Copyright: XStitch Pro ® 1993-1994 D. Peters


Contents

Introduction

Cross Stitch Professional for Windows allows the design of cross stitch patterns in up to 220 colours from the full 360 colour DMC range.  It also supports custom colours.

Procedures

Adding Stitches

Adding Backstitches

Bitmap Objects

Adding Text Objects

Undoing Stitches

Deleting Stitches

Modifying Colour Palette

Choosing Colour

Exiting

Reference

Menus

Index

Glossary


Adding Stitches

Stitches can be added by painting with the mouse but by using the keyboard either in place of the mouse or in conjunction with the mouse, it is easier to draw straight lines.

Adding Stitches with the Mouse

Adding Stitches with the Keyboard

Adding Stitches with Mouse and Keyboard


Adding Stitches with the Mouse

1/  Select a colour by clicking the left button with the mouse pointer over the required colour of the colour palette.

2/  Select the type of stitch by clicking the left mouse button with the mouse pointer over the icon representing the required stitch.

3/  Click the left mouse button with the mouse pointer over the position where the stitch is required.

By moving the mouse whilst holding down the left button, consecutive stitches can be drawn without repeatedly pressing the mouse button.  In this way, the mouse can be used like a paintbrush.

Stitches are deleted in the same way using the right mouse button.

See Also:

Adding Stitches with the Keyboard

Adding Stitches with Mouse and Keyboard


Adding Stitches with the keyboard

Having first selected the required colour and stitch type, stitches can be drawn using the keyboard.

To start drawing, press the <Ins> key once and then use the cursor arrow keys to draw.

To stop drawing, press the <Ins> key a second time.  When not drawing, the cursor keys can be used to move the pointer around the screen.

Note that the <Home>, <PgUp>, <End>, <PgDn> keys can be used to move diagonally.

An easier way to draw straight lines is to combine the mouse and keyboard operations.

See Also:

Adding Stitches with the Mouse

Adding Stitches with Mouse and Keyboard


Adding Stitches with Mouse and Keyboard

The mouse and keyboard commands can be mixed freely at any time, so holding down the left button of the mouse and using the cursor keys will draw perfectly straight lines.

Equally, holding down the right mouse key and using the cursor keys will erase in a perfectly straight line.

If the system cannot keep up with the auto repeat  (stitches are missed ) then the auto repeat speed should be reduced using the Keyboard functions of the Windows Control Panel.

See Also:

Adding Stitches with the Mouse

Adding Stitches with the Keyboard


Adding Backstitches

Backstitches may be added with the keyboard or mouse.

The procedure is exactly the same as for Adding Stitches but a back stitch type is selected from the toolbar  or the tool menu.

All types of backstitch may be combined at a single position and are available in only one colour (except backstitch line below).

To add a backstitch from any point to any point without placing individual stitches use the backstitch line tool. Backstitch lines are available in any colour.

See Also:

Adding Stitches with the Keyboard

Adding Stitches with the mouse

Adding Stitches with Mouse and Keyboard

Backstitch Line Tool


Backstitch Line

The backstitch line tool allows backstitch lines to be added between any two points on the design at any angle.  It also enables backstitches to be added in any colour.

First select the colour to be used.

Secondly, click and hold down the left mouse button at the start of the line to be drawn.

Move the mouse to the end of the line to be drawn and release it.

To erase a backstitch line, use the right mouse button anywhere on the line.


Bitmap Objects

A Bitmap Object is a collection of stitches which has been created directly from a graphics file.  Although at first this may seem the same as using the File Import function, there is a big difference.  A Bitmap Object retains the connection between the individual stitches and may be moved around the design as if it were a single object.  A bitmap object may also be rescaled at any time and can be converted to individual stitches when its size and position has been finalised.

Adding a Bitmap Object

Deleting a Bitmap Object

Selecting a Bitmap Object

Rescaling a Bitmap Object

Moving a Bitmap Object


Bitmap Object Tool

The bitmap tool allows a graphics file to be imported as an abject on the current design.  This means that the resulting stitches can be moved around the design as a single object without destroying any existing stitches which it passes over.

The advantages of the bitmap object are that each design object can be placed onto the design and then moved around and resized until the design looks right.

When the file is imported, the colours are matched to the existing palette rather than changeing the palette to suit the imported file.  This prevents changes to existing stitches and other bitmap objects but means that it is necessary for the designer to ensure the palette contains suitable colours.  Each colour can of course be changed later but if two colours both result in the same nearest colour then the distinction between them will be lost.

To import a bitmap file, click the left mouse button on the design where the top left corner of the object is to be placed.

A dialogue will appear enabling the filename to be selected.  The file will then be translated to cross stitch format and the colours will be matched to the existing palette.

Supported File Formats

See Also:

Deleting a Bitmap Object

Selecting a Bitmap Object

Rescaling a Bitmap Object

Moving a Bitmap Object


Supported File Formats

The Following formats are supported by both the File Import command and the Bitmap Object tool:

BMP

DCX

EPS

GIF

JPEG

PCX

PICT

TARGA

TIFF

WMF

WPG


BMP

The BMP file format originates from Microsoft and is the standard image format used by Windows.  The bitmaps can be 1,4,8 or 24 bits uncompressed or 4 or 8 bits compressed.  The 24 bit version has no palette.


DCX

The DCX file type is a single file containing multiple PCX images.  XStitch pro will only read the first image from these files.


EPS

EPS (Postscript) files contain both vectors and bitmaps but usually also contain a TIFF format screen preview.  XStitch Pro reads only the screen preview portion of the file.


