ELNA XPRESSIVE 2 User Manual Download

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Xpressive

User’s Guide

Summary of Contents for XPRESSIVE 2

Page 1: ...Xpressive II User sGuide...

Page 2: ...rdance with the terms of those agreements No part of this publication and the software may be copied photocopied reproduced translated or reduced to any electronic medium or machine readable form with...

Page 3: ...for Xpressive without Internet Access 13 Transferring a License from a Second Computer 15 Opening and Closing Xpressive 18 Calibrating your Screens for Accurate Measurements 19 Chapter 2 Setting up X...

Page 4: ...d color from the custom thread chart 40 Removing all threads in the custom thread chart 40 Printing Designs 41 Changing a design s print settings 41 Previewing a design before printing 42 Printing des...

Page 5: ...and Measuring Designs 57 Adding guidelines 57 Moving guidelines 58 Changing the ruler origin 58 Defining ruler units 58 Measuring designs 59 Chapter 5 Creating Lettering and Merging Designs Creating E...

Page 6: ...g the width for Steil stitches 87 Changing Complex Fills properties 87 Adjusting the stitch length for the selected Fill pattern 87 Selecting a pattern for Fills 87 Setting the stitch density for Fill...

Page 7: ...n Editing in Outline Mode Editing Segments 116 Selecting segments 116 Converting stitches to outline segments 118 Converting stitches to stitch segments 118 Deleting segments 119 Moving through Outlin...

Page 8: ...Changing the location of start and stop points 144 Adding angle lines to segments 145 Chapter 10 Working with Images Scanning images 148 Loading images for punching 148 Rotating scanned images 149 Res...

Page 9: ...rueType lettering 166 Chapter 12 Using Autodigitizing and Cross Stitch Wizards Using the Autodigitizing Wizard 168 Creating a New Xpressive Cross Stitch Design 169 Selecting an Image 170 Color Reducti...

Page 10: ...8 Glossary 195 Index 221...

Page 11: ...need to install the software and hardware and to learn about Xpressive In this chapter Find out what you receive in the Xpressive package Learn how to connect the Elna machine to your computer Learn h...

Page 12: ...k Start 2 Choose Programs Accessories System Tools Backup 3 Follow the instructions provided If you have any problems consult the Microsoft Backup s online Help Connecting Hardware You can now set up...

Page 13: ...Elna embroidery machine Installing Xpressive To install Xpressive 1 Insert the Xpressive CD into the CD ROM drive You see the InstallShield introductory screen 2 Click Next to follow the installation...

Page 14: ...he number can be used to obtain a license If you have an Internet connection you can have the program automatically obtain a license To obtain a license from the Internet 1 To open the Xpressive Licen...

Page 15: ...see another Purchase Wizard page appear 6 To finish obtaining a license for Xpressive click Finish Obtaining a License for Xpressive without Internet Access If you do not have an Internet connection y...

Page 16: ...e License Activator wizard appear 2 Select the Install a license option and click Next You will see another Xpressive License Activator wizard page appear 3 Select I received a serial number I don t h...

Page 17: ...mputer without a license you can transfer an existing license from a second computer You can copy an Xpressive license onto a floppy disk USB device or network directory folder Only the Xpressive inst...

Page 18: ...y disk into your A drive 8 Choose Help Transfer License You will see the Browse for Folder dialog appear 9 Browse to your A drive that contains your floppy disk 10 Click OK You see the License Transfe...

Page 19: ...sive You will see the Xpressive License Activator wizard appear 2 Select the Install a license option and click Next You will see another Xpressive License Activator Wizard page appear 3 Select I want...

Page 20: ...see the License Transfer confirmation dialogs Click OK Xpressive will shutdown The installation of Xpressive on this computer will no longer have a license 10 On the computer without a license click...

Page 21: ...l be accurate and match the number of centimeters or inches that the design measures To calibrate your screen 1 Start Xpressive 2 Choose Tools Configuration Calibrate Screen You see the Screen Calibra...

Page 22: ...20...

Page 23: ...he settings for user preferences such as Company Name and Units of Measurement Once Xpressive is set up to suit your needs you will find learning the basic components of the software a lot easier In t...

Page 24: ...Auto panning the system automatically pans for you when you reach the edge of the window while you are designing 4 Click OK Showing and hiding toolbars You can hide or move a toolbar if it is blockin...

Page 25: ...awn and the design window position remains fixed Inside the design window you will only see stitches being sewn for visible areas of the design This feature is useful if you zoomed into a specific are...

Page 26: ...2 Click the User Preferences property page 3 Select the following settings From the Language list select the language for Xpressive s menus and dialog boxes In the Company Name box enter your company...

Page 27: ...is chapter and then try the lesson at the end of this chapter In this chapter Learn basics such as how to start a new design open and close existing designs and save designs Find out how to set your p...

Page 28: ...ar appears below the Title Bar The Menu Bar contains a list of menus specific to Xpressive Status Bar The Status Bar appears at the bottom of the Xpressive design window On the left side of the status...

