Brother Pe Design 6 Manual

							Advanced OpreationLayout & Editing
193
Layout & EditingChecking Embroidery Patterns
Viewing Patterns in the Reference 
Window
All outlines and patterns in the Design Page are displayed in the Reference Window, giving you an overall view 
of the pattern while you work on a detailed area. The display area frame (red rectangle) indicates the part of 
the pattern displayed in the Design Page.
Zooming
The pattern displayed in the Reference Window can 
be reduced to fit completely within the Reference 
Window or enlarged to display only the pattern.
1.Click .
→The pattern is displayed so that it fills the 
Reference Window.
Moving the display area 
frame
The part of the pattern displayed in the Design Page 
can be selected from the Reference Window.
1.Move the pointer over the display area frame.
→The shape of the pointer changes to  .
2.Drag the display area frame so that it 
surrounds the desired part of the pattern.
→The selected part of the pattern is dis-
played in the Design Page.
Redrawing the display area 
frame
Instead of moving the display area frame, the frame 
can be redrawn to display the desired part of the 
pattern in the Design Page.
1.Drag the pointer over the desired part of the 
pattern in the Reference Window.
→The display area frame is redrawn, and 
the selected part of the pattern is dis-
played in the Design Page.
Scaling the display area 
frame
1.Move the pointer over a corner of the display 
area frame.
→The shape of the pointer changes to   
or  , depending on the corner that the 
pointer is over.
bMemo:
 and   are for scaling the height 
and width. 
2.Drag the corner to adjust the display area 
frame to the desired size.
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Layout & Editing
Saving and Printing
Saving
Overwriting
Once the image or pattern has been saved, 
changes can easily be saved so that the latest 
version can be retrieved later.
Toolbar button:  
1.Click  , or click File, then Save. 
→If the image or pattern has already been 
saved at least once, the file is saved im-
mediately.
→If no file name has been specified or if the 
file cannot be found, the Save As dialog 
box appears.
Saving with a new name
The current file can be saved with a different file 
name in order to keep the original unchanged or to 
keep various versions of the same image or pattern.
The files are saved as .pes files.
1.Click File, then Save As.
→A Save As dialog box similar to the one 
shown below appears.
2.Select the drive and the folder, and then type 
in the file name.
3.Click Save to save the data.
bMemo:
 To quit the operation, click Cancel.
 If a file already exists with the name 
specified in the 
Save As dialog box, the 
following message appears.
 To overwrite the file, click 
Yes.
 If you do not want to overwrite the 
existing file, click 
No. You can then 
enter a different file name.
→The new file name appears in the title bar 
of the Layout & Editing window.
aNote:
 If you select a file type of a previous 
software version, saved .pes files can be 
opened with that version of the software; 
however, all saved data will be converted 
to stitch data.
 Custom-sized Design Pages cannot be 
saved in a software version prior to 
version 6.
 Custom-sized Design Pages will be saved 
in one file, but the stitch data is saved 
separately for all hoop sizes.
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							Advanced OpreationLayout & Editing
195
Layout & EditingSaving and Printing
Outputting data in a 
different format
The data shown in the Design Page can be exported 
as a file of a different format (.dst, .hus, .exp, and 
.pcs).
1.Click File, then Export.
→A dialog box similar to the one shown be-
low appears.
2.Select the drive and the folder, and then type 
in the file name. 
3.Select the format (.dst, .exp, .pcs, or .hus) in 
which you want to export the file.
bMemo:
With the DST format, jump codes are used to 
indicate when the thread must be cut in order 
to change the thread color. Since the number 
of codes differ depending on the sewing 
machine being used, type or select the 
appropriate value in the 
Number of jumps 
for trim box. (This setting can only be 
specified if the .dst format is selected.)
Writing an embroidery 
pattern to an original card
You can save a displayed embroidery pattern onto 
an original card in order to transfer it to a sewing 
machine.Toolbar button: 
1.Insert an original card into the USB card writer 
module.
2.Click , or click File, then Write to Card, 
then Current Design.
→The following message appears.
aNote:
 Some patterns imported from embroidery 
cards cannot be exported.
 Patterns designed on a custom-sized 
Design Page will be exported as a simple 
file, and will not be split into sections.
aNote:
Be sure that the hoop size of the pattern 
does not exceed the hoop that will be used 
on the embroidering machine.
aNote:
 The original card is inserted correctly 
when you hear it snap into place.
 The sewing machine must be turned off 
before original cards are inserted or 
removed. However, it is not necessary to 
turn off the computer when original cards 
are inserted or removed from the USB 
card writer module.
aNote:
 If the original card is not brand new, make 
sure that the patterns already stored on 
the card are no longer needed.
