the image to the selected area

Image Menu
Colour adjust – A dialog is displayed allowing you to adjust the image
colours using a variety of colour models such as RGB, HSV, HSL, contrast
and brightness. An image preview is available to see the result before
applying to the main image. If there is an area currently selected then the
changes will be applied only to the selection. Otherwise the entire image is
affected.

Histogram – Displays a histogram showing the relative number of pixels of

each brightness level. You can select between RGB grayscale or separate red,
green or blue channels. Counts pixels in the selected area if a selection exists
otherwise counts the entire image.

Background – Sets the background colour. This affects which colour the
image is faded to when using the alpha channel.

Calc image colours – Displays the total number of different colours in the
image. Counts only colours in the selected area if a selection exists otherwise
counts the whole image.

Negative – Creates a negative image. Affects only the selected area if a

selection exists otherwise the entire image.
Gray scale – Converts the image from colour to grayscale. If a selection
exists, only the selected area is converted, otherwise the entire image is
affected.

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Reduce colours – Allows you to specify the number of colours that the image
should be reduced to. Always affects the entire image.

Convert to BW – Converts the entire image to just the colours black and
white (no grayscales).

Covert to true colour – Converts images of lower number of colours to true

colour.

Get HSV Channels – Splits the image into three separate images
representing the Hue, Saturation and Value.

Get RGB Channels - Splits the image into three separate images representing
the red, green and blue components.

Edge detection – Converts colour images into line drawings by detecting the
position of edges.

Resize – Changes the size of the image canvas but does not change the image.
This will crop the image if a smaller size is specified or create a blank area to
the right and bottom of the image if a larger size is specified.

Resample – Changes the image size to that specified. A variety of different

filters can be selected which will have different effect as the image is scaled
up or down.

Clear – Removes the image to leave a blank canvas.

Tools menu

Effects – Displays a dialog where a variety of special effects can be applied to

the image. A preview is provided.

Rotate – Allows the image to be rotated by an arbitrary angle. A preview is

provided and the image can be anti-aliased (stepped edges smoothed)

Vertical Flip – Flips the image in the vertical direction.

Horizontal flip – Flips the image in the horizontal direction.

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Merge – Enables another open image to be merged with the currently selected
image.

Hidden text – This has no effect in the cross stitch program but can be used
to add text comments to images that are saved to disk.

Zoom properties – Allows you to specify what filter is used when showing a
zoomed image on the screen. Does not affect the image saved or returned to
the cross stitch program – just produces a better view.

Windows menu
Allows switching between all the open images plus tiling and cascading of all
the open images.

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13 - DP Frame

DP Frame displays the current design, including all realistic canvas and stitch
settings, inside a bevel cut mount and frame.

It is ideal for creating a front cover for a kit or chart pack as well as for trying
out different mount and frame combinations.

The framing program looks as follows:

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Rulers
The rulers at the edges of the picture represent the true framed size based on
the design size and fabric count that were set in the main Cross Stitch
Professional for Windows program.

Frame Style
The style of the frame can be set using the frame style toolbox. Simply click
on the required style and the picture will change. The frames styles can be
scrolled up and down using the scrollbars provided.

The depth of the moulding can be altered by using the depth control at the
bottom of the dialog. The number represents the frame thickness in inches. A
decimal point can be used to allow fine control.

Frame Size
The outside dimensions of the frame are controlled using the frame size
settings on the top toolbar. They are in inches and can be edited with the
keyboard or using the up/down arrow buttons provided. Changing the outside
dimensions of the frame will not affect the size of the mount cutout but will of
course affect the quantity of mount that is visible between the frame and the
design.

Cutout Size
The cutout size controls the width and height of the cutout through which the
design shows.

Cutout Offset
These control the position of the cutout relative to the centre of the mount.

Toolbar Buttons

Quit the framing Program

Set circular / elliptical mount

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 Set rectangular cutout

World view (Fit to screen)

Set mount colour

Export as graphics file

Zoom in

Zoom out

Print

Printer Setup

Full screen mode

In this version of the software, the frame style selected is saved with the
design and will appear at the bottom of the frame styles selection as well as in
its normal place. If a design is passed to another machine which does not
have that frame style, it will still be displayed correctly using the copy stored
with the design. If however the style is changed, the original frame style will
be lost when leaving the framer as the design only stores one frame style. To
pass frame styles to other designers for use outside a given design, it is
necessary to send them the original bmp file of the frame style.

Adding frame styles

The program will use any file in Windows bitmap format (*.bmp) that is
placed into the programs “frames” folder. Any such graphics files will appear
as a frame in the framer program.

To create a frame graphics file, you need to scan or digitally photograph a

section of the frame moulding. It should then be saved ensuring that it is
cropped tightly to the frame moulding (no additional pixels on any side). The

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program creates the correct length and mitres the corners by joining sections
of the saved file. For best results, the left and right edges of the moulding
should join as seamlessly as possible. Some graphics programs have special
functions to generate such tiles.

Try to keep the moulding graphics files as small as possible to avoid using
large amounts of memory when displaying them.

Exporting the framed image

When exporting the framed image, it is important to create the graphics file at
the size and resolution that it will eventually be used. This avoids degradation
of the image due to scaling in other programs.

DPI – This is the number of dots per inch that the printer or screen has where
the image will finally be output. If for example you are sending to a
commercial magazine, the chances are they will use 300 DPI. If you intend it
only to be displayed on a computer screen, he normal setting is 75 DPI. Some
printers may use higher settings – ask your printer what they use.
Sixe (pixels) – This is what ultimately determines the size of the image. If you
have a specific number of inches or cms that the image should fit then simply
increase or decrease the number of pixels until the correct image size is shown
in inches or cms beneath. You should set the DPI first as this also affects the
size.

As the image size is changed, the size of the graphics file will be shown . This
filesize is the size of the uncompressed image assuming a 24-bit graphics
format. If you later save in a compressed format like jpg, the final filesize will
be less. When the output format is chosen, there will be an accurate filesize
shown.

Choosing the file format

Once the image size has been specified, you get to choose the format of the
graphics file. The format you choose will depend on the final use of the file.

Most publishers can accept at least jpg and TIF. For jpg you will probably
want to choose a very high quality setting unless you must email the file in
which case choose the setting that gives an acceptable quality and filesize.
Use the preview button after any setting changes to update the preview
display and filesize.

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For Internet use you will probably want to choose jpg and reduce the quality
setting to produce a small filesize. Use the preview button to update the
preview display and filesize.

For transfer to other Windows programs you will probably want to use bmp
format. Any other format will almost certainly be converted to bmp by the
other program when you load it (assuming the program supports the format at
all).

Some formats have an option to specify 256 colours or Truecolour. Choosing

256 will reduce the filesize but at the expense of image quality. Use the
preview button to see the difference.

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14 - Hardanger Design

This version of Cross Stitch Professional for Windows includes a complete

toolkit for Hardanger design. In order to avoid confusion of the toolbar, these
tools are normally hidden from view and must be turned on by pressing the
Hardanger tool button.

Hardanger button

By clicking on the Hardanger button, the hardanger toolbox will be displayed.

A second click will hide the toolbox.

The position of the toolbox can be changed by dragging the bar at the top.
This allows the toolbox to be placed close to the area being designed. This
position will be remembered next time the program is used.

Kloster Block Horizontal

This tool allows the placement of an entire Kloster block. It is not necessary
to draw the individual stitches as the tool adds the appropriate number
depending on the size of block.

To add a Kloster block, simply click and hold down the left mouse button at
the top left corner of the required block. Move the mouse to the bottom right
corner and release. The stitches are added in the currently selected colour.

The position and size of the kloster block can be changed by using the
ordinary Object Select tool from the main toolbar. The colour can be changed
by selecting a new colour from the palette with the block selected.

Kloster Block Vertical

This tool works the same way as the horizontal kloster block tool except that
the direction of stitches is vertical.

