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Add Reference Grid Icon

Add Reference Grid

What it Does​

Draws a grid of evenly spaced points and lines inside an area you choose. You pick the four corners of the area, then tell PMP how many lines you want or how far apart they should be.

Use this when you need guide marks at even spacing, such as for placing embroidery, buttons, smocking dots or other repeated details.

The four corners do not have to form a perfect rectangle. The grid follows the shape you pick.

How to Use​

  1. Activate the tool by selecting the Add Reference Grid icon
  2. Select the four corner points of the area, in this order: Top Left, Top Right, Bottom Left, Bottom Right. Then select Continue
  3. Set the vertical lines (the lines that run up and down). Enter the Number of Points, or enter the Distance Between the lines in the unit shown. Use one or the other, not both. Leave the one you do not use empty or at 0
  4. If you want the grid to start inside the left or right edge, enter an Offset Left or Offset Right. The left line moves right and the right line moves left. Leave these empty for no offset
  5. Select Continue
  6. Set the horizontal lines (the lines that run across) the same way. Enter the Number of Points or the Distance Between, but not both
  7. If you want the grid to start inside the top or bottom edge, enter an Offset Top or Offset Bottom. The top line moves down and the bottom line moves up
  8. Select Continue. The grid appears in the workspace
  9. Select Save to keep the grid, or Cancel to leave without adding it
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Number of Points is how many lines are placed between the two edge lines, spaced evenly. With Distance Between, the lines start at the first edge and repeat at that spacing. The last line is always placed on the far edge, so the final gap can be smaller than the others.

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If you enter both a number of points and a distance, PMP shows a message and asks you to set one of them to 0. If you leave both empty, you get only the outer edge lines. An offset only counts when it is greater than 0.

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The distance and offset boxes accept a number or a formula. See Entering Values.

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The whole grid is created on a new layer named Reference Grid, inside your active layer. You can remove it later with the Delete Layer tool.

🧠Memorization

When you memorize a draft, the grid is remembered along with its corner points and your spacing and offset values.