How to Create and Edit Rectangle Shapes in eXPerience 8

This guide will walk you through the process of adding, customizing, and editing rectangle shapes in your eXPerience 8 embroidery software. Rectangles are fundamental shapes for many designs, and mastering this tool is essential for efficient digitizing.

Part 1: Creating a Rectangle

Follow these steps to add a new rectangle to your design canvas.

Step 1: Locate the Shapes Tool Navigate to the “Shapes” section on your main toolbar. The icon displayed will be the last shape you used.

Step 2: Select the Rectangle Shape Place your mouse cursor over the “Shapes” section to reveal the available options. Click on the Rectangle icon to select it.

Step 3: Draw the Rectangle Click and hold your left mouse button on the design canvas. Drag the cursor to define the size and position of your rectangle. Release the mouse button to place the shape.

Useful Tip: To draw a perfect square (a rectangle with equal sides), press and hold the Ctrl key while you click and drag.

Step 4: Adjust Corner Roundness Immediately after you release the mouse, the rectangle is created, and the tool remains active. Look at the Tool Options Bar (typically located at the top of the screen) to find the “Roundness” setting. You can adjust this value to create rounded corners on the rectangle you just drew.

Step 5: Complete the Process The Rectangle tool remains active in case you want to draw more rectangles. When you are finished, simply right-click anywhere on the canvas or click on the Rectangle Selection Tool (the main arrow cursor) to release the tool.

Part 2: Editing a Rectangle with the Node Tool

Once a rectangle is created, you can easily modify it without losing its special properties by using the Node Editor.

Step 1: Select the Shape and Enter Node Editing Using the Selection Tool, click on the rectangle you wish to edit. Then, select the Node Editor tool. You will notice the rectangle does not have standard nodes; instead, it has special function nodes.

Step 2: Use the Special Nodes for Editing

• Corner Roundness Node: This circular node, located near a corner, can be dragged to interactively adjust the roundness of all four corners simultaneously.
• Sizing Node: This square node allows you to change the size and proportion of the rectangle. Dragging it works just like when you first created the shape.
• Position Node: The node in the absolute center of the shape can be used to click and drag the entire rectangle to a new position on the canvas.

Part 3: Advanced Manual Editing by Converting to Curves

If you need to edit the rectangle’s shape beyond what the special nodes allow (for example, moving a single corner independently), you must first convert it into a standard vector object.

Step 1: Convert to Curves Select the rectangle you wish to edit. Right-click on it and choose the “Convert to Curves” option from the context menu.

Important Note: This action is permanent for the shape. Once a rectangle is converted to curves, it loses its special properties. The nodes for roundness, sizing, and positioning will be replaced by standard vector nodes at each corner. You will no longer be able to use the quick-edit functions on that object.