Page 29: ...realistic view of your design and give a better idea of how stitches will look Tool What it means Move by 1 Use to move backward or forward through a design by 1 unit segment or stitch Left click the...

Page 30: ...he sewing simulator allows you to watch your design draw on a stitch by stitch basis simulating the sewing action of your machine The simulator controls are similar to a CD player or VCR You can push...

Page 31: ...r or selected command Speed Control Slide the speed control to vary the rate of sewing Draw ribbon mode setting Use these settings to customize draw ribbon commands You can select draw modes show segm...

Page 32: ...inal size Fit to Window Displays the entire design and loaded images in window Measure Measures distance between parts of design Tool What it means Tool What it means Tool What it means Tool What it m...

Page 33: ...pliqu border around an appliqu Tool What it means Tool What it means New Creates a new untitled design Open Opens an existing design file Save Saves designs in a variety of file formats Undo Reverses...

Page 34: ...the File toolbar click the New tool You see a new design window Entering measurements Xpressive converts measurements that you enter in text boxes to the type of units selected on the User Preferences...

Page 35: ...ch segment can only be modified by direct stitch editing This helps keep the stitches true to what was in the stitch file If you want to perform more advanced outline edits on stitch segments then you...

Page 36: ...ose Tips To open a file you have recently worked on choose File and then choose the design file from the list To limit the number of displayed designs in the Open Design dialog you can enter the first...

Page 37: ...of the design with a different name location or file format Save As is handy when you want to keep your original design and create another design with slight modifications The Save command saves the...

Page 38: ...Save command from the File menu will not be saved on top of the saved copy This feature is useful if you are creating many variations of a design To save a copy of a design 1 Choose File Save As Copy...

Page 39: ...nce selected under Worksheet Setting Hide Jumps Hide Crosshairs Print 3D to print the design in 3D Print Outline files as Stitch files to print a Stitch file worksheet from an Outline file Print Hoop...

Page 40: ...rt list select the thread chart you want to view 4 To select a color from the color chart do one of the following In the Thread Chart Dialog box use the left and right navigation arrows to browse thro...

Page 41: ...box enter a name for the thread color 9 In the Type box enter the type of thread for the color 10 In the Thickness box enter a value for the thread thickness 11 Click OK The new color is added to a cu...

Page 42: ...rer To change the thread chart 1 Click at the bottom right hand corner of the screen You see the Thread Chart Dialog box 2 In the Chart list select another thread chart The color chart changes to show...

Page 43: ...size or Scale Design or Fit to Page Select one of these settings control how you view the design in the worksheet If you want to scale the design enter a percentage value in the Scale Design box and...

Page 44: ...and return to the design window click Close Printing design worksheets You can print worksheets for design files When you print a worksheet for a design file the worksheet information depends on the...

Page 45: ...e appropriate drive 2 Choose File Smart Media Input You see the Smart Media Input dialog 3 In the Drive list box choose the Drive location 4 Click on the design you want to input To input more than on...

Page 46: ...that will be stitched in different parts of the hoop separately The thick green lines show you the area that you can use to adjust your design You can export each part of the design as a separate file...

Page 47: ...broidery machine using the Output to Machine command The Output to Machine commands works like a printer where you cue your designs and the machine signals for your design when it is ready to sew To o...

Page 48: ...46...

Page 49: ...ery machine performs commands such as trims or jumps you can use various Show Commands available You can use Xpressive s measurement tools to customize your design space Working with guidelines to ali...

Page 50: ...exible box around the specific area you want to see in detail 3 Drag the mouse across the area you want to zoom in until it is inside the box 4 Do one of the following steps To increase the zoom conti...

Page 51: ...re 1 centimeter equals 1 centimeter on screen The rulers change to match the number of centimeters or inches that the design measures Back to 1 1 is useful when you have used Zoom and want to go back...

Page 52: ...ns Changing the background color of the current window Depending on the type of artwork you are using or the type of design you are creating you may want to change the background color of your window...

Page 53: ...on the design where the embroidery machine performs commands These locations are marked with different symbols to display the command type This table shows you the symbol for each command To show comm...

Page 54: ...the beads specific to the type of segment To show the beads 1 Click S on your keyboard to activate the Select tool 2 Select the design or the segment 3 Click the Show Beads tool 4 Right click the Show...

Page 55: ...id however zero and negative spacing values are not supported The minor grid can also have different horizontal and vertical spacing values To make grid lines more visible on particular backgrounds yo...

Page 56: ...t one of the three grid styles You can choose from solid lines dashed lines or dotted lines 5 Do the following optional steps Select Snap to Grid to cause objects to fasten to the grid Select the Snap...

Page 57: ...ima embroidery machine models 3 Double click the folder you want 4 Select the hoop type you want 5 Click Open 6 Xpressive loads the hoop You see the hoop appear in your design window To remove a hoop...

Page 58: ...tlines option to temporarily remove outlines from your view To hide outlines Do one of the following Choose View Stitches in Outline Window Hide Outlines Press Shift X on your keyboard Setting the 3D...

Page 59: ...ing dialog appear 3 In the Stop at area select one or more machine commands you want the Play backward one color button and Play forward one color button to pause at as the design sews out For example...

