Chapter 1: Software Basic Knowledges

Software Interface

As shown above, PAD System™ Pattern Design software interface consists of menu bar, tool bar, working area, side bar, working area rulers, scale menu on low-left corner, info bar on lower-right corner (it shows the coordinates, medium size, size numbers, current unit) and so on. Each section and its functions will be introduced later in detailed.

Floating Windows (Side Bar)

Floating windows perform different functions, such as Piece List, Grading Arrows, Grading Info, Grading Library and Technical Sketches.

Users can open these floating windows by clicking corresponding items in menu. In V7.0, the position of menu to open the floating windows are move from [Option] to [View] - [Show Widget].

User can group those into a single window or ungroup to multi windows in the working area; and also drag those to the desired place inside main application window.

For example:

Drag the title bar of the window, move it to one of the existing floating windows then release the mouse button, they will group together to be a single window.

As shown below, we are going to put Grading Arrows, Technical Sketches and Piece List to a single window:

Or drag another new window to the existing item in the floating window:

Technical Sketches floating window access to the same window. And users can navigate the item by clicking the appropriate tab at the bottom of the window.

or drag to the other side of the main application window:

Zoom Menu

You can find the Zoom Menu in the lower-left corner of the main application window. It includes 5 functions:

The Zoom Menu is for controlling the zoom level:

1. You can select the pre-set zoom scale from pull-down menu or directly input desired value in the box and press Enter key.

   

2. Zoom on Selection: enlarge the view of the selected piece(s) and show it at the center of the working area.

3. Global View: displays all the visible pattern piece in the working area.

4. Zoom Out: reduce the view of all the visible pattern piece in the working area.

5. Zoom In: enlarge the view of all the visible pattern piece in the working area.

The scaling ratio range is from 0.05% to 2000%.

Types of Points

Points ared used to define both contour and inner indication of the pattern. PAD System™ has four types of points:

: Regular Point. It uses to mark the beginning and the end of a segment. The system reads a segment from one Regular point to the next one, including the points between both ends.

: Mark Point. It uses to mark the position on the segment, not to mark the beginning and the end of a segment.

: Control Point. Curve point. It is a point created automatically to control the bending of the curve.

New in V7.0

: Node. Edit point on spline. Only exists on the Spline drawn by using Create Spline tool. The nodes appear only when you draw the spline or right-click it with using Create Spline tool.

Regular Point and Mark Point can be used for making Notches (system-provided or customized), Punch Holes(system-provided or customized), Matching Point, Start Point, Lift and Plunge, Symmetrical Start/End Point, Internal Start Point and so on. Select desired point on the piece, click Menu [Treatment] - [Points] / [Notches] / [Punch Holes] to perform above functions.

Each point is the coordinates of the grading X and Y. To check the coordinates and point information:

1. Select the desired point;

2. Click Menu [Treatment] - [Item Info], open the [Point Characteristic] Dialog box, you can check relevant information or make modification.

   

Types of Segments

PAD System™ Pattern Design provides two types of segments: Contour and Internal Segment.

Contour: the contour of a closed polygon, as shown in the picture (red line)

Internal Segment: the internal segment inside the contour of a closed polygon, as shown in the picture (black line)

Activation and Selection

This section introduces the condition of activation and selection.

No points show: the piece is not activated or selected.

Hollow points are visible: the piece is activated.

Solid points are visible: the piece is selected.

Keyboard

You can press left mouse button (for Windows) / mouse button (for Macintosh), together with the keys of keyboard, to perform different functions.

Shift key

1. Make multi-selection with tool.

2. Restrict any movement on every 15° with using the tools, such as Roatation tool , Segment tool .

3. Restrict any movement along X, Y coordinates with using the tools to draw vertical or horizontal line, circle, square and so on.

   

Alt (Windows) or Option (Macintosh) or Alt+Windows (Linux) key

1. Select an entire piece with using Pointer tool .
2. Open some dialog box to enter precise values.
3. Measure the length of all sized for a graded segment with using tool like .

Ctrl (Windows/Linux) or Command (Macintosh) key

1. Temporarily show the Pointer tool while other tool of toolbox is selected.

2. Remove a continuous selection from the list, like Piece List, Grading Arrows, and Grading Info.

   

Shift+Ctrl (Windows/Linux) or Shift+Command (Macintosh) key

1. Select more than one element

Shift+Alt (Windows) or Shift+Option (Macintosh) or Shift+Alt+Windows (Linux) key

1. Select more than one piece with using the Pointer tool.

Shift+Alt+Ctrl (Windows/Linux) or Shift+Option+Command (Macintosh) key

1. Select more than one piece or a group of pieces while other function is in use.

Arrow keys on the keyboard (Up, Down, Left, Right)

1. Adjust the selected point/segment/piece in the working area.

Esc key

1. Quit the dialog box or cancel any action in progress.

   

Tab key

1. Make a quick move in the zoom menu on the lower-left corner of the application interface.
2. Make a quick move from one field to the next or button to another in a dialog box.

3. Press Shift and Tab together to move backward to previous field.

Backspace (Windows/Linux) or Delete (Macintosh) key

1. Delete the selected element.

   

Space key

1. Enlarge/reduce and move the view of desired part of the working area (the working area can be seen as canvas, use Space key to move the canvas)

Steps:

1. Enlarge/reduce the view of desired part: hold down Space key, a hand icon appears. Roll the mouse wheel to enlarge or reduce the view.
2. Move the view of working area: hold down Space key, a hand icon appears. Left-click the working area without releasing the mouse button and drag it.

