Crochet Charts User Manual
Crochet Charts User Manual
Crochet Charts User Manual
Table of Contents
Introduction ...................................................................................................................... iv
Additional Resources - Videos ..................................................................................... iv
1. Installation ..................................................................................................................... 1
Windows ................................................................................................................... 1
Mac ......................................................................................................................... 4
Linux ....................................................................................................................... 4
Licensing Wizard ....................................................................................................... 4
2. Quick Guide to Making a Chart ........................................................................................ 7
3. Adding Charts to a Document ......................................................................................... 10
4. Tools .......................................................................................................................... 12
Export ..................................................................................................................... 12
Add Chart ............................................................................................................... 12
Stitch Edit ............................................................................................................... 12
Color Edit ............................................................................................................... 12
Rotation Edit ............................................................................................................ 12
Scale Edit ................................................................................................................ 12
Row Edit ................................................................................................................. 13
Indicator Edit ........................................................................................................... 14
Align and Distribute .................................................................................................. 14
Mirror and Rotate ..................................................................................................... 15
Color Selector .......................................................................................................... 15
Show Chart Center .................................................................................................... 15
Show Wedge Lines ................................................................................................... 16
Grouping ................................................................................................................. 16
5. Exporting Files ............................................................................................................. 17
Charts ..................................................................................................................... 20
Instructions .............................................................................................................. 21
Legends .................................................................................................................. 21
6. Stitch Library ............................................................................................................... 24
Creating New Stitch Sets ........................................................................................... 24
Creating New Stitches ............................................................................................... 25
Adding Stitches to the Default Stitches list .................................................................... 25
Importing / Exporting Stitch Sets ................................................................................. 26
Adding Custom Icons ................................................................................................ 27
Tips on Creating Icons .............................................................................................. 27
7. Options / Preferences ..................................................................................................... 29
Application .............................................................................................................. 29
Charts ..................................................................................................................... 30
Legends .................................................................................................................. 31
8. Tools .......................................................................................................................... 36
Check for Updates .................................................................................................... 36
About CrochetCharts ................................................................................................. 36
9. Limits on Use of Output ................................................................................................ 37
10. Troubleshooting .......................................................................................................... 38
Bugs ....................................................................................................................... 38
Features .................................................................................................................. 38
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Introduction
This is the user guide for CrochetCharts by Stitch Works Software. If you have any questions that are not
answered in this document please contact me and let me know so that I can answer your questions and
improve this guide.
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Chapter 1. Installation
Because this software is licensed per user you may install it on multiple computers including any combination of the supported platforms below. To install on multiple platforms you may goto the the downloads
page and download the installer for other platforms. You will need your serial number to complete the
installation. The serial number can be found in the About dialog. If you need help installing on a second
platform please contact me.
Windows
CrochetCharts will run on Microsoft Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7. To install the software
you can download the setup file from the Stitch Works Software website.
To install double click the installer and follow the instructions in the Installation Wizard.
Installation
Installation
Installation
Mac
CrochetCharts will run on Mac OS X version 10.5-10.7 (Leopard, Snow Leopard, Lion). To install the
software you can download the setup file from the Stitch Works Software website.
Once the file has been downloaded you can install the software by dragging and dropping CrochetCharts
into the Applications folder.
Linux
For Debian/Ubuntu based distributions you can use the .deb package. If you're having any problems please
contact me
Licensing Wizard
The license wizard allows the user to either register or evaluate this software. To use the software you must
agree to the End User License Agreement. To evaluate the software you will need to supply your name,
and email address. When you register the software you will need to supply your name, email address and
serial number. The serial number should have arrived in an email called "Stitch Works Software - License
Information for Order#XXXX".
Installation
Installation
Sample chart
(1) Create a new Blank chart.
(2) Add the chart center symbol, in the menu Charts Show Chart Center
(3) Show the Wedge Lines on the chart using Charts Show Wedge Lines
(4) Create the top wedge of the chart. For best results make sure your stitches are placed within the Wedge
Lines so that they translate to the other three quarters of the chart well.
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chart that can contain text. You can used the indicators as row number indicators, or to draw attention to
other parts of the chart.
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Chapter 4. Tools
The toolbar in CrochetCharts
The tools on the tool bar are listed below in order from left to right: New Document, Open File, Save File,
Export, Add Chart, Undo, Redo, Stitch Edit, Color Edit, Rotation Edit, Scale Edit, Row Edit, Indicator
Edit, Align and Distribute Tools, Mirror and Rotate Tools, and Color Selector.
Export
File Export...
This option allows you to export charts, and legends to different file formats: PDF, SVG, PNG, JPEG,
TIFF, BMP. The quality of the exports can be controlled and you can adjust it from web quality to publication quality. See Exporting Files for more information about exporting files.
Add Chart
Charts Add Chart
Add a new chart to this document. A document can contain any number of charts.
Stitch Edit
Modes Stitch Edit
This mode allows you to add, edit and move stitches on the chart. For minor adjustments to the positioning
of a stitch or selection of stitches you can use the arrow keys.
Color Edit
Modes Color Edit
This mode allows you to edit the background colors used behind the stitches. If you wish to edit the color of
the stitches themselves you can change the primary and secondary colors in the Chart Options/Preferences.
