SegTurn User Guide

SegTurn User Guide (Ver 1.3) Home

Overview

SegTurn is a Microsoft Windows program that makes it easy to design segmented bowls and vessels. You start with a simple default design and continually make changes until you are satisfied with the design or you can start with a painted segment vessel where you define the initial parameters. In either case as you are making changes a 3D image of the design is updated so you can immediately see what the final result will look like.

The default vessel is a good starting point for traditional designs that have a small number segments in the rings and many of the segments are similar and the vessel typically has a feature ring

The painted vessel is targeted for vessels with a large number of thin rings with a large number of segments per ring. This allows a pattern to to be created over the entire vessel through the placement of segments made out of different woods.

It is assumed that you have a general understanding of the basic concepts involved in constructing segmented wooden bowls and vessels. If that is not the case I recommend reading some of the many excellent books on the subject such as ‘Woodturning with Ray Allen’ by Dale L. Nish and ‘The Art of Segmented Wood Turning’ by Malcolm Tibbetts. There is also a significant amount of information available on the internet.

Features

Provides the option of starting with either a default vessel or a painted segment vessel
Vessels can have closed segment rings or rings with open segments
The vessel profile is based on a Bezier curve defined by user specified points
A number of standard vessel profiles are available
Rings and segments are displayed and manipulated in master / detail style grids
Over 50 wood species to choose from
A pattern editor for designing a segment with multiple woods and shapes
A painted pattern editor to design a pattern that is applied to the entire vessel
Options to change attributes over the entire vessel at once
A 2D graphical display of each ring from a top view perspective
Display of the ring stack prior to turning in a 3D view
Display of the finished turned shape in a 3D view
Multiple ways to output relevant specifications for construction of the vessel
Saving the design to a serialized file
Opening a saved design file
Saving a segment pattern to a file so it can be applied to a different segment
Saving a vessel profile to a file so it can be applied to a different vessel
Ability to change any aspect of the design and immediately see the impact on the final product
Application defaults automatically saved externally and retrieved when the program is started
Vessel defaults applied when adding new rings
Each vessel can have an offset and wall thickness specified

General Concepts

All segmented forms created in the program are refered to as vessels
A vessel is made up of stacked rings where each ring has a defined height and a repeating group of segments
All of the segments in the repeating group can be oriented horizontally or vertically which indicates the direction of the wood grain. Horizontal segments have a single miter angle while vertical segments have compound angles
Segments in the repeating group can be wedge shaped or block shaped. Wedge segments have a relative size and block segments can have a relative size or an actual size
A segment can be a physical segment made of solid wood or multiple woods creating a pattern. A segment can also be defined as void leaving an opening in the ring
A vessel has a relative profile that adjusts proportionally as the vessel height changes
The actual dimensions of the segments on each ring are determined by the vessel profile and the number of times the repeating group of segments is applied to the ring
When a new vessel is created it can start out as a default vessel or a painted vessel
The default vessel provides the starting point for vessels that typically have a feature ring and generally have rings of many different heights. These vessels generally have a limited number of unique segments on a ring
A painted vessel generally has a large number of rings with the same height and each ring has a large number of segment and optionally open segments.
A painted ring is defined as a ring that was initially created as painted rings, has a horizontal orientation, all of the physical segments are wedge segments and have the same relative size and if the ring has open segments they all must be of the same type, have the same relative size and follow a pattern of alternating segments from physical to open
A block of painted ring is defined as a sequential group of painted rings that all have the same number of physical segments and all have the same number of repeating groups
A block of painted rings can be added to a vessel created from a default vessel
Non-painted rings can be added to a painted vessel but they cannot be made into a painted ring

Getting Started

Run the program and select the ‘App Defaults’ Button and define the parameters that will apply to the application as a whole. While some of these parameters can be changed at any time, others will only apply when creating a new vessel.

Next select [File][New Default] or [File][New Painted] from the main menu.

