So far in this series on adding your own pattern fill to a shape, I’ve shown you 2 ways to save raster images into your regular library folders and use them from there. You’ll want to make sure you’ve practiced those, because I’m going to refer to processes I taught you in those methods. In Method #3, we’re going to use the drag and drop method to add the image to any patterns folder. And I’ll have a special tidbit for organizing your patterns within the library and the Pattern Fill panel (Designer Edition and up only). To start with Method #1 in this series, go here.
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Tutorial Level: Intermediate to Advanced
Method #3: Add the image to the patterns folder in your library with drag and drop
You can add any raster image into the Pattern Fill panel by adding it to the Patterns folder in your library. That means you’ll see it in the panel and can use it right from there to fill any shape. This is supposed to be limited to Designer Edition and above, but if you use my drag and drop method it works even in Basic with version 4.1.441. If you have not yet taken the plunge and updated to V4, it does also work in version 3.
You’re going to follow the same steps as method #1, except that you’re going to drag your raster image into a Patterns folder specifically. Notice that in your Library, the Patterns folder has its own area below any other folders.
As with method #1, you can…
…do more than 1 at a time.
…put the image into the Patterns folder in the Local User or the Cloud area of the library.
…add it to the shape or open it as its own page in the same way by clicking it in the library.
Here’s the difference. Once it’s added, it’s visible and selectable in that Pattern Fill panel. Now, you won’t see it right away if that panel is already open. But if you close the panel and then open it again, you will. Then you can select a shape and fill it with that pattern by clicking on it in the panel, just as with any of the pre-loaded patterns or ones you’ve purchased in the Silhouette Design Store.
The process
In case you need a review, here are the steps in the drag and drop method. Remember — the major difference in that you will pull it into a Patterns folder.
–Save the image to a folder on your computer where you can find it. I’m going to use this pattern.
–Go to Silhouette Studio and make sure your Pattern Fill panel is closed. It’s not absolutely necessary, but saves a step later.
–Go into the Library.
–Leave Silhouette Studio running and open the File Explorer on your computer to find the saved image. You will need to minimize (make smaller) this window in order to see it and Silhouette Studio at the same time.
–Drag the image from your computer folder into any Patterns folder in the Local User library or the library under your user name. If you do the latter, that saves it in your Cloud library. This puts a copy of the image into your Silhouette library without affecting the original. You can do this in the folder structure at the left, or in the design thumbnails area on the right. You can also do more than just 1 image at a time by holding the SHIFT key (for images that are beside each other in the folder) or CTRL key (for images that are not side by side) as you select your images.
–Give it a name if you wish. You can even give it keywords for library searches. For more on this and the library in general, see this post.
How to use the image as a pattern fill
Go to your Design area and open the Pattern Fill panel and you’ll see your raster image added. It will be in the second section called “Patterns,” and will be first in the list.
You can add the image into a shape just as you would with any other pattern: select one or more shapes on the Design area and click that pattern in the panel. If you like you can also open it on its own page as you did with Methods #1 and #2.
Video
Here’s the video showing you how to add the raster image to a Patterns folder and find it in your Pattern Fill panel. I’ve temporarily deactivated my Business Edition license key so you can see that it works in Basic Edition:
Use Method #3 when…
…you want to see that pattern in the Pattern Fill panel, particularly if you do not have Designer Edition.
…you want to add several patterns at once.
Bonus info: organizing your patterns
Did you know that if you have those upper software levels, you can organize your patterns into sub-folders? This is a GREAT feature if you have a large number of pattern fills and you want to find them more easily in your Pattern Fill panel.
Here’s how it works. In your library, you create sub-folders in the Patterns folder and name them. Then, just as with regular folders, you can drag and drop images into the sub-folders. This will NOT work in Basic Edition. You can create sub-folders, but you won’t be able to drag your patterns into them as it’s not a supported feature.
Back in your Pattern Fill panel, you’ll see a separate section for each sub-folder you created.
They are in alphabetical order. Here you can see the default “Patterns” section below the ones I created.
And if I scroll down, you can see the one I created called “Photographs” is below the “Patterns,” because that’s the alphabetical order.
This works with fonts as well.
Up Next
Next time, we’ll talk about putting a raster image into your patterns folder in the library with File>Library>Import to Library and why it’s not always the best option.
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