User manual ELNA XPRESSIVE 2

Xpressive II User's Guide 07.10.2005 Elna International Corp. SA COPYRIGHT © Copyright 2005 Pulse Microsystems Ltd. All rights reserved. This Xpressive User's Guide and the Xpressive software are copyrighted by the developer of the software, Pulse Microsystems Ltd. All rights reserved. US Patent Nos. 5 270 939; 5 343 401; 5 430 658; 5 506 784; 5 510 994; 5 541 847; 5 668 730; 5 771 173; 5 809 921; 6 196 146; 6 216 618; 6 390 005. European Patent Nos. 0545773. Other patents pending. Information in this document is subject to change without notice. The software described in this document is furnished under a license agreement and/or nondisclosure agreement. The software may be used or copied only in accordance 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 without the manufacturer's written permission. Commercial or industrial use of trademark and copyrighted works (For example, books, paintings, drawings, photos, fanciful characters, and so forth) owned by other companies or persons, for creation of embroidery patterns without permission is illegal and may result in either criminal or civil liability. Microsoft and Windows®2000/XP are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All other product names are copyrighted and registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective holders. All computer and software names identified by TM or tm are trademarks of their respective manufacturers. ELNA XPRESSIVE II User's Guide 1 Table of Contents Chapter 1 Getting Started The Xpressive package ............................................................. 10 System Requirements ......................................................... 10 Backing up files ................................................................... 10 Connecting Hardware ................................................................ 10 Connecting the Elna embroidery machine ...........................11 Configuring the Elna embroidery machine ...........................11 Installing Xpressive .....................................................................11 Using other disk formats .............................................................11 Registering Xpressive .................................................................11 Obtaining a License for Xpressive from the Internet ........... 12 Obtaining a License 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 Xpressive Setting up the workspace environment...................................... 22 Showing and hiding toolbars...................................................... 22 Showing and hiding the draw ribbon.......................................... 23 Customizing the draw ribbon ..................................................... 23 Setting user preferences............................................................ 23 Chapter 3 Learning the Basics Understanding the Xpressive Workspace .................................. 26 Title Bar ............................................................................... 26 Menu Bar ............................................................................. 26 Status Bar ............................................................................ 26 Xpressive Tools ................................................................... 26 Tools on the Ribbon............................................................. 26 Draw Ribbon Tools .............................................................. 28 Editing Tools ........................................................................ 29 Viewing Tools....................................................................... 30 Stitch Edit Tools ................................................................... 30 2 Lettering Tools ..................................................................... 30 Punching Tools .................................................................... 31 File Tools ............................................................................. 31 Correcting mistakes ................................................................... 32 Creating new designs ................................................................ 32 Entering measurements............................................................. 32 Opening and closing designs..................................................... 32 Opening designs using the Library feature ................................ 34 Saving designs........................................................................... 35 Saving a Copy of a Design ........................................................ 36 Setting up design worksheets .................................................... 36 Using the scroll bars .................................................................. 37 Working with Thread Charts ...................................................... 38 Changing the colors in designs ........................................... 38 Adding custom thread colors to a custom thread chart ....... 39 Adding standard thread colors to a custom thread chart..... 39 Choosing a thread chart ...................................................... 40 Changing the thread chart ................................................... 40 Removing a thread 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 design worksheets.................................................. 42 Printing in 3D View ............................................................. 42 Inputting and Outputting Designs............................................... 43 Inputting a design ................................................................ 43 Outputting a design ............................................................. 43 Outputting a design to the Elna embroidery machine ......... 45 Chapter 4 Viewing and Measuring Designs Viewing Methods and Tools ....................................................... 48 Magnifying and reducing the view ....................................... 48 Viewing designs................................................................... 