Rotation Edit
Modes Rotation Edit
In this mode you can edit the angle that the stitch is tilted at. You can rotate the stitch 360 relative to the
bottom of the stitch. For minor adjustments to the angle of a stitch or selection of stitches you can use the
arrow keys. Right or Down are clock-wise and Left or Up are counter-clockwise.
Scale Edit
Modes Scale Edit
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Tools
This mode allows you to scale the size of the stitch height and width independently of each other. If you
would like to scale the stitch in a 1:1 ratio you can hold the Ctrl (or Apple) key while you scale it. For
minor adjustments to the scale you can use the arrow keys. Up and Right increase the height and width
respectively, and Down and Left decrease the scale. If you hold down Ctrl (or Apple) the scale will
increase both height and width in relation to each other.
Row Edit
Modes Row Edit
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Tools
The red minus (-) removes the selected row from the list (it does not remove the stitches from the chart),
and the up and down arrows change the order of the rows.
If you release the mouse button while creating a row, or if you come back later and want to add more
stitches to a row you can do so. If you are adding stitches to the end of a row just click on the last stitch
drag the red line to the next stitches in order. If you want to add stitches into the middle of the row you
will have to start from the first stitch of the row.
If you want to add stitches to a row select the row from the Row List, the stitches in the row will be selected
and the connections between the stitches will be shown as lines joining the stitches. Select the last stitch
that is joined and connect it to the new stitches you wish to add to the row.
If you wish to redraw the entire row select the row from the Row List, click on the canvas, which will unselect all of the stitches in the row. Then select all the stitches you would like in the updated row, in order.
Once you've finished selecting the stitches click the "Update Row" button.
Once you have finished editing the rows, you can close the Row Edit dialog by clicking on any of the
other edit modes.
Indicator Edit
Modes Indicator Edit
Indicators can be used as row indicators, or to point out pieces of the chart that need special notes. The
indicators on the chart can show the dot and/or text based on the Chart Options/Preferences.
Once you're in the Indicator Edit mode you can click on the chart to add a new indicator. If you've setup
the indicators with text you can edit the text by clicking on the selected indicator.
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Tools
Color Selector
Select the color that will be used in Color Edit.
To use the color edit mode, Select Modes Color Edit. In the tool bar click on the white color box,
with the tool tip reading "Select a color for the background". This tool will allow you to change the color
behind each stitch by clicking on them.
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Tools
Grouping
Stitches Group and Stitches Ungroup
This option allows you to group and ungroup stitches together. When stitches are grouped they can be
moved and changed as one unit.
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Exporting Files
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Exporting Files
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Exporting Files
Charts
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Exporting Files
Instructions
Legends
CrochetCharts supports output of Stitch Legends, and Color Legends. These legends contain all the stitches
or colors (respectively) used on all tabs in the document. The Pattern Stitches and Pattern Colors docks
on the main interface give an interactive view of what the legends will contain.
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Exporting Files
Stitch Legends
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Exporting Files
Color Legends
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Stitch Library
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Stitch Library
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Stitch Library
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Stitch Library
Transparent backgrounds are useful if you want to place color behind the stitches or if some of the stitches
overlap. Proper scaling is good because it means that no mater how much you zoom in on the chart or
scale up the stitches they will always look good.
I recommend using the SVG file format when possible. SVG is not as well known a format as the others,
but it is becoming an industry standard. Here are a few applications that can generate SVG files if you
choose to use it: Inkscape, LibreOffice Draw, OpenOffice Draw, Google Docs, and Adobe Illustrator.
I recommend starting with a canvas size of 32x32 px. If you need to use a different size I recommend
changing the size in increments of 16 or 32. So a single crochet is 32x32, a half double crochet is 32x64,
and a double crochet is 32x80. Once you have the basic size you can modify it from there as needed.
If you want your stitches to match the default stitches I'm using a stroke width of 4.0 and rounded caps and
joints. Also if you want the software to change the color of the stitches for alternate rows then the stitch
you create should be black (#000000) any other colors in the stitch will not be modified.
If you use one of the other file types (png, gif) that support transparent background you should be aware that
most drawing applications do not turn on transparency by default. You should consult the documentation
for your application on the proper way to enable it.
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Application
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Options / Preferences
Charts
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Options / Preferences
Legends
Stitch Legends
When exporting a Stitch Legend any of the options below can be used together to create the stitch legend
of your choosing. These values can be overridden in the Export dialog.
An example stitch legend with all options turned on and column count set to 2
Show Title
This will show the title block and the top of the legend.
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Options / Preferences
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Options / Preferences
Color Legends
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Options / Preferences
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Options / Preferences
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Chapter 8. Tools
Check for Updates
By default the software will silently check for updates every time you start the software. If it finds an
update you will be prompted to install the new version. If you do not wish the software to check for update
on startup you can disable this feature by going to the Application Options/Preferences and un-check the
option for this feature.
About CrochetCharts
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Features
Is the software missing a feature? Do you have an idea that should be included in the software? You should
contact me and let me know. I want this software to make creating charts easy for the users and the best
way to do that is to have the users give me feedback about what is and isn't working for them.
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