 If no original card is inserted, the following 
message appears
 Correct the problem, and then click 
Retry.
 To quit the operation, click 
Cancel.
 If a .pes file is saved with objects 
extending off the Design Page or with the 
number of stitches or number of colors for 
the objects exceeding the Design Page 
limitations, the patterns cannot be saved 
on an original card.
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							196
Layout & EditingSaving and Printing
bMemo:
Patterns created on a custom-sized Design 
Page are written to cards split into their various 
sections.
If the total size of the pattern exceeds the 
capacity of the original card or if your Design 
Page is set to a custom size of 90 
× 90 cm (3.54” × 3.54”), and is split into over 80 sections, you 
will need to split the pattern into sections and 
write them onto several original cards.
In this case, the 
Select Hoop Sections dialog 
box appears to let you select the sections that 
can be written in the available space on the card.
The progress bar at the top of the dialog box 
shows the available space on the card as you 
select pattern sections to be written to the card. 
The space used by the selected pattern sections 
appears in blue. If, however, you select a pattern 
section that exceeds the size limit, the space 
used appears in yellow, and if you select several 
pattern sections which exceed the size limit, the 
space used appears in red.
Click each pattern section to select it, and 
then click Write to write the selected pattern 
sections to the card. To deselect a pattern 
section, simply click it again. (The 
Write button is available only when a section is 
selected and the space on the card is 
sufficient to receive the selected patterns.)
3.Click OK.
→The message “Now writing” appears while 
the current embroidery pattern is trans-
ferred to the original card, and then the 
following message appears.
bMemo:
To quit the operation, click Cancel.
4.Click OK to close the message.
bMemo:
“Overwriting” on page 194 and “Saving with 
a new name” on page 194
Writing multiple embroidery 
files to an original card
You can save multiple .pes files to an original card 
at the same time.
1.Insert an original card into the USB card writer 
module.
2.Click File, then Write to Card, then Other 
PES files.
→The following dialog box appears with the 
contents of the last folder accessed dis-
played in the available patterns list.
aNote:
 The original card is inserted correctly 
when you hear it snap into place.
 The sewing machine must be turned off 
before original cards are inserted or 
removed. However, it is not necessary to 
turn off the computer when original cards 
are inserted or removed from the USB 
card writer module.
Available patternsSelected patterns
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							Advanced OpreationLayout & Editing
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Layout & EditingSaving and Printing
bMemo:
 Patterns that are either too large or have 
too many stitches for the embroidery hoop 
size selected with the Hoop size selector, 
are displayed with a red crossed-out hoop 
().
 Patterns created for the optional extra-
large embroidery hoop are displayed with 
the  symbol.
 Patterns created on a custom-sized 
Design Page are displayed with the   
symbol.
3.From the Hoop size selector, select the 
appropriate size of embroidery hoop.
bMemo:
 Do not select a hoop size larger than the 
embroidery hoop that can be used with 
your embroidering machine. Otherwise, 
the created original card will not work 
correctly with the embroidering machine.
 Make sure to select a hoop size that is the 
same or larger than the largest hoop size 
of the files you want to write to the card, 
otherwise the pattern cannot be written to 
a card and “
×” appears.
4.Click  , and then select the folder where 
the desired pattern file (.pes) is saved. The 
available pattern list displays the image of the 
embroidery pattern files (.pes).
bMemo:
If an original card was selected, the patterns 
saved on the inserted card are displayed.
5.In the available patterns list, click the pattern 
that you want to write onto a card to select it.
bMemo:
 To deselect a file, simply click it again.
 To switch between the large and small 
display size of the embroidery pattern 
images shown in the lists, click  .
 To display the information (size, number of 
stitches, and colors) for the pattern 
selected in either list, click  . (This 
button is available only if a single pattern is 
selected.)
 To display a three-dimensional image of 
the pattern selected in either list, click 
. (This button is available only if a 
single pattern is selected.)
  shows the 
capacity of the patterns selected in the 
selected patterns list.
6.To add the embroidery pattern selected in the 
available patterns list to the selected patterns 
list, click  .
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Layout & EditingSaving and Printing
bMemo:
 To remove the embroidery pattern 
selected in the selected patterns list, click 
.
 Patterns created on a custom-sized 
Design Page are written to cards split into 
their various hoop sections.
If the total size of the pattern exceeds the 
capacity of the original card or if your hoop 
size is 90 
× 90 cm (3.54” × 3.54”) and the 
Design Page is split into over 80 sections, 
the available space appears in yellow on 
the progress bar. When   is clicked, 
the 
Select Hoop Sections dialog box 
appears, allowing you to select the pattern 
sections to be written in the available 
space on the card.