48 Viewing the actual size of designs....................................... 49 Viewing the whole design on-screen ................................... 49 Viewing a design selection on-screen ................................. 50 Viewing parts of a design not visible in the design workspace ........................................................................... 50 Viewing Buttons ......................................................................... 50 Changing the background color of the current window ....... 50 ELNA XPRESSIVE II User's Guide 3 Showing and hiding outline segments ................................. 50 Showing and hiding machine commands ............................ 51 Showing and hiding the stitch placements in designs ......... 51 Showing and hiding beads .................................................. 52 Showing and hiding stitches in design files ......................... 52 Defining grid settings........................................................... 53 Showing and hiding grids .................................................... 54 Showing and hiding 3D stitches ......................................... 54 Viewing the sewing order of designs ................................... 54 Viewing Commands ................................................................... 55 Displaying a hoop while designing ...................................... 55 Finding potential stitch problems ......................................... 56 Hiding outlines in design files .............................................. 56 Setting the 3D View options ............................................... 56 Viewing a design by thread color order ............................... 57 Aligning 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 Embroidery and TrueType® Lettering ......................... 62 Creating lettering using the Text tool ................................... 62 Creating horizontal lettering................................................. 62 Creating circle lettering........................................................ 63 Converting TrueType® lettering to Satin stitches ................ 64 Inserting color changes ....................................................... 65 Kerning the space between letters ...................................... 65 Modifying Text segments ..................................................... 67 Drawing mode for lettering .................................................. 68 Merging Designs ........................................................................ 69 Merging designs with lettering ............................................. 71 Chapter 6 Changing your Segment Settings Changing the settings of a segment .......................................... 75 Changing Text properties ........................................................... 75 Choosing an embroidery font .............................................. 75 Choosing a TrueType® font................................................. 76 Choosing the Fill type for TrueType® lettering .................... 76 4 Changing the shape of lettering manually ........................... 76 Changing the vertical position of lettering ........................... 78 Changing the size and position of circle lettering ................ 79 Rotating lettering manually .................................................. 81 Changing the shape of lettering .......................................... 82 Setting the lettering height................................................... 82 Setting the justification ........................................................ 82 Setting lock stitches for lettering.......................................... 83 Changing Satin properties ......................................................... 84 Selecting a Fill pattern for Satin stitches ............................. 84 Setting the density for Satin stitches ................................... 84 Changing Satin Effect properties ............................................... 85 Applying a jagged effect to Satin stitches............................ 85 Changing Run properties ........................................................... 86 Choosing a style for Run stitches ........................................ 86 Setting the stitch length for Run stitches ............................. 86 Changing Steil properties........................................................... 87 Setting 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 Fills ......................................... 88 Changing Carved Fill properties ................................................ 89 Choosing a Carved Tile pattern........................................... 89 Creating Carved Fills ........................................................... 89 Changing Programmed Fill properties ....................................... 91 Adjusting the stitch length for Programmed Fill patterns ..... 91 Choosing a Programmed Fill pattern................................... 91 Changing Pull Compensation properties ................................... 92 Adjusting pull-compensation ............................................... 92 Changing Underlay properties ................................................... 92 Selecting the underlay type ................................................. 92 Changing the inset distance ................................................ 93 Increasing the number of lines for perpendicular underlay . 93 Specifying the underlay density........................................... 94 Specifying the underlay stitch length ................................... 94 Changing Commands properties ............................................... 94 Adding machine commands ................................................ 94 Applying lock stitches .......................................................... 95 Changing a thread color number ......................................... 96 ELNA XPRESSIVE II User's Guide 5 Chapter 7 Design Editing in Stitch Mode Editing Stitches and Stitch Groups............................................. 