KP Compositions User s Guide

Transcription

1 KP Compositions User s Guide

2 COPYRIGHT Copyright 2006 Pulse Microsystems Ltd. All rights reserved. This KP Compositions User s Guide and the KP Compositions software are copyrighted by the developer of the software, Pulse Microsystems Ltd. All rights reserved. US Patent Nos ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; European Patent Nos 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.

3 KP COMPOSITIONS 1 User s Guide Table of Contents Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Getting Started Getting Started... 8 KP Compositions System Requirements... 8 Backing up files... 8 Installing KP Compositions... 8 Registering KP Compositions... 9 Obtaining a License for KP Compositions from the Internet. 9 Obtaining a License for KP Compositions without Internet Access Transferring a License from a Second Computer Opening and Closing KP Compositions Learning the Basics Understanding the KP Compositions Workspace Title Bar Menu Bar KP Compositions Tools File Tools Edit Tools Modify Tools View Tools Draw Bar Color Palette Sequence View Status Line KP Compositions Properties box Showing and Hiding Tool Bars Showing and Hiding the Draw Bar Adjusting the Workspace Splitters Arranging the Workspace using the Window Menu Changing Thread Colors Using Scrollbars Correcting Mistakes Setting up your Workspace Environment Projects and Designs: an Overview... 26

4 2 Creating a New Project Opening and closing projects Saving Projects Exporting Designs Exporting individual designs Exporting all the designs in a Project Supported Embroidery File Formats About Preinstalled Recipes Changing Machine Format Properties Restoring Autosaved Design Files Printing Designs Changing a design s print settings Previewing a design before printing Printing design worksheets Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Viewing Tools and Buttons Viewing Methods and Tools Magnifying and reducing the view The Zoom Tool Viewing parts of a garment or design not visible in the workspace (panning) Viewing Buttons Changing the background color of the current window Showing and hiding machine commands Showing and hiding the stitch points in designs Defining grid settings Showing and hiding the grid Showing and hiding 3D stitches Viewing the sewing order of designs Displaying a hoop while designing Viewing the Embroidery Hoop Using the Hoop Manager Design Editing Editing design components in Location View Selecting design components Copying design components Reflecting design components Aligning design components horizontally and vertically Resizing design components Rotating design components... 50

5 KP COMPOSITIONS 3 User s Guide Moving design components Moving design components manually Nudging design components Deleting design components Editing the pattern pieces in Garment View Resizing pattern pieces Rotating pattern pieces Moving pattern pieces manually Nudging pattern pieces Deleting pattern pieces Using the Sequence View pane Changing Thread Colors in Sequence View Inserting color segments earlier in the design sequence Sequencing Color Segments Adding Basting Stitches to Designs Chapter 5 Special Creative Tools in KP Compositions Working with the Locations feature Creating locations Deleting a location Renaming a location Working with the Design Library Placing designs into a project The Power Paste tool Using the Template Features Creating a pattern with the Templates tool Creating a pattern with the Circle Template tool Merging stitch files into a design Using Digitizing Tools The Run Stitch and Satin Stitch tools Changing Run Properties Setting the stitch length for Run stitches Changing Satin Properties Setting the dimension for Satin stitches Adjusting the density for Satin stitches Optimizing the sewing order of your design Optimize Sequence Optimize Entry/Exit Using the Color Sort tool The Split Wizard... 72

6 4 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Adding Guidelines and Measuring Designs Adding guidelines Moving guidelines Removing guidelines Changing the ruler origin Defining ruler units Measuring designs Creating Lettering Creating Normal Text Adjusting the Size of Normal Text Items Adjusting the Width of Normal Text Items Adjusting the Corners of Normal Text Items Adjusting the shape with the Envelope Handles Rotating Text Adjusting the space between letters (Kerning) Repositioning Individual Letters Adjusting Individual Letter Sizes Rotating Individual Letters Monograms Overview To Create Monograms Adjusting the Size of a Monogram Adjusting the Width of a Monogram Adjusting the Corners of the Monogram Adjusting the Shape of a Monogram with Envelopes Rotating the Monogram Repositioning Individual Letters in a Monogram Adjusting Individual Letter Size in a Monogram Rotating Individual Letters in a Monogram Editing Text in the Properties Box The Text tab and Special Characters How do you know what characters exist in the fonts? Letter Height Selecting Fonts Spacing Width Slant setting Changing thread colors within a text segment Normal Text Properties Line Spacing Alignment... 91

7 KP COMPOSITIONS 5 User s Guide Translating Text Monogram Properties Monogram Decoration options available Appendix A Appendix B Getting Help KP Compositions documentation Using the KP Compositions online Help Opening the online Help Using the Contents Using the Index Using Search Saving your favorite topics Printing online Help topics Special Characters List Special Characters and their ASCII codes Glossary Index

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9 CHAPTER 1 Getting Started Welcome to the KP Compositions embroidery design system for embroidery machines. The KP Compositions User s Guide provides you with the information you need to learn about and begin using KP Compositions. In this chapter: Find out some basic information about KP Compositions. Learn how to install KP Compositions.

10 8 CHAPTER 1 Getting Started Getting Started KP Compositions System Requirements Specifications are subject to change without prior notice. For additional information on setup and system requirements, contact your distributor. Recommended System Requirements: Genuine Intel Pentium 4, 2GHz PC computer (or higher) with a CD-ROM drive Monitor 1024x768 video resolution with 16-bit color display (or higher). 500 megabytes of RAM Microsoft Windows 2000/XP operating system Minimum 1 gigabyte hard disk drive space available Mouse Backing up files If Microsoft Backup is not currently installed on your computer, refer to the Windows 2000/XP online Help for installation instructions. To back up files: 1 Click 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. Installing KP Compositions You must be running Windows 2000/XP to install KP Compositions. To install KP Compositions: 1 Either: Insert the KP Compositions CD into the CD-ROM drive. OR Double-click on the.exe setup file that you downloaded for KP Compositions, You see the InstallShield introductory screen. 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.

11 KP COMPOSITIONS 9 User s Guide Obtaining a License for KP Compositions 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 Click Next to follow the installation. 3 Follow the instructions on each screen. Registering KP Compositions Initially you can use the KP Compositions 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. To obtain a license from the Internet: 1 To open the KP Compositions License Activator wizard, select one of the following procedures: If you are using the 30-day trial mode for KP Compositions, choose Help Open License Activator. If your 30-day trial mode has expired, double-click the KP Compositions link on your computer desktop. You see a KP Compositions License Activator wizard page. 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 . Transferring a license from another computer.

12 10 CHAPTER 1 Getting Started 2 Select the Install a license option and click Next. You see another License Activator Wizard page. 4 In the Serial number field, enter the serial number you received and click Next. You see another License Activator Wizard page. 5 To finish obtaining a license for KP Compositions, click Finish. Obtaining a License for KP Compositions 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. 3 Select I received a serial number & I have an internet connection on this machine and click Next. You see another License Activator Wizard page. To obtain a license without Internet access: 1 To open the KP Compositions License Activator wizard, select one of the following procedures: If you are using the 30-day trial mode for KP Compositions, choose Help Open License Activator. If your 30-day trial mode has expired, double-click the KP Compositions link on your computer desktop. You see the KP Compositions License Activator wizard page.

13 KP COMPOSITIONS 11 User s Guide 2 Select the Install a license option and click Next. You see another License Activator Wizard page. 4 Enter your serial number in the box, and press Next. You see another License Activator Wizard page. 3 Select I received a serial number & I don t have internet connection on this machine and click Next.

14 12 CHAPTER 1 Getting Started 5 the highlighted information in the box to the address given. When you receive the reply with the Site key and Access code, click Next to continue the installation. You see another License Activator Wizard page. Transferring a License from a Second Computer If you are running an installation of KP Compositions on your computer, without a license, you can transfer an existing license from a second computer. You can copy a KP Compositions license onto a floppy disk, USB device or network directory folder. Only the KP Compositions installation with a license can run the software. If you are using the 30-day trial, it is considered a temporary license. To transfer a license to a floppy disk: 1 On the computer without a license, open KP Compositions. 6 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 see another License Activator Wizard page. 7 Click Next to continue. You see another License Activator wizard page. 8 Click Finish to complete your installation. The first time you open KP Compositions you will see the License Agreement dialog. To continue, click I agree. You see the KP Compositions License Activator Wizard.

15 KP COMPOSITIONS 13 User s Guide 2 Select the Install a license option and click Next. You see another License Activator Wizard page. 4 Insert an empty floppy disk into your A:\ drive. 5 Click Next and a registration file will be copied to your floppy disk. You see another License Activator Wizard page. Leave this wizard page open. 6 Remove your floppy disk. 7 On the computer with a license, open KP Compositions and insert the floppy disk into your A:\ drive. 8 Choose Help Transfer License. You see the Browse for Folder dialog. 3 Select I want to transfer a license from a second computer and click Next. You see another License Activator Wizard page.

16 14 CHAPTER 1 Getting Started To transfer a license to directory or USB device: 1 On the computer without a license, open KP Compositions. You see the KP Compositions License Activator wizard. 9 Browse to your A:\ drive that contains your floppy disk. 10 Click OK. You see the License Transfer confirmation dialogs. Click OK. KP Compositions will shut down. The installation of KP Compositions 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 KP Compositions. You see another License Activator wizard page. 13 Click Finish. KP Compositions will be launched. You can begin using KP Compositions on this computer. 2 Select the Install a license option and click Next. You see another License Activator Wizard page.

17 KP COMPOSITIONS 15 User s Guide 4 Click Browse and locate the network directory you want to transfer your license to. 5 Click Next. You see another License Activator Wizard page. Leave this Wizard page open. 6 On the computer with a license, open KP Compositions. 7 Choose Help Transfer License. You will see the Browse for Folder dialog appear. 3 Select I want to transfer a license from a second computer and click Next. You see another License Activator Wizard page. 8 Browse to location of the specified network directory or USB device you want your license transferred to. 9 Click OK. You see the License Transfer confirmation dialogs. Click OK. KP Compositions will shut down.

18 16 CHAPTER 1 Getting Started The installation of KP Compositions 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 KP Compositions. You see another License Activator wizard page. 11 Click Finish. KP Compositions will be launched. You can begin using KP Compositions on this computer. To close KP Compositions: Choose File Exit. Opening and Closing KP Compositions To open KP Compositions: Do one of the following: Double-click the KP Compositions icon created on your desktop. Choose Start Programs Ken Parsons Compositions. The first time you open KP Compositions you will see a License Agreement dialog appear. To accept the terms of the agreement, click I agree. You see the KP Compositions window.

19 CHAPTER 2 Learning the Basics Before you start using the software, we recommend that you understand the KP Compositions design workspace and learn a few of the basic components outlined in this section. In this chapter: Learn the basics such as how to create and alter projects and set up the design workspace environment. Find out how to open, save and export projects as well as how to create new projects. Learn how to print projects.

20 18 CHAPTER 2 Learning the Basics Understanding the KP Compositions Workspace The KP Compositions workspace contains several areas. The screen below shows the KP Compositions workspace. machine format, but the number of stitches and colors refer to open location only. The size of the design in that location (width and height) is also shown. In both cases, the number of thread colors in a design as well as its stitch count are automatically updated in the title bar. A design s stitch count is consistent with the stitch count printed or sewn out using the specified machine format settings. The KP Compositions Title Bar Menu Bar The Menu Bar appears below the Title Bar. The Menu Bar contains a list of menus specific to KP Compositions. Title Bar The Title Bar appears at top of the KP Compositions design window. The Title bar displays information about your design, and the information given depends on what is showing in the design view at the time the entire garment (Garment View), or one of the design compositions (Location View). For more information about the different views in KP Compositions, see Projects and Designs: an Overview. When you are in Garment View, the Title Bar shows the project s name, recipe, machine format settings, and the number of stitches and colors used for all the designs on that garment. In Location View, the Title Bar again shows the project s name, recipe, and The KP Compositons Menu Bar KP Compositions Tools You can access the numerous tools available in KP Compositions through the tool bars. To show or hide a tool bar, go to the Tool Bars menu and select the tool bar s name. The following charts describe the tools specific to KP Compositions. The KP Compositions Toolbars

21 KP COMPOSITIONS 19 User s Guide File Tools Edit Tools Tool What it means Tool What it means New Project: Creates a new untitled project. Select: Selects objects in the design window. Open Project: Opens an existing KP Compositions project file. Save: Saves the current project. Lasso Select: Selects one or more objects by drawing a line surrounding them. Zoom: Magnify or reduce parts of your design. Print Preview: Opens the print preview window, which in turn will let you print the design in the current Location window. Undo: Reverses your last action. Pan: Allows you to move the design area around. Ruler: Measures the distance across any two points. Redo: Reverses the action of the Undo command. Run: Creates run stitches. Satin: Creates satin stitches. Zoom: Zoom in to get a close-up view of your design or zoom out to see more of the design at a reduced size. Text: Creates lettering placed along a straight baseline. Properties: Opens the properties pane to display properties of designs, lettering, or stitch segments. Program Preferences: Displays the Preferences dialog box. Contains the Formats, Environment, Grid, Auto Baste, and Color Sort settings for the KP Compositions program. Monogram Text: Creates monogram lettering. Locations: Opens the Locations window for you to select a pre-installed location template. Custom Location: Creates a custom location that you draw. Power Paste: For pasting a selected design component into a Location; you quickly choose the size and orientation of the copy that you paste.

