# Command Reference

## &kxstitch; Menus

### The File Menu

&Ctrl;N New

  Creates a new pattern, using the default values set in the pattern properties dialog.

&Ctrl;O Open

  Opens an existing pattern

Open Recent

  Open a recently used pattern

&Ctrl;S Save

  Saves the pattern

&Ctrl;&Shift;S Save As

  Saves the pattern under a new name

Revert

  Revert the pattern to the last saved state

&Ctrl;P Print

  Print the pattern

Print Setup

  Set up the printing layout

Import Image

  Import an image file converting it to stitches

File Properties

  Display / Edit the document properties

Add Background Image

  Insert an image as a background for tracing.

Remove Background Image

  Select a background image to remove. The sub menu for this is populated from the background images previously inserted.

&Ctrl;W Close

  Close the pattern

&Ctrl;Q Quit

  Quits &kxstitch;

### The Edit Menu

&Ctrl;Z Undo

  Undo the last change. The list of changes are shown in the History window.

&Ctrl;&Shift;Z Redo

  Redo the last change undone. The list of changes are shown in the History window.

&Ctrl;X Cut

  Cut the selected area to the clipboard

&Ctrl;C Copy

  Copy the selected area to the clipboard

&Ctrl;V Paste

  Paste the selected area

Selection Masks Stitch Mask

  Limit selections to the currently selected stitch type

Selection Masks Color Mask

  Limit selections to the currently selected color

Selection Masks Exclude Backstitches

  Exclude backstitches from the selection

Selection Masks Exclude Knots

  Exclude Knots from the selection

Mirror / Rotate makes copies

  If set, the mirror and rotate functions will make a copy of the selection, otherwise the selected area is moved

Mirror Selection Horizontally

  Mirror the selected area horizontally, &ie; flipped from left to right

Mirror Selection Vertically

  Mirrors the selected area vertically, &ie; flipped from top to bottom

Rotate Selection 90 degrees

  Rotate the selected area anti clockwise 90 degrees

Rotate Selection 180 degrees

  Rotate the selected area anti clockwise 180 degrees

Rotate Selection 270 degrees

  Rotate the selected area anti clockwise 270 degrees

#### Cut, Copy and Paste

Cutting and copying areas of the pattern can make use of stitch and color masks and the exclusion of backstitches and knots to limit the selection.

The paste operation in &kxstitch; allows you to press and hold the &LMB; down roughly in the position that the paste data is to go which will provide an image of the paste data to allow accurate positioning before releasing the mouse button to finalize the position. This technique is also used for the mirroring and rotate functions. The cursor keys can also be used to move the pasted pattern around and the &Enter; key used to fix the position.

### The View Menu

Actual Size

  Zoom the view so that the screen size approximates the physical size

Fit To Page

  Zoom the view so that the whole pattern fits within the visible area

Fit To Page Width

  Zoom the view so that the patterns width fits within the visible area

Fit To Page Height

  Zoom the view so that the patterns height fits within the visible area

&Ctrl;+Zoom In

  Zoom in on the editor view

&Ctrl;-Zoom Out

  Zoom out on the editor view

Preview

  Show or hide the preview window

Palette

  Show or hide the palette window

History

  Show or hide the history window

Imported Image

  Show or hide the imported image preview window

Show Background Image

  Show or hide a background image. The list is generated dynamically based on the inserted background images

Fit Background Image to Selection

  Fit the selected background image to the current selection area

### The Stitches Menu

Quarter Stitch

  Quarter Stitch, the position is determined by the quadrant of the cell selected

Half Stitch

  Half Stitch, the direction is determined by the quadrant of the cell selected

3 Quarter Stitch

  Three Quarter Stitch, the orientation is determined by the quadrant of the cell selected

Full Stitch

  Full Stitch

Small Half Stitch

  A small half stitch, the position is determined by the quadrant of the cell selected

Small Full Stitch

  A small full stitch, the position is determined by the quadrant of the cell selected

French Knot

  French Knot Stitch

### The Tools Menu

Paint

  Paint stitches onto the canvas - Press down the &LMB; and drag around the window. Stitches will be added to each cell passed over. Release the mouse button to stop painting.

Draw

  Draw a line of stitches onto the canvas - Press down the &LMB; at the start of the line, drag to the required end point of the line and release the mouse button. Stitches will be added to each cell that the line passes through.

Erase

  Erase stitches - Press down the &LMB; and drag over the stitches to be deleted. All stitches within the cells passed over will be removed. Release the mouse button to stop erasing. To erase backstitches hold down the &Ctrl; key and left click in the start or end point of the backstitch, if there is more than one backstitch at the digitized point this method will erase the first one found. To delete a specific backstitch, click and drag from one end to the other. To erase french knots hold down the &Shift; key and left click on the knot to delete it.