98 Selecting stitches in various ways ....................................... 98 Deleting stitches .................................................................. 99 Flipping stitches in a design file......................................... 101 Mirroring stitches in a design file ....................................... 102 Moving through Stitch designs .......................................... 103 Moving stitches in a design file.......................................... 105 Moving or copying stitches ................................................ 105 Resizing stitches in a design file ....................................... 107 Rotating stitches in a design file ........................................ 109 Editing Stitches .........................................................................110 Adding a trim ...................................................................... 111 Changing thread colors in design files ............................... 111 Changing existing machine commands..............................113 Inserting a stitch .................................................................114 Chapter 8 Design 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 Outline designs.........................................119 Reflecting segments .......................................................... 121 Resizing segments ............................................................ 122 Rotating segments............................................................. 124 Closing Open Segments.................................................... 125 Copying segments ................................................................... 125 Copying segments using the Clipboard............................. 125 Moving segments..................................................................... 126 Moving segments manually ............................................... 126 Moving segments using Power Edit .................................. 126 Moving segments using the Clipboard .............................. 127 Nudging segments ............................................................ 128 Sequencing Outline Segments ................................................ 128 Inserting segments earlier in the segment sequence ........ 128 Inserting segments later in the segment sequence ........... 129 Moving a segment backward or forward ........................... 130 Moving a segment to the start or end of a design ............. 132 Locking Segments in Sequence View ............................... 135 6 Resequencing by color ...................................................... 136 Chapter 9 Using Paths Drawing Lines .......................................................................... 138 Forcing horizontal and vertical lines .................................. 139 Drawing diagonal lines ...................................................... 140 Drawing mode for lettering ................................................ 140 Drawing modes for punching............................................. 141 Drawing straight lines ........................................................ 141 Vertex and Point Editing........................................................... 142 Adding and deleting anchor points .................................... 142 Changing the properties of an anchor point ...................... 142 Moving anchor points ........................................................ 143 Resetting Handles ............................................................. 144 Working with Beads ................................................................. 144 Different bead types .......................................................... 144 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 Resizing scanned images ........................................................ 151 Removing scanned images...................................................... 152 Hiding and showing images ..................................................... 153 Lightening images.................................................................... 153 Auto Tracing Images ................................................................ 153 Chapter 11 Using Punching Tools Common embroidery stitch types ............................................ 156 Digitizing tips............................................................................ 157 Embroidery ........................................................................ 158 Other items to consider ..................................................... 158 A successful digitizer ......................................................... 158 Manual and Run Stitches ......................................................... 158 Creating Bean stitches ...................................................... 158 Creating Manual and Jump stitches .................................. 159 Creating Run stitches ........................................................ 160 Creating Two-Ply stitches .................................................. 160 ELNA XPRESSIVE II User's Guide 7 Satin and Fill Stitches............................................................... 161 Creating Satin or Fill stitches with the Enhanced Column tool ....................................................................... 161 Creating Satin or Fill segments with holes ........................ 161 Creating stitches with the Complex Fill tool....................... 163 Creating Steil stitches........................................................ 164 Adjusting Satin and Fill Stitches............................................... 164 Changing the angle lines in Complex Fill segments.......... 164 Appliqué ................................................................................... 165 Creating an appliqué border .............................................. 165 Programmed Runs................................................................... 165 Using Programmed Runs .................................................. 