GIF

GIF (Graphics Interchange File format) originates from Compuserve. The bitmaps are 1,4or 8 bits giving a maximum of 256 colours.


JPEG

JPEG originates from the Joint Photographic Experts Group and the files have the extension JPG.  The compression used in generating the file loses information so that the file size is reduced. Since information is lost, the restored picture is not exactly the same as the original.  There is a trade off between file size and picture quality.  This format is often used to keep 24-bit images to a manageable size.  Uses 24 bits for colour or 8 bits for grey scale.


PCX

The PCX file format originates from ZSoft Corporation and can be 1,4,8 or 24 bits in a simple run length encoded format.


PICT

The PCT format originates from Apple Computers and is the format used by the Macintosh computer.  The file can contain both vectors and bitmaps however XStitch Pro supports only the bitmap portions of version 1 and version 2 files.


TARGA

The TARGA format originates from Truevision Inc. and has the file extension TGA.  Images can be 15 or 24 bit colour, 8 bit grey scale or simple run length encoded files.


TIFF

The TIFF format originates from Aldus and Microsoft and stands for Tagged Image Format File.  The image can be compressed in a variety of ways with a set of up to 45 tags being used to indicate the method used as well as image size,bits per pixel etc

Where the compression format allows multiple images to be compressed into a single file, only the first image will be read by XStitch Pro.


WMF

The WMF format originates from Microsoft and is a metafile format.   Images can be 1,4,8, or 24 bits.

Only raster information is read by XStitch Pro.


WPG

The WGP format is the WordPerfect metafile format.  It supports up to 256 colours.

Only the raster information is read by XStitch Pro.


Deleting a Bitmap Object

To delete a Bitmap object, simply select the Bitmap Object tool and click the right hand mouse key with the pointer over the object to be deleted.

See Also:

Adding a Bitmap Object

Selecting a Bitmap Object

Rescaling a Bitmap Object

Moving a Bitmap Object


Selecting a Bitmap Object

A Bitmap Object must normally be selected in order to be moved or resized.  To select a Bitmap Object, choose the Select tool from the Tool Palette and click the left mouse button over the object.

When Selected, the Bitmap Object will be surrounded by a black box.  The corners of this box may be dragged to change the size of the object.

See Also:

Adding a Bitmap Object

Deleting a Bitmap Object

Rescaling a Bitmap Object

Moving a Bitmap Object


Rescaling a Bitmap Object

To resize a Bitmap Object, first select the object using the Select Tool.

Next, move the mouse pointer over the corner of the objects box until it changes to the double arrow pointer.  Hold down the left mouse button and move the mouse until the box reaches the desired size.  When the mouse is released, the object will be resized to fit the new box.

See Also:

Adding a Bitmap Object

Deleting a Bitmap Object

Selecting a Bitmap Object

Moving a Bitmap Object


Moving a Bitmap Object

To move a bitmap object, use the Select Tool.

Hold the left mouse button down over the object and drag it to the new position.  There may be a slight delay before it starts moving on slower machines but speed should improve after the first move.

Where objects are placed on top of one another, the last object to be imported will appear on top.

See Also:

Adding a Bitmap Object

Deleting a Bitmap Object

Selecting a Bitmap Object

Rescaling a Bitmap Object


Text Object Tool

The text tool is used to add letters and numbers to the design without having to work out the arrangement of stitches for each character.  It allows the text to be typed at the keyboard and determines the layout of stitches by matching them to a chosen Truetype font.

To add text, choose a colour then click the left mouse button at the point where the text is to start.

A dialogue box will appear into which the required text can be typed.

To change the font used from the default or to choose a different size, click on the Fonts button.

Once the text and fonts are correct, click on the OK button and the text will be placed on the design in the current colour.

To change the colour, use the select tool to select the text, then click on the new colour.

To change the size, use the select tool to select the text then pick up the corner of the outline box and drag to a new position.

To change the font, size or text, double click on the text with the select tool.  The original dialogue box will appear with the old text ready for editing.


Undo Redo Tool
Undo / Redo Tool

The Undo tool is used to undo the result of the last operation.  The tool is used by clicking the left button anywhere on the design.  The action can be reversed (Redo) by using the right mouse button.

The Undo/Redo function is multi-level and can therefore be used several times in succession to undo more than one command.  There is a storage limit on the Undo buffer which will limit the number of commands which can be undone.  This limit is dependant on the number of stitches involved with each command.

When using Undo/Redo on commands which result in a large number of stitches changing, there may be an occassional pause while the buffers are trimmed in size. A special Undo Squeeze cursor will be displayed during the pause.


Deleting Stitches

Stitches may be deleted with the keyboard or mouse.

The procedures are exactly the same as for Adding Stitches but the right hand mouse button is used ( or delete key on the keyboard ).

See Also:

Block Delete

Adding Stitches


Block Delete
Delete

The Block Delete command is used to delete all types of stitches in the defined block.  The stitches are NOT stored in the buffer and the current contents of the buffer is retained.

To delete stitches but copy them to the buffer. for later use, the Block Cut command should be used.

See Also:

Block Define

Block Cut

Block Paste

Block Fill

Block Rotate

Block Reflect X

Block Reflect Y


Block Define

A Block must be defined in order to use  a Block Command.

To define a block, select the Block Define tool and click the left mouse button on the stitch at the top left of the required block.

With the mouse button still pressed, drag the mose to the bottom right corner of the block and release the button.  The defined block will now be shown outlined in black.

Clicking and releasing the mouse button at the same location will result in a block of just one stitch being defined.  A one stitch block may be used for the Block Paste command since only the top left corner needs to be defined.  The remaining dimensions are determined by the size of the block in the buffer.

