Understanding Technique Selection in DRAWings PRO

DRAWings® PRO XII is a powerful, multi-functional software designed for a wide range of creative applications, including embroidery, graphic design, cutting, stencils, crystals, and painting. With so many capabilities, it is essential to have a workspace that is both efficient and uncluttered.

The Technique Selection tool allows you to customize the user interface by enabling only the tools relevant to your current project. This guide will walk you through how to use this feature to streamline your workflow.

Step-by-Step Guide to Using Techniques

Step 1: Open the Technique Selection Window

To begin, locate and click on the Techniques icon on your main toolbar. This will open the Technique Selection window, where you can manage all available creative functions.

The available techniques are:

• Cut
• Embroidery
• Stencil
• Crystals
• Paint

Step 2: Understand the Default Workspace

By default, whenever you create a new design in DRAWings PRO XII, the Embroidery technique is automatically enabled. This ensures that all the necessary embroidery tools are immediately available, while tools for other techniques remain hidden to simplify the interface.

Step 3: Enable or Disable Techniques

In the Technique Selection window, you can click on any technique to enable or disable it for your current session.

• To Enable a Technique: Simply click on it. For example, if you want to add crystals to an embroidery design, click on the Crystals technique.
• To Disable a Technique: Click on an enabled technique to turn it off.

Step 4: Understand the Status Indicators (Bulbs)

Next to each technique, you will see a colored bulb that indicates its current status:

• Black Bulb: The technique is disabled and its tools are hidden from the workspace.
• Green Bulb: The technique is enabled and its tools are available, but it is not yet being used in the current design.
• Red Bulb: The technique is actively being used in the design.

Useful Tip: A technique with a red bulb cannot be disabled. To disable it, you must first remove or convert all objects in your design that use that specific technique.

Step 5: Apply Changes to Your Workspace

Once you have selected the techniques you wish to use, click the OK button to confirm your choices and close the window.

The workspace will instantly update to reflect your selections. For instance, if you enabled “Crystals,” the Crystal Types and Settings will now appear as options within the Fill and Outline Properties tabs, ready for you to use.

Summary and Benefits

The Technique Selection system is designed for maximum flexibility. You can enable a single technique to focus on a specific task or activate all of them to work on a complex, multi-media project. By hiding unnecessary tools, you can reduce clutter and create a workspace that is as simple or as powerful as you need it to be, allowing you to focus on what matters most—your creativity.