If you select [New Default] a default vessel design will be created as a starting point. The design can then be modified through the Profile and Ring List views.

If you select [New Painted] a dialog will allow you to specify the parameters of the initial vessel

Number of Rings - The number of painted rings in the vessel. Two additional rings are automatically included, one at the top and one at the bottom.

Number of Repeating Groups - The number of times the specified segments are repeated on the vessel.

Number of Segments - The number of physical segments in a repeating group

Ring Height - The height of each ring not counting the top and bottom rings

Open Segment CheckBox - If checked a void (open) segment will be added after each physical segment in the repeating group based on the relative ratio of the physical segment to the open segment. A 4:1 ratio indicates a physical segment arc length that is 4 times the arc length of the open segment. Another way to look at it is the physical segments are 80% and the open segments are 20% of the ring circumference.

Open Segment Type - The open segment can be either a wedge or relative block shape

The program does not impose any constraints on the approach used to make modifications. As changes are made the two side views display the current design. At any point during the design the current state can be saved to a file that can later be opened.

File Extensions

File Type	Extension
Vessel File	‘.vsl’
Pattern	‘.ptn’
Profile	‘.prf’
Plan	‘.txt’ or ‘.csv’

Program Constraints

The program enforces the following constraints

Field	Minimum	Maximum
Number of Rings	5	no limit
Number of Profile Points	3	no limit
Angle Offset (degrees)	-180.0	180.0
Base Height (inches)	0.25	2.0
Block Length (inches)	0.025	5.0
Number Repeating Groups	1	200
Offset (inches)	0.125	0.5
Relative Size	1	100
Ring Height (inches)	0.025	10.0
Saw Kerf (inches)	0.0625	0.25
Wall Thickness (inches)	0.0625	0.5
Work Area Height (inches)	1.0	36.0
Work Area Width (inches)	1.0	36.0

Available Woods

Apple

Ash - White

Birch

Blackwood - African

Blackwood - Malaysian

Bloodwood

Bocote

Bubinga

Canarywood

Cedar - Spanish

Chakte Kok

Chakte Viga

Chechen

Cherry

Cocobolo

Ebony

Ebony - Black and White

Ebony - Ceylon

Ebony - Gaboon

Ebony - Macassar

Goncalo

Holly

Jarrah

Jatoba

Kingwood

Koa

Lacewood

Maple-Hard

Mesquite

Oak - Red

Oak - White

Olive

Osage Orange

Padauk

Palm - Black

Pau Rosa

Persimmon

Pink Ivory

Poplar

Purpleheart

Redheart

Rosewood

Sapele

Satinwood

Snakewood

Sycamore

Tasmyrtle

Teak

Tulipwood

Open Gap

Walnut Black

Wenge

Yellowheart

Zebrawood

Ziricote

Program Structure

The program is structured with a main menu at the top followed by a row of buttons under the menu and the remaining area divided into three view ports. The three areas have adjustable borders allowing the user to resize the viewports. The main viewport on the left is the work area and allows the user to select the content through the buttons. In this viewport you can select ‘App Defaults’, ‘Profile’, ‘Ring List’, ‘2D Ring’, ‘3D Rings’, ‘Final 3D’, ‘Parameters’. The viewport in the upper right contains a 3D view of the current design. The viewport in the lower right displays the current profile.

File

Save – Save the current vessel (if the vessel has not been previously saved a dialog allow the user to provide a file name)
Save As – Save the current vessel with a new file name
Open – Open a dialog to select an existing saved vessel.
New Default – Create a new default vessel that provides a starting point from which any number of changes can be made. The default vessel has 6 rings and 12 repeating groups with 1 segment in a repeating group.
New Painted – Create a new painted vessel by allowing the specification of number of rings, number of repeating groups, number of segments in a repeating group, ring height and an option to create an open painted vessel.
Output Plan

Print Ring Report - Print a file that lists all rings and segments
Print Ring Image Report - Print a file that displays an image of the segments on each ring.
Output All Fields CSV - Output a csv file that contains all of the fields that define each segment on each ring. This file can be imported into a spreadsheed program. This file isdesigned for typical vessels.
Output Painted Vessel CSV - Output a csv file that is designed to describe the general parameters of a painted vessel. This file is used along with the 'Print Ring Image Report'.

