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Frequently asked questions

Section 7: Edit Tools

You have likely noticed a series of tools located along the top right-hand side of your tool icons, most of which have been grey to this point. These are your "Edit Tools".

Once you have an imported image selected, you will note that all of your Edit Tools will be available. The Edit Tools are for use with external images.

Load File - This tool is used to locate and import external file images. You may import an image you own or may have drawn in another software package, such as Microsoft Paint. Keep in mind from the previous information provided that images do need to be in a supportable file format in order to be imported. Please also note you do need to have the image saved somewhere on your computer or some other type of removable device for your computer (such as a CD or Flash Drive).

HOW TO: Import External Images
  1. Go to the "Insert" menu and select "File" OR click on the "Load File" icon found in your Edit Tools
  2. Locate the image on your computer or other removable device
  3. Double-click on the image to select and drop OR single-click to select the image and click "Open"
  4. At this point you will see a blank blue box representing your image. Your image will appear once you have clicked to drop your image onto your project.

Rotate 90º CCW - This tool will rotate your selected imported image 90 degrees counter-clockwise. It is only for imported images. Imported images cannot be rotated in the same manner as library images, text, and drawn images. This button will only be available if you have an imported image that is selected.

Rotate 180º - This tool will rotate your selected imported image 180 degrees, or in other words, flip it upside-down (or right-side-up if it is already flipped upside-down). It is only for imported images. Imported images cannot be rotated in the same manner as library images, text, and drawn images. This button will only be available if you have an imported image that is selected.

Rotate 90º CW - This tool will rotate your selected imported image 90 degrees clockwise. It is only for imported images. Imported images cannot be rotated in the same manner as library images, text, and drawn images. This button will only be available if you have an imported image that is selected.

Clip Image - This tool is used to crop images for printing purposes only. It does not relate to cut lines. This may be used with photos, for example, which you may wish to crop and use with the "Print and Cut" feature (The "Print and Cut" feature will be described in a later section).

HOW TO: Use the Clip Image Tool
  1. Select your imported image so that it has a blue selection box around it:

  2. Resize the image to your liking
  3. Click on the "Clip Image" button OR go to the "Edit" menu and select "Clip Image" - you will note that you no longer have sizing arrows or options around your image, but that it still has a blue selection box around it
  4. Using one of the Closed Line drawing tools, draw around where you want your image to be cropped or "clipped". Though you may use any closed line tool you would like, there are a few different tool options we might suggest to select depending on your desired effect.

    Rectangle or Rounded Rectangle Clip - Select either one of these tools and draw around your image as desired using the drawing methods previously discussed.

    Closed Spline Clip - select the Closed Spline tool and draw around your image. It may look odd at first, but as you drop points around your image and continue to trace the desired area by hand, you will see the drawn lines have more detail with the more points you drop.

  5. After you have drawn your surrounding lines where you want to crop or "clip" your image, click again on the "Clip Image" button. Your image will now be clipped according to where your lines were drawn.

    Remember, the lines drawn using the "Clip Image" tool are for clipping the image only. They are not creating cut lines where the image is clipped.

After using the "Clip Image" tool, you may now choose to create cut lines for use with your image. To do so, simply select the desired drawing tool as discussed in the previous drawing tools section in order to trace around your image or create a frame cut out your imported image.

Get Outline - This is an Auto Trace tool used to assign cut lines to imported images. As previously mentioned, this tool is only compatible with Raster images, such as BMP or JPG files. Images imported for tracing purposes to create cut lines should be simple images. More detailed images, such as photographs, will not work as well.

HOW TO: Auto Trace External Images to Create Cut Lines
  1. OPTIONAL: If you already have an image that has been imported you wish to trace to create cut lines, click on your imported image so that it shows a blue box indicating it is currently selected

    You may obtain this image to work along with this tutorial here.

  2. Click on the "Get Outline" button OR go to the "Edit" menu and select "Get Outline". This will bring up the "Auto Trace" window.

    If you have selected an image that was already imported, you will note that your image is put into a monochromatic (or black and white) format. This is normal.

    If you have not selected an image that was imported, the Auto Trace window when opened will be blank. You will need to select the "File" menu in this window and select "Load Image" in order to browse and select the image you wish to create cut lines for.

