Smart Sizer

Gold
Welcome to the Smart Sizer program. This software allows you to open various
embroidery files and change them in the way you, or your customer would like them.
Designs can be rotated, mirrored, and combined with others, and laid out for use with
your machine!

The Main Screen!

Here's where everything happens! Across the top of the main screen lies the title bar.
This will display the file name of the design you have open. If your are working in a new
file, and have not yet saved it, it will display "untitled" as the filename.
Immediately below the title bar is the menu bar. This contains all the commands that
Smart Sizer provides. For instance, if you wished to save a design that you had open
on your screen, you would click on File, then Save.
Below the menu bar is the tool bar. This contains icons for the tasks most often
performed. They are shortcuts, so you don't have to go through the menus just to print.
File
Name
Menubar

Toolbar

Design

Design
Handles

Thread
Colors
Used

Status
Bar

In the middle of the screen lies the design grid. This is where all the designs you open
are displayed. The size of the grid shows the "usable" area for a specific hoop size.
Your design must fit within this grid. How to change the size of the design will be
covered later in this manual (Options - Hoop Size).
At the very bottom of the screen is the status bar. This relays important information to
you, from what the icons in the tool bar do to how many color threads there are.

The Menu Bar

This contains all the commands available in this program. Everything is placed in its
own category. Would you like to save a file or open a new one? You'll find it under
File. Want to zoom in a little to get a closer look? Select Zoom In under View. Each
category can be opened either by clicking on the word with your mouse, or by pressing
ALT plus the underlined letter. For example, to open the File menu you could press
alt+f. When you choose a command name that is followed by an ellipsis (), Smart
Sizer Gold displays a dialog box so you can enter more information or select options
before carrying out the command.
Under the File menu are several options:
New - Click on New to open a blank work grid. A
blank work grid will give you a place to paste a
copied design or merge a design. Smart Sizer Gold
may open multiple designs without having to close
already open designs. To switch between open
designs, go to Window and click on the design you
would like to work with. (see Window for more
details).
Open - Click on this to open up an existing design. If
the design was one of the last four designs used, you
can also open it by choosing the design name from
the bottom of the file menu.
To open an existing document:
1. Click the Open File tool (on the tool bar - see
page 7), or choose open from the File menu.
Smart Sizer lists the designs that are in the current
directory or folder.

2. Select the design you want to open.

In the dialog box, you can also select a different drive and directory or folder. In
Smart Sizer you can list all designs of one type by selecting the design type in the
Files Of Type box. You can also type the complete path and filename in the File
Name box.
3. Press Open.
You saw that cute giraffe design, but you don't know what the filename is? Well, there's
a special button on the bottom of the Open screen called Browse. When you click on
the button, a window will appear where a drive and directory may be chosen. All the
embroidery designs will be displayed as icons. Merely choose the design you want by
clicking on it, and hit the OK. You can sort by the name of the file or by it's extension
(.csd).

Multiple file formats may be selected from when opening a file:

GN Scalable (*.gnc)
DOS expanded (*.exp)
Tajima (*.dst)
Babylock/Berina/Brother (*.pes, *.pec)
Pfaff (*.pcs)
Pfaff Macintosh (*.pcm)
Viking (*.hus)
Janome (*.sew)
Poem/Singer EU (*.csd)
Merge - This adds a design to an already open file. In this way two or more designs
may be combined.
Close - This command closes the active window. If changes have been made to the
design you are closing and it has not been saved, you will be asked to do so.
Save - Use the Save command to save changes to an existing file. The Save command
saves your document under the same name with which it was last saved, replacing the
previous version. When you finish a session with Smart Sizer, save your work before
you close it. You should also save periodically while you work so that you don't lose
your work in the event of a power interruption or hardware failure.
Save As - Use the Save As command to save your file for the first time and give it a
name. This may also be used to give the file a different name than the one it already
possesses.
Print - Printing transfers what you have on the screen (your design) to a piece of paper.
Not only will the design print out, but it will also show the filename of the design, the
size, number of stitches, and how many colors.
Print Preview - This displays what the printed page should look like. You are given the
ability to zoom in and out, or view different pages (if any are available).
Print Setup - Here is where you can choose what printer you wish to print to, or the
paper size and orientation you would like to use. Here's how to choose a printer:
1) From the File menu, choose Print Setup.
A dialog box displays a list of the printers that are installed for your system.
2) Select the printer you want to use. You can also choose the Properties button if you
prefer to change the settings for your printer.
3) Choose the OK button.
Your printer selection remains in effect from session to session, until you choose a
different one.

Exit - This closes the program. If you have not saved your work, you will be asked to
do so.