Close – Close the current vessel and allow the user to specify if the current vessel should be saved if changes have been made since the last time it was saved.
Exit – Close the program and if there is a current vessel allow the user to specify if the current vessel should be saved if changes have been made since the last time it was saved.

Tools

Replace Wood – Replace a specified wood with another wood throughout the vessel
Modify Ring Heights – Replace the ring height of all rings with a specified height with another height.
Modify Number Repeating Groups – Replace the number of repeating groups of all rings with a specified number of repeating groups with another value.
Paint Ring Segments - Open the Painted Pattern Editor to create a pattern on the vessel segments through wood selection. This option will work on any type of vessel
Painted Repeating Groups

Add to Start - Add a segment to the start of the repeating group on each painted ring by making a copy of the current starting segment.
Add to End - Add a segment to the end of the repeating group on each painted ring by making a copy of the current last segment.
Remove from Start - Remove a segment from the start of the repeating group on each painted ring.
Remove from End - Remove a segment from the end of the repeating group on each painted ring.

Calculate Painted Ring Offsets - Calculate the ring angle offsets only for the painted rings in the vessel.
Calculate Ring Offsets - Calculate the ring angle offsets for the entire vessel to maximize the distance of the glue lines on adjcent rings
Remove Ring Offsets - Set all of the ring angle offsets to 0.0.

Skins

Blue Skin – Cosmetic application display attributes
Silver Skin – Cosmetic application display attributes

Help

View Help
About SegTurn

Application Defaults

The program saves the application defaults externally so any changes made will be retained when to program is closed. The following default will be immediately applied.

Field	Description
Units of Measure	Controls the display units in the application. (inches, centimeters or millimeters)
Vessel Folder	The default folder used for vessel files and plan output files
Pattern / Profile Folder	The default folder used for pattern and profile files

The following application defaults are used when creating a new vessel. The defaults are:

Field	Description
Work Area Height	The height of the display area in the profile view. This should be larger than the expected vessel height
Work Area Width	The width of the display area in the profile view. This should be larger than the expected vessel width
Saw Kerf	The saw kerf used when determining board length calculations
Offset	The offset from the vessel walls (both inside and outside) used when determining segment size.
Vessel Wall Thickness	The wall thickness of the finished vessel

Parameters

The vessel parameters are properties that apply to the current vessel.

Changes to the following fields apply to the current vessel. Changes to these values will be immediately applied to the current vessel.

Field	Description
Base Height	The height of the bottom of the inside of the vessel
Offset	The offset from the vessel walls (both inside and outside) used when determining segment size.
Wall Thickness	The wall thickness of the finished vessel
Work Area Height	The height of the display area in the profile view. This should be larger than the expected vessel height
Work Area Width	The width of the display area in the profile view. This should be larger than the expected vessel width
Saw Kerf	The saw kerf used when determining board length calculations

Changes to the following field does not update the existing ring values.

Field	Description
Default Saw Kerf	The default saw kerf that applies to new rings. Once a ring has been created the ring saw kerf can be changed in the ring grid.

Profile

The profile view displays the outer profile along with the points that are used to create the profile. The display also includes the inner wall profile along with the offset curves that are used to determine the minimum outside radius and maximum inside radius for each ring. Both sides of the outer profile are displayed although the points, rings, inner wall profile and offset curves are only displayed on the right side.

The image is displayed on a grid that is based on the units of measure defined in the ‘App Defaults’. The vertical center line is displayed as a red line.

The height of the profile is determined by the stacked ring height. The profile shape is independent of height and will proportionally change as the height is increased or decreased by changing ring height or number of rings. Therefore increasing the height of the vessel increases the width.