Woven Bar Vertical

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This tool adds a woven bar with stitches in the vertical direction. The
operation is similar to the kloster block tools.

Woven Bar Horizontal

Similar to the vertical woven bar but with stitches running in the horizontal
direction.

Cutout Tool

The cutout tool is used to show a rectangular area of cut out fabric. It is used
in the same way as the other tools except that no colour selection is required.
When displaying a realistic fabric type, a cutout is displayed in black. When
working on a grid, the cutout appears as the background colour.

Spiders web
The spiders web tool is used in the same way as the other tools and would
normally be placed over a cutout area. The colour will be set to the currently
selected colour from the palette.
Irregular shaped cutouts
It is possible to produce cutouts which are irregularly shaped by using the
standard cross stitch and fractional stitch tools. Simply use the top left colour
in the palette and it will be displayed as a cutout rather than a cross stitch.
You can erase cutout areas using the right mouse button just like standard
cross stitches.

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15 - Colour Range Editor

The colour range editor is used to change the master colour ranges of the
program.

In general, it is best to send any shade cards to technical support to have them
added to the program. This is because we have the necessary colour
measurement devices to ensure accurate colour matching. A real thread shade
card is required for accuracy – printed cards are not sufficient.

There is no charge for having additional colour ranges added to the program
and we can return your shade card on request.

Should you wish to add your own ranges, modify the existing ranges, or
create ranges based on a subset of an existing range, the colour range editor is
the place to do it.

You need to be aware that changes you make to colour ranges will affect the
entire program and any designs that you create with it.

Colour ranges are stored as *.rng files and it is these that you should backup
to prevent loss of your data.

To activate the editor, select “Edit colour ranges” from the settings menu:

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The left hand part of the screen contains tools that operate on an entire colour
range. The bottom of the screen contains the tools that operate on a specific
colour. The centre screen shows the actual colour range which may be
divided into pages depending on the number of colours in the range.

Colour range selection

The first step is to select the colour range that you are going to work on. The
list box at the top left of the screen will contain a list of all the colour range
files. Simply scroll down the list and select the one you require.

The selected colour range will be loaded and displayed along with any notes
that have been stored on that range.

Short Name
The short name box contains an abbreviation for the colour range name. This
can be used on charts where the full colour name might be too large. Simply
edit the text to change the short name.

Range operations
The following is a list of operations that can be performed on a colour range:

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 Add a new colour range
Delete the selected colour range
Rename the selected colour range
Create a duplicate of the selected range
Sort the colours of the selected range
Standardise upper/lower case of names
Ensures “-“ in name surrounded by space
Remove names to leave just numbers
Copy range data to Windows clipboard
Vary the light/dark of all colours

Range Notes
The section to the right of the main colour range display is for any notes you
wish to enter for the range. Just click on the notes section and use the word
processing toolbar to enter your formatted text. The toolbar is a subset of the
DPWord text editor which is described in the supplement to this manual.

Single Colour operations

To change a single colour, first click on the colour patch for the required
colour in the main display. The colour will be transferred to the sample patch
at the bottom of the screen. Its red, green and blue colour values will also be
displayed next to scrollers that control them. To modify the colours, simply
move the scrollbars.

The text for the colour is also shown in an edit box underneath the colour
sample. You can simply edit the text to change the colour number and
description that will appear on colour keys.

There are two additional check boxes that can be used to signify that a colour
is metallic or fluorescent. Although the program only displays these settings at
the current time, future versions may make use of them for display or colour
matching purposes.

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The insert button is used to add a new colour to the range. After adding, you
should click on the new colour patch and set the colour and description.

The delete button will delete the currently selected colour.

Variegated Colours
Next to the colour sample is a button labelled with the letter V. Press this and
the current colour can be made into a variegated thread colour.

Initially you will see just one colour patch but you can add and delete patches
using the “+” and “-” buttons. You need a patch for each colour change in the
thread.
To change the colour of a patch, click on it to select it and then move the
colour sliders to create the colour.
The number entry on the variegated display represents the distance between
repeats in the colour sequence. It should be set to the number of cm of thread
before the colour sequence repeats – that is the total length of all the colours.
It is used to show on screen a more realistic representation of the finished
effect dependant on the fabric count being used.

Colour Schemes
The colour range editor allows colour schemes to be added to a complete
manufacturers range. If this is done, any designs that use the range will
automatically load each of the colour schemes. This can be used to provide a
different colour value for designing and printing. It can also be used to allow
all your designs to have colour values given to you by different publishers.
Another use is to have one colour range that has equivelents in other ranges.
So you could have a DMC range that has alternative schemes to give Anchor
and Madeira equivelents. This is more flexible than an equivelent list because
it is easy to view each alternative scheme in the design and make a change
that affects only that one scheme.
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Clicking the “+” button will add a new colour scheme to the design. The new
scheme will initially be a copy of the master scheme. Simply edit the colour
values to change just the new scheme.

Swapping colour schemes is simply a matter of choosing a new one from the
drop down list.

The “-” button will delete the currently selected colour scheme.

The third button allows the colour scheme to be renamed. Remember that the
name is how the scheme will be chosen in a design so it is important that it
indicates what the scheme is for.

The final two buttons are for importing a range into the current colour
scheme. One is for CMYK colour values and one for RGB colour values.
You can easily export a range to create a compatible file for import by
choosing export from the Range menu. Simply look at the resulting file in a
text editor if you want to create range files without using the colour range
editor.

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16 - Settings
The settings menu allows the operation of the program to be customised to
suit individual preferences.

Edit master colour ranges

This starts the colour range editor where you can modify or add new thread
ranges. See separate chapter on the colour range editor.

Stitch editor
This starts the custom stitch editor where you can edit or create new stitch
types.

Calibrate monitor
The settings of your monitor will have a large effect on how you perceive
colours. It is recommended for serious work that you use a recognised colour
calibration device, however this feature will allow you to do some basic
checks.

The first screen shows the 30 darkest shades of grey that your monitor should
be able to display on a black background. On a correctly calibrated screen,
you should be able to just make out the darkest patch. The screen should be
viewed in a darkened room.

Click next to take you to the second screen.

The second screen shows the lightest shades of grey that you should be able to
see on a white background.

Click next to take you to the next screen.

The third screen allows you to see the gamma value of your screen for red,
green and blue. You can then tell the program these values so it can better
display correct thread colours. If you prefer to assume the standard sRGB
profile rather than using the measured results, you can check the box.

Look first at the red column. There should be a point where the vertical dark
stripes are least visible and appear to merge into the background. Not the

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number from the left hand side where this happens and enter it in the red box
at the top of the red stripe.

Do the same for the green and blue values.

Click OK to accept the calibration.

Note that the program will only modify the displayed colours to give you a
better screen image taking into account the profile of your screen. It does not
affect how imported images are matched to the thread colours.

Rulers
You can select the top and left side rulers to be metric, inches and stitch
count. You can also turn them off to gain some extra screen space for the
design.

Toolbars
Each set of tools is listed on the toolbar menu and can be toggles on and off.

If “use magic placement” is turned on then there is just one tool for ¾ stitch
and one for ¼ stitch. The orientation is set automatically according to where
in the square you click when adding a stitch. If this is not turned on then there
are separate tools for each orientation of stitch.

Centre marks
You can turn on/off the centre mark display. You can also set manual or
automatic placement. Using automatic placement, the position will be updated
as you add and remove stitches from the design.

For manual placement of center marks, you must set the position as follows:

Choose the row/column selection tool and click on the required centre point
of the design. Now click on the “set manual centre mark” tool that appears
along with the other row/column tools when the row/column selection tool is
chosen.

Visibility options
There are visibility toggles for the width/height window, Supervie, Palette and
X/Y position readout.