22 20 CHAPTER 2 Learning the Basics Tool What it means Tool What it means Templates: Creates a pattern of repeated design components in the location automatically, using one of the pre-installed template shapes. Circle Template: Creates a circular pattern of design components in your location automatically. Modify Tools Tool What it means Align: Opens a list of the following alignment buttons to help you automatically align one or more selected objects: Left Right Bottom Top Vertical Center Horizontal Center Center Left: Aligns all selected objects with the left-most item selected. Right: Aligns all selected objects with the right-most item selected. Bottom: Aligns all selected objects with the bottom-most item selected. Top: Aligns all selected objects with the top-most item selected. Vertical Center: Takes all selected objects and centers them in the selection box. The objects are moved so that they are centered top-to-bottom with each other, but they are not moved left or right. Horizontal Center: Takes all selected objects and centers them in the selection box. The objects are moved so that they are centered left-to-right with each other, but they are not moved up or down. Center: Centers one or more selected objects proportionally in the embroidery location. Rotate Left: Rotates one or more selected objects to the left by 90 degree increments. Rotate Right: Rotates one or more selected objects to the right by 90 degree increments. Flip Vertical: Flips one or more selected objects vertically. Flip Horizontal: Flips one or more selected objects horizontally. Optimize Sequence: Allows you to automatically sequence two or more design objects for optimal sewing. Optimize Entry/Exit: Minimizes the distance between entry and exit points in designs with multiple design components. Color Sort: Automatically reduces the number of thread changes required within the selected objects by resequencing like-colors together. Auto Baste: Adds a basting stitch to the current design for use in stabilizing and placement during embroidery. Split Wizard: Used with multiplemount hoops, splits a design into two or more stitch files.

23 KP COMPOSITIONS 21 User s Guide View Tools Scrollbar Slider Tool Draw Bar What it means 3D: Realistically renders your design onscreen. Grid: Displays a background grid, which helps with alignment. This grid can be used for the alignment of items on the display. When you click the grid button, the current mode and its cursor remains set. Stitch Points: Displays the stitch points in the design. Hoop: Displays the design as it fits relative to the embroidery hoop. Clicking this button a second time will turn the view off. Background Color: Allows you to change the background color for the active location view. The Draw Bar makes it easy to see how your design will sew out on-screen. You can use the Draw Bar to eliminate potential sewing problems. When you choose Tool Bars Draw Bar, the draw bar (scrollbar slider and the sewing simulator) will appear at the top of the design space. The Draw Bar controls which parts of the design are drawn in the Locations window. The length of the scrollbar slider represents all of the stitches in the opened design. You can move the scrollbar slider by dragging it to see a design as it will look sewn to a particular point. The color display within the scrollbar indicates the thread color that will be sewn when the scrollbar slider is positioned over it. Clicking on the arrows at the ends of the scrollbar will advance or retrace the design position by one stitch. Sewing Simulator The sewing simulator allows you to watch your design draw on a stitch-by-stitch basis, simulating the sewing action of your machine. The draw bar controls are similar to a CD player or VCR. You can push various control buttons and slide the speed control to vary the rate of sewing. You can also open and close the Draw Bar by pressing Ctrl + R.

24 22 CHAPTER 2 Learning the Basics Using the Draw Bar The following table explains how to use the draw bar in more detail: Color Palette, choose Tool Bars Color Palette. For more information on the color palette, see Changing Thread Colors. Tools What is does Previous Stitch: Move backward in the design by one stitch. Scrollbar slider: Drag the scrollbar slider to advance the design to a specific position. When the scrollbar slider is positioned over a color, you will see the specified thread color being sewn in the design. The entire length of the scrollbar slider represents the entire design. Next Stitch: Move forward in the design by one stitch. Simulate Sewing (backward): Move backward through the design. Pause/Stop: Pause or stop the design while drawing. When you play or resume sewing your design, stitching will continue from the location of the last stitch. Simulate Sewing: Move forward through the design. Speed: Slide the speed control to vary the rate of sewing. Sequence View Sequence View allows you to view color segments in the design composition. For instance, each color in your design will have different lines of stitching in that color. You can select these color segments individually in the Sequence View by clicking on them. This becomes important when you want to view or adjust an individual part of your design (e.g. when you want to change a thread color). To show or hide the Sequence View, choose Tool Bars Sequence View. Color Palette The thread colors for the design are shown in the Color Palette located along the bottom edge of the workspace. To show or hide the The Sequence View pane.

25 KP COMPOSITIONS 23 User s Guide Status Line The Status Line appears at the bottom of the KP Compositions window. To show or hide the Status Line, choose Tool Bars Status Line. As you move the mouse over different sections of the workspace, this indicator will tell you what that area or button does. You will also find specific design information in other areas of the status bar. For example, the status bar shows the number of stitches in the selected design components and the height and width of the selected area. KP Compositions Properties box The design properties of selected objects are shown in the Properties box. The Properties box is located at the right edge of the design window and contains tabs related to selected objects. To show or hide the Properties box, choose Tool Bars Properties. Showing and Hiding Tool Bars You can hide or move a tool bar if it is blocking your view of the workspace and cluttering the screen. You can move the tool bars anywhere on the screen. If you drag a tool bar to the edge of the workspace, it attaches to the sides, top, or bottom edge. You can arrange the tool bars in an order that is comfortable for you. You can also leave tool bars floating on your workspace. To see the name of each tool on the various tool bars, simply move your pointer over the tools. A small Tool Tip box pops up and displays the tool name. To show or hide a tool bar: 1 Choose the Tool Bars menu and select the tool bar you want to show or hide. A check mark indicates that the tool bar is visible on your screen. 2 To move the tool bars, drag the floating tool bar by its title bar or drag by the gray area around the buttons. Showing and Hiding the Draw Bar You can show or hide draw bar tools. The draw bar tools control which parts of the design are drawn. For more information on using Draw Bar tools, see Draw Bar Tools. To show or hide the draw bar tools: Do one of the following: Choose Tool Bars Draw Bar. Type Ctrl + R.

26 24 CHAPTER 2 Learning the Basics Adjusting the Workspace Splitters The design workspace is separated from the Design Library, the Color Palette, the Sequence View and Properties box by three "splitters", which are moveable bars that divide up the KP Compositions Window. To move a splitter, hover the mouse over it exactly as you would a window edge, and then drag it where you want. You ll notice that when you re over a splitter, the cursor will change to a double-sided arrow. Arranging the Workspace using the Window Menu If you are working with more than one project at the same time, you may want to switch back and forth between them. The Window menu allows you to arrange how you view multiple projects. Using the Window Menu: To see all of the project windows together at the same time, choose Window Tile. To stack the project windows on top of each other, choose Window Cascade. To close all the open projects, choose Window Close All. To bring a project to the front in the Workspace, click on its name in the drop down list. It is possible to reduce a splitter to the point where nothing from the second window is visible. If you have done this, just drag the splitter, being careful that you re not dragging the outside window edge. The Properties box has a set minimum width, so when it is open, the splitter on the right side of the Workspace cannot be dragged over it. If you want to expand the workspace in that direction, close the Properties box by unchecking it on the Tool Bars menu or pressing Alt + enter. Selecting a project from the Window menu. Changing Thread Colors KP Compositions allows you to adjust the colors of a design using the Color Palette. You do this by choosing thread objects in the Color palette.

27 KP COMPOSITIONS 25 User s Guide To change thread colors: 1 Select a color segment by clicking on the thread name in the sequence view pane. 2 In the Color Palette area, do one of the following: From the list, select a Thread Chart and click one of the color boxes with the thread color you want to use. Using the current list, click one of the color boxes with the thread color you want to use. The KP Compositions Color Palette. Using Scrollbars The scrollbars are inside the design workspace on the right and bottom of the window. These operate as standard scrollbars, which you may be familiar with from any typical Windows application. They allow you to quickly navigate the design using the mouse. Typical actions for the scrollbars include: Dragging the Thumb Track to pan the view. Notice that this is like using the Pan tool on the Edit Bar. Clicking in the scrollbar on either side of the Thumb Track will move the design window view one screen at a time. Clicking in the scrollbar on the arrows moves the design window view only a small amount at a time. You can also right-click the scrollbar to display a pop-up menu of scroll actions in Windows 2000 and XP. Correcting Mistakes Undo and Redo are two significant features that allow you to correct mistakes. If you make a mistake and change your mind about an action you just made, Undo reverses the action. Redo puts back the change. If Undo or Redo are grayed out, you cannot Undo or Redo. To use Undo: Do one of the following: From the File tool bar, click the Undo tool. Choose Edit Undo. Press Ctrl+Z on your keyboard. To use Redo: Do one of the following: From the File tool bar, click the Redo tool. Choose Edit Redo. Press Ctrl+Y on your keyboard. Setting up your Workspace Environment KP Compositions allows you to set up your project workspace environment for all opened project files. You can predetermine the units

28 26 CHAPTER 2 Learning the Basics of measurement you want to use for your projects, as well as decide how often open project files get saved. The following sections describe the units of measurement that can be used for designs opened in KP Compositions. Metric The dimensions in KP Compositions can be displayed in metric values. This is not the default; however, if you set your design preferences to metric, it will remember for you each time you run KP Compositions. It is generally preferable for embroiderers to use the metric values because the manufacturers of the machines and designs all are based in metric countries. The machines and software think in the metric system. English vs. Metric KP Compositions is unique in that it displays inch measurements in 1/16, 1/8, 1/4, 1/ 2 measures. Unless you are an engineer, you probably don t own a 1/10 ruler. If you think in inches, it s okay to set KP Compositions to use the inch system. Just open the Program Preferences and click on the Environment tab, where you can select English from the Units list. Embroidery machines are all made in metric-based countries, therefore it is likely that from time to time you will have to switch back. To set up your workspace environment: 1 From the File tool bar, click the Program Preferences tool. You see the Preferences dialog box appear. 2 Click the Environment tab. 3 From the Units list, select the units of measurement you want used for your designs: Metric or English. You can also select the units of measurement using the menu options available in your design workspace. Right-click on the ruler at the left or top of the window and select Metric or English. 4 From the Autosave list, select how often you want KP Compositions to save your designs. 5 Click OK. Projects and Designs: an Overview The KP Compositions embroidery software is unique in that it works on two levels, the Project level and the Design level. The Project level corresponds to an entire garment. When you start a project, you choose a garment type from a given list, and apply various attributes to it, such as its material, size, color and so on. For more information, see Creating a new Project. When you make a change at the Project level, you are making a change that affects the garment as a whole. When you save a project, it is saved as a unique file type, the

29 KP COMPOSITIONS 27 User s Guide Ken Parsons Project file (.KPP) which contains all this information, plus the embroidery information for all the designs that you create on the garment pattern pieces. The Design level, by contrast, is the level at which you actually work with embroidery designs. Designs, in KP Compositions, consist of one or more design components which are placed in specific areas on the garment called Locations. You determine the placement, shape, and size of your Locations using the Locations buttons on the toolbar For more information, see Creating locations. Designs are based on one or more of the preexisting design components from the KP Compositions Design library. For more information on using these designs see Working with the Design Library. You can also add your own components to a design by creating text, monograms, satin segements or run segments, in the Location view of KP Compositions (see Creating Lettering, and Satin and Run tools ). Most importantly, it is at the Design level that you output embroidery stitch files to you machine, through the Export function (see Exporting Designs ). Creating a New Project KP Compositions starts up by opening the New Project dialog, which asks you to choose between starting a brand-new project or opening an existing one. The KP Compositions Welcome Screen. In order to start a new Project from this screen, simply click on the Begin New Project icon, which will open up the New Project dialog for you. To start additional new Projects (i.e. once KP Compositions is already open) follow the steps below. To create a new project: 1 To create a new project, do one of the following: Choose File New Project. From the File tool bar, click the New Project tool. If you select the New Project tool from the File tool bar, you will bypass the recipe dialog. A new project window will open using the default settings. You see the New Project dialog.

30 28 CHAPTER 2 Learning the Basics 2 In the Recipe list, select the recipe you want to apply to your project. 3 In the Machine format list, select the machine format that you want applied to the project when created. 4 From the Garment list, select the type of garment pattern you would like to work with. 5 From the Garment Size list, select the size of the garment pattern you would like to work with. 6 Click on the color box to choose a base color for the garment pattern pieces. You can either choose an existing colour from the given selections, or press More colors to choose a color from the RBG spectrum. To change the color of a garment later on, select one or more garment pieces and then click on the color you want to apply in the color palette at the bottom of the Workspace. Opening and closing projects KP Compositions saves your project in a unique file type called a Ken Parsons Project (.KPP) file. This file brings together all the information relevant to the project, including the garment type, its size, the locations, as well as all the information about the embroidery within each location. The project file exists to organize all of this information in such a way that it is easy to preview how the garment pattern pieces will look. However, to actually do the sewing, the embroidery in each location must be exported as an individual stitch file. For more information, see the section Exporting Stitch Files. To open an existing project: 1 To open an existing project, do one of the following: Choose File Open. From the File tool bar, click the Open tool. You see the Open file dialog box. 2 In the Look in list, browse to the location of the file you want to open. You can open project files stored on your hard drive, a disk, or CD-ROM. 3 In the File name box, enter the file name, or select the file you want to open by clicking the file. To open multiple files, press Ctrl on your keyboard while 7 Click OK.