Welcome to the Edit menu! Here we have several

commands that will help you modify your design.
Undo - You can choose the Undo command from
the edit menu or toolbar to reverse your last
command or other action. Note though, that some
commands cannot be undone.
Redo - If you want to reverse the Undo command
itself, choose the Redo command.
Cut - Use this command to remove the selected
design from the grid and place it on the Clipboard,
replacing the Clipboard's contents.
The Clipboard is a storage space in Windows. It
can only hold one image at a time. Cutting or
copying places an image to the Clipboard, and
pasting copies from it.
Copy - Use this command to make a copy of the selected design and place it on the
Clipboard, replacing the Clipboard's contents.
Paste - With this command you can place the contents of the clipboard on your design
grid.
Select All - Selects the design or designs on your workspace.
Select Next - If there is more than one design on your workspace (through copy/paste
or merge) this command will cycle through them.
Delete - Removes the design from your workspace. It does not go to the clipboard. If
you think you may want to insert the design again, you may wish to use Cut instead.
Mirror - This command has two options:
1) Horizontal - Flips the image on its vertical axis.
2) Vertical - Turns the image upside down.
Center - This command has three options:
1) Both Axis - This centers the selected design on the work grid.
2) Horizontal Axis - This centers the selected design from left to right on the work grid.
3) Vertical Axis - This centers the selected design from top to bottom on the work grid.

Rotate - A dialog box will pop up requesting the amount you would like to pivot the
design. Degrees from 1 to 360 may be entered.
Welcome to the View menu!
Zoom is our first choice, and it has two options: Zoom In, or
Zoom Out. Zoom in magnifies the view of the design while
Zoom Out reduces it. These are just view settings though, and
have no effect on the way the design prints.
Clicking on one of the Toolbar options will remove it from the
screen. Clicking on it again will redisplay it. The same is true
for the status bar. A checkmark will be present if a Toolbar or
Status Bar are turned on.
Here's the Options menu.
Hoop Size - This command brings up a dialog box where you
can choose the machine and size that the design is to be used
for. As an example, you could choose Pfaff - large or Pfaff small. The workspace grid will shrink or grow to show the workable area available for
that particular machine and size.
Density Settings - Use this command to adjust the density of the embroidery pattern.

You may get better results on terry cloth by changing the density to 110%. You may get
better results on knits by changing the density to 90%. Note that GNC formats are the
only scalable formats.
Preferences - Here is where the default "Save As" format is chosen. If you are
someone who always saves their designs for a Viking, rather than having to change the
file type every time you save it may be set here.
For Viking/Husqavarna machines, there is an option here to Split at 12 color changes.

You may also choose to make Pfaff PCS files 100% compatible.

The Window menu is for managing more than one open file.
New Window - This command opens the same design in a
separate window. On the window's title bar it will list the
design's filename followed by a version number. For
instance, if you had the design 61094.pcm open and clicked
on New Window, another window with the same design would
open. The title bar on the new window would state
"61094.pcm:2" and the original window's title bar would
display "61094.pcm:1" (because it was the original, or "1st").
Cascade - This stacks all the open designs in Smart Sizer Gold. The title bars of each
design will show.
Tile - The Tile command places each open window next to each other, shrinking the
size of the window (but not the size of the design) so that they will fit next to each other.
Arrange Icons List of Open Files - Below the divider line you will find the list of open files. This can
range from one file to as many as you decide to open. They will be numbered in the
order they have been opened with a check mark next to the active file. The active file is
the one you are currently working on.

The Help menu!

About Smart Sizer - This displays the version information of
the program.

Using The Keys

Menus and their options may be chosen by keystroke rather than using the mouse.
Lets say you wanted to check the version of Smart Sizer Gold. This information is
contained in the Help/About section. Now, on the menu bar, the H in Help is
underlined. This means that you may choose the help menu by pressing ALT+H. The
ALT key is pressed because this is a main menu selection. A drop-down selection will

be displayed just as if you had clicked on Help with the mouse. About SS Gold has the
A underlined, since this is a choice on the drop-down menu, just press the underlined
letter. In this case, it was the A.
Keystokes can be used for more than just selecting menus and their items. The arrow
keys on your keyboard will nudge a chosen design in the direction you desire. Its very
helpful when you just want to move a design a little bit.
If you have multiple designs merged, pressing CTRL+TAB will cycle through the
separate pictures.

Using the Toolbars

Smart Sizer includes a toolbar designed to help you perform
frequent tasks more quickly and to work more efficiently. The
toolbar contains tools that you select to carry out commands or
other actions. Just like menu commands, some tools carry out
immediate action, while other require additional action, such as
set size.
M Note: You must have a mouse to use a toolbar.
The toolbar may be moved by left-mouse-clicking on it and
dragging it to a desired location (top, bottom, sides, or floating).
It may be turned on and off from the View menu.
Each button corresponds with the menu command of the same
name. Choosing Print from the toolbar and choosing Print from
the File menu does the same thing.
The exception here is Batch, which is a mass file converter.

Batch is a command used to convert one or more files from

one format to another.
Select a source drive and directory, then a destination drive and directory. These can
be the same drives and directories. The batch converter will take all the embroidery
files in the source directory and save them in the destination directory with the "Save
As" format. "Include subdirectories" will allow the batch converter to access all the
directories below the one chosen as a source directory.
The Zoom commands increase and decrease the magnification at which your work is
displayed. Each option has several levels that may be chosen.