The points are displayed as red circles and when the mouse is hovering over a point it turns green. When the point is green the point can be manipulated with the mouse.

The view can be zoomed in or out with the mouse wheel.

The points are stored as an ordered list and the user does not have the ability to change the order. When inserting a point the location in the list is based on the height of the new point. Using an ordered list of points allows the profile to rise above the vessel top. Unfortunately it also allows loops to be created in the profile that are not physically possible and causes calculation errors.

Modes

The Profile View has four modes that are selected on the view task bar and two icons for undo and redo options.

Pointer Mode

The pointer mode allows the modification of the profile curve. Point positions can be changed or points added or deleted.

Moving a Point

When hovering over a point the point will turn green and can be moved by holding the left mouse button down and dragging the point to a new location. As the point is being moved the shape will continually be evaluated and displayed. After a point is repositioned the inner wall profile and minimum ring profile is displayed.

Adding a Point

A new point can be added by positioning the mouse on the right side of the vessel and pressing the control key and left mouse button. The point will be inserted at the specified height. If the point is inserted at a location that is higher than the vessel height it will be inserted before the top point. Once the point is added the point can then be moved.

Removing a Point

When hovering over a green point and pressing the control key and left mouse button the point is removed and the resulting profile is reevaluated and displayed.

Horizontal Scale Mode

The horizontal scale mode allows the movement of all points to the right or left. Selecting the horizontal mode draws a box around the right side of the profile with a rectangular handle in the middle of the right side. Position the cursor over the handle and hold the left mouse button down to scale the profile as the mouse moves.

Pan Mode

The pan mode allows the viewable area of the Profile View to be repositioned by holding the left mouse button down and moving the mouse.

Measure Mode

The measure mode provides a measurement between two locations by selecting an initial location by depressing the left mouse button and then dragging the mouse with the left mouse button down. A line is drawn with the current distance displayed.

Undo

You can undo changes to the profile points while the view is active. The icon becomes enabled when there are changes to undo.

Redo

If previous changes have been undone they can be redone unless a manual change has been made. This icon becomes enabled when there are entries in the list that have been undone.

Buttons

Change Profile

Select a profile from a set of defined profiles and update the current vessel.

Export Profile

Save the profile to a file.

Import Profile

Retrieve a profile from a file and update the current vessel.

Options

Guides

Optional gray guide lines can be drawn based on the golden ratio of ~1.618.

Selection	Description
None	No guides are displayed
Height L	A golden rectangle with the height as the longer length. Also inner lines based on the golden ratios
Height S	A golden rectangle with the height as the shorter length. Also inner lines based on the golden ratios
Width L	A golden rectangle with the width as the longer length. Also inner lines based on the golden ratios
Width S	A golden rectangle with the width as the smaller length. Also inner lines based on the golden ratios

Display Parameters

Wall Thk

The current wall thickness of the vessel.

Height

The current height of the vessel.

Width

The current width of the vessel.

Clicking on the display surface with the right mouse button opens the context menu.

Item	Description
Zoom Full Extent	Fill the current display space to the full extent allowed
Undo	Undo last profile change
Redo	Redo the last profile change that was undone

Ring List View

The ring list view contains a top grid that contains the attributes of each ring and a bottom grid that displays the details of the repeating group of segments for the selected ring. Once a row is selected the attributes can be changed directly or row operations relative to the selected can be performed through the buttons or the context menu.

Changes to the attributes on a row in either grid will not take effect until a new row is selected. You can also cancel the current changes on a row with the Esc key.

Ring Grid

The ring grid contains a row for each ring with the top ring at the top of the grid. Note that the ring numbers start at the bottom of the vessel with the bottom ring being ring 1.