See Also:

Block Cut

Block Copy

Block Paste

Block Delete

Block Fill

Block Rotate

Block Reflect X

Block Reflect Y


Block Cut
Cut

The Block Cut command is identical to the Block Copy command but in addition to placing the stitches in a buffer,. the original stitches are erased.

This command is often used in conjunction with the Block Paste command to move groups of stitches from one place on a drawing to another.  It may also be used to move stitches from one drawing to another since the buffer. is not erased when loading in a new file.

See Also:

Block Define

Block Copy

Block Paste

Block Delete

Block Fill

Block Rotate

Block Reflect X

Block Reflect Y


Block Copy
Copy

The Block Copy command is used to copy a block of stitches which has previously been defined with the Block Define command.

The stitches are copied to an internal buffer. and can then be placed at another point on the drawing by using the Block Paste command.  Block paste can be executed any number of times with the same stitches since the buffer. is only erased by another Block Copy command or a Block Cut command.

This command works on cross stitches, half stitches and backstitches.  Backstitch lines and objects are ignored..

If the destination area is not blank then any existing stitches will be erased.  Existing backstitches will be unaffected.

See Also:

Block Define

Block Cut

Block Paste

Block Delete

Block Fill

Block Rotate

Block Reflect X

Block Reflect Y


Block Paste
Paste

Copies all stitches in the buffer. to the design starting at the top left corner of the defined block.

See Also:

Block Define

Block Copy

Block Delete

Block Fill

Block Rotate

Block Reflect X

Block Reflect Y


Block Fill
Fill

Fills the currently defined block with the currently selected stitch type and colour.

See Also:

Block Define

Block Copy

Block Paste

Block Delete

Block Rotate

Block Reflect X

Block Reflect Y


Block Rotate
Rotate

Takes all stitches in the defined block and rotates about the top left corner of the block.

The resulting block replaces the original stitches.

If the block is not square then some stitches outside the original block will be replaced while others inside the block remain unchanged.  The top left corner of the new block always maps to the top left corner of the defined block.

See Also:

Block Define

Block Cut

Block Paste

Block Delete

Block Fill

Block Reflect X

Block Reflect Y


Block ReflectX
ReflectX

Takes all stitches in the defined block and reflects them about the center of the block in the X-axis.  The resulting stitches replace the original block.

See Also:

Block Define

Block Copy

Block Paste

Block Delete

Block Fill

Block Rotate

Block Reflect Y


Block ReflectY
ReflectY

Takes all stitches in the defined block and reflects them about the center of the block in the Y-axis.  The resulting stitches replace the original block.

See Also:

Block Define

Block Copy

Block Paste

Block Delete

Block Fill

Block Rotate

Block Reflect X


Modifying Colour Palette

Up to 220 colours may be used simultaneously with Xstitch Pro.  Initially, each colour in the palette is set to one of the predifined DMC colours but these may be changed at any time.

If the current graphics mode does not support the chosen colour then a dithered colour will be provided.

Dithered colours may not give an acceptable display when the size of stitches is small since the dithering technique requires a reasonably large area of colour to produce a good effect.

Modification Methods:

Choosing a new DMC colour

Creating a custom colour

Creating a custom colour and choosing the nearest DMC colour


Choosing a new DMC colour

To substitute a new DMC colour for a palette entry, simply double click on the palette entry or select the Colour Swap option from the palette menu.  This will produce a window containing all the available DMC colours.  As the mouse is moved over each colour, the pattern display will update to show the effect of substituting that colour.  When the mouse is clicked over a colour, the substitution will be made.

In 256 colour mode, the updateing of the display should be instant, however in other modes, there may be some delay.  In order to minimise delays, the mouse pointer should be moved quickly to the required colour.  There is no need to wait for the display to update before moving to the next colour.

If there are more DMC colours than there are colours available for display then some colours will be shown dithered which is unavoidable.

See Also:

Creating a custom colour

Creating a custom colour and choosing the nearest DMC colour


Creating a custom colour

The palette is modified by selecting the colour with the right mouse button instead of the left (delete in place of insert with the keyboard) or by selecting the Colour change option from the palette menu.  A window containing 3 scroll bars then appears one each for Red, Green and blue.  By moving the scroll bars, the amount of each primary colour can be altered and hence any colour can be selected.

As the colour is changed, the palette will change to display the new colour.  On systems which support a hardware palette (eg 256 colour VGA) the stitches in the design will also change as the scroll bars move.

On systems which do not support a hardware palette, the design will be redrawn with the new colours when the scrollbar window is closed.

Any number of colours may be modified without reselecting the command by using the left mouse button to select the next colour.  The position of the scroll bars will then change to reflect the new colour.

The scrollbar window is closed by selecting a colour with the right mouse button or by pressing the escape key on the keyboard (Esc).

See Also:

Choosing a new DMC colour

Creating a custom colour and choosing the nearest DMC colour


Creating a custom colour and choosing

the nearest DMC colour

The palette is modified by selecting the colour with the right mouse button instead of the left (delete in place of insert with the keyboard).  A window containing 3 scroll bars then appears one each for Red, Green and blue.  By moving the scroll bars, the amount of each primary colour can be altered and hence any colour can be selected.

To select the nearest DMC colour, click on the DMC button.  A window will  appear containing a list of DMC colours together with a sample patch of the currently selected colour.  The selected colour will be that which most closely matches the scrollers set earlier.  Choose OK to accept the colour or make
a new selection from the list first.