31 KP COMPOSITIONS 29 User s Guide selecting the files you want to open. To open all files, select any file and press Ctrl+A on your keyboard. 4 Select Preview check box to view a thumbnail (a small representation) of the project. 5 Click Open. To close a project: Choose File Close. Tips To open a file you have recently worked on, choose File and then choose the project file from the list. To limit the number of displayed projects in the Open Project dialog, you can enter the first letter of the project name, followed by an asterisk (*) and the file extension. For example, if you have an Embroidery project file named Cats, enter C*. in the File Name box and press ENTER on your keyboard. You see a list of all the projects starting with C. Saving Projects The Save As command lets you save an alternative version of the project with a different name, location, or file format. Save As is handy when you want to keep your original project and create another project with slight modifications. The Save command saves the changes you make to the current project. To save a project: 1 Choose File Save As. You see the Save As dialog box. 2 In the Save in list, browse to the location you want to save your file. You can save project files to your hard drive, a disk, USB, external drive, or CD-ROM. 3 In the File Name box, enter the file name for the project you want to be saved. 4 In the Save As type list, select the file type you want the project to be saved as. 5 Select Preview to view a thumbnail (a small representation) of the project. 6 Click Save. To save changes to the current project: Choose File Save. Exporting Designs When you have completed a design composition, and want to sew it out on the machine, you will want to export it as a stitch file. This is done through the Export Stitch File dialog. You can save design files to your hard drive, a disk, USB key, external drive, or CD-ROM. Exporting individual designs To export a stitch file: 1 If you are not already in a location view, click the tab corresponding to the location of the design composition you wish to export for sewing. 2 Choose File Export Stitch file. You see the Save As dialog box. 3 In the Save in list, browse to the location where you want your file to save to.

32 30 CHAPTER 2 Learning the Basics 4 In the File Name box, enter the file name for the design composition you want to save. 5 In the Save As type list, select the stitch file type that is appropriate for your machine. 6 Click Save. Exporting all the designs in a Project To export all your locations as stitch files: 1 Go to garment view by clicking on the garment tab at the bottom of your Workspace. 2 Choose File Export All Locations. You see the Save As dialog box. 3 In the Save in list, browse to the location where you want to save your file. 4 In the File Name box, enter a name for the locations you wish to save. The text that you type in the file name box will be applied to each stitch file as a prefix which will be attached to the location name. So, for example, if you type MyShirt as the file name, and your project has a series of numbered locations, the stitch files will be saved as MyShirt_Location1, MyShirt_Location2, and so on. 5 In the Save As type list, select the stitch file type that is appropriate for your machine. 6 Click Save. Supported Embroidery File Formats KP Compositions supports a wide variety of home and commercial file formats. These formats can be divided into two general types, condensed and expanded. Condensed formats allow more options in resizing and editing. These formats are designed for optimum performance in resizing. Expanded formats allow fewer options in resizing and editing. When resizing the condensed or expanded formats listed, the stitch count will be recalculated to properly suit the new size. Multiple resizing, however, is not recommended for expanded formats in the same session. The following are the machine formats supported by KP Compositions. Baby Lock/Brother/Bernina (PES) PES files are expanded file formats that work with Baby Lock embroidery machines. KP Compositions supports versions 1-6 of the PES format. Elna/Janome/Kenmore (SEW) SEW files are expanded file formats that work with Janome, Elna and Kenmore embroidery machines. Janome/Kenmore (JEF) JEF files are expanded file formats that work with the Janome series of machines, including the 9500,10000, and

33 KP COMPOSITIONS 31 User s Guide Viking/Husqvarna (HUS) HUS files are expanded file formats that work with Viking embroidery machines. projects; however, you can set the default to a different recipe through Tools Preferences Formats. Pfaff (PCS) PCS files are expanded file formats that work with Pfaff embroidery machines. Tajima (DST) DST files are expanded file formats that were developed for the Tajima commercial embroidery machine. Singer (XXX) XXX files are expanded file formats that work with Singer embroidery machines. Melco (EXP) EXP files are expanded file formats used with Melco embroidery machines. Viking (SHV) SHV files are expanded file formats that work with the Designer series of machines from Viking. Viking/Pfaff file (VIP) VIP files are expanded file formats that work with Pfaff embroidery machines. About Preinstalled Recipes You choose one of the preinstalled recipes through the New Project dialog each time you open a new project in KP Compositions. The NORMAL recipe is the default for new Choosing a different default recipe from the Preferences dialog box. The recipe you choose then becomes the default for all subsequent new projects that you open. The recipes containing fabric settings are applied to all the designs you create in that project. For example, the Jeans recipe contains special underlay, pull-compensation, and density settings appropriate for designs that will be sewn on denim. The following table outlines the preinstalled recipes, including their fabric settings. All fabric settings in the tables are in Metric (mm). If the setting is applied to the design using the selected recipe, you see Yes in the table. If the setting is not applied to the design using the selected recipe, you see a No in the table.

34 32 CHAPTER 2 Learning the Basics Fabric Satin Density Fill Density Cross Overlap Pull-Comp. Contour Underlay Lattice Underlay Full Lattice ZigZag Underlay Parallel Underlay Perpendicular Underlay Underlay Inset Distance Underlay Density Underlay Stitch Length Program Default Program Default Baby Yes Yes No No Yes No Blankets Canvas Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Cap No No No No No Yes Dog Collar No No No No Yes No Fake Fur Yes Yes No Yes No No Fleece Yes No No No No No Jeans Yes No Yes No No No Leather No No No No No Yes Lycra Yes Yes No Yes No No Pique Yes Yes No Yes No No Pullover Yes Yes Yes Yes No No Satin Yes No No No No No Shirt Cuff No No No No No Yes Silk Yes No No No No No Sweat Shirt Yes Yes No No No No Towel Yes Yes Yes Yes No No T-shirt Yes Yes No No No No Velvet Yes Yes No Yes No No Vinyl No No No No No Yes Woven Fabrics Yes Yes No No No No

35 KP COMPOSITIONS 33 User s Guide Changing Machine Format Properties All projects in KPCompositions have a machine format. Machine formats have their own profile settings that determine how embroidery information will be interpreted when you save project files. When you create a new project file, you can select the machine format for the specific project. The selected machine format can change how the project file is read. For more information, see Creating new projects. When you set machine format properties in the Program Preferences, all new projects will use these machine format properties as its default settings. Changing machine format properties after a project file has been opened will not change the machine format of the embroidery designs in that project. To change machine format properties: 1 From the File tool bar, click the Program Preferences tool. You see the Preferences dialog box appear. 2 Click the Formats tab. 3 From the Recipe list, select the recipe you want to use for your project. 4 From the Machine format list, select the machine format that you want applied to new project files. 5 Click OK. Restoring Autosaved Design Files KP Compositions makes it easy to restore the last project file you worked on. You can restore a saved project file as well as restore a copy of the last project file you closed but did not save. To restore unsaved projects: Choose File Restore Autosaved. You see the restored design file appear in the design workspace. Printing Designs You can make print-outs of your design compositions and garments in KP Compositions. These print-outs give you a preview of what the design will look like, but they have a lot of other information as well - the number of stitches, the overall size, and the color and length of each thread used. You generate the print preview by clicking on the Print Preview button. The design that gets previewed depends on the location that is in view when you print; you can also preview the whole garment by pressing Print preview while in garment view. Changing a design s print settings You can customize an embroidery design s print settings. KP Compositions allows you to adjust the image and worksheet information displayed in design printouts.

36 34 CHAPTER 2 Learning the Basics To change a design s print settings: 1 Choose File Print Preview. You see the print preview window appear displaying your design. 2 Click Settings. You see the Print Settings dialog appear. 3 In the Margins area, enter the size of margins you want for your design worksheet. 4 Select Print Actual Size to have your design print in its actual size. 5 Select Print Color Analysis to print a detailed thread sequence view that includes the colors used, the color sequence, and the thread consumption. 6 Select Print In One Page to print the design on a single worksheet page. When you select this option and Print Color Analysis is also selected, it will print a basic thread sequence that includes a simplified view of the colors used. 7 Select Print Company Logo to have the name of your company logo printed on your design worksheet. Enter your Company Logo in the box below. 8 Click OK. 9 Click Close. Previewing a design before printing You can preview a worksheet on the screen before sending it to the printer. To preview a design: 1 Choose File Print Preview. 2 To zoom in and out of the previewed worksheet, do the following: To zoom in on the worksheet, click Zoom In and scroll to view specific parts of the design. To zoom out on the worksheet, click Zoom Out and scroll to view specific parts of the design. 3 To change the settings for the design worksheet, click Settings. 4 Click OK. 5 To close print preview and return to the design window, click Close. Printing design worksheets You can print worksheets of the location or garment views. When you print a worksheet for a design file, the worksheet information depends on the selected settings in the Settings tab. To print a worksheet for your design: 1 Do one of the following: Choose File Print Preview and click on the Print button. Choose File Print. Press Ctrl + P. You see the print dialog. 2 Click OK to send the file to the printer.

37 CHAPTER 3 Viewing Tools and Buttons KP Compositions gives you the methods you need to view your designs with accuracy. You can view your entire design composition on-screen or pan to view only parts of your design not visible in the workspace. Changing the background color of your workspace is simple when using the KP Compositions viewing buttons. If you want to view the location on a design where the embroidery machine performs commands, such as trims or jumps, you can use various Show Commands available. In this chapter: Learn how to manipulate the KP Compositions display to your best advantage Learn how to show and hide stitch points, the grid, and the hoop. Learn how to use the Hoop Manager.

38 36 CHAPTER 3 Viewing Tools and Buttons Viewing Methods and Tools Magnifying and reducing the view Use Zoom to magnify or reduce parts of your design. Reducing a design lets you see more of your design on-screen. With Zoom you can either left-click to enlarge your design or right-click to make your design smaller. To use the Zoom Tool: 1 Choose View Zoom Zoom Tool. The pointer becomes a magnifying glass. 2 Do one of the following steps: Right-click to make your design larger. Left-click that area to make your design smaller. To zoom-in on a specific area: 1 Choose View Zoom Zoom Tool. The pointer becomes a magnifying glass. 2 Click and hold your left mouse button and drag your mouse to form a flexible box around the specific area you want to see in detail. 3 Do one of the following steps: To increase the zoom, continue clicking and dragging the flexible box. By doing so, you can view a single stitch. From the File tool bar, use the Zoom tool settings to zoom back out. Additional options on the Zoom Menu: Choose View Zoom Zoom In to make your design larger Choose View Zoom Zoom Out to make your design smaller Choose View Zoom Fit Window to fit the whole design to the size of the Embroidery Location window Choose View Zoom 1:1 to see the design s actual size If you have just a part of the design (i.e. one or more components), select View Zoom Zoom to Selection to zoom in on that selection All of the above options can also be found by clicking the down arrow next to the Zoom box on the toolbar. This box shows the current degree of zoom for your design composition or Project as a percentage of actual size. The Zoom Tool You can also zoom in and out of your workspace by choosing the Zoom tool from the tool bar. This tool turns Zoom Mode on and off. Zoom Mode has some very handy features, one of which is not so obvious.

39 KP COMPOSITIONS 37 User s Guide When you turn Zoom Mode on, you will see your cursor change. With this cursor you can perform three actions: Left-Click: This zooms the display in, using the point you clicked on as the center for the display. Right-Click: This zooms the display out, using the point you clicked on as the center for the display. Left-Drag: If you drag a box on the screen, the display will zoom to fit that box. This is a really handy feature if you want to adjust a small area of a large design, for instance, one letter out of a multi-line text item. As you zoom, you will see the Zoom control on the File tool bar adjust according to your zoom percentage. In order to turn the Zoom mode off, simply click the Zoom tool again. This will reset the zoom of the window to To Fit ; the view of the design will be fit into the window. If you zoom, and then select another tool, the display will remain zoomed in. In the Zoom mode, if you right-click and drag in the workspace, it allows you to pan the design. To disable Zoom: From the Edit tool bar, click the Select tool once you get to the level of magnification you want. Viewing parts of a garment or design not visible in the workspace (panning) Sometimes you may want to work at a high level of magnification, and some part of the garment or embroidery you re working on will not show up in the workspace.you can move to parts of your design that go beyond the window s borders. In these situations, you can use keyboard arrows or the pan tool to change your view of the project. Panning using the keyboard: Use the key to move up. Use the key to move down. Use the key to move left. Use the key to move right. The Pan Tool The Pan tool turns your cursor into an icon of a hand. This allows you to drag the window around, while, at the same time, being able to see where you are moving. This is similar to moving around the window using the scrollbars. The Pan tool does not move any design objects, only the area of the overall design that is being displayed. If the Pan tool is selected, you can right-click and the last-selected tool will be selected. This will deselect the Pan tool.

40 38 CHAPTER 3 Viewing Tools and Buttons Viewing Buttons Changing the background color of the current window Depending on the type of design you are creating, you may want to change the background color of your window. For example, if you are creating a design with light color threads, you may want your background darker so that the stitches are more visible on-screen. Use the change background color button located at the top of the design window to change the background color. It is important to note that background color, which applies to the location view, is distinct from the garment color, which applies to the pattern pieces in garment view. For information on garment color, see Creating a new Project To change the background color: 1 From the View tool bar, click the 2 To change the design window background to a different color, do one of the following: Move your mouse pointer in the color spectrum and then click to choose a color. Choose a color from the range of preset color swatches. If you know the RGB values of the desired color, type them into the Red, Green, and Blue boxes on the bottom left of the Color chooser. The new color replaces the old color on your design window. Background Color tool. You see the Color chooser box. Showing and hiding machine commands KP Compositions makes it easy to view the locations on the design where the embroidery machine performs commands. These locations are marked with different symbols to display the command type.

