Preview Tools
The preview lets you inspect your pattern, compare pieces, and work with measurements. Available tools depend on your active subscription and the current project state.
Navigate and arrange pieces
Use the mouse wheel or zoom buttons to change magnification. Hold Space and drag to pan.
Press A to fit the pattern in view and exit the zoom tool if it is active.
Press Z to activate the zoom tool. Click a piece to zoom to it; each further click on the same piece adds a zoom-in step. Click a different piece to zoom to that piece. Hold Alt to show the zoom-out cursor, then click to zoom out one step. Drag a rectangle to zoom an area; a successful area zoom exits the tool when you release the mouse. While drawing the rectangle, hold Space and drag to reposition it without changing its size. Measurement lines are non-interactive while the zoom tool is active and return to their previous behavior when you exit. Press Z again or Escape to exit the zoom tool without leaving the current preview mode.
Drag pieces to arrange them for inspection.
Use the piece context menu to access available transformations, including horizontal and vertical flips.
Press Alt + X to reset all piece positions.
The hint bar at the bottom of the preview shows the next action for the active tool.
Right-click menus
Right-click an empty area of the preview to access Zoom all and Reset piece positions. The menu also provides Grading mode when available; its availability depends on your subscription and the current project state. In Grading mode, use Exit grading mode to leave it.
Right-click directly on a piece to access its available actions. Right-clicking empty space opens the general preview menu, even if a piece was previously hovered or selected.
While measuring or walking pieces, the menu includes the corresponding Exit action. Available keyboard shortcuts appear beside the menu commands. In Grading mode, right-click a grading point to access its grading actions.
Choose what to display
Use the preview controls to show or hide measurement lines and labels, display full pieces, and access the available point labels. In Preview Options, choose whether to show the block pattern, construction lines, internal lines, construction points, notches, and grainlines.
When you hide notches, their base points remain visible only if they are turn points or construction points you have chosen to show. Editing mode always shows all points.
These controls help you focus on the geometry or information you need while reviewing the pattern.
Measure in the preview
Select Measure in the preview toolbar.
Select the points or segments you want to measure, following the hint bar.
Read the result in the measurement panel.
Hold Shift while selecting points to add extra points. Use Tab or Shift + Tab to cycle nearby snap points. The measurement panel supports adding and subtracting measurements and applying a multiplication or division factor.
When a sizes table is available for a measurement entry, choose Show sizes table to compare its values across sizes. The table includes length, X/Y differences, and available comparisons. Use Toggle add/subtract table when offered to review combined measurements by size.
Press X to reset the current measurement points, or Esc to exit the tool.
Walk pieces
Use Walk pieces from the piece context menu to compare pieces along their contours. Follow the preview hints to select and move along the relevant geometry. Use Esc to exit the tool.
Download the preview
Select Download preview SVG to save the preview as an SVG file. For CAD pattern downloads, use Generate Pattern.
Keyboard shortcuts
Press Ctrl + Alt + 7 on Windows or Cmd + Option + 7 on macOS to open the keyboard shortcuts reference. It groups shortcuts by tool and explains when each action is available.
For grading tools, see Grading Rules.
Edit pattern points
Use Enable editing to adjust the available Turn points and Curvature points on an editable pattern. See Edit Pattern Points for selection, movement, and reset instructions.
Compare with a reference
When available, Preview comparison lets you overlay a captured preview or an imported DXF. See Compare Pattern Previews for units, alignment, visibility, and temporary-reference behavior.
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