The left toolbar contains all the digitizing tools. Each tool has a keyboard shortcut shown in the corner of its button. Press the key to quickly switch tools.
Click objects to select them. Drag to move. Shift+click to select multiple. Drag on empty space for box selection. Selected objects show handles for resizing and rotating.
Click and drag to move around the canvas. You can also pan with the middle mouse button from any tool.
Place points to create a running stitch line. In the properties panel, choose between single, triple, backstitch, stemstitch, satin outline, or motif run: a motif from the library (tulips, vines, hearts, knots, lace loops and more) repeated along the line, each one turning with the curve. Set the motif's size, the spacing along the line, and whether it fits the line exactly; closed shapes sew solid by default or hang on the line as outlines.
Draw a center line to create a satin column. The tool generates two rails on either side. Adjust width, density, and underlay in the properties panel.
Draw a closed shape to create a filled area. Choose between tatami, satin, spiral, cross-stitch, motif fill or program split. Adjust angle, density, and stagger.
Draw a closed shape for applique. Set the border width, stitch length, and tackdown density in the properties panel.
Draw precise curves with full control over bezier handles. Click and drag to set handle positions. Finalizes as a running stitch.
Click to open the shape picker with 9 presets: rectangle, ellipse, star, heart, diamond, pentagon, hexagon, arrow, and cross. Drag on canvas to draw. Hold Shift for equal proportions (perfect circle, square, etc).
Click on the canvas to place text. A dialog opens where you enter your text, choose size, spacing, and stitch type. Once placed, the Arc field in the properties panel bends the text round a curve: 0 is a straight baseline, 180 a half circle, 360 a full ring, and a negative value arches it downward for the bottom of a crest.
Edit individual nodes of a selected object. Click a node to select it and drag to move it. Alt+left-click on a path segment inserts a corner node, Alt+right-click inserts a smooth curve node. Right-click a node to delete it, or select nodes and press Delete. Double-click a node to switch it between corner and curve; a Corner/Curve toggle also appears in the bar at the bottom of the canvas, beside the gestures for adding and deleting nodes. Smooth nodes appear as circles, corner nodes as squares.
Add angle guides to a selected fill to control stitch direction in different parts of the shape. Click two points across the fill to draw a guide. Each guide controls the angle of nearby rows. With multiple guides, the rows smoothly fan from one direction to the next. Right-click on a guide to delete it. See the Stitch Angle section for full details.
Drag a line across an object to cut it into separate pieces. A short stroke is enough: the object is cut along the whole line through it. Each piece keeps every setting of the original, including its thread and stitch angle, so the seam lines up, and you can then recolour, move or delete the pieces on their own. With objects selected, only those are cut; with nothing selected, anything the stroke touches is. Hold Shift to snap the line to 45 degrees. Cuts fills, satin columns, appliqué, run stitches, imported stitch files and lettering. A satin is cut across the column: a stroke along it, or one that only clips a corner, leaves it whole. An appliqué becomes two complete patches, each drawn back by half a border so the two borders sit side by side rather than on top of each other; an appliqué drawn as an open line is cut where the line crosses it, like a run. Cutting through a word freezes just the letters the stroke touches into stitches and cuts those; the other letters stay editable text.
Click and drag to draw freehand. The picker lets you choose what the path becomes: a run stitch, satin column, or fill region. The path is automatically smoothed and simplified.
Click two points to measure the distance between them. Shows total distance and horizontal/vertical deltas in millimeters.
At the bottom of the toolbar, and in the Object menu. Repeats whatever is selected in a row, a grid, or around a ring, with an optional turn per copy so each one follows the curve. Gap is the space between copies, not centre to centre. The dialog shows the copy count, total stitches, and finished size before anything is created. Everything lands in one group so the arrangement moves and locks as a unit. Needs a selection, so the button is greyed out until you have one.
In the Object menu. Builds two or three initials with an optional frame. It knows the traditional order puts the surname initial large in the centre, and shows you that reordering in the preview before you commit; both the order and which letter is enlarged can be changed. Seven frame shapes, sewn as satin or a fine run keyline, and a negative letter gap interlocks the initials the way vine monograms are set.