As the colour is changed, the palette will change to display the new colour.  On systems which support a hardware palette (eg 256 colour VGA) the stitches in the design will also change as the scroll bars move.  On systems which do not support a hardware palette, the design will be redrawn with the new colours when the scrollbar window is closed.

Any number of colours may be modified without reselecting the command by using the left mouse button to select the next colour.  The position of the scroll bars will then change to reflect the new colour.

The scrollbar window is closed by selecting a colour with the right mouse button or by pressing the escape key on the keyboard (Esc).

Choosing a new DMC colour
Creating a custom colour

See Also:

Choosing a new DMC colour

Creating a custom colour


Choosing Colour

With the mouse, simply click the left button with the mouse pointer over the required colour from the palette.  The palette must be visible in order to change colour.  If the palette is not visible use the Palette Show command from the main menu.

The colour palette can be scrolled to show colours that are off the screen by clicking on the arrows at either end.  If the mouse key is held down over the arrows, the palette will be repeatedly scrolled until the button is lifted or the end of the palette is reached.

Only 220 colours may be used at any time but these may be chosen from the full DMC range or customised.

It is easier if the colours that are being used are placed together at the beginning of the palette as then the palette will not need to be continuously scrolled backwards and forwards.

See Also:

Palette Modify


Exiting

The program is terminated by selecting the Exit command from the File menu.

If the current design has been changed and is not saved then a prompt will be made to allow the operation to be aborted.

If the warning is ignored then the current design changes will be lost and the program will terminate.

See also:

File Save

File Save as


File Save

The save command is used to store the current design on disk.  The extension .XSP is normally used for all designs.  This is not essential but is recommended since these files are listed automatically in the File Open dialogue boxes.  If an alternative is used it will have to be typed in manually.

If the file has previously been read from disk or has been saved before then it will already have a name and the updated design will overwrite the old one.

If the design is a new one then it will not have a name and one must be typed in when requested as with the Save As command.

Note that there is no warning if the name used already exists.  The new design will overwrite the old one.

If a filename other than the current name is required then use the Save As command.

See Also:

File Saveas


File Saveas

The Saveas command is used when the design must be written to a file other than the current name.  This allows both old and new designs to
be saved.

Use this command to keep copies of the design at various stages in case a change of mind or a mistake occurs.

See Also:

File Save


Menus

Click on a menu below for help on commands

File Menu

Zoom Menu

Block Menu

Tools Menu

Palette Menu

Design Menu

Info Menu


File Menu

New

Open

Save

Saveas

Import

Autosave

Print

Printer Setup

Preview Symbols

Exit


File New

The File New command is used to clear the current design and start a new one.  If the current design has not been saved then a warning will be issued that all changes will be lost and the command may then be cancelled or accepted.

In order to save the current design first, use one of the save commands prior to File New.

See Also:

File Save

File Saveas


File Open

The File Open Command is used to retrieve a design from disk.

A dialogue box is displayed showing all files with the .XSW extension in the current directory.  An alternative directory may be chosen if required.

When a file has been selected, it is read from disk and displayed on the screen together with the colour palette used to create it.

If the display is unable to exactly reproduce the colours in the original palette, the stitches will appear in the nearest available colour.  The palette may resemble the original colours more closely as large blocks of colour can be Dithered  whereas the stitches cannot.

Note that some colours may have the background as the closest available colour and hence appear invisible.  The stitches will still retain their original colour if saved back to disk and will therefore appear correct when viewed on a system with more colours.

Files from the original XStitch for Windows program with extension .XSW can be opened in the same way.  The format is automatically recognised and the design size adjusted to match that of the original program.


File Imort

The File Import Command is used to convert graphics files to XStitch designs.

A dialogue box is displayed showing all files in the current directory.  An alternative directory may be chosen if required.

When a file has been selected, a dialogue box is displayed allowing the number of colours to be limited.  It is usually more succesfull to start with a file containing a limited number of colours but if this is not possible they can be limited here to prevent the pattern becoming too difficult to stitch.

The file is then read from disk , converted to XStitch format and displayed on the screen together with the new colour palette.

Each pixel in the bitmap file will be replaced with a single stitch in the XStitch design provided that the maximum design size is not exceeded.
If the bitmap file exceeds the design size, it will be scaled down to the largest allowable size whilst maintaining the original aspect ratio.

If the bitmap has to be scaled, some loss of detail may be caused which may not be acceptable.  It is therefore much better to start with a
bitmap of the correct size than to let the program scale it during conversion.

One good use for the command is importing clip art (line drawings) which can then be coloured in with XStitch and combined with other peices of clip art to produce a larger design.  This makes design easier for those less able to draw.  Clip art is readily available from many software companies and through shareware distributors.

Supported File Formats

See Also:

Bitmap Object Tool


File Autosave

The autosave command enables the design to be saved at set intervals in order that the entire design is not lost if there is a system crash, power failure or if a mistake is made.

When the autosave command is selected from the File menu, a dialog box is displayed where the time period can be entered.  To start the feature, the enable check box must also be checked.

To dissable the feature, simply reselect the command and uncheck the enable box.

The autosave function saves the design to the file XSPRO.SAV

To recall the old design, load the autosave file by typing the name and extension in the normal File Open dialog box.

See Also

File Open

File Save

File Saveas


File Print

The File Print command prints the current design on the selected printer.
Before printing, a dialogue box is displayed allowing various print parameters to be selected.  The parameters that may be set are listed below. Click on the name for further information.

An alternative printer may be selected with the Printer Setup command which also allows the setting of other print parameters such as page
size and orientation.

