Autometrix has created a series of “Quick Start” videos for our PatternSmith software. These are meant to be intro videos for new users in order to hit the ground running. These may also serve as refreshers for experienced users who may find a tip or a nugget that they may have missed in the many tools and features offered by this powerful patterning software. We try to keep these videos simple, fun and focused on specific tools in your tool bar.
PatternSmith : Elements and Attributes
Points, lines, splines – Oh my!
Arcs, curves and text – whats next?
On Elements & Attributes, press go
And in no time, you’ll design like a pro
More questions about PatternSmith? Contact our sales or support staff. Download a free 30 day trial of PatternSmith 9.
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
We’ve opened pattern set one and we’ll double click inside the pattern on the left.
Patterns are composed of graphic elements, points, lines, polylines, splines or bezier curves arcs circles and texts.
Left-click on an element to select it.
Right-click in open space to deselect.
Select multiple elements by holding down the shift key while you add or subtract elements from your selection.
Alternatively drag a marquee that includes any part of the elements you want to select.
Control -A quickly selects all elements.
To delete any element, select it and then press the Delete key.
Control -Z or the undo button will undo any action.
The search function lets us quickly select all the elements that match parameters that we set.
Click on the search button on the right, and check the parameters that identify those elements.
Then click select at the bottom.
Elements have start points and direction.
The start point on a selected element is shown as a hollow square the end point as a solid circle.
Interior points are open circles.
Each element in a pattern has various attributes associated with it.
When you select an element, you’ll see its geometric attributes in the content panel on the right.
You can change any geometric property directly.
So if I select this line, I can change its length by entering a new value in the length field.
If the element has multiple segments, move the slider to see each segments information.
Pattern elements have additional attributes located on the left side of want to designate which tool you want to use to mark or cut any element.
This polyline is currently assigned to be marked with a pen.
I can change it to one of the cutting tools by mousing over the cutting tools icon and then selecting the tool I want to use.
The tool attributes are organized into categories – marking, cutting, drilling, and creasing.
Elements that don’t need to be marked, cut, drilled, or creased can be assigned to reference.
You can use the tools in the default tool bin or create your own tool bin in the tool manager.
Adding a seam allowance to an element is simple. Select the element.
Mouse over the seam allowance tool and select from the presets.
PatternSmith handles seam allowances as element attributes.
This makes it easy to change their size, and lets them adjust automatically when you move or edit an element.
It’s also easy to remove seams.
You’ll find more information about elements and attributes in the help file.
In the next video, we’ll discuss moving, snapping and rotating elements.