Menus
Boldbobbin's menu bar has File, Edit, View, Tools, Window, Settings, Help, and it speaks whichever language you have picked. Shortcuts use Ctrl/Cmd (Cmd on macOS, Ctrl elsewhere), and tool keys below are the default Illustrator preset (change them in Settings → Keyboard Shortcuts). The full list is in Keyboard shortcuts.
File
- New design: Ctrl/Cmd+N
- New from Template…: browse a small public gallery of ready-made starter designs and open one to build from. No account needed.
- Open (.vemb)…: Ctrl/Cmd+O
- Save: Ctrl/Cmd+S. On the web this always saves to your account; on desktop the first save asks Cloud or this computer, then remembers. See Save and open cloud designs.
- The two builds list their destinations differently, because they have
different ones:
- Desktop has three to tell apart, so the other two sit under Save as ▸: Save to this computer (.vemb)… (Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+S) and Save on cloud.
- Web has two, and one of them is Ctrl/Cmd+S, so they are listed flat: Save to Cloud and Download (.vemb) (Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+S).
- Import ▸
- Import embroidery…
- Import reference image…
- Import SVG / PDF…: also reads Adobe Illustrator (.ai) files saved with PDF compatibility. See Import an SVG.
- Auto-digitize…: turn an image into stitches automatically, with three methods: Photostitch (photos), Cross-stitch (pixel art), and Auto-Trace (logos and flat clip art).
- Export ▸
- Export embroidery…: Ctrl/Cmd+E
- Export Run Sheet (PDF)…: Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+E
- Publish to community…: put a copy of the design in the public gallery and get a shareable link. It sits next to Export because it is the other way of sending a design somewhere. See Publish a design.
Edit
Undo, Redo, Cut, Copy, Paste, Select all, Deselect, Delete selection, Duplicate selection, Group selection, Ungroup selection, Translate…, Rotate…, and the four ordering commands (Send to front / forward / backward / to back). Shortcuts in Keyboard shortcuts.
View
- Zoom in / Zoom out
- Zoom preset ▸: Zoom to fit, Zoom 0.5× (half size), Zoom 1:1 (actual size), Zoom 3×, Zoom 6×
- Cycle render mode: Shift+S
- Toggle jumps overlay: Shift+J
- Toggle trims overlay: Shift+T
- Toggle grid: Shift+G
- Enter full screen
Toggle snapping (Shift+Y) and Toggle penetration points (Shift+P) are real commands but are not in this menu. Reach them by shortcut, from the command palette, or (for snapping) from Settings.
Tools
-
Selection ▸: Select (V), Lasso select (Q), Color select (C)
-
Pan (H)
-
Ruler (\): drops a measured guide line
-
Individual stitch (S)
-
Pen (P)
-
Freehand (N)
-
Satin column
-
Add shape ▸: Rectangle (M), Ellipse (L), Polygon (Y), Star
-
Text (T)
-
New Pixel Art…: makes a blank sprite and opens the pixel editor on it. See Create pixel art.
See Tools for what each does. The Cutter, Lettering, and Import font are not in this menu; they are in the tool rail.
Window
Show or hide the editor panels and reset their arrangement:
- Layers panel, Scene panel, Properties panel: toggle each panel on or off. A check marks an open panel.
- Reset panel layout: return the panels to their default arrangement.
There is no Colors panel: thread colors live on the bottom bar.
Settings
- Preferences…: Ctrl/Cmd+, (opens Settings)
- Design palettes…
On the web, these live under their own top-level Settings menu, as above. On desktop, there's no standalone Settings menu: on macOS both items are in the Boldbobbin application menu (below About); on Windows/Linux they're at the bottom of the File menu.
Help
- Command palette…: Ctrl/Cmd+K
- Keyboard shortcuts…: Ctrl/Cmd+/
- Report a bug…: Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+B (also a visible header button, so you don't have to find it in a menu)
- About Boldbobbin…
- Documentation: opens the Boldbobbin documentation (this site) in your browser. Boldbobbin confirms first, since it takes you out of the app.
On the desktop app, these can appear as the operating system's native menu bar.