Page 60: ...n is also useful for realigning the grid to your design To change the ruler origin 1 Move the pointer to the lower left corner of the rulers where the rulers intersect 2 Click the intersection hold do...

Page 61: ...ravels from the x and y axes the angle measured and the total distances To measure designs 1 In the View toolbar click the Measure tool Your cursor changes to a measuring tape when in the Design Works...

Page 62: ...60...

Page 63: ...n of commercially available TrueType fonts You can edit the shape color size and spacing of your lettering Xpressive also allows you to merge lettering and add any stock design with just a few clicks...

Page 64: ...ick the design workspace press and hold CTRL on your keyboard You will see a preview of the curve before you place the next anchor point To create a corner point or to begin creating a straight line a...

Page 65: ...e the lettering appear in the design workspace Creating circle lettering You can create a variety of lettering by using the Lettering tools Circle creates circular lettering with upper and lower text...

Page 66: ...to Satin stitches 1 Choose File New to create a new file For more information see Creating New Designs You see a new design window 2 In the Lettering Toolbar click one of the Lettering tools Text Lin...

Page 67: ...operty page 4 In the Text box enter the tilde sign between the letters For example if you want to add a color change between each letter in the name Jane you would enter J A N E 5 Click OK You see the...

Page 68: ...ly To kern the space between groups of letters visually 1 Create your lettering 2 Select your lettering if it is not already selected 3 Place your pointer over the kerning point located at the base of...

Page 69: ...he Segment Settings property pages 4 Click the Text property page 5 In the Text box enter the more than sign between the letters you want to kern For example if you wanted more space between the K and...

Page 70: ...want to create When you create lettering with the Text tool the QuickDraw drawing mode lets you make unique baselines for your lettering QuickDraw mode QuickDraw mode gives you the flexibility and con...

Page 71: ...ment The stitches in stitch segments should be identical to the stitch file Outline changes made to any part of the design will not affect stitch segments You cannot perform any outline editing on sti...

Page 72: ...ge Design tool You see the Merge Design File dialog 3 Do one or more of the following steps In the File Name box select the design file that you want to merge with the opened design file The default i...

Page 73: ...line Mode Merging designs with lettering Merging a design file with lettering allows you to create many unique designs using stock designs or existing designs with lettering You can create your letter...

Page 74: ...the cursor to the design workspace The cursor turns into a box with a cross hair 8 Left click and place the box where you want the design merged The merged design appears in the design workspace 9 Al...

Page 75: ...nt way to help you change the settings and properties of your design segments When you make major changes to the properties of segments you should be careful of how other segments will be affected For...

Page 76: ...how to adjust Steil stitch properties Learn how to adjust Complex Fill properties Learn how to adjust Carved Fill and Programmed Fill properties Learn how to adjust Pull Compensation and Underlay pro...

Page 77: ...ts were digitized specifically for the embroidery industry and are installed in the C Program Files Xpressive Fonts folder Embroidery Fonts To choose an embroidery font 1 Create your lettering or sele...

Page 78: ...eType lettering You can choose different Fills for TrueType lettering using the Fill Type setting on the Text property page To choose the Fill type 1 Select the lettering segment 2 Click the Segment S...

Page 79: ...lect the center bead of the character and use the editing box to resize 5 When you are finished resizing a character click its center bead again The editing box will disappear You can open and work wi...

Page 80: ...editing box to skew 5 When you are finished skewing a character click its center bead again The editing box will disappear Changing the vertical position of lettering You can easily change the vertica...

Page 81: ...up and down 4 To change the position of another character in the lettering segment select the center bead of the character and change the vertical position accordingly 5 When you are finished changing...

Page 82: ...affect the lower baseline At the top of the lower baseline drag the white square bead Change the height of the lettering and not affect the upper baseline At the top of the upper baseline drag the wh...

Page 83: ...ing At the line above the editing box drag the round bead to the left or right 4 To rotate another character in the lettering segment select the center bead of the character and use the editing box to...

Page 84: ...Height setting to set the height you want for your embroidery lettering You can override this height when drawing the box for the text or by dragging the handles Lettering at different heights To set...

Page 85: ...m pulling apart by firmly attaching the thread at the location before a long stitch or a trim However if a trim is placed between two letters then a lock stitch is inserted before the trim Zoomed in v...

Page 86: ...ing In the Standard Pattern list select the Standard pattern you want to use 6 If you selected a Carved Tile Pattern type complete the following In the Carved Tile Pattern list select the Carved Tile...

Page 87: ...he column If you set a positive value the jagged edge is placed on the outside of the column To apply a jagged effect 1 Select the Satin Path segment 2 Click the Segment Settings tool on the ribbon Yo...

Page 88: ...the Segment Settings tool on the ribbon You see the Segment Settings property pages 3 Click the Run property page 4 In the Run Style list select one of the following styles Run For more information se...

Page 89: ...ll see your segment altered accordingly Changing Complex Fills properties Adjusting the stitch length for the selected Fill pattern You can adjust the stitch length for Fill patterns on the Satin or F...