41 KP COMPOSITIONS 39 User s Guide The scissors icon represents a trim in the design, in cases where the machine supports this; the needle-and-thread icon represents a color change. To show commands: Choose View Commands. A check mark will appear beside the name in the menu. To hide commands: Choose View Commands. The check mark beside the name will be removed. Showing and hiding the stitch points in designs Use the Stitch Points tool to see the stitch penetration points in the design window. The black dots in your design represent the point where the embroidery machine needle will penetrate the fabric. To show the stitch points: Do one of the following: Choose View Stitch Points. A check mark will appear beside the name in the menu. From the View tool bar, click the Stitch Points tool. To hide the stitch points: Do one of the following: Choose View Stitch Points. The check mark beside the name will be removed. Click the Stitch Points tool again. Defining grid settings The Grid Settings help you align design components. You can set the grid to measure in millimeters or inches according to your preference. When you are working on a project file, you can display the grid by clicking the Grid tool from the View tool bar. By default, every horizontal and vertical line will be highlighted in the major grid. If you want to have additional guide lines, you can add more major grid lines as well as a minor grid. You can increase the spacing values for the minor grid; 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, you can change the color of the major and minor grids. You should choose separate colors for each grid type. You can show and hide grid lines by clicking the Grid tool To define grid settings: 1 Do one of the following: Right-click on the rulers at the left or bottom of the window and click Grid Settings. Select Tools Preferences Grid. You see the Grid Settings dialog.

42 40 CHAPTER 3 Viewing Tools and Buttons From the Color list, select a predefined color to use for the major grid. If you want to choose from a larger selection of colors, click Custom from the color box. 4 In the Style area, select one of the following grid styles: Show grid as lines Show grid as dots 5 Click OK. 2 In the Spacing area, complete the following: In the Horizontal spacing box, enter the measurements for horizontal spacing in millimeters or inches. In the Vertical spacing box, enter the measurements for vertical spacing in millimeters or inches. From the Color list, select a predefined color to use for the minor grid. If you want to choose from a larger selection of colors, click Custom from the color box. 3 In the Grid Major area, complete the following: In the Horizontal lines box, enter how often you want horizontal lines to be highlighted in the major grid. For example, if you enter 3 in the horizontal lines box, every third horizontal line will be highlighted in the major grid. In the Vertical lines box, enter how often you want vertical lines to be highlighted in the major grid. For example, if you enter 5 in the vertical lines box, every fifth vertical line will be highlighted in the major grid. Showing and hiding the grid In your Location view, you can show the grid or hide it. To show the grid: Do one of the following: From the View tool bar, click the Grid tool. Choose View Grid. A check mark will appear beside the name in the menu. To hide the grid: Do one of the following: From the View tool bar, click the Grid tool. Choose View Grid. The check mark beside the name will be removed.

43 KP COMPOSITIONS 41 User s Guide Showing and hiding 3D stitches Use the 3D tool to preview a realistic 3D view of your design. To view the sewing order of a design composition and adjust the drawing speed, use any of the following sewing simulator settings from the Draw Bar: To show 3D stitches: Do one of the following: From the View tool bar, click the 3D tool. Choose View Draw 3D. A check mark will appear beside the name in the menu. To hide the 3D stitches: Do one of the following: From the View tool bar, click the 3D tool. Choose View Draw 3D. The check mark beside the name will be removed. Viewing the sewing order of designs You can view the sewing order of designs by using the Draw Bar controls located at the top of the design workspace. The speed control determines the speed at which the design is drawn on the screen. You can slide the speed control from left to right to vary the rate of sewing. Tools What is does Previous Stitch: Move backward in the design by one stitch. Scrollbar slider: Drag the scrollbar slider to advance the design to a specific position. When the scrollbar slider is positioned over a color, you will see the specified thread color being sewn in the design. The entire length of the scrollbar slider represents the entire design. Next Stitch: Move forward in the design by one stitch. Simulate Sewing (backward): Move backward through the design. Pause/Stop: Pause or stop the design while drawing. When you play or resume sewing your design, stitching will continue from the location of the last stitch. Simulate Sewing: Move forward through the design. Speed: Slide the speed control to vary the rate of sewing.

44 42 CHAPTER 3 Viewing Tools and Buttons Displaying a hoop while designing Viewing the hoop or frame on the screen lets you ensure that your design fits properly when you run it on the machine. The hoop serves as a guide to help size and position your design in the design window. KP Compositions comes with many pre-loaded hoop sizes. Your hoop size determines how big your design can be when you save it. You will notice that you can select hoops from different file types in this dialog. This is useful when you want to make sure that your design will fit for more than one kind of embroidery machine. To select a hoop using the Hoop Manager: 1 Choose View Hoop Manager You see the Hoop Manager dialog. Viewing the Embroidery Hoop The Hoop embroidery hoop on and off. tool toggles the display of the The hoop size is set by your settings under the Hoop Manager dialog in KP Compositions. Clicking the Hoop tool has no effect on the current mode, but will affect your current zoom. If the hoop is off and you turn it on, the display will zoom to fit the hoop into the window. If the hoop is on, and you turn it off, you will be zoomed to fit. Using the Hoop Manager Selecting a Hoop You can select one of many pre-loaded hoops using the Hoop dialog. 2 Select the machine format from the Format drop-down list. 3 From the Hoop drop-down list, choose a hoop size appropriate for your design. 4 For hoops with multiple mounts, choose the hoop mount position from the list. 5 If needed, check the Rotate by 90º box to make the hoop fit your design better. 6 Click OK.

45 KP COMPOSITIONS 43 User s Guide Hoops with Large, Jumbo, or Hoop-It-All designations work with the Split Wizard to split designs into multiple stitch files for sewing. For more information, see Using the Split Wizard. Creating a Custom Hoop You can also create your own custom-sized hoops using Hoop Manager. Once you have set the parameters for your hoop and typed in a description, the custom hoop will be saved by Hoop Manager; it will be available in the Hoops window for your use in future KP Compositions projects. To Make a custom hoop: 1 Choose View Hoop Manager. 3 In the Description box, type a name for your custom hoop. 4 If you are making a hoop with multiple mounts, in the Hoop Mounts section of Hoop Properties, do the following: choose the orientation of the hoop span select a number of mounts type in an amount of overlap for the sewing fields. 5 Type in the sewing field size for each mount. 6 Click OK. You see the new hoop displayed in the preview pane of the Hoop Manager. 7 Click OK to apply the custom hoop to your design location. You see the Hoop Manager dialog. 2 Click the New button. You see the Hoop Properties dialog.

46 44 CHAPTER 3 Viewing Tools and Buttons

47 CHAPTER 4 Design Editing In Location View, the Select tool from the Edit toolbar allows you to select individual parts of a design composition for editing. You can move design components around in the location, and also duplicate, resize, rotate, flip or reflect them. The Select tool can also be used to resize, rotate, and move garment pattern pieces in Garment View. Using the properties box, you can transform the selected embroidery element, and modify its stitch properties. You can also use the select tool to change the color for any thread segment, by selecting that segment in the Sequence View. In this chapter: Find out how to select, copy and resize design components. Learn about the different ways to move designs in the Location View. Learn how to resize, rotate, and move garment pattern pieces. Learn how to use the Sequence View to show, hide, and change thread color of individual embroidery segments. See how to save time with the Autobaste feature

48 46 CHAPTER 4 Design Editing Editing design components in Location View In KP Compositions Location window, you can edit a project s design components by Click the design component you want to select. Click and drag to draw a box around the design component you want. The active design component is enclosed in a selection box with handles. using the Select tool from the Edit tool bar. By selecting several designs together, it is also possible to edit the whole group at once. Selecting design components The Select tool allows you to select and modify individual design components, or groups of design components. You select by clicking on a single design component or by clicking and dragging to draw a box around parts of the design. With the Lasso select tool, you can draw a line to fit around parts of the design instead of a box. Once you select a component, you can change its properties using associated edit menus and tabs; you can move, duplicate, resize, rotate, reflect, stretch, compress, or delete selected designs. To select design components using the Select tool: 1 From the Edit tool bar, click the Select tool. 2 To select one design component, do one of the following: 3 To select multiple design components, do one of the following: Click and drag across all the design components you want to select. Click a design component. Press CTRL on your keyboard while you click each design component not already selected. The active design components are enclosed in a selection box with handles. 4 To edit or change the properties of the design components, do the following: Right-click and choose any of the options available in the context menu. In the Properties box, alter any property settings as required.

49 KP COMPOSITIONS 47 User s Guide To select design components using the Lasso tool: 1 From the Edit tool bar, click the Lasso tool. 2 Click and drag, without releasing your cursor, in the design workspace. 3 Right-click when finished. The active design components are enclosed in a selection box with handles. 4 To edit or change the properties of the design components, do any of the following: Right-click and choose any of the options available in the context menu. In the Properties box, alter any property settings as required. Using lasso select to group three design components. To select all the objects in the active window: To select all the design components currently in the active window, do one of the following: Choose Edit Select All from the toolbar Press Ctrl + A on the keyboard. Copying design components You can use a variety of methods to copy design components in your projects. To copy to the Clipboard: 1 Select one or more design components you want to cut. For more information, see "Selecting design components". 2 To copy design components to the clipboard, do one of the following: In the design workspace, right-click on the selection and choose Copy from the menu. Choose Edit Copy. Press Ctrl + C. The design components are copied to the clipboard. 3 To paste design components from the clipboard, do one of the following: In the design workspace, right-click anywhere and choose Paste from the menu. Choose Edit Paste. Press Ctrl + V. The pasted design is centered in the location. To cut to the clipboard: 1 Select one or more design components you want to cut. For more information, see "Selecting design components". 2 To cut design components to the clipboard, do one of the following:

50 48 CHAPTER 4 Design Editing In the design workspace, right-click the design component(s) and choose Cut from the menu. Choose Edit Cut Press Ctrl+X. The design components are removed from their location. 3 To paste design components from the clipboard, do one of the following: In the design workspace, right-click anywhere and choose Paste from the menu. Choose Edit Paste Press Ctrl + V. The selection is pasted in the center of the Location. Reflecting design components Reflecting a design component flips the object across an invisible axis. To reflect design components: 1 Select the design component(s) you want to reflect. For more information, see "Selecting design components". 2 From the Modify tool bar, click one of the following: Click the Flip Vertical tool to flip selected objects vertically. Click the Flip Horizontal tool to flip selected objects horizontally. Aligning design components horizontally and vertically You can align lettering or design components horizontally or vertically. Vertical alignment Horizontal alignment

51 KP COMPOSITIONS 49 User s Guide To align design components: 1 Select the design components you want to align. For more information, see "Selecting design components". 2 From the Modify tool bar, click any of the following: You can also choose Edit Align and select any of the available Align tools. Align: Opens a list of the following alignment buttons to help you automatically align one or more selected objects: Left Right Bottom Top Vertical Center Horizontal Center Center Left: Aligns all selected objects to the left-most item selected. Horizontal Center: Takes all selected objects and centers them in the selection box. The objects are moved so that they are centered left-to-right with each other, but they are not moved up or down. Center: Centers one or more selected objects proportionally in the design workspace. Resizing design components Resizing a design component enlarges or reduces it horizontally or vertically, relative to the percentage you designate. You can manually resize design components or use the Transform tab settings available for finer control. You cannot use Transform tab settings from the Properties box for resizing certain Text elements, i.e. those that have a fixed font size. Right: Aligns all selected objects to the right-most item selected. Bottom: Aligns all selected objects to the bottom-most item selected. Top: Aligns all selected objects to the top-most item selected. Vertical Center: Takes all selected objects and centers them in the selection box. The objects are moved so that they are centered top-to-bottom with each other, but they are not moved left or right. Resized design component

52 50 CHAPTER 4 Design Editing To resize design components manually using design handles: 1 Select one or more design components. For more information, see "Selecting design components". The active design component(s) is enclosed in a selection box with handles. 2 Do one or more of the following to resize design component(s): To resize design component(s) by width, click and drag the design handles located on the left and right side of the selection box. To resize design component(s) by height, click and drag the design handles located on the top and bottom sides of the selection box. To resize design component(s) proportionally, click and drag the design handles located at the top or bottom corners of the selection box. To resize design components using the Transform tab: 1 Select one or more design components. For more information, see "Selecting design components". The active design component(s) is enclosed in a selection box with handles. 2 In the Properties box, click the Transform tab. 3 In the Width box, enter the width you want for the selected object(s). 4 In the Height box, enter the height you want for the selected object(s). 5 To maintain the proportions of an object while resizing it, select Maintain aspect ratio if not already selected. 6 Click Apply. Rotating design components Rotating a design component moves it around the center point of the selection. This is useful if your design contains objects that are rotated to the same angle, such as a logo and lettering displayed on a 30º angle. Rotating a design component using the rotation bead. To rotate design components manually: 1 Select one or more design components you want to rotate. For more information, see "Selecting design components". The active design component(s) is enclosed in a selection box with handles. 2 Move your mouse over the blue rotation bead beside the top right or the bottom left design handle. You see the cursor change to a circular arrow. 3 Click and drag the rotation bead to adjust the box to the angle you want. You can see the degrees of your rotation angle on the status line in the bottom left corner.