Draw Rectangle

  Draw a rectangle - Press down the &LMB; at one corner of the rectangle and drag to the opposite corner. Release the mouse button and an unfilled rectangle of stitches will be added to the canvas.

Fill Rectangle

  Draw a filled rectangle - Press down the &LMB; at one corner of the rectangle and drag to the opposite corner. Release the mouse button and a filled rectangle of stitches will be added to the canvas.

Draw Ellipse

  Draw an ellipse - Press down the &LMB; at one corner of the ellipse and drag to the opposite corner. Release the mouse button and an unfilled ellipse of stitches will be added to the canvas.

Fill Ellipse

  Draw a filled ellipse - Press down the &LMB; at one corner of the ellipse and drag to the opposite corner. Release the mouse button and a filled ellipse of stitches will be added to the canvas.

Fill Polygon

  Draw a filled polygon - Click on each cell marking the vertexes of the polygon, click and drag to create more complex curves. Each of the vertexes are marked by a circle with a black line joining them. To close the polygon click on the starting cell again. You can use the &Backspace; key to remove the last point, or the &Esc; key to remove all vertexes and cancel the operation.

Text

  Insert text in stitches. This invokes the text dialog. Select the font required and the size, enter the text and click OK. Press the &LMB; roughly where you would like the text, move the mouse to position the text accurately and then release the mouse button. This is the same as the paste function.

Alphabet

  Insert patterns from the currently selected library that match the keys pressed. This allows the creation of pattern alphabets that can have a key assignment. After selecting this tool and clicking a position on the pattern for the insertion point, each key pressed will be searched for in the current library for a matching pattern. If found this will be inserted at the position on the pattern and the insertion position then advanced by the width of the inserted character pattern. The pattern space will be extended right to allow further characters to be entered. Pressing &Enter; will start a new line under the position of the original insertion point, the pattern space will be extended downwards to accommodate the new line if insufficient space is available. &Backspace; will delete the last character entered and the Space key will advance the insertion point by either the width of a space character in the library or a predetermined amount if no space character exists. The text will wrap onto the next line if the edge of the pattern is reached and the end of a word is detected.

Select

  Select a rectangular region - Press down the &LMB; at one corner of the rectangle, drag to the opposite corner and release the button. A selection rectangle is shown to indicate the area.

Color picker

  Allows the selection of a color from the existing stitches. Hovering over stitches will show a tool tip indicating the color under the cursor. Clicking with the &LMB; will select it.

Backstitch

  Add backstitching to the canvas - Press down the &LMB; at the start of the backstitch, it will snap to the closest of 9 points in the cell, drag to the end point of the backstitch and release the mouse button, again this will snap to the nearest of 9 points in the cell.

### The Palette Menu

Palette Manager

  Add and remove colors to the current palette. Assign symbols and the number of strands for the stitching and backstitching.

Show Symbols

  Show the symbols associated with each color

Clear Unused

  Removes the unused colors from the palette.

Swap Colors

  The next color selected will be swapped with the currently selected color. If you select the eye dropper tool, you can choose the color to be swapped with directly from the pattern.

Replace Colors

  The next color selected will replace the currently selected color. As with swap colors, you can use the eye dropper tool to select the color from the pattern.

### The Library Menu

Library Manager

  Open the pattern library manager which is a non modal dialog allowing the creation and use of libraries of patterns or alphabets. Drag and drop is available to allow the dragging and dropping of patterns from the library to the pattern. Automatic conversion of flosses to suit the current pattern and scaling of the image to the current pattern scale for accurate positioning.

### The Pattern Menu

Extend Pattern

  Extend the pattern top, left, right and bottom

Center Pattern

  Center the pattern in the canvas

Crop Canvas To Pattern

  Crop the canvas to the extents of the pattern

Crop Canvas To Selection

  Crop the canvas to the extents of the current selection

Insert Rows

  Insert a number of rows represented by a selection area

Insert Columns

  Insert a number of columns represented by a selection area

### The Settings Menu

Apart from the common &kde; Settings menu entries described in the Settings Menu chapter of the &kde; Fundamentals &kxstitch; has these application specific menu entries:

Format Scales As

  Change the scale display format to Stitches, CM or Inches.

Render Stitches As

  Change the way stitches are displayed.

Render Backstitches As

  Change the way backstitches are displayed.

Render Knots As

  Change the way knots are displayed.

Color Highlight

  Enable or disable color highlight mode

Show Stitches

  Show or hide the stitches

Show Backstitches

  Show or hide the backstitches

Show French Knots

  Show or hide the french knots

Show Grid

  Show or hide the grid

Show Background Images

  Show or hide all the background images

Configure &kxstitch;

  Open &kxstitch; configuration dialog.

### The Help Menu

Additionally &kxstitch; has the common &kde; Help menu items, for more information read the section about the Help Menu of the &kde; Fundamentals.