165 Carved Fills .............................................................................. 166 Applying Carved Fills to TrueType® 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 Reductions............................................................... 171 Transforming an Image ..................................................... 173 Image Edit ......................................................................... 177 Adding Outlines to an Image ............................................. 179 Final Preview..................................................................... 181 Appendix A Keyboard Shortcuts and Commands Keyboard Shortcuts ................................................................. 184 Keyboard Commands .............................................................. 186 Appendix B Getting Help Xpressive documentation......................................................... 190 Using the Xpressive online Help .............................................. 190 Opening the online Help .................................................... 190 Using the Contents ............................................................ 191 Using the Index ................................................................. 191 Using Search..................................................................... 191 Using the Font Help........................................................... 192 Using the Fill Help ............................................................. 192 Saving your favorite topics ................................................ 192 Printing online Help topics ................................................. 192 8 Glossary.................................................................................... 195 Index.......................................................................................... 221 CHAPTER 1 Getting Started Welcome to the Xpressive II embroidery design system for the Elna home-based embroidery machine. The Xpressive II User's Guide provides you with the information you need to install the software and hardware and to learn about Xpressive. Before you begin, you should be familiar with basic Windows®2000/XP usage and conventions. To learn more about Windows®2000/XP, see the Windows online Help. In this chapter: · · · Find out what you receive in the Xpressive package. Learn how to connect the Elna machine to your computer. Learn how to install the Xpressive software. 10 The Xpressive package We recommend that you follow the procedures outlined in the Getting Started Guide to ensure that you install Xpressive correctly. Backing up files If Microsoft Backup is not currently installed on your computer, refer to the Windows®2000/XP online Help for installation instructions. Each Xpressive package includes the following components: · · · Xpressive Getting Started Guide. Xpressive User's Guide. Xpressive CD-ROM. Windows®2000/XP comes with an efficient file Backup program called Microsoft Backup. We recommend you use Microsoft Backup to backup files and designs on a regular basis. Backing up your work protects your designs in case the data on your computer is lost or damaged. To back up files: System Requirements Specifications are subject to change without prior notice. For additional information on setup and system requirements, contact your distributor. 1 2 3 Click Start. Choose Programs--Accessories--System Tools--Backup. Follow the instructions provided. If you have any problems, consult the Microsoft Backup's online Help. Minimum Recommended System Requirements: · Genuine Intel Pentium 4, 2GHz PC computer (or higher) with a CD-ROM drive 17" or 21" monitor with 1024x768 video resolution with 16-bit color display (or higher). 256 megabytes of RAM Microsoft® Windows®2000/XP operating system 3.5-inch high-density disk drive for most disk formats Minimum 1 gigabyte hard disk drive space available Mouse (3 button is preferred for punching) Connecting Hardware You can now set up all the hardware you want to use with Xpressive. This section describes how you can connect these devices. The most important device is the Elna embroidery machine. Xpressive supports many different peripheral devices. The most important device you need to connect is your Elna embroidery machine. First, you need to connect the peripheral devices to the ports at the back of your computer. Then, when you install Xpressive, these hardware components are configured to run with Xpressive. · · · · · · ELNA XPRESSIVE II User's Guide 11 Connecting the Elna embroidery machine We recommend that your embroidery machine settings be configured using the Xpressive Installation. Serial embroidery machines are configured during the Xpressive installation once the machine's hardware has been set up. To connect the Elna embroidery machine: 1 2 Use the Elna documentation to set the correct port settings. Connect the machine to an available serial port on the computer using the serial cable provided with Xpressive. Turn on your computer. Now, when you install Xpressive, the machine settings will be set accordingly. 2 3 Click Next to follow the installation. Follow the instructions on each screen. 3 Using other disk formats Xpressive supports other disk formats such as Elna, Tajima, Pfaff, and Brother, Pfaff, Janome, Viking, Poem, and Singer. Configuring the Elna embroidery machine See the Elna documentation for more information on how to set up the Elna embroidery machine. Registering Xpressive Initially you can use the Xpressive software for up to 30 days without a license. To use it in this 30-day trial mode, select this option when you install the program. Each time you run the program the remaining number of days in the trial period will be displayed. Installing Xpressive You must be running Windows®2000/XP to install Xpressive. To install Xpressive: 1 Insert the Xpressive CD into the CDROM drive. You see the InstallShield introductory screen. 