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Select Design - This is your main pointer. This wil

select the entire design, even if the colors have been
seperated.
Select Color - When you use this pointer and click on a
color in the design, everything but that thred will be
selected. This allows you to move or remove the rest of
the design and leave the chosen thread in place.
Rotate - Unlike the Rotate command in the Edit menu,
this command is activated by dragging rather than by
entering a value. When this command is chosen, a
handle will appear in the upper right hand corner of the
design. Merely click on the handle and rotate the
design to where you would like it. The design will pivot
on its center.
Insert Color Change - Allows you to select a thread
and add a change of color.
Delete Color Change - Removes a thread color
change. The thread color switches to the color
immediately to the left of it on the color bar. The first
color (the color on the far left of the color bar) cannot be
removed.
Set Size - If a design or portion of a design needs to be
resized exactly, first select what you wish to resize, then
choose Set Size. You will be asked what you wish to
set the new size to. The first number is for the width
and the second number is for the height. Note that the
numbers entered are 1/10th of a mm.
Set Position - This command will allow you to specify
the design's position numerically. The first number is the horizontal position, the second
number is the vertical. If you just wish to center your design, use the Center tool below.
Mirror Horizontally - Flips the image on its vertical axis.
Mirror Vertically - Turns the image upside down.
Center - This centers the selected design on the work grid.
Center Horizontally - This centers the selected design from left to right on the work
grid.

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Center Vertically - This centers the selected design from top to bottom on the work
grid.
Hoop Size - This command brings up a dialog box where you can choose the machine
and size that the design is to be used for. The workspace grid will shrink or grow to
show the workable area available for that particular machine and size.
Override Density - Use this command to adjust the density of the embroidery pattern.
You may get better results on terry cloth by changing the density to 110%.
You may get better results on knits by changing the density to 90%.
Next Color - This displays a single thread color. Clicking on this repeatedly cycles
through the thread colors in use. After all threads are displayed individually, the full
design will be shown.
Previous Color - The same as Next Color, except that it cycles in the reverse order.

The Color Bar

The color bar is used for changing the colors of a given thread. Every thread in a
design has a color, and each color is represented in the color bar (it's right above the
status bar). If you would like to change the color of a thread, simply click on the color it
currently has and a color picker will appear. Choose the new color and hit OK. The
thread color will change on the color bar and in the design.

The workspace grid will vary in size

depending on the machine and hoop size
you are currently set up for. Both of
these may be set in the Preferences
menu.
The heavy dashed lines show the center of the grid. The small dotted lines are spaced
10mm apart, creating boxes 10mm square.
Finally, at the very bottom of the screen is the Status Bar. If you do not see the status
bar, got to the View menu and place a check mark next to Status Bar.

The left area of the status bar describes actions of menu items as you use the arrow
keys to navigate through menus. This area similarly shows messages that describe the
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actions of toolbar buttons as you depress them, before releasing them. If after viewing
the description of the toolbar button command you wish not to execute the command,
then release the mouse button while the pointer is off the toolbar button.
The right areas of the status bar indicates:
Indicator
Size

Description
The size of the selected embroidery elements. The first number is width,
the second is height.

Pos

The position of the select embroidery elements. This is relative to the

center of the grid and the center of the design. The first number is for
horizontal position and the second number is for vertical. If the center of
the design is to the right of the center of the grid the first number will be a
positive number, if it's to the left it will be a negative number. If the center
of the design is higher than the center of the grid the first number will be a
positive number, if it's lower it will be a negative number.

St

The number of stitches in the design(s).

Clrs

The number of colors in the design(s).

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Ring of Butterflies
Here's a quick example of using some of the features of Smart Sizer.
First, we'll start with a basic butterfly design.

This design is a little too large

for what we want to do. We'll
have to reduce the butterfly
design to fit the other three (to
make our "circle" of butterflies).

By selecting the lower right hand

design handle with the mouse, we
can click and drag it up to the left,
reducing the size of our design.

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Great! Now it's the right size.

Go to edit, then copy. Next
click on paste. Now we have
our second butterfly!

The butterfly is facing the

wrong direction though.
Easily solved! Click on the
Mirror Vertically button and
presto!

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Another click on the paste button

will give us our third butterfly.
We'll just move it off to the side
we need it on.

Here's where Rotate comes in.

With our new butterfly selected
we'll use Rotate from the Edit
menu and enter "90" as the
value. Hit the OK.

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Much better! Now we'll copy

the butterfly and paste it
where we need it.

A simple click on the Mirror

Horizontally button sets our
butterfly in the right direction. It's
a little plain still, so let's add a
center piece.

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We'll do this by going to File

from the menu and choosing
merge. Now we'll choose the
design that will make our
centerpiece.

Well we have our picture,

but it's too large to fit in the
middle. We'll resize it using
the Set Size, since we know
exactly what size we want
it.

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Almost done! Now just press on

the Set Size icon and enter 200
for width and height (that will
make it 20mm square).

That's it! Now we can save it

or print it!

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