Page 90: ...ng to the design s size and the fabric you use Generally speaking lighter fabrics and smaller designs require less density You can set the density in the Complex Fills property page Fill pattern with...

Page 91: ...s To create a Carved Fill you need to create a segment with the Complex Fill tool A variety of patterns are installed with Xpressive and you can also create custom Carved Fill patterns Carved Fill seg...

Page 92: ...l arrow with a bead When the pointer becomes a small arrow with a bead click and drag from the left of the segment to right of the segment to place an angle line in your segment Now you need to change...

Page 93: ...Click the Complex Fills property page 4 In the Stitch Length text box enter the stitch length 5 Click OK You will see your segment altered accordingly Choosing a Programmed Fill pattern When you insta...

Page 94: ...ensation Percentage Move the Value slider to specify the amount of pull compensation you want your segment to have and if necessary enter the maximum value of pull compensation in the Maximum range bo...

Page 95: ...tool on the ribbon You see the Segment Settings property pages 3 Click the Underlay property page 4 In the Type area select the underlay type Contour or Perpendicular 5 In the Inset Distance box enter...

Page 96: ...default is 20 0 pts 6 Click OK Specifying the underlay stitch length You can specify the stitch length for your underlay stitches You can increase or decrease the length according to your underlay nee...

Page 97: ...ches using the Commands property page You can apply lock stitches to the start and end of segments You can also specify the length of start and end lock stitches or create custom lock stitches A zoome...

Page 98: ...e The first color in the palette is Thread 1 the second color in the palette is Thread 2 and so on To change a thread color number 1 Select the segment 2 Click the Segment Settings tool on the ribbon...

Page 99: ...ghlight the exact stitches for editing You can also edit groups of stitches Moving portions of a design is simple with the Lasso Stitch Select tool You can save valuable time by cutting and pasting st...

Page 100: ...segment being modified unless region carving or line carving requires regeneration If region carving segments require regeneration segments affected by region carving will be regenerated If line carv...

Page 101: ...o Stitch Select tool 3 Click the design workspace to place anchor points in your design 4 Place anchor points around the segments you want to select 5 Right click to complete your selection 6 In the S...

Page 102: ...titches using Backspace on your keyboard 1 In the Stitch Edit toolbar click the Stitch Select tool 2 Select the stitch where you want to start deleting 3 Press backspace on your keyboard 4 Continue to...

Page 103: ...ou can resize stitches using Resize Group Depending how your stitches are grouped you can choose to group the stitches differently To flip stitches in a design file 1 Select the stitches you want to f...

Page 104: ...You can resize stitches using Resize Group Depending on how your stitches are grouped you can choose to group the stitches differently To mirror stitches in a design file 1 Select the stitches you wan...

Page 105: ...move forwards from selected stitches You can move through a design by increments of 1 10 100 and 1000 stitches or by changing the selection of stitches based on commands and color changes To move thr...

Page 106: ...xt Command tool Hold down the mouse button to repeat the action rapidly To move through a stitch design by color 1 Select the stitch you want to view or edit For more information see Selecting stitche...

Page 107: ...various ways Selected stitches are highlighted in black 2 Click and drag a stitch that is part of the stitch group As you move the stitches you see a floating box that you can move using the mouse Th...

Page 108: ...ut Group to Clipboard from the menu The stitch group is removed from its placement 3 Click where you want to paste the stitches 4 Press Ctrl E on your keyboard and choose Paste from Clipboard from the...

Page 109: ...where you want to paste the stitches 4 Press Ctrl E on your keyboard and choose Paste from Clipboard from the menu The selection is pasted where you wanted Resizing stitches in a design file You can...

Page 110: ...ng box that you can move using the mouse 3 Right click the design workspace You see the Enter Resize Percentage box 4 In the Resize box enter the percentage value For example enter 125 5 Click OK The...

Page 111: ...esize Group Depending on how your stitches are grouped you can choose to group the stitches differently To rotate stitches in a design file 1 Select the stitches you want For more information see Sele...

Page 112: ...s to a design first in outline mode and save the design file Next you should perform all stitch edits to the same design in stitch mode and save the design file with a different file name If you follo...

Page 113: ...ated Adding a trim You can add a trim to any stitch segment in a design file For example if you are sewing out a name you would want to trim the run stitches between the letters To add a trim 1 Open a...

Page 114: ...n the Stitch Edit toolbar click Stitch Select tool 3 Select the first stitch of the segment where you want to insert the color change In this case we want to change the red rose to apricot The black s...

Page 115: ...here they are required you may choose to change an existing machine command from the Edit menu or the shortcut menu To change an existing machine command 1 Select the stitch you want to edit For more...

Page 116: ...serting a stitch You can insert one or more stitches into a design file To insert a stitch 1 Open a Xpressive Unified File ESX or any other design file 2 Select the stitch that will have stitches inse...

Page 117: ...in one easy step With fast access to the property pages you can modify various stitch properties such as stitch type and thread color for any segment In this chapter Learn the different ways to move t...