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Use CMYK colours
When checked the program will use colour values specified with C,M,Y and
K values rather than R,G and B. (Publisher edition only)

Numeric entry CMYK

When checked, CMYK values will be entered by number ratherthan by
scroller. (Publisher edition only)

Allow undo after save

Normally once a design is saved, you cannot undo beyond the saved point. By
checking this item, you can save a design but still undo previous operations.
Note that you cannot undo the save – you must re-save after the undo to revert
the saved design back to the earlier version.

Use built in viewer for pdf files

At certain points in the program, pdf files need to be displayed. If this item is
checked then the program uses its own in-built pdf viewer. This viewer has
search abilities and in the publisher edition also has limited editing. If the item
is not checked then the default Windows pdf viewer is used (for example
Acrobat reader).

Use realtime info updates

If this is checked then items such as the used colour indicators in the palette
will be continuously recalculated in background rather than needing a screen
redraw. This is done by a special program “thread” that shares processor
power with the main program. On some low power machines, this may cause
problems but its a useful feature for higher power machines. If you have
multiple processors then this can even use a separate processor for the
updates.

If the setting is turned off, use the “redraw” tool to refresh the used colour
indicators.

Auto combine stitches

These toggle switches allow the program to automatically check for certain
combination of stitches and replace them with a single larger stitch type. For
example two half width stitches of the same colour could be replaced with a
full cross.

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Default folders
This displays a dialog box allowing you to change the default location for
various folders used by the software. If left blank, the program will use the
original default location.

Designs – the location where the program normally loads and saves the *.xsp
design files.

Motifs – The location the program uses to save motifs and to display motifs
in the motif browser.

Texture patterns – The location the program uses to show texture patterns
for the texture drawing tool.

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Backup - If set then the program will keep all the prevous versions of the
designs (*.bak) in the single listed folder. This means any two designs with
the same name but in different folders will erase each others backups when
saving. Normally the backup file is kept in the same folder as the original
design.

Erase backups after n days – Only when using a single folder for backups,
they can be set for automatic deletion after the set period.

Templates – The location where the program looks for templates when
creating new designs or Superkeys.

Export – The folder where the program will save exported files.

With many of the folders, the program will search the default users folder
followed by the default system folder. In this way, if the user has their own
version of a file, then that is the one used. If not, any system file will be used.
This allows users to override a system file without having write access to it
(being a supervisor user). Setting a default folder overrides this behaviour.

You can view the actual folders the program is currently using by choosing
“Show my folder locations” from the Help meu:

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Do not customise windows places buttons
This setting prevents the program from changing the default speed icons such
as “My Documents” in the file open dialog boxes. Normally the program
attempts to modify them to locations useful in the cross stitch program such as
the designs folder or motifs folder. Not all Windows versions allow programs
to make these changes but on those that do, this will disable it.

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Settings menu – Program colours
This displays a dialog box allowing the colours of various items in the
program to be changed.

Samples at the right of the dialog show the effect of the colour changes on
various elements of the program.

Scanner detection – Turns on the automatic detection of scanners attached to

your system. With this selected, any time you go to the import command on
the file menu, there will be a pause while the program determines if a
supported scanner is connected. Only the tools appropriate for your devices
will be shown. Often it is quicker to have this turned off and just not try and
scan if one isn't connected.

Save settings
This saves all the current program settings to the system registry so they are
loaded next time the program starts.
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17 - Technical Support
Software registration
Please register your software at www.dpsoftware.com/register to qualify for
technical support and upgrades.

Free Upgrades
The software comes with 2 years of downloadable upgrades from date of
purchase provided it is registered. This includes all minor and major upgrades
released but excludes add-ons like libraries and production tools which may
be released as separate products.

Chargeable Upgrades
After the 2 year free period, access to upgrades can be extended on an annual
basis for a small fee.

Upgrades are available from the basic to Plus and Publisher editions.
Please consult buzztools.com for information on upgrading BuzzTools.

You can reach technical support as follows:

DP Software
25 Warren Close
Bradley Stoke
Bristol
BS32 0BP
England

Tel 01454 612598 (English speaking only)

Mobile 07850 846919 (English speaking only)
Fax 01454 853566
Email: [email protected]
Web www.dpsoftware.co.uk

Please telephone between the hours of 9am and 10pm UK time (7 days).
Phones are personally answered whenever possible but at other times, calls
are returned as soon as possible.
PLEASE READ THE MANUAL FIRST

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S1 - DP Draw

DP Draw is a vector image editor used to create objects for use in Cross Stitch
Professional for Windows. Vector objects have the useful property that they
can be scaled an unlimited number of times without reducing quality.

When used with Cross Stitch Professional, there is no need to save files in DP
Draw. Simply select “Return with current design” from the File menu. This
will return to Cross Stitch professional with the design that is currently active.
You can however use DP Draw as a stand-alone program, loading and saving
files as with any other software package. In this case, the files are stored with
the extension dpd which is the programs own format. Exports are possible to
wmf vectors and AutoCad DXF version 12.

Design objects are added to the canvas by selecting the appropriate tool,
clicking once where you want one corner of the object and then clicking again
where you want the opposite corner. This is slightly different to the main
cross stitch program where you drag with the mouse down.

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Design object tools

Rectangle – Click at top left then bottom right

Ellipse – Click at top left then at bottom right

Polygon – click on each corner of polygon

Line – click on one end point then the other.

Arc – click on one end then the other then to define length.

Bezier – click to define each point, double click to end.

PolyLine – Click at a number of points to join with straight lines. Click

twice on the same point to end.

LinkLine - These are used to join Link points. Click on one link point
and then another. They will be joined by a 90 degree elbow which will
be modified automatically if a link point moves. Normally link points would
be part of an object thus allowing objects to be linked and moved whilst
maintaining the linking.

Link Point. Used to add a linkable point to an object allowing a

linkline to join objects together.

Dimensioned Line – Similar to a line but will include a dimensioning

arrow with text that gives the length of the line. Depending where the
drawing is being used in Cross Stitch Professional, the dimension may or may
not be relevant to the final printed result.

Text – Click once to define top left of text box, click again to define
bottom right. Enter text. Note that text size is not scaled as an object
changes size.

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Selecting, Moving, Sizing and Rotating

Select – Click on a design object to select it. To select multiple objects,

hold shift key down and click on each object. To select all objects in an
area, click and drag out a rectangle over the required area.

Moving
To move selected objects, click and drag somewhere on the selected objects.

Resizing
To resize, click and drag one of the selection points after selecting an object.
Choosing a corner selection point will allow resizing in both directions.
Choosing a side selection point will allow sizing only in one direction.

Rotating
To rotate, select the design objects using the Rotate tool and drag one of the
selection points. If an object is selected with the rotate tool, the selection
points will be circular instead of square.

You can also move the object with the rotate tool by dragging a point within
the selected object.

Object colours and fills

The colour, fill style and line widths of objects are set using the Object
Properties panels which by default are located on the left hand side of the
screen. There is one which controls any new objects that are created and a
second that shows and controls the currently selected object.

The outline colour is used to draw lines and the outline of shapes.

The fill property can have both colour and fill style. The fill colour
can also be a gradient between two colours.
The pen width determines the thickness of lines.

The height, width and rotation angle of a selected object is also

displayed. The object can also be rotated by changing the rotation
angle setting.
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To change a colour, double click on the patch or click the right pointing arrow
button next to it.

Using the colour change dialog

When changing a colour, the colour change dialog box is displayed:

To choose a colour, move the slider up and down to

the colour hue required. Then click on an exact
colour in the main display. The colour patch at the
top right will display the chosen colour and the
CMYK colour value will be shown beneath that.
You can also select the colour by directly entering
the CMYK colour value.

Using the fill change dialog

The fill of an object can be a solid colour,

patterned colour or a gradient fill which
smoothly changes from one colour to another.

For single colour fills, change the solid colour.

For gradient fills, change both the gradient start
and gradient end colours.

For single colour fills, select a pattern from the

8 available solid fills. For gradient fills, select one of the gradient styles. The
sample patch will show what the final fill will look like.