Print Area

Key

Scale

Margins


Topic1
Print Area

The print area group enables a specific area of the design to be printed as follows:

AutoCrop

AutoCrop automatically eliminates any large unused areas to the top,bottom,left and right of the design.  The area printed will always start and end on a large (10 grids) square.

All

The All option will print the entire design area no matter how large or small an area is used. This setting is useful in checking what scale a full size design will need to be printed at to be readable on a particular printer.

Manual

Manual allows the minimum and maximum X and Y values to be entered for precise control of the printed area.  Move the mouse to the corners of the required area and read off the coordinates from the XY readout window.  The minimum and maximum values will be swapped automatically if they are accidentally entered in reverse.


Print Key

The key prints each symbol type along with its text description which is entered in the colour change box.

The Key can either be printed on each sheet (the default) or can be printed on a separate sheet at the end of the design.

If colour printout is selected then the key will be in colour, otherwise, it will show symbols.


Print Scale

Fit to Page

The scale of the printout defaults to Fit to page.  This scales the design so as to fit on a single page of the size defined in the printers setup dialogue.  This dialogue can be accessed via the windows control panel if permanent changes are required or via the XStitch  Printer Setup command for temporary changes.

Note that temporary changes remain in effect until XStitch is terminated and will not affect other applications running concurrently.  Some systems do not support local printer setups in which case the settings made from within XStitch will become permanent.

Manual

Alternatively, Manual scaling can be selected.  In this case, the scale is typed into the scale edit box.  The scale is expressed as a percentage of the fit to page size hence entering a value of 100 will give the same results as fit to page.  Entering 200 will double the size in both X and Y etc.


Print Margins

A value for the Top,Bottom,Left and right margins may be entered into the relevant edit boxes.  This will cause an additional blank area to be left around the design.  The values are in millimetres and are in addition to any unprintable area of the sheet of paper.

If a key has been selected on each page, it will further reduce the size available for printing the design and the selected bottom margin will appear below the key.

If no additional margins are required, the boxes may be left blank.

This facility is particularly useful where a poorly written printer driver does not properly report the unprintable area of the page.  This would normaly result in part of the design being missed off the printout but is easily corrected by adding a margin to the appropriate edge.


File Printer Setup

The Printer Setup command is used to select a printer from a list of currently installed printers.

The setup function of the printer driver may also be accessed from this command allowing the setting of various print parameters such as paper size and orientation.

Colour printers are supported for both colour block printouts and monochrome symbol printouts.  Printing may be considerably faster if the printer is set up for monochrome output depending on the printer type and the installed print driver.

If your printer is not listed then it is not currently installed for use by windows.  Consult the windows manual for instructions on installing new
printers.


File Preview Symbols

This command causes the program to enter symbol preview mode.  This means that stitches in the design will be shown on screen in the same symbols as will appear in the printout.

Normal mode will be resumed when the first change is made to the design but the program will remain in symbol mode during scrolling and zoom changes.

Note that Bitmap objects and Text objects will not appear in symbols. Half stitches will not be represented by smaller symbols due to restrictions on display resolution so where two half stitches occupy the same location, only one symbol will be displayed.


File Exit

The Exit command causes the program to terminate.

If the current design has been changed and is not saved then a prompt will be made to allow the operation to be aborted.

If the warning is ignored then the current design changes will be lost and the program will terminate.


Zoom Menu

The Zoom menu includes commands that enable you to select the screen magnification.

The default magnification is 300%.

Magnifications between 100% and 1200% may be selected.

The currently selected magnification is identified on the menu by a tick to the left of the value.


Block Menu

Define

Cut

Copy

Paste

Delete

Fill

Rotate90

ReflectX

ReflectY

To Object


To Object

The To_Object command converts the currently selected block of stitches and converts it to a Bitmap Object.  The appearence on the screen and the printed pattern will remain identical but now the Select tool can be used to move the object around the screen or to resize it.

To convert the object back to stitches, double click on it with the select tool.

Only full cross stitches will be converted, any half stitches or backstitches will remain as single stitches on the pattern.

See Also:

Bitmap Objects

Object Select Tool

Moving a Bitmap Object

Rescaling a Bitmap Object


Object Select Tool

The select tool is used to select an existing object.  This can either be a text object a bitmap object.

Once the object is selected, it is surrounded by a black box.  This box can be used to resize the object by dragging one of the corners to a new location.  Once a text object has been selected, double clicking on it will bring up the original dialog, allowing the text or font to be changed.  The colour of a selected text
object can also be changed by clicking on a new colour from the palette.

To select an object, simply click the left mouse button anywhere on the object.


Tools Menu

The Tools menu includes commands that enable you to select a type of stitch. It duplicates the Toolbar
on the left of the screen and allows quicker selection without a mouse.

For more information, select a Tool below:

 Cross Stitch

 Half Stitch Type A

 Half Stitch Type B

 Half Stitch Type C

 Half Stitch Type D

 Back Stitch Horizontal

 Back Stitch Vertical

 Back Stitch Diagonal Type A

 Back Stitch Diagonal Type B

 Backstitch Line

 Block Define

 Flood Fill

 Text Object

 Bitmap Object

 Object Select

 Undo / Redo


Cross Stitch Tool

The cross stitch tool may be selected by clicking on the cross stitch button of the toolbar or selecting the icon from the Tool Menu.

All stitches drawn with the cross stitch tool selected will be a full cross of the currently selected colour from the colour palette.

Placing a cross stitch will erase any stitch previously at the same position with the exception of Backstitches which remain unaffected.

Deleting a stitch with the cross stitch tool selected will delete any stitch or half stitch but not a back stitch.  Back stitches may be erased by selecting one of the back stitch tools and then using the right hand mouse button or the delete key in the normal way.