Page 118: ...less region carving or line carving requires regeneration If region carving segments require regeneration segments affected by region carving will be regenerated If line carving segments require regen...

Page 119: ...segments are enclosed in a selection box with handles 4 To edit or change the properties of the segments do the following Press Ctrl E on your keyboard and choose any of the options available in the...

Page 120: ...s section Converting stitches to outline segments Xpressive allows you to easily convert segments using the Stitch to Outline command Stitch to Outline conversion STO allows you to convert parts of a...

Page 121: ...cut menu Press Ctrl E on your keyboard and choose Convert Segment to Stitch Segment from the shortcut menu Deleting segments Deleting a segment removes it from the design The only way to retrieve a se...

Page 122: ...sign right click the Move to Previous Next Command tool Hold down the mouse button to repeat the action rapidly To move to the previous command in the design left click the Move to Previous Next Comma...

Page 123: ...accept the default 5 Position the pointer on one point along the invisible axis across which you want the reflection to occur 6 Click and drag to set the point of origin When you release your mouse y...

Page 124: ...rtcut menu You see the Reflect Group dialog box 3 Select the reflection option you want 4 Select Copy Reflection to make a copy of the original segment you are reflecting 5 Click OK You see the segmen...

Page 125: ...the selection box To resize segment s proportionally click and drag the resize beads located at the top or bottom corners of the selection box To resize a segment using the Enter Resize Parameters dia...

Page 126: ...egree angle Rotated segment To rotate a segment manually 1 In the Edit toolbar click the Select tool or the Lasso Select tool 2 Select the segment For more information see Selecting Segments The activ...

Page 127: ...e makes it easy to close open objects in your embroidery designs By quickly joining the two end points of a segment you can save time when working with imported artwork or performing outline edits To...

Page 128: ...rmation on editing outline segments see Editing Segments Moving segments manually You can move segments around your design by dragging them to another location To move a segment or a copy of a segment...

Page 129: ...r bead located outside of the selection box extending from the middle of the selection box To mirror the segment drag the rotate mirror bead to the opposite side of the selection box To resize the seg...

Page 130: ...n Outline Mode you can alter the sequence of outline segments in your designs When modifying outline segments and doing significant design editing in Xpressive you should know how to avoid possibly lo...

Page 131: ...mode is ideal if you missed a segment or if you want to add another segment To insert segments after the insertion point 1 Select the segment before the insertion point 2 Press Ctrl E on your keyboar...

Page 132: ...ment forward 1 Select the segment 2 Choose Edit Resequence Move Later by 1 Moving a Segment Backwards and Forwards in Sequence View Xpressive allows you to move segments backwards and forwards in a de...

Page 133: ...ted segment pictures will be reduced in size You will be able to see more segments at once in the Sequence View dialog 3 To perform design editing on a color group or a segment do one of the following...

Page 134: ...a segment to the start or end of a design Use the Bring To Start of Design command to make the selected segment the first one to be stitched When a design is sewn the first segment sewn is usually on...

Page 135: ...g sequence view 1 Choose View Sequence View You will see the Sequence View dialog appear 2 From the Sequence View toolbar do any of the following To expand all grouped segments click Expand All To clo...

Page 136: ...layer bar or segment Press CTRL on your keyboard while you click each color layer bar or segment not already selected Then right click and make a selection from the menu 4 Double click color layer bar...

Page 137: ...lowing if appropriate 4 Make any other changes in the Sequence View dialog if necessary 5 Close the Sequence View dialog To Do This Lock segment s Select one or more segments and click Unlock segment...

Page 138: ...s the segments so that all Thread 1 segments come first then Thread 2 segments and so on Segments using the same needle remain in the same relative order Resequence by Color is useful if you have digi...

Page 139: ...se control of paths Xpressive allows you to alter anchor points and angle line beads in a few easy steps In this chapter Learn how to draw various types of lines Find out how to edit anchor points Lea...

Page 140: ...keyboard You will see a preview of the curve before you place the next anchor point To create a corner point or to begin creating a straight line again release CTRL on your keyboard 4 Do one of the f...

Page 141: ...ne that starts from the last point that was punched You can use this drawing mode to create perpendicular lines The following table describes the electronic T square commands To create a horizontal li...

Page 142: ...increments As an example this procedure describes how to draw zigzag lines 1 To draw a shape for a segment click the Run tool from the Punching toolbar 2 On the design workspace position the cross ha...

Page 143: ...e the drawing modes with the Run Complex Fill Steil or Appliqu tools Straight mode Straight mode places a straight line between anchor points without direction lines Straight mode gives you more contr...

Page 144: ...an anchor point 1 In the Edit toolbar click the Vertex Select tool 2 Right click the location where you want to add an anchor point You see a shortcut menu 3 Choose Add Anchor from the shortcut menu...

Page 145: ...ol To move anchor points 1 In the Edit toolbar click the Vertex Select tool 2 Click the anchor point you want to move 3 To select more than one anchor point at the same time press Shift on your keyboa...

Page 146: ...types include Start beads Stop beads Angle line beads and Corner beads You can slide these beads along a path like beads on a piece of string allowing you to move them precisely where you want them C...