Ring Grid Attributes

Attribute	Display Only	Description
Ring #	yes	Ring number starting at 1 at the bottom of the vessel
Repeating Groups		The number of repeating groups that make up the ring
Height		The ring height
Inner Radius	yes	The minimum radius of the inside profile of the ring
Outer Radius	yes	The maximum radius of the outside profile of the ring
Angle Offset (deg)		The angle to rotate the ring to stagger the glue joints
Alternating Cut		Specifies how wedges will be cut. Alternating cutting reduces the quantity of wood required
Saw Kerf		The width of the saw blade used to cut the segments
Ring Type		The type of the ring and the orientation of the wood grain. The ring can be created with either horizontal or vertical segments
Physical Wedge Count	yes	The total number of physical wedges that make up the ring. Void wedge segments are ignored
Physical Block Count	yes	The total number of physical block types (Block and Relative Block) that make up the ring. Void block types are ignored
Side Slope (deg)	yes	This applies only to vertical ring types. The angle is measured from the horizontal plane
Side Length	yes	This applies only to vertical ring types. The side length is the actual outside length of the segment. When the side slope is 90 degrees the side length is the same as the ring height.
Max Radius Unturned	yes	The maximum radius of the ring prior to being turned.
Woods	yes	Images of all of the woods being used in the ring
Error Message	yes	An error message if the ring calculation failed

Ring Grid Buttons

Button	Description
Insert Above	Insert a new row above the selected row
Insert Below	Insert a new row below the selected row
Copy Below	Insert a copy of the selected row below the selected row
Move Row Up	Move the selected row up one position
Move Row Down	Move the selected row down one position
Delete Row	Delete the selected row

Clicking on the selected row with the right mouse button opens the context menu.

Menu Item	Description
Insert Above	Insert a new row above the selected row
Insert Below	Insert a new row below the selected row
Insert Painted Below	Insert a specified number of painted rings below the selected ring. This option displays a dialog that allows the specification of the number of rings, the number of repeating groups, the number of segments in the repeating group, the ring height and an option to have open segments with a specified ratio.
Copy Below	Insert a copy of the selected row below the selected row
Move Row Up	Move the selected row up one position
Move Row Down	Move the selected row down one position
Delete Row	Delete the selected row
Replace Wood	Allows the replacement of one of the woods in the ring woods with another wood

Repeating Group Grid

The repeating group contains a row for each segment in the group. The order of the segments determines the order in which they will appear in views that display the rings

The segments that make up the repeating group can be either wedge or block segments with at least one segment being a wedge. For any given ring there is a limit to the total outside lengths of the block segments. as the block lengths increase the inner length of the wedge segments decreases until it becomes zero and further increases in the block lengths results in an incorrect calculation and the segment will not display in the 3D view.

Ring Grid Attributes

Attribute	Display Only	Description
Segment #	yes	Segment number starting at 1. The segments are drawn starting at 1 in the counter-clockwise direction
Segment Type		Wedge, Relative Block or Block
Wood		The wood making up the segment when the segment does not have a pattern. If the segment has a pattern defined this attribute will display 'void' and will not be able to be edited
Relative Size		A integer indicating a size relative to other relative segments in the repeating group. This field is only available for Wedge or Relative Block segments.
Block Length		The actual outside length of the block. This field is only available for Block segments
Pattern Cut		Straight or radial. Radial is only applicable to segments with a pattern
Miter Angle (deg)	yes	The angle from the outside to the inside of a wedge
Blade Angle (deg)	yes	The angle of the blade from vertical when cutting a wedge with a ring type of vertical
Segment Width	yes	The distance from the outside to the inside of a wedge
Top Length Outside	yes	The top outside length from left to right of the segment
Top Length Inside	yes	The top inside length from left to right of the segment
Bottom Length Outside	yes	The bottom outside length from left to right of the segment. This is the same as the top length outside for horiozontal segments
Bottom Length Inside	yes	The bottom inside length from left to right of the segment. This is the same as the top length inside for horiozontal segments
Wood(s)	yes	Images of all of the woods being used in the segment pattern if it has one
Board Length	yes	The length of the board required to cut the segments
Board Width	yes	The width of the board required to cut the segments
Board Thickness	yes	The thickness of the board required to cut the segments
Error Message	yes	An error message if the segment calculation failed