53 KP COMPOSITIONS 51 User s Guide To rotate design components using the Modify tool bar: 1 Select one or more design components you want to rotate. For more information, see "Selecting design components". The active design component(s) is enclosed in a selection box with handles. 2 From the Modify tool bar, click any of the following: Rotate Left: Rotates one or more selected objects to the left by 90º increments. Rotate Right: Rotates one or more selected objects to the right by 90º increments. To rotate design components using the Transform tab: 1 Select one or more design components you want to rotate. For more information, see "Selecting design components". The active design component(s) is enclosed in a selection box with handles. 2 In the Properties box, click the Transform tab. 3 In the Rotate box, enter the number of degrees you want to rotate your design. 4 Click Apply. Moving design components You can use a few different methods to move design components in your designs. Moving design components manually You can move design components around your design by dragging them to another location. To move a design component or a copy of a design component manually: 1 From the Edit tool bar, click the Select tool or the Lasso tool. 2 Click and drag the design component to its new location. As you drag, the status line displays the horizontal (dx) and vertical (dy) distance. Nudging design components Nudging moves the selected design component or group of design components. Nudging is similar to dragging the design component but the distance that the design component moves is smaller. To nudge up: Use Ctrl +. To nudge down: Use Ctrl +. To nudge left: Use Ctrl +. To nudge right: Use Ctrl +.

54 52 CHAPTER 4 Design Editing Deleting design components Deleting a design component removes it from the project. The only way to retrieve a design component you delete is to choose Edit Undo or click the Undo tool from the File tool bar immediately after you delete it. To delete a design component: 1 From the Edit tool bar, click the Select 2 To select a single pattern piece, do one of the following: Click the pattern piece you want to select. Click and drag to draw a box around the pattern piece you want. The chosen garment pattern piece is enclosed in a selection box with handles. tool or the Lasso tool. 2 Select the design component. 3 There are three ways to delete a design component: Right-click and select Delete from the shortcut menu. Press Delete on your keyboard. Choose Edit Delete. Editing the pattern pieces in Garment View It is possible to select and edit the pattern pieces in Garment View in a way similar to how design components are selected and edited in Location view. The main difference is that there are fewer options; you can resize, rotate, and move the pattern pieces, but not use the reflect, flip, or align tools. To select pattern pieces using the Select tool: 1 From the Edit tool bar, click the Select 3 To select multiple pattern pieces, do one of the following: Click and drag across all the pattern pieces you want to select. Click a pattern piece. Press CTRL on your keyboard while you click each pattern piece not already selected. The active pattern pieces are enclosed in a selection box with handles. 4 To edit or change the properties of the pattern pieces, do the following: Right-click and choose any of the options available in the context menu. In the Properties box, alter any property settings as required. tool.

55 KP COMPOSITIONS 53 User s Guide To select pattern pieces using the Lasso tool: 1 From the Edit tool bar, click the Lasso tool. 2 Click and drag, without releasing your cursor, in the design workspace. 3 Right-click when finished. The chosen pattern pieces are enclosed in a selection box with handles. 4 To edit or change the properties of the pattern pieces, do any of the following: Right-click and choose any of the options available in the edit menu. In the Properties box, alter any property settings as required. To select all the garment pattern pieces in the project: To select all the pattern pieces currently in the active window, do one of the following: Choose Edit Select All from the toolbar Press Ctrl + A on the keyboard. Resizing pattern pieces Resizing a pattern piece enlarges or reduces it horizontally or vertically, relative to the percentage you designate. You can manually resize pattern pieces or use the Transform tab settings available for finer control. To resize pattern pieces manually using design handles: 1 Select one or more pattern pieces. For more information, see "Selecting pattern pieces". The selected pattern piece(s) is enclosed in a selection box with handles. 2 Do one or more of the following to resize pattern piece(s): To resize pattern piece(s) by width, click and drag the design handles located on the left and right side of the selection box. To resize pattern piece(s) by height, click and drag the design handles located on the top and bottom sides of the selection box. To resize pattern piece(s) proportionally, click and drag the design handles located at the top or bottom corners of the selection box. To resize pattern pieces using the Properties box: 1 Select one or more pattern pieces. For more information, see "Selecting pattern pieces". The selected pattern piece(s) is enclosed in a selection box with handles. 2 In the Width box, enter the width you want for the selected object(s). 3 In the Height box, enter the height you want for the selected object(s). 4 To maintain the proportions of an object while resizing it, select Maintain aspect ratio if not already selected. 5 Click Apply.

56 54 CHAPTER 4 Design Editing Rotating pattern pieces The individual pattern pieces may also be rotated in Garment View. If you select an individual piece of the garment pattern by clicking on it with the selection tool and rotate it, it will rotate the pattern piece only, and not any locations or design compositions that have been placed on the pattern piece. To rotate pattern pieces manually: 1 Select one or more pattern pieces you want to rotate. For more information, see "Selecting pattern pieces". The active pattern piece(s) is enclosed in a selection box with handles. 2 Move your mouse over the blue rotation bead beside the top right or the bottom left design handle. You see the cursor change to a circular arrow. 3 Click and drag the rotation bead to adjust the box to the angle you want. You can see the degrees of your rotation angle on the status line in the bottom left corner. To rotate pattern pieces using the Properties box: 1 Select one or more pattern pieces you want to rotate. 2 The active pattern piece(s) is enclosed in a selection box with handles. 3 In the Properties box, click the Transform tab. 4 In the Rotate box, enter the number of degrees you want to rotate your design. 5 Click Apply. Moving pattern pieces manually You can move pattern pieces around your design by dragging them to another location in the Garment View. If you select an individual piece of the garment pattern by clicking on it with the selection tool and then move it, it will move the pattern piece only, and not any locations or design compositions that have already been placed on the pattern piece. To move a pattern piece manually: 1 From the Edit tool bar, click the Select tool or the Lasso tool. 2 Select the pattern piece. The selected pattern piece is enclosed in a selection box with handles. 3 Click on the small x in the middle of the frame and drag the pattern piece to its new location. As you drag, the status line displays the horizontal (dx) and vertical (dy) distance. Nudging pattern pieces Nudging moves the selected pattern piece or group of pattern pieces. Nudging is similar to dragging the pattern piece but the distance that the pattern piece moves is smaller.

57 KP COMPOSITIONS 55 User s Guide To nudge up: Use Ctrl +. To nudge down: Use Ctrl +. To nudge left: Use Ctrl +. To nudge right: Use Ctrl +. Deleting pattern pieces Deleting a pattern piece removes it from the project. The only way to retrieve a pattern piece you delete is to choose Edit Undo or click the Undo immediately after you delete it. tool from the File tool bar To delete a pattern piece: 1 From the Edit tool bar, click the Select tool or the Lasso tool. 2 Select the pattern piece. For more information, see "Selecting pattern pieces". 3 There are three ways to delete a pattern piece: Right-click and select Delete from the shortcut menu. Press Delete on your keyboard. Choose Edit Delete. Using the Sequence View pane Sequence view is a list of color groupings in a design. Design segments that are the same color and are sewn in sequence are grouped together in the Sequence View for easy selection, making it easy to change thread colors within your design composition. You can show or hide the color groupings in the design in Sequence View, and lock the color grouping to prevent it from being changed accidentally. To hide color segments: Click on the show segments icon next to the segment you wish to hide. The icon is greyed out to indicate that the segment is hidden In the design workspace, you no longer see any of the unselected segments in the design. To show hidden color segments: Click on the greyed-out show segments icon next to the segment or segments you wish to show. In the design workspace, you will see all segments in the design appear. To lock a color segment: Click on the open lock icon next to the color segment you wish to lock. The icon changes to the locked icon; the attributes of the color segment cannot be changed.

58 56 CHAPTER 4 Design Editing To unlock a color segment: Click on the open lock icon next to the color segment you wish to unlock. The icon changes to the open lock icon; the attributes of the color segment can now be changed. Changing Thread Colors in Sequence View KP Compositions allows you to adjust the colors of a design using the Color Palette. You do this by selecting the color segments in the Sequence view, and then selecting a new thread color in the Color Palette. To change thread colors: 1 Select a color segment by clicking on the thread name in the Sequence View pane. You can also select multiple color segments at the same time using Sequence view. To select more than one color segment, press Crtl + click on each one. To select a series of consecutive color segments, click the first in the series you want to select, and then Shift + click the last. 2 In the Color Palette area, do one of the following: Using the current list, click one of the color boxes with the thread color you want to use. From the drop-down list on the left side of the palette, select a Thread Chart and click one of the color boxes with the thread color you want to use. Inserting color segments earlier in the design sequence You can add color segments earlier in your design s sequence and change the order color segments are sewn. To insert color segments before the insertion point: 1 Select the segment or segments. 2 With the segment(s) selected, right-click and choose Cut. 3 In the Sequence View area, click the color segment where you want to insert the copied color segment(s). 4 Choose Edit Insert or right-click and choose Insert. The selection is inserted before the insertion point. Sequencing Color Segments The sequence of the color segments is the order in which they are embroidered. The sequence is important because you want color segments that are near to each other to sew one after the other. This reduces jump stitches and the need to trim them later. For example, you can have three objects in your design composition, all of which start on the left and end on the right. Object 3 is in between Object 1 and Object 2. This might

59 KP COMPOSITIONS 57 User s Guide not be optimal for jump stitches, plus the machine takes longer to embroider this than if the segments were properly sequenced. To sequence color segments: 1 Select one or more color segments you want to resequence. 2 In the Sequence View area, drag the segment(s) to the location you want. There is a setting in the Program Preferences window that allows you to adjust auto basting settings. From the File tool bar, click the Program Preferences tool and click the Auto Baste tab. Adding Basting Stitches to Designs KP Compositions can create a series of stitches that will baste a rectangular outline around the edge of a design. The sewing machine starts from a central position, then jumps to the top left corner of the design. Then a basting stitch is sewn in a rectangle around the outer edge of the design. The next color is then the starting color of the design. For users who are familiar with embroidery machines that run a Trial or go to the corners of a design to help with design placement on the fabric, the Auto Baste feature will be a real timesaver. The stitches also help you to see that your hooping is lined up correctly and is straight; this feature helps with text segments, as every error stands out clearly. This feature is also useful when you want to add a stabilizer to the fabric, but are unable to hoop it, for instance using a water-soluble stabilizer on top of a terry-cloth towel. From the Auto Baste tab, you will find the following useful settings: An optional crosshair can be added in the baste to allow easier centering of designs on the fabric. The stitch length can be adjusted to make a tighter or looser basting stitch. The maximum stitch length will be 1/4 of the smaller side of the design with the crosshairs on. The baste can be done larger than the actual design, allowing for easy removal of the basting threads after the design is embroidered.

60 58 CHAPTER 4 Design Editing To add basting stitches to designs: 1 Click the Open Design tool to open an existing design. You see your existing design file appear. 2 Do one of the following: Choose Tools Auto Baste. From the Modify tool bar, click the Auto Baste tool. You see the basting stitches appear around your design.

61 CHAPTER 5 Special Creative Tools in KP Compositions You can easily and efficiently create unique embroidery designs using the creative tools in KP Compositions. In this chapter: Learn about using the Location tools and the Design Library Learn to create dynamic designs virtually instantaneously with the Templates tools. See how to merge an existing stitch file into your project. Learn how to use the Power Paste Function Optimize the sewing of your design by sequence, entry/exit point, or color. Find out how to divide a large design using the Split Wizard.

62 60 CHAPTER 5 Special Creative Tools in KP Compositions Working with the Locations feature KP Compositions works on two levels: you create a garment at the Project level, which is made up of pattern pieces, and then create embroidery designs at a more detailed level. To help guide you as you place design components on your garment pattern pieces, KP Compositions has the Location and Custom location features. Creating locations You can use these buttons to create outlines on your garment pattern pieces. Locations serve as a guide to frame your design as you create it. KP Compositions assigns a new Locations view for each location you create, and you can rename these locations as you wish. Note that although the locations are outlined in a thread color, they are not stitches; they are only guides, and will not be sewn. To create a new location in your project: 1 Create a new Project or open an existing Project. 2 Make sure your workspace is showing the garment view. 3 Click on the Locations button in the Edit toolbar. You see the Locations window. Preset Locations in the Locations window. 4 Scroll through the window to find the shape that suits your needs. 5 Double-click on the location to select it. The location appears in the workspace, and the Locations window closes automatically. 6 Click in the middle of the location, and holding the mouse button down, drag to move it to the desired position in your project. 7 When you have the location placed where you want it to go, you may use the handles on its frame to modify the orientation, size, and shape. Do any of the following: Click and drag the corner handles to expand or shrink the location. Drag the top, bottom, left, or right handles to stretch or compress the location. Click and drag the small circular handles to rotate the location. 8 Click elsewhere in the Workspace to set the location.

63 KP COMPOSITIONS 61 User s Guide Once the location is set by clicking outside its frame, it can still be moved or otherwise modified. However, once you enter the Location view of that location, it becomes locked; you can unlock it from the Garment View by clicking on the Locked icon in the Sequence View pane. To Create a Custom location: 1 Create a new Project or open an existing Project. 2 Make sure your workspace is showing the garment view. 3 Click on the Custom Locations button on the Edit toolbar. 4 Move the mouse pointer to the garment pattern piece where you wish to create your custom location. The mouse pointer changes to cross hairs. 5 Draw your custom location by clicking in the workspace to place points; simply click to create straight lines between the points, or Ctrl + click to create curved lines. You can use the backspace key to undo the points you have placed, one at a time. To draw a perfectly level (vertical or horizontal) line between two points in your custom location, hold down Shift while clicking to place the second of the two points. 6 To complete the shape, close it by pressing H on your keyboard. The location appears as a closed shape, with handles. 7 If you wish, you may now modify the location you have just drawn. Do any of the following: Click and drag the corner handles to expand or shrink the location. Drag the top, bottom, left, or right handles to stretch or compress the location. Click and drag the small circular handles to rotate the location. 8 Click elsewhere in the Workspace to set the location. Once the location is set by clicking outside its frame, it can still be moved or otherwise modified. However, once you enter the Location view of that location, it becomes locked; you can unlock it from the Garment View by clicking on the Locked icon in the Sequence View pane. Deleting a location To delete a location: 1 Click on one of your location tabs to select the location you wish to delete. 2 Left-click on the tab to bring up the context menu; choose delete. You see a warning dialog. 3 In the warning dialog, click Yes.