Copying style of existing object

The eyedropper tool allows you to read the attributes of an existing

object and set up the object properties control for new objects to match.
Simply click on an object with this tool and new objects will then have the
same colour and fill styles.

Object priorities
Each drawing object created has a priority which determines if an object is
drawn in front of or behind other objects. When new objects are created they
appear by default in front of all existing objects. There are tools to modify the
166
priority of a selected object. These tools will be greyed out if no object is
selected.

From left to right, the tools are:

Move forward one level
Move back one level
Move to front of all existing objects
Move to back of all existing objects

Grouping and aligning drawing objects

It can be useful to group together multiple objects so they can be moved as
one and to align several objects without having to move each one. This group
of tools allows such operations.

Top align selected objects

Bottom align selected objects
Left align selected objects
Right align selected objects
Align centre of selected objects horizontally
Align centre of selected objects vertically

Lock selected object to prevent modification or moving

Unlock selected object
Group selected objects into one
Ungroup selected object into original objects

Object Orientation Tools

Flip object top to bottom

Flip object left to right
Rotate object 90 degrees

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Edit Tools

Cut selected objects

Copy selected objects
Paste previously copied or cut objects
Delete selected objects

Undo the last operation. Each click of the tool will undo one operation
up to the maximum limit set in the design properties.

Screen view tools

Show normal colour (all layers)

Show only Cyan layer
Show only Magenta layer
Show only Yellow layer
Show only Black layer

Show grid lines

Show dots in place of grid lines
Hide grid

Zoom in
Zoom out
Zoom to fit design to window

Cascade design windows

Maximise currently active design window.

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File operations

Start new design

Open existing design
Save design
Save design to new file
Export design to wmf, dxf or bmp

Other Tools

Select all objects

Design properties – displays/hides the design properties.

Set the measurement units to inches or centimetres

Set the design canvas size to a preset paper size or enter a custom
width and height. Not relevant to cross stitch professional as long
as the area is big enough to hold the drawing.

Set the colour of the screen background

Set the colour of the handle points of selected objects
Set the size of the handle points
Set the maximum number of undo levels stored.

Configuring DP Draw
On the “View” menu, there are settings to turn on and off the various
toolbars. In addition, each toolbar can be picked up by the vertical line on its
left side. It can then be dragged away from the toolbar to float on the design
and docked to any side of the screen.

Returning to Cross Stitch Professional

If DP Draw was started from within Cross Stitch Professional, you can return
with the design that is currently active by selecting “Return with current
design” on the File menu. The selected design will be returned to the main
program however any other designs will not be saved. If you have multiple

169
designs open and want them saved, you must use “Save” on the “File” menu
before returning to Cross Stitch Professional.

If DP Draw was started as a separate program then all designs should be

saved before exiting. You can then close the program using “Exit” from the
“File” menu.

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S2 - Custom Stitch Editor

The custom stitch editor allows you to create your own stitch types that will
then appear on the toolbars of the program. You can define the toolbar
image, the screen image, the chart image and the stitch instructions.

To start the stitch editor, choose “Stitch editor” from the settings menu of the
program.

The first thing to decide is a name for the stitch. This will determine the pop-
up hint on the toolbar for this stitch and also the filename where it is stored.

Next enter the width and height for the stitch. This will determine the size of
the canvas you have to draw on and also the boundary of the stitch when it is
added to a chart. The numbers are entered in chart gridlines. You can easily
modify the numbers later without losing any existing drawing.

The stitch can then be drawn using one of the three line drawing tools which
work like the backstitch tool in the main charting program.

The blue tool will snap to the nearest grid line.

171
The Green tool will snap to the nearest evenweave hole
The Red tool will snap to 1/10th grid line for fine control.

In addition to the tools, there are other settings you can change before
drawing a line:

Primary / Secondary colour

The primary colour is the main colour of the stitch which will be chosen from
the palette menu of the main program in the same way as other stitch types.

The secondary colour is used for parts of the stitch that need to be in a second
colour. When custom stitches are being added to the design, the main palette
colour patch is divided into two parts to allow selection of both colours.

Number of strands
You can specify the number of strands used for each of the lines. This will
show as thicker lines in the stitch drawing the more strands you select.

Toolbar Icon
By selecting the toolbar icon tab you can define how the stitch should look on
the toolbar:

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Use Auto Image
This is the easiest option to select. It will simply use a small version of the
main stitch design you have just drawn on the stitch tab.

Use Custom Image

This allows you to design your own toolbar image. Select this option and then
click the edit button. This will start DP Image which is used to draw the
button design. If you already have a design then you can simply use DP
Image to load the design and then return with that image. Otherwise you can
design the image from scratch using DP Image and return with that.

On return from DP Image, the custom image will be shown.

Pattern Image design

Next, select the “Pattern image” tab in order to create the design that will be
shown on the printed or exported chart:

173
Use plain lines in place of picture

This is the easy option. The chart will simply be a line drawing just like the
design screen image.

Custom drawing
If you are not using the plain lines option, click the edit button to start DP
Draw which is used to create the image for printing. DP Draw is a full vector
image editor so you can create the drawing at any scale and it will be sized
without loss of quality to any required stitch size.

See the DP Draw chapter for details on using DP Draw but note the following
points when creating stitch drawings:

The canvas size is not relevant as all the drawing elements will be grouped
together and then sized to the required stitch size of the printout.

The drawn design elements will cover the entire stitch size. If you need space
around the stitch (a smaller stitch than the grid squares it occupies) then you
must create a dummy unfilled rectangle at the larger size behind the stitch.

Any object in pure Magenta (CMYK = 0,100,0,0) will become the current
stitch colour.

Any object in pure Cyan (CMYK= 100,0,0,0) will become the current
secondary stitch colour.

Any other colour or graduated fill will be printed as designed.

Custom stitches are not designed to have text however any text will be printed
in the point size as designed regardless of the scale of the stitch required for
the printed chart.

Stitch Instructions

You can assign a set of instructions for the stitch. Go to the instruction tab
and click the edit button. This starts DP Word which is used to create the
instructions. To insert graphics into DP Word, you can paste from the
clipboard. See the Chapter on DP Word for full instructions.
174
On return from DP Word, the instructions will be displayed on the
instructions tab.

Currently you need to print the instructions from DP Word however future
program versions are intending to allow printing of stitch instructions from
the main chart print dialog.

175
S3 - Customising Screen layout
A special feature of this version of Cross Stitch Professional for Windows is
that most of the screen elements can be moved around to suit the individual
user.

Looking at one of the menu elements, we can see a raised bar on the left hand
side:

By dragging the toolbar by this “handle” it is possible to move it around the

toolbar. If it is dragged outside the toolbar, it will convert to a floating tool
palette:

This can be placed anywhere on the screen thus allowing tools to be moved
closer to where they are being used. Dragging it back to the toolbar will revert
it to its normal form.

Tools can be docked not just in the usual place at the top of the screen but on
any side of the screen. As the floating toolbar is moved over a potential
docking site, it will snap into its docked format.

Other components that can be moved, docked and even resized are the colour
palette, X/Y readout window and the Superview. In fact even the menu can
be moved.

Motif Browser
The motif browser is only shown when you click on the motif toolbar button.
Its normal position is docked to the bottom of the screen.

176
It can however be docked to any side of the screen although it is
recommended that the palette and motifs are not on the same docking
position.

To dock the motifs vertically, first move it to a floating position:

Now resize the window so that the width is that required:

Dock the window to a side position and the width will remain the same but
the height will fill the available space:

177
S4 - DPWord

DPWord is the word processor used for Publisher Text Objects and Key
Objects. Most of the tools will be familiar to anyone that has used a general
purpose word processor. Although files can be saved and opened, there is no
need to do so when using it for Publisher Objects since the text is saved when
you save the main pattern.