Half Stitch Type A

The Half Stitch Type A tool is one of four different orientations of half stitch.

Any stitch drawn with a half stitch tool selected will be drawn as one half of a complete cross stitch.

A half stitch will erase another half stitch of the same orientation at the same location.  It will also erase a half stitch if it shares any part with the existing stitch.

If the existing stitch is a half stitch of opposite type they will be joined to form a either a whole stitch if the colour is identical, or a double coloured stitch if the colours are different.

Erasing with a half stitch tool selected will erase whole stitches or half stitches but not back stitches.

Erasing a back stitch is done by selecting a back stitch tool and using the right hand mouse button or the delete key in the normal way.


Half Stitch Type B

The Half Stitch Type B tool is one of four different orientations of half stitch.

Any stitch drawn with a half stitch tool selected will be drawn as one half of a complete cross stitch.

A half stitch will erase another half stitch of the same orientation at the same location.  It will also erase a half stitch if it shares any part with the existing stitch.

If the existing stitch is a half stitch of opposite type they will be joined to form a either a whole stitch if the colour is identical, or a double coloured stitch if the colours are different.

Erasing with a half stitch tool selected will erase whole stitches or half stitches but not back stitches.

Erasing a back stitch is done by selecting a back stitch tool and using the right hand mouse button or the delete key in the normal way.


Half Stitch Type C

The Half Stitch Type C tool is one of four different orientations of half stitch.

Any stitch drawn with a half stitch tool selected will be drawn as one half of a complete cross stitch.

A half stitch will erase another half stitch of the same orientation at the same location.  It will also erase a half stitch if it shares any part with the existing stitch.

If the existing stitch is a half stitch of opposite type they will be joined to form a either a whole stitch if the colour is identical, or a double coloured stitch if the colours are different.

Erasing with a half stitch tool selected will erase whole stitches or half stitches but not back stitches.

Erasing a back stitch is done by selecting a back stitch tool and using the right hand mouse button or the delete key in the normal way.


Half Stitch Type D

The Half Stitch Type D tool is one of four different orientations of half stitch.

Any stitch drawn with a half stitch tool selected will be drawn as one half of a complete cross stitch.

A half stitch will erase another half stitch of the same orientation at the same location.  It will also erase a half stitch if it shares any part with the existing stitch.

If the existing stitch is a half stitch of opposite type they will be joined to form a either a whole stitch if the colour is identical, or a double coloured stitch if the colours are different.

Erasing with a half stitch tool selected will erase whole stitches or half stitches but not back stitches.

Erasing a back stitch is done by selecting a back stitch tool and using the right hand mouse button or the delete key in the normal way.


Backstitch Horizontal

The Horizontal Backstitch tool is used to add backstitches across the top of a stitch.  Any stitch drawn with the tool selected will be a horizontal back stitch.

All backstitches are shown in one colour (black).

If a back stitch is required across the bottom of a stitch, it should be added across the top of the stitch underneath. Since adjacent stitches share the same two holes, this is exactly equivalent.

Deleting with any backstitch tool selected will delete any type of back stitch but will not affect cross stitches or half stitches.


Backstitch Vertical

The Vertical Backstitch tool is used to add backstitches down the left hand side of a stitch.  Any stitch drawn with the tool selected will be a vertical back stitch.

All backstitches are shown in one colour (black).

If a back stitch is required down the right hand side of a stitch, it should be added down the right hand side of the stitch immediately to the right. Since adjacent stitches share the same two holes, this is exactly equivalent.

Deleting with any backstitch tool selected will delete any type of back stitch but will not affect cross stitches or half stitches.


Backstitch Diagonal Type A

The Diagonal Type A Backstitch tool is used to add backstitches down the top left/bottom right diagonal of a stitch.  Any stitch drawn with the tool selected will be a diagonal type A stitch.

All backstitches are shown in one colour (black).

Deleting with any backstitch tool selected will delete any type of back stitch but will not affect cross stitches or half stitches.


Backstitch Diagonal Type B

The Diagonal Type B Backstitch tool is used to add backstitches down the top right/bottom left diagonal of a stitch.  Any stitch drawn with the tool selected will be a diagonal type B stitch.

All backstitches are shown in one colour (black).

Deleting with any backstitch tool selected will delete any type of back stitch but will not affect cross stitches or half stitches.


Flood Fill Tool

The flood fill command is used to fill an irregular shape with stitches of the selected colour.

The mouse should be clicked somewhere inside the shape to be filled after selecting the tool.

The area to be flooded must be completely enclosed by stitches or the flood will leak out and fill the whole design.  It is recommended that the design is saved prior to using this command in case this happens.  The old design may then be recovered using the file open command.

If the flood fill is started at a position occupied by a stitch then only stitches of the same colour will be affected.  If the start position is blank then all existing stitches will be unaffected.

Note that some video drivers do not support the floodfill function used for this command, in particular most Truecolour drivers.  In these cases, the command will not work ( or under Windows 3.0 may cause a crash )


Palette Menu

The Palette menu includes commands that enable you to alter the way the colour palette is shown on screen.

For more information, select a Palette menu command name below:

Hide

Show

Vert

Horiz

Colour Change

Colour Swap

Remove Duplicates


Palette Hide

The Palette Hide command is used to turn off the colour palette.

This allows a larger area of the design to be seen at any one time but the palette must be turned on again using the Palette_Show command if the colour needs to be changed.

See Also:

Palette_Show

Palette Vertical

Palette Horizontal

Colour Change

Colour Swap


Palette Show

The Palette Show command is used to make the colour palette visible again after the Palette_Hide command has been used.