64 62 CHAPTER 5 Special Creative Tools in KP Compositions Renaming a location The locations you create are automatically named in the order created (Location1, Location2, etc.). It can be useful to assign descriptive names to them instead, especially if you are planning to put embroidery on many different places on the garment. To rename a location. 1 In Location View, right-click on the locations tab at the bottom edge of the workspace. You see a drop-down list. 2 Click on Rename Location. The Rename dialog box appears. 3 Type the new name for the location in the box. 4 Click OK. These designs from the Library may be placed on the garment individually or in set patterns. For more information about creating patterning with designs, see Using the Template Features. Placing designs into a project To use the design library: 1 Open a new location in your project. 2 Choose a subject category in the design library pane to the left of the workspace. 3 To display the sub-categories within that subject, click on the + next to its title. Working with the Design Library KP Compositions allows you to quickly and easily create embroidered garments using the Design Library. Every collection of KP Designables and KP Classic Designs that you purchase are automatically installed into your Design Library. In order to see them in your Design Library, however, you will have to close and restart Compositions. The designs belonging to the Design Library will be stored in your hard drive in the appropriate design category in C:\Ken Parsons\Designs. Only files of the type.kpf (Ken Parsons file) will be visible in the Design Library. 4 Click on the name of a subcategory to display thumbnails of all the designs in it. You see a preview of all the designs in the subcategory appear in the lower pane of the Design Library window. 5 Using the select tool, click on the design you wish to incorporate into your project.

65 KP COMPOSITIONS 63 User s Guide The Power Paste tool Power Paste is a quick and easy way to take a design component and paste an additional copy of it into your location. Power Paste allows you to change the size and angle of the placed component using only the mouse. You can also place multiple instances of the same design component using Power Paste. To use Power Paste: 1 In Location view, select a design component or set of design components that you wish to copy For more information about selecting, see Editing design components. 6 Holding the mouse button down, drag the design onto the workspace and release. The design now appears in your location view. The library design has now become a design component of your project, and may be edited. Clicking again with the Select tool will display a bounding box with handles, which can be used to move, rotate and/or resize the design component. For more information, see Editing design components. 2 Click on the Power Paste button on the editing toolbar. The mouse pointer becomes cross hairs. 3 Click, hold, and drag the mouse to create the baseline. This is the line upon which the pasted design will be based; drag along the direction of the line to make the copy larger or smaller, and drag perpendicular to the line to change the orientation of the paste. 4 Release the mouse button to set the pasted copy in place. Power paste allows you to make multiple copies of a design component; the design stays loaded in Power Paste s memory until you select a new tool. You can also drag designs from the Design Library onto your locations in Garment View.

66 64 CHAPTER 5 Special Creative Tools in KP Compositions 2 Click on the Templates button. The Templates dialog box appears. Using Power Paste to place multiple instances of the same design in different orientations. Using the Template Features Sometimes in your creative design work, you may find that you want to use the same design component repetitively, to create a pattern or border. KP Compositions has two time-saving templates functions, which allow you to quickly make a pattern of repeated designs. The Templates feature allows you to make a pattern using a number of different shapes; the Circle Template feature quickly creates a circular pattern of repeated elements. Creating a pattern with the Templates tool 1 In location view, select the item or items that you wish to use as the basis for your template. 3 Select a shape from the Templates dropdown list. You see your new template in the preview pane of the Templates dialog. 4 Do one or more of the following: Change the size of the template by typing a new width or height in the Template properties boxes.

67 KP COMPOSITIONS 65 User s Guide Change the percentage offset of design components from the baseline of the template. Modify the scale of the design components in the template. 5 Click Apply to see your changes in the preview pane of the Templates dialog. 6 Click OK when you are satisfied with your changes. The finished template appears in the locations view. 3 In the circle template dialog box, do one or more of the following: Change the diameter of your circle: With the Keep aspect ratio box checked, type the desired size in either the Width or Height boxes of the Properties section of the dialog. Creating a pattern with the Circle Template tool 1 In location view, select the item or items that you wish to use as the basis for your template. 2 Click on the Circle Template button. The Circle Template dialog box appears. To change the shape of your circle template to an ellipse, uncheck the Keep aspect ratio box, and type in new values in the width or height boxes of the Circle Template Properties section. Change the number of times the design component repeats by inputting a new value in the Count box. Modify the angle between each design component by typing a new value in the Angle box. Change the size of the repeated design components in the template by changing the percentage Scale box. Tilt the design components by typing a new value in the Angle box.

68 66 CHAPTER 5 Special Creative Tools in KP Compositions 4 Click Apply to preview the changes that you have made in the Preview pane. 5 Click OK to place the template in your currently active location. Note that this does not apply to the KPF files from the Design Library. These files contain outlines, and stitches will be re-calculate when they are resized. To merge designs: 1 Do one of the following: Choose File Open to open an existing Project, and then open an existing design in Location view. Choose File New to create a new Project and create a design in Location view. 2 Choose File Merge Stitch File. You see the Merge Stitch File dialog. Merging stitch files into a design You can merge design files into an active design window. Choose File Merge Stitch File to import an existing design file and add it to your design location in KP Compositions. KP Compositions allows you to merge design files using a variety of stitch file formats. When you merge a stitch file into the design location window, your single design file will contain only stitches. You can resize, reflect, rotate, and change the color of stitch designs. However, when you resize a stitch design, it may result in a loss of quality for the final design. It is good practice not to resize stitch designs more than 20% beyond their original size. 3 In the Look in list, browse to the location of the file you want to merge. You can merge design files stored on your hard drive, a floppy disk, CD-ROM or other drive locations such as a Flash Drive or Flash card, etc. 4 In the Files of type list, select a design file type for the design you want to merge. 5 In the File Name box, select the design file that you want to merge onto the current open design workspace.

69 KP COMPOSITIONS 67 User s Guide 6 To view a preview of the selected design, select Preview, if not already selected. You see a preview image of the selected design appear on the right-hand side of the dialog. 7 Click Open. The merged design file will appear in the design workspace. 2 Choose a thread color from the color palette. 3 In the Run properties pane, enter the stitch length. 4 Click in the design space to create the path for your run stitch. Click to place straight points Ctrl + click to place curved points. If the path you want to create is a straight line, you need only click a start and an end point. Holding shift while placing a point forces the line between the points to snap to a vertical, horizontal, or 45º angle. Using the backspace key will delete the last point entered. 5 Right-click to set the segment. Using Digitizing Tools The Run Stitch and Satin Stitch tools You can use these tools to add two kinds of stitches to your designs. They may be used, for example, to bridge a gap between design components that are very close together, thus eliminating the need for a trim. To create a Run Stitch segment: 1 With the workspace set to location view, select the Run button from the Edit toolbar. The mouse pointer changes to cross hairs. Run segment properties may be modified after the fact by selecting the segment with the Select tools and then changing the properties in the properties panel. To create a Satin segment. 1 With the workspace set to location view, select the Satin Tool button from the Edit toolbar. The mouse pointer changes to cross hairs. 2 Choose a thread color from the color palette. 3 Click in the design space to set points to create an outline for your Satin stitch segment: Click to place straight points Ctrl + click to place curved points

70 68 CHAPTER 5 Special Creative Tools in KP Compositions 5 Set one or more angle lines in the Satin segment by clicking and dragging from one side of the segment to the other. When you have added all the angle lines you need, right click to set the starting point for the segment. A green circle, representing a start bead, appears next to the cross hairs. If you are not satisfied with the placement of one or more of your points, use the backspace key to remove them one at a time - you can go all the way back to your starting point this way. 4 Right-click to set the segment. A black square, representing an Angle Line bead, appears next to the cross hairs. 6 Click where you want the starting point of your Satin segment to be. A red circle, representing a stop bead, appears next to the cross hairs.

71 KP COMPOSITIONS 69 User s Guide Changing Satin Properties Setting the dimension for Satin stitches You can use the Properties box to set the length and width of Satin stitches created with the Satin tool. 7 Click on the segment where you want it to stop. 8 Right-click to finish the satin segment. To set the length or width for a Satin stitch segment: 1 Select the Satin segment. 2 In the Satin Properties box, click the Transform tab. Changing Run Properties Setting the stitch length for Run stitches You can control the length for Run stitches using the Stitch Length setting. You set the stitch length using the Properties box. To change the stitch length: 1 Using the Select tool, select the Run segment. 2 In the Properties box, click the Run tab. 3 In the Stitch Length box, enter the stitch length. 4 Click Apply. 3 Do one or more of the following: Type in a new width in the width box. Type a new height in the height box. If you want to have the Satin stitch to maintain its original proportions, keep the Maintain Aspect Ratio box checked. If you want to change one dimension while leaving the other the same, uncheck the Maintain Aspect Ratio box.

72 70 CHAPTER 5 Special Creative Tools in KP Compositions 4 Click Apply. Your segment is altered accordingly. Adjusting the density for Satin stitches KP Compositions makes it easy to adjust the density setting for Satin stitches created with the Satin tool. You adjust density according to the design s size and the fabric you are using. To adjust the density for Satin stitches: 1 Select the Satin segment. 2 In the Properties box, click the Advanced tab. 3 In the Satin density box, enter the density value for your Satin stitches. 4 Click Apply. Optimizing the sewing order of your design KP Compositions has three special buttons for optimizing the sewing order of designs: Optimize Sequence, Optimize Entry/Exit, and Color Sort. Optimize Sequence You can set the sewing sequence for segments in one step. The Optimize segments you select and reconfigures the sewing sequence to maximize the efficiency of the sewing. To use Optimize Sequence: 1 Select a set of design components in location view. For more information, see Selecting designs. 2 Do one of the following: Press the Optimize Sequence button from the Modify toolbar. Select Tools Optimize sequence. Optimize Entry/Exit You can set the entry/exit points to adjust the closest-point connections for a design in one step. The Optimize Entry/Exit command automatically chooses the optimal entry and exit points of different segments in your design to minimize the distance between them. To use Optimize Entry/Exit: 1 Select a set of design components in location view. For more information, see Selecting designs. 2 Do one of the following: Press the Optimize Entry/Exit button on the Modify toolbar. Select Tools Optimize Entry/Exit Sequence command takes the

73 KP COMPOSITIONS 71 User s Guide Using the Color Sort tool The Color Sort tool enables you to rebuild a design that has the same color used more than once into a design with a minimum of color stops. This feature is useful when you have combined multiple designs into one hooping. In this case, the designs may use the same colors in different areas of the hoop, just out of sequence with each other. There are times that a color is used more than once in a design by necessity. This occurs when colors need to overlay. You must choose the design components to color sort. If you want to color sort the entire design, select all before doing the sort. The Color Sort tool intelligently looks at a design to see if any colors are repeated. It then looks to see if any of those repeated colors can be combined into a single layer. If not, the color layers are left intact. There is a setting in the Program Preferences window that allows you to adjust the sensitivity to the layering. From the File tool This adjustment is in percent; 0% will mean that any amount of stitches being overlaid is unacceptable, 100% means compress the file regardless of layering. The default is 5%, and seems to work very well for most designs. It is usually acceptable to allow the program to compress a file s colors when a small portion of stitches will show or be hidden that were not meant to. If the choice were between extra thread changes and a little snipping of thread, the latter is more desirable, as color changes are time consuming. bar, click the Program Preferences and click the Color Sort tab. tool Certain file types have color limitations that make color sort inadvisable. In these cases, the designer ran out of colors and had to re-use a color to complete the design. Also, some designs use color stops to indicate an applique or a trim. Not all file types have these functions built-in. In these rare cases, Color Sort should be used with care.

74 72 CHAPTER 5 Special Creative Tools in KP Compositions To use the Color Sort tool: 1 Click the Open Project tool to open an existing design. You see your existing project file appear. 2 Select one of the location tabs to view one of your designs in location view. 3 Select one or more design components you want the Color Sort feature applied to. 4 Do one of the following: Choose Tools Color Sort. From the Modify tool bar, click the Color Sort tool. A notice appears stating the number of colors reduced in your design. The Split Wizard works with hoops that are designated with the names Large, Jumbo, or Hoop-It-All. To use the Split Wizard: 1 Create a new design, or open an existing design in location view. 2 Choose File Hoop Manager, and choose an appropriate size and type of hoop (for more information on hoop choice, see Using the Hoop Manager. ) 3 Select the Show Hoop button to get a preview of how your design will fit into the hoop. 4 Select the Split Wizard Button. You see the Split Wizard Window 5 Click OK. The Split Wizard The Split Wizard helps you with designs that are too large to be sewn all at once. By following the easy steps in the Wizard, you can divide a design into multiple parts, each of which will be saved as separate stitch files. 5 Click next. The Wizard shows your design superimposed upon the chosen hoop.

75 KP COMPOSITIONS 73 User s Guide 6 In the Highlight box, chose Top, Center, or Bottom to see how the different hoop orientations cover the design (the highlighted area is shown by the crosshatching). If necessary, rotate the hoop, or click and drag the design for a better fit. 7 Click next. The Wizard splits your design into separate stitch files. You can preview how the design was split by selecting from the different areas in the Highlight box. 9 Type a name for your design in the File Name box, and choose your machine file type from the Save as Type list. The Wizard will save one file for each hooping, using your given file name as a prefix. 8 Click finish. You see a Save As dialog.

76 74 CHAPTER 5 Special Creative Tools in KP Compositions

77 CHAPTER 6 Adding Guidelines and Measuring Designs You can use KP Compositions measurement tools to customize your design space. Working with guidelines to align text and segments, changing ruler settings, and defining measurement units for rulers are simple when using this software. KP Compositions measurement tools make editing and working with designs easier and more efficient. In this chapter: Learn how to add, move and remove guidelines. Find out how to change the ruler origin and define ruler units. Learn how to measure designs.

78 76 CHAPTER 6 Adding Guidelines and Measuring Designs Adding guidelines You can use guidelines to help you precisely align text and design components in your embroidery designs. Guidelines are straight horizontal or vertical lines that you drag from the rulers into your design. These guidelines are easy to make and they are useful for setting alignment lines across the length or width of the design workspace. To create a horizontal guideline: 1 Position the pointer inside the ruler at the top of the window. 2 Hold down the mouse button and drag the guideline into the design window. 3 Release the mouse when the guideline is in the position you want. To create a vertical guideline: 1 Position the pointer inside the ruler at the left side of the window. 2 Hold down the left mouse button and drag the guideline into the design window. 3 Release the mouse when the guideline is in the position you want. Moving guidelines You can move existing guidelines in the workspace easily. To move existing guidelines: 1 Position the mouse pointer on the guideline you want to move. When the pointer is positioned right on the guideline, a double arrow symbol will 2 Click on the guideline and drag it to the desired place in the Workspace. 3 Release the mouse button when you reach the desired position for your guideline. The guideline is placed. Removing guidelines If guidelines are cluttering your workspace, you can remove them. To remove all guidelines: Right-click on the rulers at the left or bottom of the window and click Remove Guidelines. The guidelines are removed. Changing the ruler origin The design window ruler runs across the top and left sides of the Design Window. It shows you the coordinates of your mouse and the placement of your objects. The ruler origin is the point where the horizontal and vertical axes meet at zero on the rulers. When you change the ruler setting, the new setting becomes the default for any existing or new design you open. Changing the origin is also useful for realigning the grid to your design. show next to it, like so.

79 KP COMPOSITIONS 77 User s Guide To change the ruler origin: 1 Move the pointer to the top left corner of the rulers, where the rulers intersect. 2 Click the intersection, hold down the mouse button and drag the ruler to the location you want to place the origin. As you drag, a large cross hair appears so you can place the cross hair exactly where you want it. 3 Let go of your mouse when the center of the cross hair is where you want the origin (0 point) to appear. Defining ruler units Large numbered rulers indicate the measurement unit, such as inches or millimeters. The small ticks indicate the increments of the units such as ¼ inch. When you magnify or reduce the view, the increments of the unit measure adjust to reflect the changes. In addition, if you change the grid settings, the rulers change to fit the measurements you set. The rulers change to fit the measurements you set in the next window you open. To set the ruler units: Right-click on the ruler at the left or top of the window and select Metric or English. You see the ruler units change accordingly. Measuring designs The Ruler tool lets you measure the distance between any two points in your design workspace. When you measure from one point to another, the distance is displayed in the status line located at the bottom of the window. The status line shows the horizontal and vertical distances the Ruler tool travels from the x and y axes, the angle measured, and the total distances. All measurements except the angle are calculated in the unit of measure you set using Program Preferences. To measure Designs: 1 From the Edit tool bar, click the Ruler tool. Your cursor changes to a ruler when in the Design Workspace. 2 Click and drag your mouse until you are finished measuring the item. 3 Let go of your mouse when you are finished measuring. 4 Look in the status line at the bottom of your screen for the measurement. 5 Right-click to stop the Ruler tool.

80 78 CHAPTER 6 Adding Guidelines and Measuring Designs

81 CHAPTER 7 Creating Lettering You can create beautiful lettering within your designs using various KP Compositions tools. Generate unique embroidery text in an array of shapes and sizes using our powerful Text tool. Also, quickly create monograms with the Monogram tool. In this chapter: Learn how to use the Text and Monogram tools to create your lettering. Learn how to modify blocks of text, and individual letters within text segments. Learn how to adjust spacing between individual letters. Find out how use the Text properties and Monogram properties boxes to modify lettering.

82 80 CHAPTER 7 Creating Lettering Creating Normal Text Normal Text items are created using the Text tool. Normal text items start out with normal proportions for the font, and can be adjusted. To create normal text: 1 From the Edit tool bar, click the Text tool. 2 Click once in the design window. If another text item was already selected, your first click only de-selected that item. You ll have to click again. You see default text MY TEXT appear in the design window. You will need to make changes to this text in the Properties box. 3 In the Properties box, click the Text tab. 4 In the text box, change the default text accordingly. 5 Make any other changes in the Text Properties box. For more information on changing normal text settings in the tabs, see Normal Text Properties. 6 Click Apply. Your text will change accordingly. Adjusting the Size of Normal Text Items The size of text items can be adjusted using the Proportional Sizing Handle. This handle is on the top, left of the design and it appears as a black pennant pointing up. If you drag this handle, you will see the design scale proportionally, which means that as you make the design wider, the design also gets taller. Adjusting the Width of Normal Text Items The Width of text items can be adjusted using the Width Handle. This handle is on the bottom, right of the design and it appears as a black pennant pointing right. If you drag this handle, you will be able to adjust the width of the design, but you will not be able to change the height. If you want to adjust the height of a design, it can be done in the Height (mm) box in the Text tab. Enter the new size and click Apply.

83 KP COMPOSITIONS 81 User s Guide Adjusting the Corners of Normal Text Items The corners of text items can be adjusted up or down using the Corner Handles. text, top and bottom independently. Used in combination with the Corner Handles, a wide variety of text effects can be achieved. It is also possible to apply an envelope using the Text function; with the Text button selected, right-click on the text, choose Envelope from the context menu, and select an envelope from the list. The Corner Handles are at each corner of the design, and they are black in color. Their purpose is to adjust the vertical position of each corner. Using the corner handles, you can create text that appears as if it is going up or down hill. Rotating Text To rotate text, use the Rotation Handle. The Rotation Handle is at the top right of the design and appears as a black circle. Place your cursor over this handle and the cursor will change to a circle-arrow handle. Adjusting the shape with the Envelope Handles Normal Text items can be made to fit inside a shape, called an Envelope. To adjust this shape, use the Envelope Handles. Dragging this handle rotates the design to any angle. You will see an outline of the design rotate onscreen as you are dragging, and the text will recalculate when you release the mouse. The Envelope Handles are the round, black handles that are centered on the design, both above and below the text. These handles adjust vertically to form a curved shape to the Adjusting the space between letters (Kerning) The space between individual letters can be adjusted using the Kerning Handles.

84 82 CHAPTER 7 Creating Lettering Adjusting Individual Letter Sizes Letters can be individually resized using the Letter Size Handles. The Kerning Handles are the light blue diamond-shaped handles that appear between each letter. These handles move horizontally and can be dragged to adjust the space between each letter. If you move a kerning handle in the middle of a word, you adjust the space between those two letters. So, if you add space, you will see the whole length of text expand by this amount. The spacing between each of the other letters remains the same. Repositioning Individual Letters Moving individual letters can be accomplished with the Letter Handles. Letter Size Handles appear only when an individual Letter Handle has been clicked on. The Letter Size Handles are on the top, left and bottom, right of the letter and are olive green. These handles can be dragged to increase or decrease the proportional size of the individual letter. Rotating Individual Letters Individual letters can be rotated using the Letter Rotation Handles. The Letter Handles are the light orange squares which appear in the center of each letter. You can click on the letter handle to activate individual letter size and rotation handles, or you can drag the letter handle to adjust the letter position left, right, up or down. The Letter Rotation Handles appear only when an individual Letter Handle has been clicked on. The Letter Rotation Handles are on the top, right and bottom, left of the letter and are olive green. Place your cursor over the rotation handle and the cursor will change to a circle-arrow handle.

85 KP COMPOSITIONS 83 User s Guide These handles can be dragged to rotate the individual letter; similar to the way the Rotation Handle will rotate a whole text item. When the cursor is placed over the text function handles, the cursor changes for the different functions. Monograms Overview Monogram text is one choice of the two text modes that are possible in KP Compositions, the other being simply called Text. Monogram text is very similar to normal Text except that it cannot be multi-line, but it can add decorations. The adjustment handles for Monogram text can modify the form and orientation of the monogram in many ways, as explained in the following sections. To Create Monograms Monogram Text items are created with the Monogram Text (Monogram) tool. Monogram text items look like Normal Text items using monogram fonts, but they also add Monogram Decorations, selectable in the Properties box. They start out with normal proportions for the font, and can be adjusted. Monogram Text is controlled in two ways: A set of handles that allow individual adjustments to the text by dragging them with the mouse, and using the Properties box. For more information, see Monogram Properties. To create monogram text: 1 From the Edit tool bar, click the Monogram Text tool. 2 Click once in the design window. If another text item was already selected, your first click only de-selected that item. You ll have to click again. You see default text ABC appear in the design window. You will need to make changes to this text in the Properties box.

86 84 CHAPTER 7 Creating Lettering 3 In the Properties box, click the Monogram tab. 4 In the Letters box, change the default text accordingly. 5 Make any other changes in the Monogram Properties box. For more information on changing monogram settings in the tabs, see Monogram Properties. 6 Click Apply. Your text will change accordingly. Adjusting the Width of a Monogram The monogram width can be adjusted using the Width Handle. This handle is on the bottom, right of the design and it appears as a black pennant pointing right. Adjusting the Size of a Monogram You can adjust the size of a monogram with the Sizing Handle. If you drag this handle, you will be able to adjust the width of the design, but you will not be able to change the height. If you want to adjust the height of a design, it can be done in the Height (mm) box in the Text tab. Enter the new size and click Apply. Adjusting the Corners of the Monogram The corners of a monogram can be adjusted vertically using the Corner Handles. The Sizing Handle is on the top, left of the design and it appears as a black pennant pointing up. If you drag this handle, you will see the design scale proportionally, which means that as you make the design wider, the design also gets taller. The Corner Handles are at each corner of the design, and they are black in color. Their purpose is to adjust the vertical position of

87 KP COMPOSITIONS 85 User s Guide each corner. Using the corner handles, you can create text that appears as if it is going up or down hill. Adjusting the Shape of a Monogram with Envelopes Monograms can have their outer shapes adjusted with the Corner Handles. The Envelope Handles are the round, black handles that are centered on the design, both above and below the text. Dragging this handle rotates the design to any angle. You will see an outline of the design rotate onscreen as you are dragging, and the text will recalculate when you release the mouse. These handles adjust vertically to form a curved shape to the text, top and bottom independently. Used in combination with the Corner Handles, a wide variety of text effects can be achieved. Repositioning Individual Letters in a Monogram Individual letters can be repositioned in a monogram using the Letter Handles. Rotating the Monogram Monograms can be rotated using the Rotation Handle. The Rotation Handle is at the top, right of the design and appears as a blue circle. Place your cursor over the rotation handle and the cursor will change to a circlearrow handle. The Letter Handles are light orange in color, and appear in the center of each letter. You can click on the letter handle to activate individual letter size and rotation handles, or you can drag the letter to adjust its position left, right, up or down.

88 86 CHAPTER 7 Creating Lettering Adjusting Individual Letter Size in a Monogram Individual letters can be resized in a monogram using the Letter Size Handles. These handles can be dragged to rotate the individual letter; similar to the way the Rotation Handle will rotate a whole text item. Letter Size Handles appear only when an individual Letter Handle has been clicked on. The Letter Size Handles are on the top, left and bottom, right of the letter and are olive green. These handles can be dragged to increase or decrease the proportional size of the individual letter. Rotating Individual Letters in a Monogram Individual letters in a monogram can be rotated using the Letter Rotation Handles. The Letter Rotation Handles appear only when an individual Letter Handle has been clicked on. The Letter Rotation Handles are on the top, right and bottom, left of the letter and are olive green. Place your cursor over the rotation handle and the cursor will change You can double-click any handle to open the Properties box. Editing Text in the Properties Box The Properties box allows you to type in the actual text for your design and change its appearance, reflecting the type of text item that is currently selected. to a circle-arrow handle.