Page 147: ...t you are adding it in the same direction as the existing Angle lines You can drag the Angle Line beads in different directions to change the angle that the stitches will sew To add more angle lines b...

Page 148: ...146...

Page 149: ...canned photographs or image files and create impressive designs Once you convert these images to embroidery you can alter your designs to suit your needs In this chapter Learn how to create embroidery...

Page 150: ...and open most standard file types choose from over 20 file formats When you open an image it opens in its original size Xpressive also allows you to save loaded images in ESX files or have ESX files...

Page 151: ...tically Choose Save As and make necessary adjustments in the Save As dialog to save the image Choose Reference Tool to rotate or resize your image in the Reference Points dialog using specific measure...

Page 152: ...Right click the image You see the Enter degree of the rotation dialog appear In the Degree box enter the number of degrees you want the image rotated Select the direction of the rotation Clockwise or...

Page 153: ...t Tools Backdrop Select Your cursor changes to a black triangle and plus sign 3 Right click the image You see a shortcut menu 4 Choose Resize from the menu 5 To resize the image manually complete the...

Page 154: ...In the Height box enter the height you want for your image 7 Click Resize to resize the image The image is resized You can keep trying different size combinations until you find the correct one 8 Cli...

Page 155: ...appears next to the Hide menu item 2 Choose Image Hide again to restore the image Lightening images You can lighten the image you have loaded The Lighten command is especially useful when you are hav...

Page 156: ...ex Fill Run Manual Steil or Appliqu tools You can auto trace by clicking on any punching tool that supports closed shapes Complex Fill Run Manual Steil or Appliqu This results in a segment of that typ...

Page 157: ...Xpressive s powerful punching tools These tools will help you create custom embroidery In this chapter Learn more about common embroidery stitch types and digitizing tips Learn how to create Manual a...

Page 158: ...ere you started the stitch Two ply stitches are used for detail work Bean A Bean or Three ply stitch uses three stitches for each Run stitch A Bean stitch goes over each stitch three times before movi...

Page 159: ...re when you punch a design you can improve what did not as look good sketched or in print In Fills Tatami Fill stitches are used for large lettering or large areas because the stitches penetrate the m...

Page 160: ...y used punching tool Other items to consider Are there special customer specifications Does an outline need to be drawn around the Fill Does the width of the columns need to be wider Is the lettering...

Page 161: ...also use the Manual tool to place jump stitches which is useful for boring and sequin designs A Jump stitch is the movement of the pantograph without needle penetration commonly used to get from one p...

Page 162: ...oard to close the segment 7 To complete the segment press ENTER on your keyboard Creating Two Ply stitches Use the Run tool to create Two Ply stitches A Two Ply stitch is similar to a Run stitch becau...

Page 163: ...k OK 6 On the design workspace click with your left mouse button to create a straight column segment When you place straight points a square appears around the point The column s width is displayed in...

Page 164: ...Continue clicking inside the segment to punch where you want the holes Click the Auto Close tool on the ribbon or press H on your keyboard again to complete the inside of the segment 9 Press ENTER on...

Page 165: ...ith your left mouse button to punch the segment 7 Click the Auto Close tool on the ribbon or press H on your keyboard to close the segment 8 To complete the segment press ENTER on your keyboard 9 To s...

Page 166: ...to Close tool on the ribbon or press H on your keyboard to close the segment 3 To complete the segment press ENTER on your keyboard Adjusting Satin and Fill Stitches Changing the angle lines in Comple...

Page 167: ...6 To complete the segment press ENTER on your keyboard Programmed Runs Using Programmed Runs A Programmed Run is a Run segment that uses a Programmed Fill pattern Refer to the Fill online Help located...

Page 168: ...Carved Fills to TrueType lettering 1 In the Lettering toolbar click the Text tool 2 Create the TrueType lettering For more information see Creating lettering using the Text tool 3 Press S on your key...

Page 169: ...ages in a few simple steps Xpressive s Cross Stitch Wizard is a simple and easy to use tool that converts vector images photographs or bitmaps into cross stitching Cross Stitch Wizard is ideal for peo...

Page 170: ...e proportionately 5 In the Units list select the type of units you want to work with 6 To reset click Reset Size 7 Click Transform to do any of the following to the image Flip horizontally Flip vertic...

Page 171: ...fabric 20 In the Sequence Order area select any of the following settings to adjust the sewing sequence Minimize jump Minimize color change 21 In the Trims area select any of the following trim setti...

Page 172: ...in Xpressive To select an image 1 Click Select Image You will see the Open browse window appear 2 Choose the name file type and location of the image you want to process 3 Select Show Preview to see a...

Page 173: ...ors in an image In the Number of colors field use the up and down arrows to select the total number of colors you want your image to have Deleting Colors from the Palette A specific color can be chose...

Page 174: ...for Color Reduction When in zoomed status you can move your source image around using the Hand Tool and add new colors to your color palette using the Dropper Tool To use the hand tool 1 In zoomed st...

