Those are jump indicators showing where the needle travels between separate parts of the design without stitching. On the finished embroidery, these create loose threads on the back that get trimmed. They only appear for longer jumps (over 3mm).
Select the Shape tool (U), choose ellipse or rectangle from the picker, then hold Shift while dragging on the canvas. Shift constrains the shape to equal proportions.
Drag and drop a PNG or JPG onto the canvas. It appears as a semi-transparent backdrop. Adjust opacity in the Backdrop panel on the right. Use any drawing tool to trace over it. Check 'Locked' to prevent moving the image accidentally.
Stagger offsets the needle penetration points on alternating rows so they don't line up. Without it, you get a visible ridge or crease running through your fill. A value of 0.25 (25%) works well for most designs.
Select the fill object, then look for the Angle setting in the Properties panel on the right. Drag the circular dial or type a number. 0 is horizontal, 90 is vertical, 45 is diagonal. The stitches update in real-time.
Yes. Right-click on an object and choose 'Convert to Fill' or 'Convert to Run Stitch'. You can also add an outline around a shape using 'Add Outline' in the right-click menu.
It should not: the colour that dominates the picture's border is detected as the background and left unticked. If your background is a different colour, untick it yourself in the colour list before importing. Each detected colour has a checkbox.
Press Ctrl+Z while placing points to remove the last placed node. This works for all drawing tools.