Prepare screen - Design Space Guide

The move and hide on mats feature in Design Space allows you to conserve material by manually consolidating your project elements onto fewer mats, or hiding the ones you don't need. 

Note that updating project copies will reset any changes made on the mat, so it's important to finalize the number of project copies prior to moving and hiding elements. Elements inherit the properties of the mat they are being moved to, such as color and mirror state. They also retain their position, so you may need to reposition them on the new mat so they don't overlap another object. 

1. Select the elements on the mat that you want to move.
2. Tap the "More Options" icon (3 dots) in the top left of the selection box.
3. Select Hide selected to temporarily remove the image from the project, or select Move object to change which mat the object is on.
   
   
   
   
4. If moving an object, choose New or select an existing mat for the object(s) you wish to move.
   
   
   
   
5. If you're moving items to a new mat, you can choose a color for the new mat.
   
   
   
   
6. Hidden objects will be indicated at the bottom of the screen. If you wish to unhide an object, simply click on the Hidden icon and select the object(s) to unhide.
   
   

Move and hide on mats FAQ

• If I move an image to a different color mat, does it affect my layout on the Canvas?
  • Changes made on the mat do not affect the Canvas.
    
    
• Can I move printable images to another mat?
  • Yes, printable images can be moved to another mat using this same process.
    
    
• Can I save my mat layout?
  • No, mat layouts cannot be saved. Whenever you go back to the Canvas, all changes to the mats will be reset.
    
    
• How can I move multiple images to a new mat at the same time?
  • In Design Space for Desktop you can drag a selection box around multiple objects, or press Shift and click each object you'd like to include. On mobile, tap to select an image, then tap and hold on other images to select them at the same time. All selected images can then be moved together.

On the Project Preview screen, you can select the number of projects that you would like to make. Each of the objects in your project will be duplicated as many times as indicated. Your images will automatically flow to new mats as necessary.

 

Select the box next to Project Copies, type in the number of copies, then select Apply.

You can choose whether you're cutting Without Mat (for Smart materials), On Mat, or On Card Mat. Only machines compatible with Smart Materials will have the option for cutting Without Mat.

To change the material size, select an option from the Material Size menu that is closest to your material size. The Material Size menu only offers material sizes that are compatible with your machine, and are larger than the largest object on the mat.

Design Space will Auto Mirror your image based on what material you've chosen, but you can also manually change the mirror setting on this page. (See more about Auto Mirror here). You can turn Mirroring on or off using the toggle labeled Mirror (for iron-on). All the images on the mat will be mirrored (flipped horizontally). This is particularly important when using iron-on materials; if you do not mirror your images, they will appear backward when applied to your base material (Learn More).

Note: Mirror only affects the selected mat. If you wish to Mirror more than one mat, turn Mirror on for each mat individually. You can skip this step if you have already mirrored the image or text using the Edit Bar.

Images will automatically be arranged on your mat as shown in the Project Preview screen. You have the option to move and rotate images around on the Project Preview for preferred placement.

• To move images, drag the image to the desired location. Bounding boxes can overlap. However, keep in mind that cut lines that overlap on the mat preview will cut into one another.
• To rotate an image, select it and then drag the rotate handle to rotate the image in either direction. The rotate handle is a circle icon at the top right of the bounding box.
  
  

Once you are satisfied with image placement, select Continue to proceed to the Make screen.

On the project preview screen, you can select the number of projects that you would like to make. Each of the objects in your project will be duplicated as many times as indicated. Select the number next to Project Copies and type in the desired number of copies. Your images will automatically flow to new mats as necessary.

You can choose whether you're cutting Without Mat (for Smart materials), On Mat, or On Card Mat. (Only machines compatible with Smart Materials will have the option for cutting Without Mat.)

To change the material size, select an option from the Material Size menu that is closest to your material size. The Material Size menu only offers material sizes that are compatible with your machine, and are larger than the largest object on the mat. 

   

Design Space will Auto Mirror your image based on what material you've chosen, but you can also manually change the mirror setting on this page. (See more about Auto Mirror here). You can turn Mirroring on or off using the toggle labeled Mirror (for iron-on). All the images on the mat will be mirrored (flipped horizontally). This is particularly important when using iron-on materials; if you do not mirror your design, it will appear backwards when applied to your base material (Learn More).

Note: Mirror only affects the selected mat. If you wish to Mirror more than one mat, turn Mirror on for each mat individually. You can skip this step if you have already mirrored the image or text using the Edit Bar.

The move and hide on mats feature in Design Space allows you to conserve material by manually consolidating your project elements onto fewer mats, or hiding the ones you don't need.

Note that updating project copies will reset any changes made on the mat, so it's important to finalize the number of project copies prior to moving and hiding elements. Elements inherit the properties of the mat they are being moved to, such as color and mirror state. Objects being moved to an existing mat also retain their position, so you may need to reposition them on the mat so they don't overlap another existing object. 

1. Select the elements on the mat that you want to move.
2. Tap the "More Options" icon (3 dots) in the top left of the selection box.
3. Tap Move Object to change which mat the object is on, or tap Hide selected to temporarily remove the image from the project.
   
   
   
   
4. If moving an object, choose New to create a new mat, or select an existing mat for the object(s) you wish to move.
   
   
   
   
5. If you're moving items to a new mat, you can choose a color for the new mat.
   
   
   
   
6. Hidden objects will be indicated at the bottom of the screen. If you wish to unhide an object, simply tap the Hidden icon, select the object(s) to unhide, then tap Add.
   
    

Move and hide on mats FAQ

• If I move an image to a different color mat, does it affect my layout on the Canvas?
  • Changes made on the mat do not affect the Canvas.
    
    
• Can I move printable images to another mat?
  • Yes, printable images can be moved to another mat using this same process.
    
    
• Can I save my mat layout?
  • No, mat layouts cannot be saved. Whenever you go back to the Canvas, all changes to the mats will be reset.
    
    
• How can I move multiple images to a new mat at the same time?
  • In Design Space for Desktop you can drag a selection box around multiple objects, or press Shift and click each object you'd like to include. On mobile, tap to select an image, then tap and hold on other images to select them at the same time. All selected images can then be moved together.

Images will automatically be arranged on your mat as shown in the project preview screen. You have the option to move and rotate images around on the project preview for preferred placement.

• To move images, tap and drag the image to the desired location. Bounding boxes can overlap. However, keep in mind that cut lines that overlap on the mat preview will cut into one another.
• To rotate an image, select it and then drag the rotate handle to rotate the image in either direction. The rotate handle is a circle icon at the top right of the bounding box.
  
  

Once you are satisfied with image placement, select Next to proceed to the Make screen.

SnapMat helps you visualize image and text placement by capturing a photo of your materials on the cutting mat. You can see the layout as a virtual mat preview. Images and text can be repositioned over the photo for ideal placement. This is especially helpful when you want to : 

• Cut around a specific location of a photo, patterned material, stamped page
• Write in specific locations on envelopes, gift tags, or greeting cards
• Use scrap materials with greater economy and confidence

Note: This feature is available in Design Space for iOS only. 

To use SnapMat: 

1. Tap SnapMat in the lower left. 
   
   
   
   
2. Place material on mat and position mat on a flat surface. Hold device parallel to the mat and follow on-screen prompts to align mat within SnapMat frame. 
   
   
   
   
3. Review the image capture and decide whether to retake or use it. 
   
   
   
   
4. Tap and drag images or text to the desired location over the image of your mat and materials. If you wish to discard this mat image, tap Unsnap in the lower left. 
   
   

Click here for more information about SnapMat.