Select Font
Select Font Size
Select Font Colour
Paragraph background
Select Normal Text
Select Bold Text
Select Italic Text
Select Underlined Text
Select Superscript
Select Subscript
Select Strikout
Left Justified
Center Justified
Left & Right justified
Right Justified
File Open
File Save
Print
Printer Setup
Select Everything
Cut
Copy
Paste
Find
Replace
178
 Undo
Redo
Insert Table
Select table row
Insert table row
Delete table row
Insert table column
Delete table column
Select column
Split table cell
Combine table cells
Switch borders off
Switch borders on
Inner borders
Outer borders
Left borders
Right borders
Top borders
Bottom borders
Bullet list
Numbered list

Return with current text.

Return with original text.

Simply select the required font, size, colour and attributes. Type in the text
and click on the OK button.

179
Adding Graphics
Graphics can be added to the text at the current cursor position. The graphics
to be added must be present in the clipboard by copying from another
application. To insert into the pattern, simply hold down the <shift> key and
press the <insert> key. The graphics should appear in DPWord.

To resize a graphics object, first select it by dragging a box around it. There
should now be a resize point at the bottom right corner. Click on this and
then drag it to resize the object.

Special Characters
Characters like  and  can easily be added by using the Insert menu. Select
“Symbol” from the menu for a character map and then click on the character
required.

Inserting tables
A new table can be added by clicking on the “Insert table” toolbar button or
by selecting “Table” from the Insert menu. The menu gives more control over
the poperties of the inserted table.

Properties Menu
The properties menu allows setting of parameters for the page, paragraph,
paragraph borders and the tabs.

180
Page properties

The paper size can be set to one of the many pre-set sizes or a custom size can
be used. For a Superkey template, the recommended paper size is that of the
printer that is likely to be used for printouts. For a publisher key template,
select the smallest paper width that will fit the information and the largest
length likely to be used.

181
Paragraph properties

Paragraphs can be set to left, right or centre aligned or justified.

Left and right indentations can be set and also an indentation for the first line
of the paragraph.
Spacing can be specified both before and after a paragraph.
If line spacing is set to multiple then the value is specified in number of lines
(including decimals). It can also be set to a specific number of inches – either
an exact value or at least a specified value. A preview box shows the effect of
the controls.

182
Paragraph borders

A paragraph can have a border on any or all four sides. The border can be
made dotted or double lined using the style settings.

The width setting defines the line width used for the border in point units.

The space setting defines the distance between the text and the border.

The shading setting allows the selection of the colour used to fill the border
box. You select the base colour and the level of shading to produce the final
shade. Use the Update button to see the effect on the main display since the
test display does not show the shading.

183
Tab properties

The top left box shows the currently set tabs and their position from the left
border.

To delete a tab, click on the appropriate tab and click the delete button.

To add a tab, set the position in inches using the tabstop setting and click on
the insert button.

The Default Tabstop setting defines at what points the tab key will move the
cursor where there are no further manual tabs set.

184
S5 - Template Format

Templates are used for the Superkey and the Publisher Key objects. They
allow a custom format to be used while still letting the program specify the
actual information content based on the design.

The templates are edited with DPWord - the programs built-in word
processor. The files are stored in Rich Text Format (rtf) which is a format
compatible with many Windows word processors. It keeps not only the text of
the document but also the layout, fonts, tables and colours.

Using Tokens
Templates work by inserting “tokens” into the document where you want the
program to substitute certain values.
For example:

The symbol for the first thread is %s1%

Would be changed by the program to:

The symbol for the first thread is 

Whatever the pattern, the correct symbol will be inserted that represents the
first used colour in that design.

We can see that by repeating the line for %s2% and %s3% etc we can build a
simple key.

There are many available tokens which allow us to build complete keys for
cross stitch, backstitch and general pattern information.

Editing the default.rtf template that is provided with the program (in the
templates folder) you can see how the use of tables can help position the text.

There are special cases that enable us to create tables of variable length – we
do not know of course what the table length needs to be for an arbitrary
design at the time we design the table:

185
1. If after the substitutions, there are any tokens still left unfilled – for
example we specified symbol 20 but there are only 19 colours used,
the program first looks for pairs of @@ symbols. If the tokens are
between pairs of these symbols, the entire text between them is
removed. This allows us to specify text that will be associated with
each colour but which will not appear if the colour is not used in a
particular design. You will see that the sample template uses these
symbols for each line of the key. If there are no unfilled tokens
between the symbols, just the @ symbols are deleted
2. After removing the text between @@ symbols, the program removes
any other tokens that have no assigned value. So even if we don’t
specify what text is to be removed, we still don’t get unwanted tokens
printed in our dicument.
3. If there are completely blank table rows, the program will remove
them. Since the previous cases will have created blank rows for the
unused colours, the table shrinks to fit the used colours.

186
Complete list of available tokens
%s1% Symbol for cross stitch colour 1
%n1% Colour number for cross stitch colour 1
%na1% Colour name for cross stitch colour 1
%bs1% Symbol for backstitch colour 1
%bn1% Colour number for backstitch colour 1
%bna1% Colour name for backstitch colour 1
%Title% Design title
%designer% Designers name
%ifoverlap% Null string if overlap specified
%year% The current year
%date% The current date
%stitches% The design size in stitches
%RNG% The colour range name
%sc% Number of strands for cross stitch
%sb% Number of strands for backstitch
%msc% Number strands for machine cross
stitch
%msb% Number strands for machine backstitch
%dimi14% Dimensions in inches for 14 count
%dimcm14% Dimensions in cm for 14 count
@@ @@ Del. between @@ if any % undefined
%q1% Sequenced number for cross stitch in
palette position 1
%qn1% Sequenced number for half stitch in
palette position 1
%qb1% Sequenced number for backstitch in
palette position 1
%ql1% Sequenced number for long stitch in
palette position 1
%qf1% Sequenced number for french knots in
palette position 1
%qbd1% Sequenced number for beads in palette
position 1

Sequence numbers are used to replace the actual thread colour number with
an incrementing sequence in order to obscure the actual thread colour for
commercial kits.

187
Below is an example start of the cross stitch table for a superkey template that
uses sequential numbers in place of the actual thread number:

Sym No. Reference Sym No. Reference

@@%s1% %n1% %q1%@@ @@%s2% %n2% %q2%@@

@@%s3% %n3% %q3%@@ @@%s4% %n4% %q4%@@
@@%s5% %n5% %q5%@@ @@%s6% %n6% %q6%@@

This compares with the original table that uses real colour numbers:

Sym No. Colour Name Sym No. Colour Name

@@%s1% %n1% %na1%@@ @@%s2% %n2% %na2%@@

@@%s3% %n3% %na3%@@ @@%s4% %n4% %na4%@@
@@%s5% %n5% %na5%@@ @@%s6% %n6% %na6%@@

There is a matching option in the organiser card printing to allow the colour
name to be replaced with the same sequence number. This is a simple
checkbox option.

188
 Publisher
S6 - Publisher Tools Edition

The Publisher tools are contained on a special floating tool palette. This
palette is displayed or hidden by clicking on the ‘P’ button of the main
toolbar. The publisher tools are tools for annotating the pattern rather than
adding stitches and they add some very powerful facilities:

Publisher Text Objects

A Publisher text object is used to add an area of text to the printed pattern for
instructions, notes, copyright, titles etc.
Although called a text object, it can also contain graphics so you can add
logos or illustrations.

The text objects are created using a built-in word processor (DPWord) which
gives great control over the formatting of the text.

To create a Publisher Text Object, select the appropriate tool and then select
an area of the pattern into which the text will be placed. To do this, click and
hold down the left mouse button at the top left of the area. Now move the
mouse pointer to the bottom right of the required area and release the button.
The word processor will now appear and the page width will be set so that it
will fit in the selected area.

Use the word processor to enter the text and graphics you require and click on
the green arrow tool on the toolbar. This will return you to the main pattern
with your text correctly formatted and placed in the area selected. If the area
is too small for the number of lines used, it will be extended.

