Iconizer animated help

Here's an animated view of the Iconizer setup screen, at Manager / Options / Iconizer Settings. Move your mouse icon over the screen below to view my comments on the Iconizer Setup screen.

How can I back up my Embird passwords

Embird Manager "Help/ Passwords/ Backup". Note that Passwords can be saved to hard disk or any removable media, such as a floppy or thumb drive.

In the above screen, uncheck "Remind me need for password backup..." if you don't want to be reminded after making your first backup.

Mini-movie: Saving and Retrieving Embird Passwords

Why is Embird Manager showing crosshairs (or vertical lines, or horizontal lines) in 3d views

In Manager, under options, uncheck show beginning stitch and/or show ending stitch to remove the crosshairs.

 

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Downloading Embird:

The "Embird Complete Installation File" available near the bottom of this page contains Embird, Studio, the Alphabets, the Manual, and the free Tutorials. It helps prevent problems installing Embird components in the wrong places. The disadvantage- it requires more disk space, and the download time might be a problem if you're not on a broadband connection.

Click to download Embird, Studio, and Alphabets

Click to download Tutorials & Manual

Getting Embird on a CD

Embird has immense value for everyone with an embroidery machine, or with an interest in viewing or modifying embroidery files.

The basic Embird program is adequate for most users, while Embird Plugins transform Embird from a utility program to a digitizing program, a cross stitch program, a photo imaging program, an embroidery image viewer, and text manipulation programs.

Embird basic program is the foundation for the Embird applications. Other Embird enhancements like Iconizer, Font Engine, Alphabets, Digitizing Studio, Sfumato, and CrossStitch are Plugins that add functionality to Embird basic. Embird basic handles basic operations on embroidery stitch file types (purchased designs), such as converting designs from one format to another, editing, resizing, and merging designs.  Embird allows you to see your designs, unzip them, edit and change colors in designs, resize designs, combine designs, and much more. It's the "Swiss Army knife" in your box of embroidery tools.

Iconizer works together with Microsoft Windows Explorer and many other Windows programs to display embroidery file types as images (pictures) of the finished embroidered file. Without Iconizer, all embroidery files are represented by the same "embroidery file" icon. Iconizer allows choice of the size of the displayed images. The Iconizer plugin is very widely used and appreciated.

Embird Font Engine is a tool for conversion of text made with TrueType or OpenType font into an embroidery design. There are many adjustable lettering parameters such as size, density, fill and outline modes as well as characters layout and deformations in Font Engine. When finished, lettering is compiled into a stitch file and put into Embird Editor for final adjustment.

Embird Digitizing Studio is a full-featured digitizing program. You can digitize your own designs from scratch, or use your artwork as a base. Please see the web site for descriptionsEmbird Alphabets are well-digitized letters, to help personalize your embroidery.

Notes:

• Embird CrossStitch
• Embird Sfumato Stitch
• Thred

Embird 2008 is top class embroidery software for use by home and commercial embroiderers. For many users, Basic Embird with Iconizer plugin is adequate. Other users will appreciate the plugins which extend Embird's power to digitizing, lettering, and viewing embroidery files in Windows Explorer and most other Windows software, CrossStitch, and more. Embird's free demos and their text tutorials help answer "What does Embird do", and alleviates common fears of "will Embird work for me" and "does Embird work on my computer". The Embird Studio plugin is supplied with several videos which explain use of Studio for digitizing.

EmbroideryGuild.com will soon have videos with overviews of installation and use of Embird, which should help newbies overcome some fears, uncertainty, and doubt. Stay Tuned!

Basic Embird resizes, splits, edits, displays, prints and converts embroidery designs. It works in two modes: Embird Manager and Embird Editor. There are several optional plug-in programs and alphabets available for Embird, expanding its capabilities with digitizing, lettering, cross stitch designs, conversion of TrueType fonts into embroidery, etc.

Basic Embird Manager:

• Converts designs among many file formats.
• Supports many hoop types and sizes.
• Processes designs in ZIP and RAR archives.
• Displays designs in 1:1 scale and other scales.
• Can display images - digital photos (.JPG, .TIF, etc.) and can sort them.
• Creates (displays, prints and saves into .BMP or .JPG file) various types of design documentation, including animated .GIFs and screen saver .
• Provides photo realistic 3D preview of designs to check the design without actual embroidering.
• Contains many threads catalogs and finds thread closest to chosen color.
• Reads and writes designs stored on memory cards , floppy or hard disks in various embroidery formats.
• Allows to organize designs by copying them to new folders.