Palette Show is the default state on starting the program.

See Also:

Palette Hide

Palette Vertical

Palette Horizontal

Colour Change

Colour Swap


Palette Vertical

The Palette vertical command sets the colour palette to the right hand side of the window. The palette is always sized to the height of the window in this mode.  If the XY Position readout is visible, it will be adjusted to the left so as not to obscure the palette.

The palette can be returned to its default horizontal position with the Palette_Horiz function.

See Also:

Palette Hide

Palette Show

Palette Horizontal

Colour Change

Colour Swap


Palette Horizontal

The Palette Horizontal command resets the colour palette to its default horizontal position.

The palette is always sized to the window width in this mode.  It may be returned to the vertical position with the Palette_Vert command.

See Also:

Palette Hide

Palette Show

Palette Vertical

Colour Change

Colour Swap


Colour Change

The palette is modified by selecting the colour with the right mouse button instead of the left (delete in place of insert with the keyboard) or by selecting the Colour change option from the palette menu.  A window containing 3 scroll bars then appears one each for Red, Green and blue.  By moving the scroll bars, the amount of each primary colour can be altered and hence any colour can be selected.

As the colour is changed, the palette will change to display the new colour.  On systems which support a hardware palette (eg 256 colour VGA) the stitches in the design will also change as the scroll bars move.

On systems which do not support a hardware palette, the design will be redrawnwith the new colours when the scrollbar window is closed.

Any number of colours may be modified without reselecting the command by using the left mouse button to select the next colour.  The position of the scroll bars will then change to reflect the new colour.

The scrollbar window is closed by selecting a colour with the right mouse button or by pressing the escape key on the keyboard (Esc).

Choosing a new DMC colour
Creating a custom colour and choosing the nearest DMC colour

See Also:

Choosing a new DMC colour

Creating a custom colour and choosing the nearest DMC colour

Colour Swap

Palette Hide

Palette Show

Palette Vertical

Palette Horizontal


Colour Swap

To substitute a new DMC colour for a palette entry, simply double click on the palette entry or select the Colour Swap option from the palette menu.  This will produce a window containing all the available DMC colours.  As the mouse is moved over each colour, the pattern display will update to show the effect of
substituting that colour.  When the mouse is clicked over a colour, the substitution will be made.

In 256 colour mode, the updateing of the display should be instant, however in other modes, there may be some delay.  In order to minimise delays, the mouse pointer should be moved quickly to the required colour.  There is no need to wait for the display to update before moving to the next colour.

If there are more DMC colours than there are colours available for display then some colours will be shown dithered which is unavoidable.

See Also:

Creating a custom colour

Creating a custom colour and choosing the nearest DMC colour


Remove Duplicates

The remove Duplicates command can be found on the palette menu.  It is used to combine different palette entries which define the same colour.

Sometimes, the importing of a graphics file will result in several colours mapping to the same nearest DMC colour.  Since the original colours were slightly different, the program does not assign the same palette entry.  This enables each colour to be changed seperately if desired.  When all changes are made, the Remove Duplicate command should be used so that the finished pattern does not repeat any colours in the colour key.

Note colours are assumed to be duplicates when their red,green and blue comonents are identical regardless of the colour descriptions.


Design Menu

The Design menu allows the selection of the graphics display mode (cross/block), the visibilty of the grid and center marks, and the changing of the design size.

For more information, select a Design menu command name below:

Blocks

Crosses

Grid

Center Marks

Aspect Ratio

A-H


Design Blocks

The Blocks command from the Design menu causes each stitch in the design to be shown as a solid block rather than a cross shape.  This mode gives a faster redraw speed than the  Crosses Mode.

See Also:

Design Crosses

Design Grid

Design Center Marks

Design Size A-H


Design Crosses

The Crosses command from the design menu causes each stitch in the design to be represented by a cross shape rather than a solid block.  The cross mode gives a more realistic picture of the finished design but results in a slower drawing speed than the Blocks Mode.

See Also:

Design Blocks

Design Grid

Design Center Marks

Design Size A-H


Design Grid

The Grid command from the Design menu toggles the display of the grid on and off.  When the grid is on, there is a tick mark displayed on the menu.  The printout is not affected by this command.

Design Blocks

Design Crosses

Design Center Marks

Design Size A-H


Design Center Marks

The Center Marks command from the Design menu toggles the display of the center lines on and off.
The center lines mark the center of the stitches currently on the design and are updated each time a stitch is added except when the mouse is held down.  In this case, the position of the marks is updated when the mouse button is released.

See Also:

Design Blocks

Design Crosses

Design Grid

Design Size A-H


Design AH
Design Size A-H

The commands A thru H from the Design menu allow the size of the current design to be changed.  If the size of the new design is smaller than the currently entered design then some stitches will be lost.  If the new size is larger than the current design then the size is increased without affecting the existing stitches.

See Also:

Design Blocks

Design Crosses

Design Grid

Design Center Marks


Aspect Ratio

For Cross Stitch, the aspect ratio of the grid needs to be 1:1 (square) however for designing patterns where the stitches are not square, the aspect ratio of the grid may be altered.  This is commonly required in Duplicate Stitch.

The numbers entered must be whole numbers, the first representing the  X size and the second the relative Y size.

The grid should have the same aspect ratio as a stitch on the intended material if any design is to look correct when stitched.  Note that the pattern will be printed on a square grid and will thus look different to the final stitched article.


Info Menu

The Info menu allows the window displaying the current stitch position to be turned on and off. It also allows the width and height of the current design to be displayed and gives access to a design size calculator.