Modifying a Publisher Text Object

Since a Publisher Text Object is just another Object, you can use the standard
Object Select tool to select the object, move it around the pattern and resize it.

When resizing a Publisher Text Object, the word processor will still work in
background to reformat the text as appropriate. For instance if you have a
paragraph which is left justified and you reduce the width of the object, the
text will continuously be re-justified as you change the size. Note that
reducing the width will increase the required height for the object. The text
189
will be displayed outside the box if necessary however it is recommended that
you increase the height accordingly.

To edit the text and graphics within the object, first select the object with the
Object Select tool, then click on the Modify Selected Object tool. (Both on
the main toolbar) Your text will be returned to DPWord with the page width
set to the current width of the object. Now make the modifications and click
on the green arrow again.

Publisher Cutouts

A Cutout is actually a shape which can be applied to any part of the pattern.
Normally, the colour would be set to the background colour (first colour in
the palette) in which case the function of the shape is to create a cutout in the
grid. This is useful when combined with a Publisher Text Object as it creates
a plain background for the text. Note that any text object will always come to
the surface of a cutout so it does not matter which is created first. If the text
disappears behind a cutout, simply redraw the screen with the redraw tool.

To create a cutout, select the required colour, select the appropriately shaped
tool and then draw the area required in a similar way to any of the area
commands.

A Publisher cutout is yet another example of an object thus it can be changed

and moved with the Object Select and Modify Selected Object tools.

When modifying a cutout, there are some extra features available:

Cutout Border
A thin or thick border can be applied to a cutout. This results in a black
border around the shape.

Fill Style
The standard fill style is solid but a variety of hatch patterns can be used
instead.

190
Shape
You can change between the available shapes without having to delete and
recreate them.

Callouts

A Callout is similar to a standard cutout but includes a pointer at one corner to

give a closer relationship to the item being described.

Callouts are available in rectangular and rounded rectangular shapes and the
pointer can be at any corner.

The Object Select tool can be used to change its size and position.

Arrows

An arrow can be added to the pattern in exactly the same way as a cutout.
You must draw the bounding rectangle for the arrow which will then be
191
drawn across the diagonal. Arrows are always black and are available in 4
directions.

Create Symbol Key

This tool is used to create a symbol key that can be placed anywhere on the
design. In fact it simply generates a Publisher Text object containing each
symbol and colour description used in the design. Ensure that the Key is
turned off on the print dialog to avoid a standard key being printed as well.

To create a key, simply select the key tool and click where you want the top
left corner of the key.

To modify a key, select the object with the Object Select tool and then click
on the Modify Selected Object tool. DPWord will then be displayed and the
text can be modified as required.

Note that there is no link between the key and the pattern so if the colours
used in the pattern change, the key will need to be edited by hand or deleted
and then re-created.

The format of the key is determined by the pubkey.rtf file located in the
programs templates folder. The format is the same as the Superkey template
described in chapter S3. You can use the Superkey editor to load, edit and
save the template. This can be accessed from the Key tab of the print dialog.

Key for Area

This tool can be used to generate a key for a given area of the design. This is
useful if you are preparing a sheet of small designs.

To use the tool, select it and then draw a box around the area of the design
required. The key will be calculated for this area and added to the design.
You can now use the Object Select tool on the main toolbar to move the key
to the desired position.

192
DP Draw Object
This tool enables you to add graphics designed in the DP Draw package onto
the chart. Use the tool to select an area where the design should fit. The DP
Draw package will then start to allow a design to be constructed or loaded.
Select the “return” option from the File menu of DP Draw. The graphic will
be sized to fit the chosen area. The objects can be sized using the Object
Select tool and modified using the “Modify selected object” tool. For details
on using DP Draw, see the separate DP Draw chapter.

Construction Lines
The publisher version introduces the use of construction lines when creating
designs. These are just like backstitches but are never printed with the design.
They can be used to create guides to help in the placement of stitches.
Construction lines can be turned on and off and can be changed in colour to
make them stand out in a particular design.

Standard construction line. Operates exactly the same as a backstitch

line.

Half grid resolution construction line. Operates as half grid resolution

backstitch line.

Floodfill to construction line. Will behave like the standard floodfill

to backstitch but will take the construction lines as its boundary in
place of backstitches.

Construction line colour change. Used to change the colour of

construction lines so they show up with the colour scheme of the
current design. Can also be used to turn on/off the construction lines and
change their thickness.

193
 Publisher
S7 - Special Stitches Edition

On the main toolbar is a tool marked "S". This is the special stitches tool
which allows the display and hiding of the special stitches tool palette.

The special stitches tool palette contains a variety of different stitch types for
more general embroidery. To add a stitch, simply select the appropriate tool
and then left mouse click where you want the top left corner of the stitch.

Since these stitches are intended for general embroidery, where an evenweave
fabric is generally used, it is possible to place the stitches to the resolution of
a half cross. In addition, the width of some stitches is not a multiple of a cross
stitch width.

If a stitch is placed in the wrong position, you can use the special move tool
provided on the special stitches tool palette. Simply select the tool and then
use it to drag the stitch into the required position.

Stitches are deleted by selecting the tool used to create them and then using
the right mouse button anywhere on the stitch. If stitches overlap , it is
possible to select the correct stitch by right clicking at its top left corner. Any
click on this position of a stitch will give that stitch priority. Clicking at a
position which does not correspond to the top left corner of any stitch will
delete the first stitch found at that position.

Rice Stitch

The Rice Stitch consists of a large cross over 4 canvas

intersections. To this is added a diagonal stitch across each corner
over 2 canvas intersections. The program only displays a single
colour in any one stitch but it is possible to stitch the rice stitch
with a different colour for the corner stitches. To represent this on the pattern,
simply describe it in the instructions or use a callout or arrow combined with a
publisher text object.
194
Smyrna Stitch
The Smyrna Stitch is a double size cross stitch with an upright
cross stitch over the top. When stitching, all the top stitches should
be in the same direction (either horizontal or vertical). The top
stitch can be stitched in a different colour (see rice stitch).

Algerian Eye

The Algerian Eye consists of 8 stitches radiating from the centre. It

is stitched starting at the top right corner and working in a
clockwise direction. Each segment is started at the outside edge
and ends at the centre hole.

Upright Cross
The upright cross is simply a cross stitch rotated by 450.

Square Eyelet

The Square Eyelet consists of a series of radiating stitches arranged

in a square. Each stitch is made passing the needle up at the edge
and down the centre hole. It may be necessary to enlarge the centre
hole prior to starting the stitch depending on the fabric and thickness of thread
used.

Diamond Eyelet

The Diamond Eyelet is worked in a similar way to the square eyelet

except that the length of each stitch varies to form a diamond
shape.

Circular Eyelet

195
The Circular Eyelet is another variation of the standard square eyelet. Strictly
speaking, it is octagonal in shape with 3 stitches to each side but the effect
looks circular.

Small Tent Stitch

The small tent stitch is usually simply called tent stitch but has
been named small in the program to distinguish it from the tent
stitch on the main toolbar. The small tent stitch is stitched over a
single intersection of canvas and is thus half the size of a cross stitch. The
tent stitch on the main toolbar is over two intersections of canvas and is thus
the same size as a cross stitch.

196
 Publisher
S8 - Colour Separation Printing Edition

To cover the needs of silk screen printing, an option has been added to the
Formats tab of the Print dialog that allows printing of colour separations. This
is included only in the Publisher edition. This is a spot colour separation and
should not be confused with CMYK colour separation which is quite
different. The program is unusual in offering up to 219 spot colours. This
allows a separate screen to be printed for each possible colour in the design.

Selecting the silk screen mode displays the following dialog:

The print mode is automatically set to colour blocks however the dialog
allows selection of colour or black and white printing. Normally the printouts
would all be in black.

A printout will be produced for each colour used in the design. The title on
each printout will display the colour number which is represents.