Page 175: ...Transformations wizard page appear Transforming an Image After you make necessary changes to the color of the source image you can make necessary adjustments to the source image before the actual conv...

Page 176: ...titches per inch is the most important cross stitch parameter The higher the value of cross size the more stitches per inch the more detail will be carried into the final design Cross stitches also de...

Page 177: ...titch In the Overlap pt field edit how far you want to extend the diagonal stitches over the edge of the grid box Transforming an Image Cross Stitch Wizard allows you to change the source image s orie...

Page 178: ...degrees select Rotate 180 In Select area to crop you will see the changes you made to your image appear Cropping an Area of an Image The source image can be cropped so that only a part of it will be...

Page 179: ...a bitmap created from the pre processed original bitmap This mosaic image will be created on the basis of the cross size and the size of the image Each pixel in the mosaic image then will be converted...

Page 180: ...bitmap editor just before the final cross stitch conversion of the image By default MS Paint is used In the default and external editors the image can be saved to a specific disk location This pre pro...

Page 181: ...ith Stitches The background color of your design can be filled with cross stitches or not You can also define which color will be the background Your choices for the background color fill will affect...

Page 182: ...lly if not already select To remove the individually option deselect individually if already selected Using the Dropper Tool to Apply Outlines Use the Dropper Tool to make more direct selections for o...

Page 183: ...ed area Final Preview Just before you finish creating your cross stitch design you can see a 3D preview of the completed cross stitched design The thread palette that will be used for your cross stitc...

Page 184: ...182...

Page 185: ...n provides a list of keyboard shortcuts and commands that make it easier to work with designs in Xpressive In this appendix Learn various keyboard shortcuts for Xpressive Learn how to use keyboard com...

Page 186: ...rop Select Ctrl I Resequence Bring To End of Design Shift End Bring To Start of Design Shift Home Move Later by 1 Shift PgUp Move Earlier by 1 Shift PgDn Shortcut Menu Ctrl E Punching Enhanced Column...

Page 187: ...ine Mode Move to Previous Command Shift Move to Next Command Shift Move to Previous Color Ctrl Move to Next Color Ctrl Move to Start Ctrl Home Action Key Move to End Ctrl End Commands on Shortcut menu...

Page 188: ...creen Zoom in while punching Press on the number keypad to zoom in Zoom out while punching Press on the number keypad to zoom out Backup to previously punched point Backspace Editing Expand stitch pic...

Page 189: ...ESSIVE II 187 User s Guide Miscellaneous When merging a stitch or outline file press the Ctrl key before placing the merged design to insert a color change at beginning of merged design Press Ctrl Act...

Page 190: ...188...

Page 191: ...APPENDIX B Getting Help This section provides the information you need to help you with Xpressive In this appendix Find out about the documentation available with Xpressive...

Page 192: ...appropriate settings Using the Xpressive online Help The Xpressive online Help is a quick way to find answers to your questions and see step by step instructions Because the online Help is updated fo...

Page 193: ...that most closely match your query 4 Click the term you want to learn more about If there is more than one topic for the keyword you see a menu 5 Click the topic you want to see You see the topic in...

Page 194: ...1 Choose Help Contents 2 Double click the book you want to open 3 Click the topic you want to save as your favorite You see the topic in the right window pane 4 Click the Favorites tab You see the sel...

Page 195: ...c will appear in the Help window 3 Click Print You see the Print Topics dialog box 4 Select one of the following print options Print the selected topic Print the selected heading and all subtopics 5 C...

Page 196: ...194...

Page 197: ...handles To make another segment or group active select another segment or group in the design Anchor points Anchor point is a fixed point used when rotating scaling or mirroring a design When you use...

Page 198: ...he machine throat plate and the hooped garment Available in various weights and in two basic types cutaway and tearaway Baseline A line in which lettering segments sit Bead See Direction lines and poi...

Page 199: ...for multi head use See also Satin Stitch Bleeding Bleeding occurs when stitching falls between the fibres of the fabric and bleed into the fabric resulting in the loss of a crisp outline for the desi...

Page 200: ...wool cotton or acrylic which are pulled up from reverse side of the fabric using a hook Also known as loop piling Created by a stitch machine that has been adjusted to form this stitch type Colorfast...

Page 201: ...derlay around the edge of the shape Use the Inset Distance setting to adjust how far the underlay is from the edge of the shape Cording The attachment of any type of round decorative cord Can be achie...

Page 202: ...ers large fill areas and textured fabrics generally need higher densities The reverse is true as well There are two measuring systems used in calculating density Imperial and Metric The Imperial syste...

Page 203: ...llimeters 1 pt 0 1 mm Embroidery points to stitches per inch 4 pt 63 5 spi If you have a Fill stitch with a density of 63 5 spi the distance between each thread is 4 pts You adjust density according t...

Page 204: ...42 6 0 59 4 3 75 3 4 26 9 8 43 5 9 60 4 2 76 3 3 27 9 4 44 5 8 61 4 2 77 3 3 28 9 1 45 5 6 62 4 1 78 3 3 29 8 8 46 5 5 63 4 79 3 2 30 8 5 47 5 4 64 3 9 80 3 2 32 7 9 49 5 2 65 3 9 81 3 1 33 7 50 5 1...

