This is the Puntotek main screen, where you create your cross stitch pattern: the work sits in the middle and the tools live around it so you can draw without moving away. The idea is simple: pick a colour, pick a stitch or a tool, and work straight on the grid.
The canvas
The grid is your fabric. Each cell is one cross stitch, and the numbered rulers along the edges help you find your place, just like on a paper chart. The main lines appear every 10 stitches so counting, measuring and checking proportions is easy.
The canvas responds to zoom and panning: you can pull back to see the overall shape of the work, or move in to finish details stitch by stitch. On tablet and computer the difference is noticeable: use low zoom to get your bearings and high zoom to stitch precisely.
The menu bar
The menu bar holds the main entry points. Each button opens a floating menu with the tools for that area, and the help button takes you straight to the matching chapter of the manual. There is no need to memorise it all on day one: you open a menu, use a tool and go back to the canvas. As you work, the bar becomes your mental map of Puntotek.
Stitches menu
Full cross, half stitches, backstitch, eraser and simulated view: the kind of stitch you are working with at any moment. Read the chapter.
Drawing menu
Freehand pencil, line, box, ellipse, area fill and the two outlining tools, with the option of solid or outlined shapes. Read the chapter.
Colour charts menu
The active colour and the whole palette: add threads by brand, merge similar tones, sort the chart and count the stitches of each colour. Read the chapter.
Copy, paste and motifs menu
Select an area to move it, rotate it or mirror it, and save it as a motif to reuse in other works. Read the chapter.
General tools menu
Save and open works, the cloud, the loom and the fabric colour, exporting, the PDF, the image importer, the text editor and the settings. Read the chapter.
Panning
Turns on panning mode: while it is on, dragging moves the work around the screen instead of stitching. It is the comfortable way to travel across large pieces without touching a single stitch, and when you turn it off you go back to drawing where you left it.
Zoom in / Zoom out
The two zoom buttons raise and lower the magnification step by step, without depending on a gesture: handy on touch screens, where pinching falls short or overshoots. Use the mouse wheel or a two-finger pinch to zoom in and out. The zoom centres on the area you are working in, so you can go into detail without losing your place.
- Zoom in: Goes up one zoom step to finish details stitch by stitch.
- Zoom out: Goes down to see the whole work and get your bearings again.
Undo / Redo
The undo and redo buttons are always available. Every stroke, fill, paste or important change is stored as a step, so you can experiment without fear and go back if something does not look right. On a computer you can also use CTRL+Z to undo and CTRL+Y to redo.
- Undo: Steps back: the last stroke, fill or paste returns to how it was.
- Redo: Applies again the step you have just undone, in case you went one too far.
Position, zoom and colour
The information point tells you where you are and how you are working. It shows the cursor position in stitches, the current zoom, the selected colour and the thread brand icon. In font design mode it also shows the glyph or character that matches the grid cell. It is a constant reference: if something does not land where you expected, look first at the coordinates, the zoom and the active colour. Many quick fixes start there. And it is not just a readout: tap it to switch between drawing and erasing without opening the stitches menu — the touch equivalent of the mouse right button.
The two modes of Puntotek
The same screen works in two modes. The usual one is graphic design, where you create cross stitch patterns. The other is font design, meant for drawing stitched letters and preparing texts that can later be pasted as motifs.
When you switch modes, Puntotek adapts some tools and readings on screen. If you are making a cross stitch pattern, stay in graphic design; if you are building a typeface, go into font mode from Settings.