Basic Embird Editor:

• Allows insertion, deletion, or editing of colors or trims in design.
• Joins and splits designs. Interactive free-hand splitting and automatic splitting are supported.
• Moves, resizes with density adjustment, centers, mirrors, rotates and skews designs or their parts.
• Allows to edit individual stitches or parts of design.
• Allows to change the stitch order of design parts.
• Simulates sewing of design, even in 3D mode.
• Allows to reduce the number of colors.
• Sorts colors intelligently.
• Prints template in 1:1 scale on multiple sheets.
• Inserts text in various pre digitized fonts and layouts. More about lettering here
• Inserts Font Engine text automatically converted from TrueType or OpenType fonts (requires purchase of Font Engine).
• Imports designs from Embird Studio, Embird Cross Stitch and Sfumato Stitch programs to save them in appropriate file format.

EmbroideryGuild.com is pleased to present Embird's help files in formats that you may find helpful.
The help files were generated at Embird.com, and presented here in three new formats, with very minor editing:

• Web Help

  • For those who like to view their help in an internet browser.
    • Embird 2008 Basic - Web Help
    • Embird 2008 Studio - Web Help

  Adobe PDF format

  The PDF format is helpful, though it's a bit large for casual curiosity.(right-click and "Save Target As" in Internet Explorer, or right-click and "Save Link As" in Firefox. View via Adobe Acrobat viewer, available here, if you don't already have it installed.)

  These PDF files are large and may require several minutes to download, even at broadband speeds!

  • Embird 2008 Basic - Adobe PDF May take a long time to download!
  • Embird 2008 Studio - Adobe PDF May take a long time to download!

• E-book format

  • Compact and easy to use, but lacks some features of the Web Help version. Includes Index and Search capabilities. Download, virus-check, and execute the .exe file to view e-book contents.
    • Embird 2008 Basic - E-book
    • Embird 2008 Studio - E-book

If you find errors, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and I'll attempt to get them fixed.

Embird 3d View

The 3D view is nice for checking your work, but there's no assurance that a good-looking 3D view will result in a good looking sewn garment decoration. The 3D view doesn't show compensation issues, layering, jump or tie issues and it can show errors that won't show in the final design when it is sewn (usually single lines of thread matching the fill that backtrack over the fill to get to the starting point...these are glaring in the 3D view, but don't exist when you sew, because that thread tucks itself neatly into the fill it is tracking over!).

 

Don' t get fooled into thinking that 3D view is anything but a simple tool to get an idea about how your design might look...it has no bearing on the stitches you have set and won't show you all you need to know about the design in order to get it to sew perfectly.

Embird Alphabets are well digitized, simple to use, can be scaled anywhere from 4.5mm to 8cm in height, and stitch out perfectly. That's about 3/16" to over 3 inches. There are currently 39 different alphabets available. The letters "ABCabc" from each Alphabet are available to test stitch if you like, before making a purchase.

• Characters are scalable in large range (4,5 mm - 8 cm for "a").
• Various underlays (center walk, edge walk, zig-zag).
• Automatic and manual kerning of characters.
• Various types of letters connections (nearest point, floating stitch).
• Automatic tie-ups before and after floating stitches.
• Automatic simplification of serifs for small-size letters.
• Automatic parameters and underlays for various sizes of letters.
• Possibility of global change of text parameters or individual change of single letters parameters.
• Arching of text. Text can be placed on any of 3 predefined paths (circle, line, wave) with variable parameters.
• Editing of spaces between letters, size of path and text, type of underlay.

Embird Studio Digitizing Plugin

Studio allows digitizing of embroidery designs up to 60 x 60 centimeters (23.6 x 23.6") large with up to 250 000 stitches. Design is digitized so that user creates outline (vector) objects either on a blank background or on an image (template). When the vector design is finished, it is compiled into stitches and put into Embird Editor for final adjustment and saved in the desired embroidery stitch file format.

Designs (patterns) are digitized as outline (vector) objects in Studio and are optionally filled with simulated "stitches".  There are no stitches in Embird EOF files, but it's convenient to simulate where the stitches would be placed, so the simulated stitches can be viewed.  The finished design is compiled and put into Embird Editor for final adjustment and saved in an appropriate embroidery stitch format, where real stitches exist in the file.  Compilation involves generation of stitches for all vector objects, including those that were not filled with stitches by user.