89 KP COMPOSITIONS 87 User s Guide The Properties box allows you to adjust specific text-related settings. The tab on the Properties box will be labelled, Text, or Monogram, depending on the text item you have selected. The properties box is the place that you use to type in the letters you want to embroider. The Text tab and Special Characters Both text modes allow you to type in the text that you want to embroider, however, each mode has some variation on what you can type in. For instance, you cannot create a multi-line monogram. Despite the differences, the method of typing in special characters remains the same. When using the text box, you can type in any character on your keyboard, plus you can type in characters by their ASCII number. An ASCII number is a code number, three digits long, which represents a character that may have a key to represent it. For instance, or are symbols that exist in some fonts but are not type-able on a standard US/English keyboard. In order to type in an ASCII code for a special character, you hold down the Alt key while typing in the ASCII number. When you release the Alt key, the character will appear. Due to Windows constraints, you must type the numbers on the keyboards numeric keypad for this to work. To find the ASCII codes for the characters you want to insert, see Appendix B, List of Special Characters. How do you know what characters exist in the fonts? There is a display on the Text tab that shows you what characters you can type simply click on the? button, located next to the font name. You will see a display similar to the following: You can also place your cursor over the preview image of fonts to view the characters you can type. Letter Height Adjusting the height of the font is straightforward. The tallest letter in the text is taken as the reference for the height. Thus, if an uppercase letter is followed by lowercase

90 88 CHAPTER 7 Creating Lettering letters, the uppercase letter will typically be larger, and its height will be set to your preference here. Selecting Fonts Next to the text box is an image showing a sample of the font. The font is selectable from the drop-down box below the font image. You can click on the down-arrow to see a list of the fonts. If you would like to scroll through the list of fonts and see what they look like, simply click on the down-arrow then use the up and down arrows on your keyboard to move through the font list. This allows you to preview the fonts without having to select each one. You will notice that some fonts have a particular size in their name, such as Miniature Block 4mm. This is because that particular font is designed stitch-by-stitch for a particular size. You can change the size of the font, but it is not recommended. Stitches in these fonts do not recalculate, as with the others. The reason for creating the fonts is that at very small sizes, fonts become extremely difficult to embroider. Minimal adjustments, even by one single stitch can alter the appearance of a letter. this parameter to make the spaces between the letters less than zero. If the spacing is set at zero, the default, then the normal kerning operation for the font is used. If you wish to move the letters closer together than the default, or you would like to individually adjust the letter spacing, you can do so by adjusting the letters with the kerning handles. For more information, see the sections on Normal Text or Monogram Text. Width The purpose of Width is to adjust the width of the entire text item proportionally. That is, changing the width of a text segment changes all spacing between letters evenly, (as opposed to kerning, which adjusts letter spacing individually).the Width adjustment is set in terms of percentage, and automatically gets updated as you drag the Width handle on the text item. Slant setting Use the Slant setting to create a slanted effect for your lettering. Slant changes the degree value of the slant on your lettering. A negative value slants your lettering to the left; a positive value slants it to the right. Spacing The spacing control adds a specific amount of space between each letter. Thus, if you wanted to space your letters out an extra 2 millimeters between each other, you can type a 2 in here and click Apply. You cannot use

91 KP COMPOSITIONS 89 User s Guide Changing thread colors within a text segment When you are creating design compositions involving lettering, you may find that you want to have two or more colors in a single line of text. In KP Compositions, this can be easily done using the Text Properties panel. You accomplish this by inserting a special character, the tilde (~) into your text. Inserting these characters divides your text segment into sub segments; each of the sub-segments that are created this way gets its own color identifier label (Color1, Color2, etc.) and can then be assigned its own thread color from the Color Palette. 3 Click apply. You see the colors change for all text sub segments after the first one, which retains the original color. The text segment, as it appears initially, after being divided into sub segments. The first subsegment ( Surf ) retains the original color, and the subsequent ones are assigned arbitrary placeholder colors (until you chose your own). Example of text before having any thread color changes applied. To insert thread color changes within a text segment: 1 Select the text segment. 2 In the text box of the Text Properties pane, type a tilde (~) in each position that you want a color change to occur. 4 To apply your choice of colors to the sub segments, move the mouse pointer to the desired color in the Color Palette and right-click. A context menu appears, listing the text subsegment color identifiers in the order they appear in your text.

92 90 CHAPTER 7 Creating Lettering Normal Text Properties 5 From the context menu, click on the subsegment identifier to apply the chosen thread color to it. The subsegment changes to the chosen color in the Location View. 6 Repeat step 5) for each subsegment in your list. Normal Text properties are adjustments specific to normal text that can be made from the Properties box; that is, these are properties that do not apply to monogram text. The text segment with new thread colors applied. The example shown demonstrates color changes being applied between words, but they can also be applied between letters within a word. This technique also applies to making color changes between the letters in a monogram; in that case, the tildes are inserted by way of the Monogram Properties panel. The Text tab allows you to set a wide variety of options regarding your text. An important item is the text box, which is where you can type in the text that you want to embroider. This text box is multi-line, so you can type in a whole phrase, poem, etc. This is the only text mode that allows you to enter multi-line text. Line Spacing The Line Spacing parameter is unique to the Normal Text mode. This allows you to set the distance between lines of text based on a percentage of the text height. The default is

93 KP COMPOSITIONS 91 User s Guide 25%, but, of course, you can adjust that up or down to improve your results or to squeeze more text into your hoop. Alignment Alignment is found only in the Normal Text mode. The alignment is principally used for multi-line font segments, but can be useful if you are manually aligning multiple text items as well. The choices are Left, Center and Right. For example, Left alignment means that every line will start at the same left position. Translating Text The KP Compositions text properties box has two buttons for translating normal text into other languages: Phrase Translator and Web Translator. Phrase Translator uses a built-in phrase book of translations of words and commonlyused phrases that comes with your KP Compositions software. This phrase book is able to translate words and phrases in English, French and Italian. If you want to translate to a different language, or want to translate a word or phrase that is not in the Phrase Translator, you can use the Web Translator. The Web translator takes you to a Website that automatically translates your word or phrase and then inserts the translation into the text box of the text properties page. You have to be careful about languages in Web Translator. Many languages use characters which are not included in the fonts that are available in KP Compositions; these will sometimes translate only partially, or not at all. To use the Phrase Translator: 1 In location view, select the text tool, and click in the workspace. The text My text is inserted by default. 2 Click on the Phrase Translator button in the Text Properties area. You see the Phrase Translator dialog box.

94 92 CHAPTER 7 Creating Lettering The Phrase Translator dialog. 3 Choose a source language in the From: option box, and a destination language in the To: option box. 4 Choose a word or phrase from the list. To use the Web translator: 1 Make sure you have a working internet connection on your computer. 2 Select the text tool, and click in the position in the workspace where you want to insert your text. 3 Type the text that you want translated in to the text box at the top of the Text Properties pane. 4 Click on the Web Translator button. Your internet browser opens a window in the Babel Fish translation site. 5 Click OK. The translation appears in the Text box. 6 Click Apply to place the translated phrase into your design.

95 KP COMPOSITIONS 93 User s Guide 6 Press the Translate button. 7 Click OK. 8 The translated text is inserted into the text window on the text properties page. 9 To apply your translation to your design composition, click Apply. The translation interface at Babel Fish. 5 Choose your source and destination language from the drop-down list (note that in Babel Fish, the source and destination language are chosen together). Monogram Properties Monogram properties are adjustments specific to monograms that can be made from the Properties box.

96 94 CHAPTER 7 Creating Lettering The Monogram tab allows you to set a wide variety of options and decorations for your monogram text. One important item is the Letters box, which is where you can type in the text that you want to monogram. Next to the Letters box, there is a preview pane showing a sample of the font. When you re done adjusting, click the Apply button. On some adjustments, such as the spacing, you can just hit Enter on your keyboard, and the program applies the changes. When using the Monogram Mode, only three-letter monogram fonts will be available because they have a custommade set of decorations to work with. Monogram Decoration options available The decorations available for the monograms is font-specific. Each monogram has its own set of decorations that are uniquely designed for that font and its traditional applications. Simply click the down-arrow on the Decor drop-down box and scroll through the samples of decorations. When you find the one you want, simply click on it. Example of a monogram diamond monogram with one of the Monogram Decoration options applied to it.

97 APPENDIX A Getting Help This section provides the information you need to help you with KP Compositions. In this appendix: Find out about the documentation available with KP Compositions. Find out how to use KP Compositions Online Help.

98 96 APPENDIX A Getting Help KP Compositions documentation The KP Compositions documentation gives you a variety of ways to find answers to your questions. KP Compositions User s Guide Use the Getting Help section so you know all the ways you can receive help. Online Help The Online Help provides a quick way to access conceptual information and step-bystep instructions. Using the KP Compositions online Help The KP Compositions online Help is a quick way to find answers to your questions and see step-by-step instructions. Because the online Help is updated for every major release, you will benefit from the most up-todate information. Opening the online Help The online Help contains a wide variety of topics that contain helpful procedures, descriptions, and definitions. Because a large number of topics exists, the online Help allows you to search for topics various ways. You can search using the table of contents, the index or a database of keywords. You can also save the topics you visit most often. To open the online Help: 1 Double-click the KP Compositions icon on your desktop to open KP Compositions. You see the blank KP Compositions design workspace. 2 Do one of the following: Choose Help KP Compositions. Press F1 on your keyboard. You see the KP Compositions Online Help appear. Using the Contents The online help has a table of contents. Each book contains a series of related topics. To use the Contents: 1 Choose Help KP Compositions. 2 Double-click the book you want to open. 3 Click the topic you want to see. You see the topic in the right window pane. Using the Index The online Help index is similar to the index in a book.

99 COMPOSITIONS 97 User s Guide To use the Index: 1 Choose Help KP Compositions. 2 Click the Index tab. 3 In the box, enter the word or words you want to search. In the list, you see the topics 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 the right window pane. Using Search The Search tab lets you search using keywords or phrases in a database of all the words found in the KP Compositions online Help. To use Search: 1 Choose Help KP Compositions. 2 Click the Search tab. You see the Find Setup Wizard. 3 Click Next, and then Finish. The online Help builds a term list. 4 In the text box, enter the first few letters of the word you are searching. In the list, you see the topics that most closely match. 5 Click the topic you want to view. You see the topic in the right window pane. Saving your favorite topics The Favorites tab lets you save the topics that you visit most often and want to access quickly. To save your favorite topics: 1 Choose Help KP Compositions. 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 selected topic in the Current topic area. 5 To add the selected topic to your favorites list, click Add. You see the selected topic appear in the Topics area. 6 To display your favorite topic, do one of the following: In the Topics area, select the favorite topic you want to display and click Display. In the Topics area, double-click the favorite topic you want to display. You see the topic in the right window pane. 7 To remove one of your favorite topics, do the following: 8 In the Topics area, select the favorite topic you want to remove and click Remove. Printing online Help topics You can print any of the topics in the online Help.

100 98 APPENDIX A Getting Help To print topics: 1 Choose Help KP Compositions. 2 Click the topic you want to print. The topic 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 Click OK. You see the Print dialog box. 6 Change any of the print settings, if necessary, and click OK. The topic is printed.

101 APPENDIX B Special Characters List The following lists the numeric codes for the special ASCII characters; note that these are not necessarily all available in each of the fonts in KP Compositions.

102 100 APPENDIX B Special Characters List Special Characters and their ASCII codes Character Key Code Alt Alt Alt Alt Alt Alt Alt Alt Alt Alt Alt Alt Alt Alt Alt Alt Alt Alt Alt Alt Alt Alt Alt Alt Alt Alt Character Key Code Alt «Alt Alt Alt Alt Alt ± Alt Alt µ Alt Alt Alt » Alt ¼ Alt ½ Alt ¾ Alt Alt À Alt Á Alt  Alt à Alt Ä Alt Å Alt Æ Alt Ç Alt È Alt É Alt Ê Alt Ë Alt Ì Alt Í Alt Î Alt

103 KP COMPOSITIONS 101 User s Guide Character Key Code Ï Alt Ð Alt Ñ Alt Ò Alt Ó Alt Ô Alt Õ Alt Ö Alt Alt Ø Alt Ù Alt Ú Alt Û Alt Ü Alt Ý Alt Þ Alt ß Alt à Alt á Alt â Alt ã Alt ä Alt å Alt æ Alt ç Alt è Alt é Alt ê Alt ë Alt ì Alt í Alt î Alt ï Alt Character Key Code ð Alt ñ Alt ò Alt ó Alt ô Alt õ Alt ö Alt Alt ø Alt ù Alt ú Alt û Alt ü Alt ý Alt þ Alt ÿ Alt

104 102 APPENDIX B Special Characters List

105 Glossary 3D View This view provides a realistic preview of the stitching of a design composition, simulating three dimensions. Use the 3D tool to view stitches in 3D directly in the Design window. Viewing stitches in 3D provides a realistic view of your stitches, giving you a better idea of how the stitches will look. Active The active segment or group of segments is enclosed in a box with handles. To make another segment or group active, select another segment or group in the design. Automatic Trim An automated machine process that cuts the top and bobbin thread when directed by data stored in a design file. This function is usually used after a jump or a color change. This process eliminates the need for manual trimming. Backing Woven and non-woven material used underneath the item or fabric being embroidered to provide support and stability. Can be hooped with the item, or placed between the machine throat plate and the hooped garment. Available in various weights and in two basic types: cutaway and tearaway. Basting Stitches These are stitches put down before actually sewing the design. They outline the design, to show its extent before sewing. Bead See Direction lines and entry/exit points.

106 104 Glossary Bobbin Bobbin Spool or reel that holds the bobbin thread, which helps form stitches on the underside of the fabric. Circle Template See Templates. Colorfast A thread s ability to retain its color during normal wear and laundering. Copyright A legal form of protection provided to creators of original works of authorship including literary, dramatic, musical, artistic and certain other intellectual works. It is available to both published and unpublished works. Density Density is the number of stitches covering a given area. Large letters, 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 system measures density in stitches per inch (spi). 65 spi means 65 stitches in a 1 inch (linear) area. The Metric system measures density in embroidery points (pt). Points refers to the distance between each thread. To increase density with the Imperial system, you increase the measurement number. With the Metric system, a higher number of points indicates a lower density. The following example shows what happens when you increase and decrease the density in embroidery points and stitches per inch.

107 KP COMPOSITIONS 105 User s Guide Here are two examples of density conversions: Embroidery points to millimeters 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 to the fabric and the design s size. Generally, lighter fabrics and smaller designs require fewer stitches.