Page 205: ...he direction lines are called direction points The positions of direction lines and points determine the size and shape of a curved segment You can change the shape of curved paths by moving the direc...

Page 206: ...determine the angle of the stitches in the segment You must place all Angle Line beads in the same direction Therefore if you started by placing the Angle Line beads from left to right you need to co...

Page 207: ...eled D Emblem Embroidered design with a finished edge commonly an insignia or identification usually worn on outer clothing Historically an emblem carried a family crest motto or verse or suggested a...

Page 208: ...cause the stitch count remains constant Facing Material hooped or placed on top of items to be embroidered that have a definable nap or surface texture such as corduroy and terry cloth The facing comp...

Page 209: ...s with each needle then examine the reverse side for skipped stitches and correctly balanced ratio of top thread to bobbin thread The correct balance is generally considered to be a one third ratio of...

Page 210: ...old or frame small or unusually shaped items such as socks and gloves Commonly used for delicate goods rigid goods gang loading applications or to speed up the framing process to achieve production ef...

Page 211: ...apping satin stitches The point of overlapping can be straight or curved Also known as thread blending or random stitch Jacquard Joseph M Jacquard invented the Jacquard loom which used a punch card to...

Page 212: ...lky or slick fabrics such as insulated jackets The inner ring is pushed past the edge of the outer ring so that the outer ring sticks up higher forming a lip This helps prevent the inner ring from bei...

Page 213: ...dable format or send design files to the machine through cable When you use machine formats your design information displays accurately on the screen and designs are sewn correctly on each embroidery...

Page 214: ...utline processor allows you to set a target stitch count absolute or percentage and the software automatically adjusts the values of settings such as Satin density Tatami density Fill stitch length Ru...

Page 215: ...for example a zigzag line is an open path Percentage pull compensation Pull compensation is expressed as a percentage For example if you adjust the pull compensation to 110 the stitches will stitch f...

Page 216: ...are function that changes the width of the stitches to compensate for the give of a fabric Adjusting the pull compensation setting is useful if you are sewing on knit fabrics because these fabrics ten...

Page 217: ...Blatt Stitch Also known as a column stitch Scaling Ability to enlarge or reduce a design In expanded format most scale is limited to 10 to 20 percent because of the fact that the stitch count will re...

Page 218: ...to avoid unnecessary bulky build up of stitches SmartMedia cards The SmartMedia card is similar to the CompactFlash storage card commonly used by digital cameras You take a picture with a digital cam...

Page 219: ...edit the stitches and add commands by using the shortcut menu options To display the shortcut menu press Ctrl E on your keyboard while using the Stitch Select tool Stitch to Outline Conversion STO So...

Page 220: ...n tension need to be set Proper thread tension is achieved when about one third of the thread showing on the underside of the fabric on a column stitch is bobbin thread Thread Fine cord of natural or...

Page 221: ...e process in which the automatic trimmers activate and trim both the upper and lower threads See also Automatic Trim TrueType font The difference between TrueType lettering and embroidery lettering is...

Page 222: ...s are also referred to as line art or object based graphics Vector images are defined by mathematical equations and as a result can be scaled to any size while retaining their crisp outlines and detai...

Page 223: ...9 Background color 50 backing up files 10 Beads 52 144 angle line beads 52 144 cornering beads 52 144 start beads 52 144 stop beads 52 144 Bean stitch 158 Bitmap Images 153 Bitmap images 168 170 Borde...

Page 224: ...ntal lettering 62 Creating lines 140 141 Creating Manual stitches 159 Creating Programmed Run stitches 165 Creating Run stitches 160 Creating Satin stitches 161 163 Creating segments with holes 161 Cr...

Page 225: ...Guidelines 57 58 H Handles 208 Hard drive 33 36 Hard drive space requirements 10 Height 82 Hide Artwork 131 133 Hide command 153 Hiding 3D stitches 54 Hiding beads 52 Hiding grids 54 Hiding images 15...

Page 226: ...anual segment 159 Manual tool 159 Maximum jagged range setting 85 Measurements 23 32 58 Measuring designs 59 Menu Bar 26 Merge Design tool 70 71 Merging designs 69 71 Microsoft Backup program 10 Minim...

Page 227: ...l tool 159 Run tool 160 165 Steil tool 164 Q QuickDraw mode 68 141 R Radius circle lettering 79 Redo command 32 Redrawing designs 54 Reducing views 48 Reference points 152 Reflect command 121 Reflect...

Page 228: ...SmartMedia cards 216 Smooth mode 142 Space between letters 66 Speed Control drawing 29 55 Standard thread colors 39 Start and Stop beads 203 Start beads 144 Start points 144 Start End tool 103 119 Sta...

Page 229: ...10 View by Color command 57 Viewing 3D stitches 54 Viewing anchor points 51 Viewing beads 52 Viewing designs 37 48 49 50 57 128 3D View 49 Enhanced Main View 48 Global View 48 Sequence View 49 Viewin...

Page 230: ...228...

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