    Depending on your image, you may only see a corner piece of your image in this window, such as in the example below:

    If you would like to view the entire image rather than just a section, you may click on the "View" menu in this Auto Trace window and select "Fit". This will re-adjust your image to fit the Auto Trace window.

    Once you have your image in the Auto Trace window, you may do the following, which we will discuss in a moment:

    • Edit the image
    • Convert the image to an outline format (or in other words, create cut lines)
    • Make adjustments to the outline format
  3. OPTIONAL: Before converting to an outline for cutting purposes, edit your image if desired.

    With the Edit Image tools, you may use the following:

    • Zoom in (by left-clicking) or out (by right-clicking) to better view your image
    • Dot Drawing to draw fine details
    • Brush for drawing more broad strokes
    • Fill to completely fill in any areas
  4. OPTIONAL: Adjust your settings in regard to how you want the image to be traced. Though you may skip these steps, you have the following options:
    • Adjust the Threshold

      The Threshold bar refers to the contrast of your image. It has a range of 0 (which is more fine) up to 255 (which is more broad). A good way to think of this tool is that the farther to the left you go with a lower number, the more your image will be like a college student with a fine tip pen. The farther to the right you go with a higher number, the more your image will be like a Kindergartener with a thick crayon.

    • Adjust the Thickness

      The Thickness bar refers to how close the traced line will hug to your image. A thickness of 0.0mm (as defaulted) means that the image will be traced to the exact contour. The higher the number, the farther away the traced line will be to the original image.

    • Select to use the Outer Frame Only

      Checking this box will only convert the outer edges of your image rather than any inner details

  5. Convert the image to an outline format. To do this, simply click on the "Convert to Outline" option on the upper-left side of the Auto Trace window. In the example below, we have adjusted the Threshold to a lower number in order to view the inner details of the image so that the inner lines would be converted as well.

    In the converted outline (which may look very much like a dot-to-dot puzzle) you will note there are a) little dots, or break points, where the during the cutting process the blade is being told to slightly change course, b) green lines, which represent straight lines, and c) blue lines, which represent curved lines.

  6. OPTIONAL: Adjust your lines and/or points if desired. Though you may skip these steps, you have the following options.

    • This tool will remove undesired break points. When selected, your cursor will look like a pair of pliers. Highlighted break points will turn red to show they are being selected so you can verify which point is going to be deleted. Left-click on any highlighted break point to delete.

    • This tool will add new break points. When selected, your cursor will look like a pair of pliers with a circle. Left-click on or near a line to create a new break point.

    • This tool will straighten curved lines or curve straight lines. When selected, your cursor will look like a pair of needle nose pliers. Left-click on any line to alter it.

    If you have changed your mind and wish to only trace the image's outer frame, you may check the "Outer Frame Only" option and then click on the "Update" button.

    You may also click on the "Show Background" checkbox if you wish to see the original image as you are working with adjusting your points and lines.

    If at any point you make a mistake or want to undo a previous step, you may click on the Undo button. Similarly, you may click on the Redo button if you wish to re-perform the previous undone action.

    You may also return to edit your original image by clicking on the "Edit Image" button located in the upper right-hand corner of the Auto Trace window (where the "Convert to Outline" button was located prior to conversion).

  7. OPTIONAL: If desired, you may save the cut line data you have created and adjusted to work on later. To save the data, go to the "File" menu in the "Auto Trace" window and select "Save Data". You data will be saved as a GMK file. It may then be re-opened at any time by going into the "Get Outline" tool, selecting the "File" menu and choosing the "Load Data" option.
  8. Once finished with the Auto Trace window, click on the "Paste then Exit" button in the bottom right-hand corner of the window.

    If you have made any adjustment to add or remove break points, or have straightened or curved a line, you may receive a message stating that the data has not been saved when you go to "Paste then Exit". Though you may opt to do so, you do not need to save. You may simply select "Yes" to proceed.

    Once back in the main software window, you will now be able to view your created cut lines.

    If you were working with an imported image, you will see your selected image with surrounding cut lines. When your image is selected, the newly created cut lines will be yellow.

    When your image is not selected, you will see red lines surrounding the parts of your image you traced to create cut lines.

    If you imported an image into the Auto Trace window, you will not see the original image. You will only see the created cut lines.

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