Each screen would normally be produced with the black areas slightly
oversized to allow for tolerances in alignment. The Block Overlap setting
allows this oversize to be specified in inches. Each click on the up or down
arrows will increment or decrement the number by the size of a single pixel
on the printer. You can also set any number by typing directly into the box
however it will only be possible to print to the nearest pixel.

The over-sizing will only be added to stitches that have adjacent colours that
are further down the palette order than its own colour. It is thus important to
sort the palette order of the design such that the lightest colours appear first.

197
This is easily achieved by using the sort command on the palette menu and
selecting a reverse sort by intensity. It is then possible to make modifications
using drag 'n' drop for coloured inks that have less covering power than their
computer colour would otherwise indicate. This may also be required if you
are adding fluorescent additives to enhance the standard inks.

Note that the over-sizing is designed to work only with whole

stitches and not with fractional stitches.

There are two possible warnings that can appear in the dialog box. These
remind you if the grid has been left on in the Options tab or if an overlap has
been selected on the Margins tab. Both these options would not normally be
used when creating a silk screen print. You may also want to turn off the key
on the Key tab since the colour number is printed with the title on each
screen.

There is a button to cancel silk screen mode which will restore the original
options. The print mode will be set to colour blocks.

Note that the preview option is disabled when using silk screen mode. You
can check the page layout by previewing before selecting silk screen mode
since the layout remains unchanged.

It is not currently possible to export silk screen prints other than by installing
a postscript driver and setting it to print to FILE:

Should you require facilities for silk screen printing that are not already
provided, please contact our technical support department to discuss
modifications.

198
Solutions to problems
The problems listed here are problems caused by drivers for add-on hardware
items and are not faults with the cross stitch professional software.

Fatal errors or strange graphics problems

Some video cards replace standard Windows routines with their own
programs to accelerate graphics drawing. If the card drivers contain bugs, this
can lead to problems which are not the fault of the program. To determine if a
problem is due to a problem graphics driver, follow the procedure below:

1) Select "Settings" - "Control Panel" from Windows start button.

2) Double click on "Display" icon

3) Click on the "Settings" tab

4) Click on "Advanced" button

5) Click on "Performance" tab

6) Slide "Hardware acceleration" control to None

7) Click on OK to close advanced settings dialog

8) Click on OK to close display properties dialog

Restart your machine. If the problem has disappeared, you can either leave the
acceleration control off or you can find the highest setting that works
correctly.

Bug Reports
The program has the ability to detect a crash and produce data to help track
the problem. Please help the development of the software by clicking on the
button to send the report to DP Software.

199
Recovering a lost design

The program keeps the previous version of a design file in a file with the same
name but the .bak extension. So mydesign.xsp will have a backup file
mydesign.bak created when you save a new version over the top of an existing
one. To load a backup file, first rename it from Windows (not the cross stitch
program) so that it has the .xsp extension. So you might call it mydesign2.xsp
and then load that design in the program.

Configuring backup files

Normally the backup files are kept in the same location as the original
designs, however it is possible to change this. Using the settings menu, select
“Default folders”. A location for the backup files can then be entered.

If the backup folder is set, all backup files will be kept in this folder
regardless of the location of the original design file. Note that if you have
several designs of the same name but in different folders then only the last
saved design will have a backup. If you need backups of different designs
with the same name, you cannot use the single backup folder setting.

If the single backup folder is used, it is possible to set an expiry time on the
backup files. If this is set, any backups older than the specified number of
days will be deleted.