For more information, select an XYPOS menu command name below:

XY Show

XY Hide

XYWH Show

Sizes


XY Show

The Info XY_Show command restores the XY readout box at the top right of the screen.  This box displays the X and Y Coordinates of the stitch underneath the mouse pointer.

If the mouse pointer is moved outside the design area, the readout will change to a dash.

The readout box can be removed with the Info XY_Hide command.

The current width and height of the pattern can also be displayed with the Info XYWH_Show command.

See Also:

XY Hide

XYWH Show

Sizes


XY Hide

The Info_XY_Hide command removes the XY readout box from the top right hand corner of the window.

This readout box normally displays the X and Y coordinates of the stitch beneath the mouse pointer and may be redisplayed using the Info XY_Show command.

See Also:

XY Show

XYWH Show

Sizes


XYWH Show

The Info XYWH_Show command restores the XY readout box at the top right of the screen and adds the current width and height of the design on a second line.

If the mouse pointer is moved outside the design area, the XY readout will change to a dash.

The readout box can be removed with the Info XY_Hide command.

The readout box can be resricted to just the X and Y coordinates by using the Info XY_Show command.

Note that the width and height calculations have to be done after each addition to the design thus there is some slowing of the program when this is displayed.

See Also:

XY Show

XY Hide

Sizes


Sizes

The Info_Sizes command displays a dialog box of pattern information.

A value may be entered for material HPI, Width or Height and calculated values for all three will be displayed.   Values may be entered in inches or cm by clicking on the appropriate unit button.

If the Auto Crop button is set then the pattern will extend to the next nearest dark grid line.  Otherwise the exact size will be used.  The number of stitches in X and Y directions is displayed in brackets underneath each of the choices.

Specifying HPI

If an HPI value is entered, the width and height will be calculated and displayed.

Specifying by Width

If a width is entered then the HPI is first calculated such that the pattern width is equal to or less than the value entered.  The resulting width and height are then calculated and displayed.  The width may not be exactly equal to the entered value since the HPI must be a whole number.

Specifying by Height

If a height is entered then the HPI is first calculated such that the pattern height is equal to or less than the value entered.  The resulting width and height are then calculated and displayed.  The height may not be exactly equal to the entered value since the HPI must be a whole number.

Changing Units

The units may be changed between centimetres and inches at any time.  If a width or height was the
last thing entered then the entered value will be assumed to be in the new units and a recalculation will
result.  If an HPI was the last thing entered then the calculated values will be converted to the new units.


Index

A

Adding Backstitches

Adding Stitches with Mouse and Keyboard

Adding Stitches with the keyboard

Adding Stitches with the Mouse

Adding Stitches

Aspect Ratio

B

Backstitch Diagonal Type A

Backstitch Diagonal Type B

Backstitch Horizontal

Backstitch Line

Backstitch Vertical

Bitmap Object Tool

Bitmap Objects

Block Copy

Block Cut

Block Define

Block Delete

Block Fill

Block Menu

Block Paste

Block ReflectX

Block ReflectY

Block Rotate

BMP

C

Choosing a new DMC colour

Choosing Colour

Colour Change

Colour Swap

Contents

Creating a custom colour and choosing the nearest DMC colour

Creating a custom colour

Cross Stitch Tool

D

DCX

Deleting a Bitmap Object

Deleting Stitches

Design AH

Design Blocks

Design Center Marks

Design Crosses

Design Grid

Design Menu

E

EPS

Exiting

F

File Autosave

File Exit

File Imort

File Menu

File New

File Open

File Preview Symbols

File Print

File Printer Setup

File Save

File Saveas

Flood Fill Tool

G

GIF

Glossary

H

Half Stitch Type A

Half Stitch Type B

Half Stitch Type C

Half Stitch Type D

I

Index

Info Menu

J

JPEG

M

Menus

Modifying Colour Palette

Moving a Bitmap Object

O

Object Select Tool

P

Palette Hide

Palette Horizontal

Palette Menu

Palette Show

Palette Vertical

PCX

PICT

Print Key

Print Margins

Print Scale

R

Remove Duplicates

Rescaling a Bitmap Object

S

Selecting a Bitmap Object

Sizes

Supported File Formats

T

TARGA

Text Object Tool

TIFF

To Object

Tools Menu

Topic1

Topic1

U

Undo Redo Tool

W

WMF

WPG

X

XY Hide

XY Show

XYWH Show

Z

Zoom Menu


Glossary

B

Back Stitch

C

Cross stitch

D

Dithering

H

Half Stitch

P

Palette


Topic1
Title


Back Stitch

A Back Stitch is a stitch forming a line which is usualy used to outline part of the design.  The program allows single unit length stitches in one colour (black on screen) and any length stitches in any colour at any angle (called backstitch lines).


Cross stitch

A Cross stitch refers to the stitch which forms a complete cross.


Dithering

Dithering is a process which enables colours which cannot be directly drawn by the graphics card to be simulated.  This is done by drawing patterns of dots in different colours so that the affect when viewed at a distance is similar to the required colour.


Half Stitch

The term half stitch is used in this program to mean a stitch which takes up less than the full cross.  Strictly speaking this is a 3/4 or 1/4 stitch since when two half stitches are used together, the dividing diagonal must be chosen to be just one of the colours.  In the program, the diagonal is shown in both colours and it is up to the stitcher to choose which is the 1/4 and which is the 3/4.


Palette

A Colour Palette is a collection of colours which can be selected for drawing in the same way that an artist selects colours from a palette containing paints.  A Tool Palette is simply a collection of tools which can be selected for use.