Repeating Group Grid Buttons

Button	Description
Insert Above	Insert a new row above the selected row
Insert Below	Insert a new row below the selected row
Copy Below	Insert a copy of the selected row below the selected row
Move Row Up	Move the selected row up one position
Move Row Down	Move the selected row down one position
Delete Row	Delete the selected row
Delete Row	Delete the selected row
Delete Row	Delete the selected row
Add/Edit Pattern	Add or edit a pattern on the selected row
Remove Pattern	Remove the pattern from the selected row

Clicking on the selected row with the right mouse button opens the context menu

Menu Item	Description
Insert Above	Insert a new row above the selected row
Insert Below	Insert a new row below the selected row
Copy Below	Insert a copy of the selected row below the selected row
Move Row Up	Move the selected row up one position
Move Row Down	Move the selected row down one position
Delete Row	Delete the selected row
Replace Wood	Allows the replacement of one of the woods in the segment with another wood

Segment Pattern Editor

The segment pattern editor allows you to specify the design of a multi-wood segment. The pattern is defined by adding shape objects to the segment and then modifying them to achieve the desired pattern. Each shape has a specified wood and z-order. New shapes will be drawn on top of existing shapes although the order can be changed later.

The pattern editor displays the segment outer surface as it would be constructed (this is not the turned surface). If the segment is a wedge and the pattern cut is 'Straight' it is important to note that during turning a portion of the left and right side of the wedge will be removed.

The shapes in the pattern editor can extend beyond the boundaries of the segment. In many cases this allows a pattern to be created in a simpler way. When the final image is being displayed these areas are ignored.

Shapes

Shape	Image	Description
Circle		Select the circle shape to draw a circle by positioning the mouse pointer at the center, holding the left mouse button down and dragging the mouse to specify the radius and then releasing the mouse button.
Diamond		Select the diamond shape to draw a diamond by positioning the mouse pointer at the center, holding the left mouse button down and dragging the mouse to specify both the height and width and then releasing the mouse button
Isosceles Triangle		Select the isosceles triangle shape to draw an isosceles triangle by positioning the pointer at the vertex between the two equal sides, holding the left mouse button down and then dragging the mouse to specify a base vertex and then releasing the mouse button
Line		Select the line shape to draw a line by positioning the mouse pointer at the starting point, holding the left mouse button down and dragging the mouse to the end position of the line and then releasing the mouse button. By default the line with is 0.0625 inches. The initial width of the line can be specified through the use of the ‘Cntl +’ and ‘Cntl –‘ keys to change the width from 0.0125 to 0.25 inches in increments of 0.0125.
Pie		Select the pie shape to draw a circle sector. The pie center point is first specified by clicking the mouse left mouse button (a small red cross will be displayed). Move the mouse pointer to the desired radius and then hold the left mouse button down and move the mouse to the desired angle and then releasing the mouse button. As the mouse is moved the angle of the sector in degrees will be displayed
Polygon		Select the polygon shape to draw a polygon by positioning the mouse pointer at the center point, holding the left mouse button down and dragging the mouse to specify one of the vertices and then releasing the mouse pointer. By default the number of sides is 5. The number of sides can be specified through the use of the ‘Cntl +’ and ‘Cntl –‘ keys to change the number of sides from 3 to 20
Rectangle		Select the rectangle shape to draw a rectangle by positioning the mouse cursor at a corner vertex, holding the Left mouse button down and dragging the mouse to the opposite vertex and then releasing the mouse button
Right Triangle		Select the right triangle shape to draw a right triangle positioning the mouse cursor at one end of the hypotenuse, holding the left mouse button down and dragging the mouse to the other end of the hypotenuse and then releasing the mouse button

Tools

The tools are used to modify the pattern objects, provide information or modify the view.