200
Alphabetical Index
A
About 56
Add / Remove Colours 45, 132
Add column 17
Add row 17
Adding motifs 94
Aida 11, 73, 80
Algerian Eye 195
Anti-Photocopy 40, 41
Area commands 15, 17, 190
Area Copy 18, 19, 25
Area Cut 18, 19
Area define 15, 25, 87
Area delete 17, 18, 25
Area Fill 17
Area move 24, 25
Area Paste 18, 19
Area Resize 25
Area Rotate 19, 20
Area to Clipboard 24
Arraiolos 80
Arrows 191
Auto Smooth 21
Autobackstitch 21
AutoCad 163
B
Background colour 52, 64, 140, 149, 190
Background image 75
Backstitch 7, 10, 11, 12, 17, 18, 21, 29, 30, 31, 39, 41, 42,
43, 53, 55, 56, 78, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 90, 96,
105, 107, 108, 111, 115, 118, 129, 171, 185,
187, 193
Backstitch Colour Change Tool 30
Backstitch style 39, 41, 42, 111
Backstitch thickness 10
Backup file 200
Bead style 113
Beading 74
Beads 18, 56, 84, 87, 90, 113, 118
Blackwork 29
Blocks 51, 80, 81, 110, 111, 197, 198
Border 79, 99, 100, 109, 179, 180, 183, 184, 190
Brick stitch 74
Brightness 48, 140
Bug Reports 199
BuzzTools 127, 128, 130, 162
C
Callouts 191
Canvas 5, 14, 15, 16, 18, 24, 34, 48, 55, 58, 64, 72, 73,
74, 77, 78, 79, 80, 86, 88, 95, 102, 103, 129,
141, 143, 163, 169, 171, 174, 194, 196
Canvas Menu 73
Catalogue 97
Centre Design 79
Centre Marks 34, 77, 115
Change Colour range 50
Change Symbols 10, 39, 111, 112, 114
Character positioning 86, 88
Character Spacings 86, 87
Circular Eyelet 195
Clipboard 18, 19, 24, 54, 62, 63, 69, 71, 72, 152, 174, 180
CLR file 127
CMYK 104, 134, 135, 136, 166, 174, 197
CMYK Colour Separations 104
CMYK colours 134
Colour control with Motifs 99
Colour Intensity 113
Colour merge 51, 65
Colour Range Editor 150
Colour reduction 50, 66
Colour schemes 37, 50, 51, 118, 119
Colour Separation Printing 197
Colour Symbols 80
Colours 132
Construction Lines 193
Contrast 48, 140
Count of Fabric 54, 77
Cover for a kit 143
Cropping 79
Cross stitch tool 7, 8, 30, 32
Curve tool 27
Custom colours 36
Custom Stitch Editor 171
Custom stitches 12, 174
Custom zoom 34
Customising Screen layout 176
Cutout Border 190
Cutout Tool 149
Cutouts 190
D
De-speckle 24, 30
De-speckle tool 24, 30
Define Letter 87
Delete colour scheme 51
Delete Current Colour 47
Deselect 16, 17, 91, 138
Design size 56, 63, 64, 72, 78, 87, 88, 144, 187
Designers name 115
Diamond Eyelet 195
Digitising for Machine 127
Double resolution 9
DP Draw 163
DP Frame 143
DPImage 63, 137
DPWord 178
Drawing Stitches 7
DST format 127
Duplicate Stitch 77
Duplicates 44, 89
Dxf 163, 169
E
Embird 4, 127, 128, 129, 130
Erasing Stitches 13
Evenweave 74, 80, 119, 172, 194
Exhibition displays 72
Exit 73
Expand / Crop Size 78
Exporting 121
Eyedropper 30, 166
Eyelet 195
F
Fabric count 37, 54, 55, 64, 80, 97, 129, 144, 153
Fabric simulation 73, 74
False colours 41
Fatal errors 199
File Browse 61
File Close 62
File Close All 62
File Import 62, 66, 67
File menu 58, 67, 73, 89, 121, 137, 139, 163, 169
File New 58
File Open 58, 62, 88, 178
File Save 61, 178
File Saveas 61
Fill style 28, 117, 165, 166, 190
Filled shape 22, 23
Flashing 47, 48
Flatten Area 27
Flip 20, 94, 95, 100, 141, 167
Flood Fill 28
Floodfill to construction line 193
Flourescent 36
Font 3, 40, 41, 69, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90,
93, 107, 112, 115, 178, 179, 185
Font patterns 86
Fonts 3, 84, 86, 87, 88, 185
Fonts 3
Formula 54
Framing Program 143, 144
French knot 11, 12, 113, 118
French knot style 113
G
Gradient fill 28, 166
Graphics file 58, 62, 63, 64, 71, 72, 104, 121, 122, 123, 125,
134, 145, 146
Graphics problems 199
Grid 5, 8, 9, 11, 28, 74, 75, 76, 77, 80, 101, 103, 108,
109, 110, 111, 115, 120, 149, 168, 171, 172,
174, 190, 193, 198
Grid Interval 76
Grid Numbers 115
Grid Thickness 108
H
Half cross stitch 8
Hardanger Design 148
Hardanger in Colour 113
Help menu 4, 56
Hidden backstitches 18
Highlighting 47
Horizontal flip 20, 141
Hue change 26
I
Image 9, 20, 24, 31, 50, 52, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 72,
75, 76, 96, 122, 123, 125, 132, 137, 138, 139,
140, 141, 142, 146, 147, 163, 171, 173, 174
Import from a file 62
Import from the clipboard 63
Info Menu 52
Installation 1, 2, 3
Interpolation 65, 66
Irregular Area Define 15
Irregular shaped cutouts 149
K
Key for Area 192
Kloster block 148, 149
Knit Style 80
Knitting 77, 80
L
Labelling 82
Language 1, 73
Length calculation formulas 54
Length estimate 53
Letter definition 88
Lettering 84, 86
Life size image 72
Line tool 10, 11, 12, 27
Load motif 90, 94, 95
Long stitch 12
Longstitch Style 112
Longstitches 112, 118
M
Machine formats 127
Magic Border 100
Magic Boxes 100
Magic placement 7
Magic wand 15, 16, 138
Maintain aspect ratio 65
Make Photo 71, 101
Manual centre 16
Match colours 39
Match to current palette 65
Match to nearest thread colour 64
Metalic 36
Mirror 20, 31, 92
Modify Backstitch Colour 10
Modify Font 89
Motif Borders 99
Motif Browser 95
Motifs 19, 31, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 177
Moving an Object 91
N
New colour scheme 50
Notes 56, 115, 151, 152, 189
O
Object 1, 17, 18, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 83, 84, 86, 88, 89,
90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 96, 107, 148, 163, 164, 165,
166, 167, 168, 169, 174, 178, 180, 185, 189,
190, 191, 192, 194
Objects 90
Open shape 22
Open Shapes 22
Organiser card 68
Over-sizing 197, 198
Overlap Shading 117
Overlap Stitches 116
P
Padlock 65
Palette Control Buttons 51
Palette menu 10, 35, 37, 50, 65, 76, 89, 100, 111, 112, 114,
129, 132, 172, 198
Panning 5, 33
Patternmaker 121
PDF 121, 123
Pen tool 13, 139
Pen width 13, 15, 22, 30, 165
Petit Point 8, 9, 119
Petit-point 9, 66, 119, 120
Photo Arraiolos 80
Photo Cross Stitch 73, 79
Photo Tapestry 79
Photograph 67, 71, 101, 145
Plastic Canvas 74, 80
Postscript 125, 198
Preview / Export Key 105
Print 1, 2, 3, 8, 10, 39, 40, 41, 43, 44, 51, 54, 56, 67,
68, 69, 70, 72, 79, 80, 81, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101,
102, 103, 104, 105, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111,
112, 113, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121,
125, 134, 135, 136, 138, 139, 145, 146, 150,
164, 173, 174, 175, 178, 181, 186, 189, 192,
193, 197, 198
Print colour 39, 43, 44, 112
Print organiser 68
Print preview colours 81
Printer set-up 67, 68
Printing 1, 3, 10, 43, 44, 54, 56, 67, 68, 72, 79, 97, 98,
99, 101, 109, 111, 116, 121, 135, 174, 175, 197,
198
Printing a photo 72
Priority 91, 92, 96, 166, 167, 194
Problems 199
Publisher Cutouts 190
Publisher edition 1, 4, 40, 104, 110, 112, 114, 118, 134, 135, 162,
197
Publisher shapes 118
Publisher Text Objects 189
Publisher Tools 189
Punch marks 70
R
Realistic cross stitch 74, 79, 80
Recent Files 73
Recovering a lost design 200
Redo tool 32, 33
Reduce number of colours 49
Registration 162
Remove Duplicates 44, 89
Remove selected column 17
Remove selected row 17
Remove Template 106
Remove Unused 44, 89, 100
Rename colour scheme 51
Rendering an Object 93
Repeat draw 13
Repeating last import 63
Requirements 2
Resizing an Object 91
Resolution 9, 11, 66, 67, 72, 101, 109, 119, 121, 123, 146,
193, 194
RGB 50, 104, 128, 134, 135, 136, 140, 141
Rice Stitch 194
Rotate 19, 20, 74, 92, 94, 95, 141, 165, 167, 195
Rotate 45 20
Rotate 90 19
Rug 74, 80
S
S1 - Colour Separation Printing 197
S2 - Publisher Tools 189
S3 - DPWord 178
S4 - Special Stitches 194
Save 7, 18, 25, 35, 51, 54, 56, 58, 61, 62, 73, 76, 79,
86, 87, 88, 89, 94, 103, 105, 106, 121, 122, 127,
129, 130, 137, 139, 142, 145, 146, 163, 169,
170, 178, 192, 200
Save Palette 51
Scan 9, 49, 50, 63, 66, 67, 75, 137, 139, 145
Scan Source 67
Scanner 63, 66, 67, 139
Screen layout 176
Scrollbars 33, 34, 117, 144, 152
Secondary colour 172
Select all 16, 17, 49, 165, 169
Select Row/Column 16
Select tool 16, 34, 87, 88, 91, 92, 94, 148, 189, 190, 191,
192
Selecting an Object 91
Shade cards 150
Shape browser 23
Shape dialog 24
Shape Objects 23
Shape tools 22, 31
Showhints 56
ShowWH 52
Silk Screen Mode 114
Silk screen printing 197, 198
Simple Key 106
Smoothing tool 29
Smyrna Stitch 195
Solutions to problems 199
Sort 44, 45, 129, 152, 197, 198
Special Stitch Style 112
Special stitches 18, 112, 118, 194
Spiders web 149
Split cross 8
Split stitch 8, 9
Spot colour separation 197
Square Eyelet 195
Stitch by Stitch Undo/Redo 33
Stitch Editor 171
Stitch info tool 30, 31
Stitch Instructions 174
Stitches Menu 79
Stitching order 129
Straddle stitch 8
Straight lines 7, 13, 164
Strands 53, 55, 56, 78, 172, 187
SuperKey Templates 105
Superview 5, 21, 30, 33, 34, 176
Swap Colour 21, 35
Swap Colour 21
Swiss Darning 77
Switching tool 9
Symbol key 35, 192
Symbols 3, 8, 10, 39, 40, 41, 44, 51, 80, 81, 108, 110,
111, 112, 113, 114, 115, 118, 119, 186
T
Tajima 127
Tapestry 55, 73, 74, 79, 80
Technical Support 162
Template Format 185
Tension 58, 62, 77, 80, 86, 87, 94, 129, 163, 200
Tent stitch 196
Text objects 19, 83, 84, 91, 92, 93, 178, 189
Text Tool 82, 84, 86
Thread lengths 52, 55
Title 115
To Object 21, 90
Tolerance 15, 16, 26, 28, 100, 138, 197
TrueType 3, 86
Turn On/Off Colours 49
TWAIN 66, 67, 139
U
Undo limits 33
Undo pen 14
Undo tool 14, 17, 32, 33
Uninstall 3
Updating 2
Upgrades 162
Upright Cross 195
V
Variegated thread 36, 37
Vertical Flip 20, 141
Video help 1, 2, 6
View in Frame 73
W
WIA Device 67
Wmf 62, 63, 163, 169
Word processor 54, 56, 69, 79, 105, 106, 178, 185, 189
Woven bar 148, 149
Z
Zooming 33