The progress bar at the top of the dialog box 
shows the available space on the card as 
you select pattern sections to be written to 
the card. The space used by the selected 
pattern sections appears in blue. If, however, 
you select a pattern section that exceeds the 
size limit, the space used appears in yellow, 
and if you select several pattern sections 
which exceed the size limit, the space used 
appears in red.
Click each pattern section to select it, and 
then click 
Write to write the selected pattern 
sections to the card. To deselect a pattern 
section, simply click it again. (The 
Write 
button is available only when a section is 
selected and the space on the card is 
sufficient to receive the selected patterns.)
7.Continue until all embroidery patterns that you 
want to write to an original card are selected.
bMemo:
During this process, the card capacity 
indicator allows you to plan which patterns 
you would like to save on an original card.
The space used by patterns in the selected 
patterns list appears in blue. The space used 
by the files selected in the available patterns 
list appears in light blue. If several files 
exceed the available space, the progress bar 
appears in yellow.
8.After the embroidery patterns to be written to 
the original card appear in the selected 
patterns list, click   to write the patterns to 
the card.
→The patterns are written to an original 
card in the order that they are listed after 
all data already on the card is erased.
After the patterns are written to the origi-
nal card, the card containing the patterns 
can be used with the embroidery ma-
chine.
9.Click   in the upper-right corner of the 
dialog box to close the dialog box.
aNote:
 Since original cards are erased 
completely before patterns are written to 
it, it is useful to keep a copy with the 
contents of each card in the card folder 
that comes with the software so that you 
can easily recover the files that were on 
the card.
 To check the contents of the original card, 
open the 
Browse dialog box, and then 
click  , which appears at the top of the 
list in the 
Browse window. The patterns 
saved on the inserted card appear in the 
available patterns list.
 Do not remove the card or unplug the USB 
cable while patterns are being written to 
the card (while the LED indicator is 
flashing).
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							Advanced OpreationLayout & Editing
199
Layout & EditingSaving and Printing
Adding comments to saved 
.pes files
You can enter comments and information about the 
pattern to a saved .pes file.
1.Click File, then Property.
→The File Property dialog box appears.
bMemo:
The stitch count is the total of all stitches.
2.To enter or change the information, type it in.
3.Click OK to save the entered information.
bMemo:
 The entered information will be saved to 
the file the next time that it is saved.
 To quit the operation and close the dialog 
box, click 
Cancel.
 Files can be searched for in Design 
Database according to the entered 
information.
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							200
Layout & EditingSaving and Printing
Printing
Specifying print settings
Before printing, you may need to change the print 
settings for the embroidery pattern files that you 
want to print.
1.Click File, then Print Setup.
→A Print Setup dialog box similar to the 
one shown below appears.
2.Under Paper and Orientation, select the 
appropriate settings.
3.Under Print type, Print Option and Stitch 
image, select how the data is to be printed.
Print type
Actual Size: Select this option to print the 
pattern in actual size and the sewing infor-
mation (dimensions of the embroidery, the 
sewing color order and the stitch count, the 
hoop position) on separate pages. If the pat-
tern size is larger than the paper size, de-
pending on the Design Page settings, a 
reduced version of the large pattern and the 
different pattern sections in actual size are 
printed.
Reduced Size: Select this option to print a 
reduced image together with all of the above-
mentioned information on a single page for 
Design Pages set to Hoop Size, and on the 
same page as the image for each hoop sec-
tion of custom-sized Design Pages.
Print option
Print sewing area box & center axes: Se-
lect this check box to print black lines to indi-
cate the sewing area (refer to “Specifying the 
Sewing Area” on page 183) and the center axes for the data. (This setting is only avail-
able when Actual Size is selected.)
Print template grid: Select this check box to 
print green lines to represent the grid printed 
on the embroidery sheet included with the 
hoop.
Print hoop section boundaries onto the 
first page: Select this check box to print the 
pattern sections of a pattern for which the 
Design Page has been set to a custom size 
or to a multi-position hoop. The pattern sec-
tions are printed in red.
Divide embroidery image into 2 pages: 
Select this check box to print in actual size 
and on A4- or Letter-size paper patterns that 
are larger than the paper size by dividing 
them in two and printing each half on differ-
ent pages. (This setting is only available 
when Actual size is selected in the Print 
Setup dialog box and when the Design Page 
is set to the larger hoop sizes [300 × 200 mm 
(11 3/4 × 7 3/4), 200 × 300 mm (7 3/4 × 11 
3/4), 180 × 300 mm (7 × 11 3/4), 300 × 180 
mm (11 3/4 × 7) when set to Hoop Size, 
and 175 × 295 mm (180 × 300 mm) 6.89 × 
11.61 (7 × 11 3/4) or 295 × 195 mm (300 × 
200 mm) 11.61 × 7.68 (11 3/4 × 7 3/4) 
when set to Custom Size].) With this split 
printing feature,   /   or   /   is 
printed in the lower-right corner of the paper 
to indicate which half is printed.