Studio is a very powerful, flexible program which gives you complete control over your design. Most users who have also tried other digitizing programs find Studio the easiest to use. Like all software, there is a learning curve but Digitizing Studio is relatively easy to learn and use. This is the program that will digitize the designs that most people will use.

Digitizing Studio is a vector based program used to manually draw the outline of objects. Then by choosing various types of stitches and by setting the parameters, the program will compute the stitches. For example, if you wish to digitize an apple, you might choose the fill stitch tool, and draw the outline of the body of the apple. You can then select the column stitch tool and draw the outline of the stem. For all objects, Studio will perform the stitch computation - you can use the default settings or change the various parameters such as density, direction of stitching, patterns, underlay, patterns, etc., to achieve the desired appearance. Studio allows you to import an image and trace your outlines over that image - like putting a piece of tracing paper over an picture and then tracing that image to the paper. Except easier, as you'll agree after some trial and error.

A skilled Embird digitizer will accurately "trace" designs using as few nodes as possible. Experience will dictate where you need to place nodes, where you simply adjust existing nodes, or when you should convert node types. For a regular rectangle, that means only 5 clicks (with straight nodes) one for each corner and one that goes back to the first one. Learn to deal with the Bezier tools (those are the little handles that let you change the shape of a line of stitching). Digitizing Studio allows you to choose either "Straight" nodes or "Curve" nodes, either before placing the nodes or when modifying the design. More about this soon.

An Object Inspector window assists in fast and easy management of Studio's objects. The color or order of stitching of an object can be changed by simple drag-and-drop operations. Objects can be grouped or split to make manipulations easier. Each object has adjustable creative and technical parameters such as stitch density, random broadening, fill pattern, color, type of underlay, etc., to allow user create special effects and adjust design for sewing on a particular fabric.

Studio includes many predefined fill patterns, envelopes, borders, fill motifs and outline samples. Users can create their own fill patterns, outline samples, border samples and fill motifs. Digitizing Tools create not only cover stitches for each object, but also various types of underlay: center walk, edge walk, and zig-zag underlay to stabilize embroidered objects. Digitizing Tools perform many editing operations automatically. Connection paths are rearranged when user moves objects, sharp corners of columns are automatically split or folded when converted to stitches, fill overlays are adjusted according to the object's size.  So much to learn...  But most people do quite well without an in-depth knowledge of Studio.

 

Error messages during installation of Embird are most likely the result of a bad download, or interference from a firewall or AntiVirus program.

Click for Microsoft Vista Issues:

Click for Macintosh issues:

Embird: Downloading: Where to Install Embird: First Time Installs: Multiple Versions:

Updates / Upgrades / Re-installs: <not finished>

Movie about Un-Installing Embird: <not finished>

The illustrations above were made using Embird 2008 build 8.4 on 32-bit Vista.

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Now that Embird is installed, click here for tips on installing the passwords.

Installing Embird Plugins

Embird plugins extend the capabilities of Embird Basic.  The plugins include Embird Digitizing Studio, and the Embird Alphabets.  You must use care to install the plugins in the proper folder, because sometimes the default is not correct.

Note: When installing any Embird plugin, "Unzip to folder" must contain the exact name of the folder where Embird was installed, and "Overwrite files without prompting" must be checked.

If you're not positive, Click to help discover where Embird Basic was installed.

 

Can I use Embird on more than one computer

Yes, so long as you don't violate the guidelines below.

My interpretation is that Embird's licensing allows you to use Embird on a second computer such as both a laptop and desktop, provided both computers are owned and used exclusively by you.

For official answers, please read here and see "Manager > Help > Frequently Asked Questions".

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Can I install Embird on a thumb drive, or an external drive

Yes. It's a great way to do your Embirding on your laptop and your desktop, at a friend's house, or even at work (where permitted). You can keep Embird and your designs on one thumb drive, minimizing problems.

But there's a potential problem, caused by the way Windows assigns drive letters.

Windows may assign a different "drive letter" to an external drive on different computers. For instance, Windows may assign drive "F:" to your thumb drive on your desktop, but drive "H:" on your laptop. Embird won't work unless it knows what drive letter it was installed on, so if you installed to the thumb drive on "F:" it wouldn't work on "H:".

There are two workarounds for the "different drive letter" problem: