Do View Options affect exports?

No. View Options only control what you see on screen while editing. PDF and image exports have their own settings. Hide the grid and symbols for a cleaner editing view without affecting your exports.

Why can't I see the fabric texture?

If you're working on a diamond painting pattern, fabric texture is automatically disabled. For cross-stitch patterns, make sure the Fabric toggle is on in View Options.

What's the difference between Simple and Realistic stitch style?

Simple shows solid color blocks — fast and easy to read. Realistic adds a thread texture on top, giving a more lifelike preview of how the finished piece will look. Lines draws crossed stitch marks like a traditional chart.

View Options

Basics

View Options control what you see on the canvas — grid, symbols, backstitch, fabric texture, and more. Think of them like "studio lighting": adjust what's visible to match what you're doing right now.

View Options panel — stitch style, symbols, grid, fabric, rulers

View Options don't change your pattern — they only change what's visible on screen.

Open the panel from the eye icon in the top bar. Close with Escape or the X button. Most options can be toggled while you're in any tool, and Stitchmate remembers your choices across sessions.

Quick presets

There aren't preset buttons (yet), but here are combos that work great for common tasks:

Design mode (minimal clutter)

Grid off, Symbols off, Backstitch optional
Focus on the artwork as a whole

Detail editing (maximum clarity)

Grid on, Symbols on, Backstitch on
See everything — great for fine-tuning individual stitches

Cleanup mode

ConfettiScope on (Shift+C), Grid on, Symbols off
Hotspots pop without symbol clutter — pair with the FLOW Score panel to track cleanup progress

Export sanity check

Symbols on, Backstitch on, Grid optional
Make sure the pattern reads clearly before exporting

Stitch style

Changes how stitches look on the canvas.

Style	What you see	When to use it
Simple	Solid color blocks	Day-to-day editing — fast and easy to read
Realistic	Color blocks with thread texture	Preview how the finished piece will look, screenshots
Lines	Crossed stitch marks (like traditional charts)	Chart-style view, familiar to experienced stitchers

Default is Simple. Switch to Realistic when you want to admire the result, then switch back for faster editing.

Stitch style toggle — Simple, Realistic, Lines

Note: For diamond painting patterns, stitch texture is automatically disabled.

Symbols

Shows letter/shape glyphs on top of each stitch. Symbols make it easier to tell similar colors apart — especially when your palette has several close shades (like three blues) or when you're zoomed out.

Toggle: Show or hide symbols.
Opacity slider (when symbols are on): 0–100%, default 80%. Lower opacity lets the stitch color show through more.

Symbols toggle — show glyphs, adjust opacity

Pro tip: During palette adjustments, symbols are automatically hidden so you can judge color changes clearly. They come back when you Apply or Cancel.

Backstitches

Shows or hides all backstitch lines on the canvas.

Default is on. Turn it off when you're doing color work and the outlines are getting in the way — turn it back on to check definition and detail.

See the Backstitch tool for drawing and editing backstitch lines.

Grid

Shows or hides the grid between stitches. The grid makes counting easy and helps you position things precisely.

Grid toggle: Show or hide grid lines.
Center Lines (below Grid): A red crosshair at the pattern midpoint. Great for symmetrical designs and counting from the center.
Settings (appears when grid is on): Opens Grid Settings for more control — line colors, intervals, opacity.

Grid and Center Lines on — red crosshair at pattern center

Pro tip: Hide the grid temporarily when comparing colors. Grid lines can make subtle shade differences harder to see.

Fabric

Shows or hides the Aida fabric weave texture underneath your stitches.

Fabric toggle: Show or hide the weave texture.
Fabric color: Choose the background fabric color — white, cream, black, and others. This is the base color you see through empty stitches and around the pattern edges.

Fabric color comes from your pattern settings and updates when you change it here or in import settings.

Fabric texture on with cream fabric color

Note: For diamond painting patterns, fabric texture is automatically disabled.

Rulers & scrollbars

Two extra toggles at the bottom of the panel:

Rulers: Numbered rulers along the top and left edges. They stick as you pan, so they're always visible. Useful for counting stitches and measuring position.
Scrollbars: Canvas scrollbars. Hide them for a cleaner look — the canvas still pans with mouse drag and trackpad gestures.

Both default to on.

Tips & gotchas

View Options don't affect exports. They're screen-only. Change them freely without worrying about your PDF or image output.
Overlay never exports either. It's a screen-only reference, controlled separately with U.
ConfettiScope is just a view. It highlights hotspots but doesn't change stitches — cleanup tools do the actual work.
If something "disappeared": Check two things — layer visibility (eye icon in the Layers panel) and View Options toggles. It's almost always one of those.
If the canvas feels slow: Switch to Simple stitch style and hide helpers you don't need. Realistic style uses more GPU, especially on large patterns at high zoom.
Symbols + low opacity = best of both worlds. You see the color and still read the symbol. Try 50–60% opacity.
Center Lines help with symmetry. If you're using Brush symmetry, the center lines show exactly where the mirror axis falls.
Settings link for grid tweakers. The Grid Settings panel lets you customize line colors, intervals, and opacity beyond what the main panel shows.