Stitch image
Normal: Select this option to print the pat-
tern as lines and dots.
Realistic: Select this option to print a realis-
tic image of the pattern. To change the set-
tings of the realistic image, click Attributes. 
(For details, refer to “Changing realistic pre-
view settings” on page 187.)
aNote:
 If the Divide embroidery image into 2 
pages check box is cleared and you print 
on a larger paper size, the pattern does 
not print in two halves. Likewise, if you 
print on a smaller paper size, the pattern 
might be cut off.
 The stitch and hoop position information is 
printed on a separate page, after the 
image or pattern section halves.
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							Advanced OpreationLayout & Editing
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Layout & EditingSaving and Printing
4.Click OK.
bMemo:
 To change the printer settings, click Properties.
 To quit the operation, click 
Cancel.
c“Previewing the Sewing Image” on 
page 187
Checking the print image
You can preview the contents of the Design Page, 
including the separate hoop sections of large-size 
embroidery patterns, and check the sewing color 
order, the dimensions and the stitch count before 
printing.
1.Click File, then Print Preview.
→If Actual Size was selected in the Print 
Setup dialog box, the Layout & Editing 
window appears as shown below.
bMemo:
 To enlarge and reduce the page, click Zoom In or Zoom Out. Enlarge the image 
either by clicking 
Zoom In, or by clicking 
directly the location that you want to 
enlarge. To reduce the size of the image, 
click 
Zoom Out.
 To display the following page, click 
Next 
Page
. (For Design Pages set to Hoop 
Size, this button is not available if Reduced Size was selected in the Print 
Setup
 dialog box.) 
 To go back to the display of the 
embroidery, click 
Prev Page. (For Design 
Pages set to Hoop Size, this button is not 
available if Reduced Size was selected in 
the 
Print Setup dialog.)
 To display two pages at the same time, 
click
 Two Page. (The Two Page button 
becomes the One Page button.)
 To display one page at a time, click 
One 
Page. To open the 
Print dialog box, click Print.
 If you need to view an image in detail, 
displaying only one page at a time allows 
you to enlarge it more.
If you want to check the sewing 
information for individual objects in your 
embroidery pattern, select the menu 
command 
Option – Design Property. 
c“Specifying print settings” on page 200, 
“Printing” below and “Checking 
Embroidery Pattern Information” on 
page 189
Printing
You can print the Design Page together with its 
sewing information.
1.Click File, then Print.
→A Print dialog box similar to the one 
shown below appears.
2.Select the necessary settings.
3.Click OK to begin printing.
bMemo:
 To change the printer settings, click 
Properties.
 To quit the operation, click 
Cancel.
4.Follow the instructions for the printer to finish 
printing.
→Depending on the Print Type setting, one 
or two pages will be printed for one pat-
tern or one hoop position.
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							202
Layout & Editing
Changing Software Settings
Changing the Settings
Changing the grid settings
A grid of dotted lines or solid lines can be displayed 
or hidden, and the spacing for the grid can be 
adjusted.
1.Click Display, then Grid Setup.
→The Grid Setting dialog box appears.
2.To display the grid, select the Show Grid 
check box. 
To hide the grid, clear the Show Grid check 
box.
3.To use the grid for aligning patterns or creating 
patterns of the same size, select the Snap to 
Grid check box.
bMemo:
The pointer will move by the amount set in Grid interval.
The snap feature works whether or not the 
grid is displayed.
4.To set the grid spacing, type or select a value 
in the Grid interval box. (The setting range is 
0.1 to 25.4 mm (0.04 to 1.0 inch).)
5.To display the grid as solid lines, select the 
with Axes check box.
To display the grid as dotted lines, clear the 
with Axes check box.
6.Click OK to apply the changes and to close the 
dialog box.
bMemo:
To close the dialog box without applying the 
changes to the grid, click Cancel.
c“Changing the measurement units” below
Changing the measurement 
units
The measurements for values displayed in the 
application can be in either millimeters or inches.
1.Click Option, then Select System Unit, and 
then select the desired measurement units 
(mm or inch).
c“Changing the grid settings” on this page 
and “Specifying the Design Page” on 
page 108.
aNote: 
When the Show grid check box is selected 
and the with Axes check box is cleared, 
only the intersecting points of the grid will be 
displayed.
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