In general the left mouse button is used for selection by clicking or by creating a rectangular area enclosing shapes. Selecting shapes usually deselects current selections unless the 'Ctrl' key is pressed during the operation

Holding the left mouse button down while moving the mouse is used to move selected shapes, move handles and creating a rectangular area

Tool	Image	Description
Selector		Pointer to select graphic objects. Clicking the left mouse button at a position will select any objects at that position and deselect other objects that do not share the mouse position. If the Ctrl key is held down when clicking at a position objects that are currently selected will not be deselected Objects can also be selected by enclosing then in a rectangular area defined by holding the left mouse down and dragging the mouse. Note that the object must be entirely contained within the rectanglar area to be included. If the Ctrl key is help down at the same time other currently selected objects will not be deselected
Move		The move tool allows the user to select shapes, move selected shapes or change a shape by moving individual points. Objects can be moved with either the left mouse button pressed or with the Up, Down, Left or Right keys. Individual points can only be moved with the left mouse button pressed. Objects can be selected in a similar way as with the 'Selector' tool except that only the top shape at a position will be selected. When a single shape is selected all shape types except for the circle and pie will display handles that can be used to move the corresponding point. The circle and pie are made up of a large number of points and a point on the circumference can be moved without a handle. The line is a special case. The move tool cannot change the direction or width of the line but it can change the length and end shape. The line is initiall drawn with rectangular ends. When selected each end has three handles, two on the corners and one in the middle. By default the center handle is used to change the length of the line and the corner handle is used to change the angle of the end (the opposite corners remains stationary). If the Ctrl key is pressed the end handles move independently of each other. If the Shift key is pressed the center handles remains stationary and the corner handles move in opposite directions.
Scale		The scale tool allows the user to select one of more shapes and scale them as a group. The selected shapes have a rectangle box drawn around them with 8 scaling handles, 4 corner handles and 4 side handles. By default moving a corner handle scales the shapes along the diagonal with the opposite corner stationary. Moving a side handle scales the shapes by keeping the opposite side stationary If the 'Ctrl' key is held down when a scaling handle is moved the center of the rectangular box remains fixed If the 'Shift' key is held down when a corner scaling handle is moved the opposite corner remains stationary but the handle can be moved in any direction
Pan		The pan tool allows the user to reposition the view. This is useful when zooming in to specific areas of the display
Rotate		The rotate tool allows the user to rotate the selected objects around a specified point. The first step is to define the pivot point by positioning the mouse pointer and clicking the left mouse button. Next move the mouse to another position and again click the left mouse button to define the reference line. Now as you move the mouse the the angle will be displayed and the the selected shapes will be rotated around the pivot point. Once the shapes are at the desired position click the left mouse button to end the operation.
Measure		The measure tool allow the user to determine the distance between two points on the display. Position the mouse pointer to the starting location and then hold the left mouse button down while moving the mouse to the ending location. As the the mouse is being moved a line is drawn with the current distance. Once the left mouse button is released the line is removed
Undo		Undo the last operation in the operation chain
Redo		Redo the last operation undone in the operation chain

Parameters

Parameters	Description
Current Wood	The wood that is used when creating objects
Background	The background wood of the segment
Snap Grid	Checking the snap grid checkbox causes the point being moved to be snaped to the closest intersection of the grid lines
Vertical Increments	The number of vertical increments based on the current units of measure. For inches the default is 8, for centimeters the default is 10 and for millimeters the default is 1.
Horizontal Increments	The number of horizontal increments based on the current units of measure. For inches the default is 8, for centimeters the default is 10 and for millimeters the default is 1.
Dimension Type	Determines how the pattern changes if the segment size changes. The default is 'Relative' Relative – The pattern remains in the same proportions relative to the segment dimensions. Absolute – The pattern objects size is fixed regardless of changes in the segment dimensions.