12 Any time during the evaluation period you can start the registration using the Help menu. You can choose one of the following options to obtain a license: · · · Using a serial number (requires Internet connection). Providing an unlocking key given to you by phone or e-mail. Transferring a license from another computer. Obtaining a License for Xpressive from the Internet If you received a product serial number with the program, the number can be used to obtain a license. If you have an Internet connection, you can have the program automatically obtain a license. 2 Select the Install a license option and click Next. You will see another Xpressive License Activator wizard page appear. To obtain a license from the Internet: 1 To open the Xpressive License Activator wizard, select one of the following procedures: If you are using the 30-day trial mode for Xpressive, choose Help--Open License Activator. If your 30-day trial mode has expired, double-click the Xpressive link on your computer desktop. You will see the Xpressive License Activator wizard appear. ELNA XPRESSIVE II User's Guide 13 3 Select I received a serial number & I have an internet connection on this machine and click Next. You will see the Welcome to Purchase Wizard page appear. 5 In the Serial number field, enter the serial number you received and click Next. You will see another Purchase Wizard page appear. To finish obtaining a license for Xpressive, click Finish. 6 4 Read the information shown and click Next. You will see the Purchase Wizard page appear. Obtaining a License for Xpressive without Internet Access If you do not have an Internet connection, you will need to contact your dealer or distributor to obtain a license. Please refer to the contact information that you received with your package. To obtain a license without Internet access: 1 To open the Xpressive License Activator wizard, select one of the following procedures: If you are using the 30-day trial mode for Xpressive, choose Help--Open License Activator. 14 If your 30-day trial mode has expired, double-click the Xpressive link on your computer desktop. You will see the Xpressive License Activator wizard appear. 3 Select I received a serial number & I don't have internet connection on this machine and click Next. You will see another Xpressive License Activator wizard page appear. 2 Select the Install a license option and click Next. You will see another Xpressive License Activator wizard page appear. ELNA XPRESSIVE II User's Guide 15 4 In the Site Key field, enter the site key you were given for your computer or click Browse and find the location of the site key. Click Next to continue. You will see another Xpressive License Activator wizard page appear. Click Next to continue. You will see another License Activator wizard page appear. Click Finish to complete your installation. 5 6 Transferring a License from a Second Computer If you are running an installation of Xpressive on your computer, 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 installation with a license can run the software. If you are using the 30-day trial, it is considered a temporary license. 2 Select the Install a license option and click Next. You will see another Xpressive License Activator Wizard page appear. To transfer a license to a floppy disk: 1 On the computer without a license, open Xpressive. The first time you open Xpressive you will see the License Agreement dialog. To continue, click I agree. You will see the Xpressive License Activator wizard appear. 16 3 Select I want to transfer a license from a second computer and click Next. You will see another Xpressive License Activator wizard page appear. 9 Browse to your A:\ drive that contains your floppy disk. 10 Click OK. You see the License Transfer confirmation dialogs. Click OK. Xpressive will shutdown. 4 5 Insert an empty floppy disk into your A:\ drive. Click Next and a registration file will be copied to your floppy disk. You will see another Xpressive License Activator wizard page appear. Leave this wizard page open. Remove your floppy disk. On the computer with a license, open Xpressive and insert the floppy disk into your A:\ drive. Choose Help--Transfer License. You will see the Browse for Folder dialog appear. The installation of Xpressive on this computer will no longer have a license. 11 Remove your floppy disk. 12 On the computer without a license, insert your floppy disk into the A:\ drive and click Next. The license will be copied to this installation of Xpressive. You see another License Activator wizard page appear. 13 Click Finish. Xpressive will be launched. You can begin using Xpressive on this computer. 6 7 8 ELNA XPRESSIVE II User's Guide 17 To transfer a license to directory or USB device: 1 On the computer without a license, open Xpressive. You will see the Xpressive License Activator wizard appear. 3 Select I want to transfer a license from a second computer and click Next. You will see another Xpressive License Activator wizard page appear. 2 Select the Install a license option and click Next. You will see another Xpressive License Activator Wizard page appear. 18 4 5 Click Browse and locate the network directory you want to transfer your license to. Click Next. You will see another Xpressive License Activator wizard page appear. Leave this wizard page open. On the computer with a license, open Xpressive. Choose Help--Transfer License. You will see the Browse for Folder dialog appear. The installation of Xpressive on this computer will no longer have a license. 10 On the computer without a license, click Next. The license will be copied to this installation of Xpressive. You see another License Activator wizard page appear. 11 Click Finish. Xpressive will be launched. You can begin using Xpressive on this computer. 6 7 Opening and Closing Xpressive To open Xpressive: · Do one of the following: Double-click the Xpressive icon created on your desktop. Choose Start--Programs--Xpressive. You will see the Xpressive window appear. 8 9 Browse to location of the specified network directory or USB device you want your license transferred to. Click OK. You see the License Transfer confirmation dialogs. Click OK. Xpressive will shutdown. To close Xpressive: · Choose File--Exit.