5 Expert DesignShop Tips To Level Up Your Digitizing Skills
DesignShop is a powerful digitizing program that lets you create anything you can imagine. However, to truly master the art of digitizing, it’s essential to understand all the tools available. You may already be familiar with the basics, but there are plenty of hidden tricks that can speed up your workflow and unlock even more creative possibilities. Here’s our top 5 list of expert digitizing tips to elevate your designs!
1. Common Auto Split (All Levels)
In certain situations, you may prefer the smooth texture and roundness of a satin stitch; however, for larger areas, a fill stitch may be a more efficient choice. For example, when working with large fill lettering, you may want to achieve a cleaner edge without the use of a thin satin border. This is where the Common Auto Split preset comes into play.
The Auto Split technique combines multiple interlocking satin stitches arranged together. Unlike a standard fill stitch, which offers a flat texture, Auto Split creates a rounded appearance similar to that of a satin stitch. This results in a more appealing texture for specific applications. Additionally, the Common Auto Split preset typically produces a lower stitch count compared to a traditional fill, helping to reduce machine time while maintaining a high-quality finish.
This feature is available on all levels of DesignShop.
2. Nudging Elements with Arrow Keys (All Levels)
You may find that after creating an element, you need to make slight adjustments such as repositioning letters to improve spacing or shifting a logo for better alignment. Rather than manually dragging elements with your cursor, you can use a more efficient method: by holding the Shift key and using the arrow keys, you can nudge the selected objects with precision. For larger adjustments, holding both Shift and Alt (or Ctrl) allows you to move elements in greater increments, enabling faster and more accurate navigation.
This feature is available on all levels of DesignShop.
3. Create Custom Keyboard Shortcuts with Accelerator Editor (Editor Level)
As any experienced graphic designer or digitizer knows, keyboard shortcuts are the backbone of an efficient workflow. In DesignShop you can assign custom shortcuts to every tool you need. Whether you’re coming up with ones that are completely custom, or trying to mirror another design program, you can do so with ease. You can even save multiple shortcuts to each action for a more streamlined workflow.
This feature is available on DesignShop Editor Level and above.
4. Add Custom Shapes (Vector Level)
If you frequently use specific symbols or custom accent marks in your designs, you may find yourself saving each symbol as a separate file. Importing them into every design can be time-consuming and cumbersome. A more efficient solution is to save these symbols to the Custom Shapes tool. This allows you to easily access your custom shapes directly within the design software, eliminating the need to search through desktop folders for a specific character like the tilde.
This feature is available on DesignShop Vector Level and above.
5. Change Element Type (Professional Level)
We’ve all been here before: you’re carefully tracing a complex shape for a customer’s design, zooming around the screen clicking in points—only to realize after hitting Enter that you had Single Line Center selected instead of Complex Fill. Rather than deleting the object and starting from scratch, simply use the Change Element tool. This feature allows you to quickly switch the object to the correct element type without losing your work. Additionally, you can use it to add a new object as a different element type—perfect for quickly creating a border around a selected shape.
This feature is available on DesignShop Professional Level.
Currently own DesignShop but want to add some of these time-saving features?
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