Piece List

Before reading the introduction of Piece List, please open Technical Sketches window and attach it to the side bar.

In V7.0, the position of menu to open Piece List is changed:

Before: [Option] - [Show Piece List]

In V7.0: [View] - [Show Widget] - [Show Piece List]

Piece List consist of Piece and Plan.

• Plan: for piece draft, they can’t not be used in production.

• Piece: they are the pieces set from plan, or drawn from some tools. The pieces includes piece information such as piece name, cut quantity, fabric and grain line. They can be used in marker and production.

  

Click minus to hide the full piece list;

Click plus to show the full piece list.

Hold down Alt (Windows) or Option (Macintosh) or Alt+Windows (Linux) key, click / , to open or close the subjacent menu in Piece / Plan.

For example (in Windows):

The eye button in Piece List

Click the button show or hide the piece in the working area.

The button before each group allows you to Show or Hide the corresponding group. Press Alt (Windows) or Option (Macintosh) or Alt+Windows (Linux) key and click the button to Show or Hide the whole section (all the subjacent menus and elements) with a single click.

Means corresponding piece or group of pieces is hidden on the working area.

Means one or more pieces of the corresponding group are hidden on the working area.

Means corresponding piece or all the pieces in the corresponding group show(s) on the working area.

Piece List Buttons

Cut Pieces: cut the selected piece (from Piece List or working area) onto the clipboard temporarily for future use.

Copy Pieces: copy the selected piece (from Piece List or working area) while it still keeps in the Piece List window and the clicpboard for future use.

Paste Into: paste the piece kept in the clipboard by using Cut or Paste command

Clone Hierarchy: select one or more piece, click , then it display the Clone Hierarchy of the selected piece, the other pieces will be hidden.

備註

Under Clone Hierarchy, only pieces in Plan can be move; once you move a piece, its clone pieces also move.

Light up the eye icon to show other pieces in Piece List window if necessary;

Remove Clone Hierarchy status:

In V6.0: go to [View] menu to uncheck Clone View item:

In V7.0: click once more the Clone Hierarchy icon .

Piece Info:

Select a piece, click , open the Piece Info dialog box.

備註

Double-click the piece in the Piece List window, open the Piece Info dialog box.

Delete:

Select a piece, click , open the dialog box to confirm deleting.

Search:

New in V7.0

Add Search function on the Piece List window, enable users to find the specific piece(s) to operate more easily.

Input the keywords and press the Enter Key to finish accurate or fuzzy search on the Piece List. If the information (piece number, name, description, code or fabric name) of the pieces match the keywords the user entered, the piece(s) will be colored up on the working area.

Customize the way of information shown

As image shown, right-click the area with red mark to open the contextual menu to customize the way of piece information shown.

Info by Columns

：piece information will list in row seperated with commas;

: piece information will list in column;

Group by Fabric (Plan)

：list piece under Plan one by one in the Piece List without grouping under all fabrics;

: list pieces group under Plan in the Piece List under All Fabrics;

Group by Fabric (Pieces)

：list pieces under Pieces in the Piece List one by one in the Piece List without grouping under All Fabrics

：list the pieces under Pieces group under All Fabrics;

Technical Sketches

Technical Sketches window builds the link between pattern file (.sty) with sketch image, allows user to check the style sketches and draw pattern piece at the same time.

Available image format:

Before building link, open the Technical Sketches window first:

In V7.0, the position of menu to open this window is changed:

Befor: [Options] - [Show Technical Sketches]

In V7.0: [View] - [Show Widget] - [Show Technical Sketches]

How to build link and show image in the window

1. Right-click button on top right corner of the window, click [Link to Image...];

2. Select the file from desired directory and click [Open];

3. Sketch will resize to fit in the window.

   

   

One pattern file can link to several images, and click and view the linked images one by one:

Remove existing link

1. Click the button on top right corner of the window;

2. Select the image name (check it) to be removed on drop-down menu;

3. Click [Remove Link].

   

   備註

   [Romve All Links] is to remove all the linked images in one step, which simplifies operation.

If you change pattern file name or move without saving those linked files to the pattern file, it may result in file issing and dialogue box will pop-up and request for locating the path of those missing file as below:

: click [Yes], to replace the image file by selecting the new file or the right one from desired directory.

: click [Ignore], to retain the file with missing link. The warning dialog box will appear when open it.

: click [No], to remove the link with missing file. The dialog box won’t appear next time when open it.

Intelligent Dialog Box

PAD System™ Pattern Design provides any dialog box with intelligent calculation. You can put + (plus), - (minus), x (multiply), / (divide) to calculate measurement, also convert unit automatically.

Do calculation with + (plus), - (minus), x (multiply), / (divide)

Take Rectangle tool as an example:

Convert unit automatically

Take Rectangle tool as an example:

The current unit is cm:

As required, draw a rectangle piece with width of 16 cm and height of 5 in. You enter 5 in in the dialog box and it will calculate it in “cm” and apply the new value to the piece.

Hot Key Shortcuts

PAD System™ Pattern Design provides many default hot key shortcuts for users, meanwhile, it also allows users to customize the hot keys, increase the efficiency of pattern-making.

Hot keys list as follows: