Silhouette Tutorials

The first way to determine the size of your design is to select it (with a single click of the mouse) and look in the bottom right-hand corner of your software screen, where the Width and Height of your selected design is listed:

HOW TO: Switch Measurements to Metric

You may switch to metric measurements by doing the following:

Go to the "File" menu
Select "Preferences"
Switch the units from "inch" to "mm" (millimeters)
Click "OK"

Keep in mind that these measurements refer to actual blue selection box, which usually coincides accurately for shapes. However, with text (and certain shapes), the cuttable design area is smaller than the selection box, so the measurement will not be exact. This is why, for example, if you select for your text to be 2 inches height, the resulting cut is a bit smaller.

For these types of images, there is a second method of determining the actual size of your image through the software's Grid function. To access the grid, go to the "Edit" menu located along the top of the software and select "Grid Settings". You will then see the "Grid Settings" window.

The grid can be turned on by checking the "Show Grid" option. The default grid spacing is 0.50 inches (or 10 mm for metric set-ups). You can customize the grid spacing by selecting this number and typing in a new value. The "Snap to Grid" option means that images placed on your screen will line up with the closest grid line, rather than being able to be placed freely in any location. Once you have selected to show the grid, you will have grid lines on your screen as follows:

With the grid turned on, you may select to resize your image so that the image (rather than the blue selection box) falls within the desired measurement according to the grid lines, as seen below:

Now you can resize your image or text to your exact liking. Remember that when resizing your image or text, make sure that your image falls within the paper and cut line areas.

HOW TO: Re-size your selected design

Manually Resizing: You will note that when initially selected, your image will have a square on each corner and arrows on each side. Clicking and holding down on the corner boxes while moving your mouse will proportionately re-size your image. Clicking and holding down on the side arrows will stretch or squeeze your image disproportionately.

Exact Resizing: Right-click on your selected design and select "Position Settings". The "Position Settings" window will give you the option to alter the exact width and height of your design. The "Width" and "Height" refer to the bounds of the blue selection box surrounding your design. The "Hold aspect ratio will keep your image sized proportionately when selected, and you will only need to alter the "Width" or the "Height".

Resizing Text: With text, though you may use either method mentioned above, you may also right-click on the selected text and select the "Text Settings" option. Here you may select to alter the "Font Size" (which coincides with printed font sizes commonly selectable through other programs, such as Microsoft Word), or the "Height". Change only one of these measurements and the other one will automatically adjust.

Remember, the "Height" refers to the selection box, not the actual letters. This is because there is unfortunately not a universal standard measurement for fonts when they are programmed. Some fonts may be very large while others may be much smaller.

Section 3: Sizing a Design