Once the creation of patterns is completed (or at any time, if have at least one pattern created) we can go to the screen where we will see and modify patterns in two dimensions.

For that purpose, we can use the menu Patterns | Draw patterns or the button   if we are in the state of Patterning.

With this action, we get the drawing window of patterns. By default it occupies the whole screen. If we click on one of the patterns drawn in this window, we get into the window of Modify pattern.

Buttons

First of all we are going to concentrate on the buttons of this screen:

• Save
  Saves the changes we have made in this window. The file where you saved these changes is the same where it saves the structure ( .tes).
• 

  DXF
  Opens the window to save your patterns in DXF format. Despite we see a single pattern on the screen, we can choose to export all the patterns to a DXF file or just the one that is on screen. But, if we are (as in this case) in the screen of all the patterns, “only this one” option is disabled.
  The type Centered or Lateral are two slightly different ways to draw the pattern on the DXF. The most common is usually the centered, but each workshop can have their preferences for cutting canvas. Finally the units of the DXF can be m, cm or mm at the user’s choice.

• Print
  We can opt for “This one” or All to print the pattern we are analysing or all the patterns on a sheet of the printer. It is good to pass information to the workshop, but does not serve to connect with a automatic type  Computerized Numerical Control or CAD-CAM cutting machine.
• All
  It turns back to the window to draw all patterns with the initial state created by the structure as shown in the picture at the top of this paragraph. Therefore, this menu is only useful when we have only one pattern on the screen.

General data

We need to set some parameters when we first come to this window:

• Number
  Each pattern has a number assigned in the order of creation. However, this number can be changed through the menu Patterns | Renumber patterns.
• Pattern name
  The pattern name is a text that we assign if we are interested for some reason. The default is: Pat. n, the pattern number being n.
• Width of the membrane (cm)
  If we set the width of the membrane that we are going to use for our patterns, we will be able to see directly on the screen if the pattern fits in this width, if it does not fit or if, by contrast, is too overrun and we are wasting material. If you do not enter any value the program works the same but we will lose this information..
• Pre-stress compensation (%)
  The patterns are made smaller, in such a way that by putting the membrane in place it is necessary to pull and achieve, in this way, the prestress that we have taken into account in the calculation of the structure. We will see that if we want to change this value (default is the value that we have used in the calculation of the structure), the window of the membrane where this prestress is set does not come up.
  In reality if we change this value we should repeat the calculation with the new pretension.
• Cross compensation (%)
  If we are dealing with patterns made on a surface of which dual curvature is very pronounced in the two directions of the pattern, we will have problems in the cross measures of the pattern. In the longitudinal direction we can resolve it with more points (geodesic with more points, for example), but in the cross direction, we cannot do, as there is no intermediate points. To somehow overcome this obstacle, we have the possibility to set a cross compensation. For more information see the entry on the blog.
• Align nodes: 1) to the upper side 2) to the lower side
  All patterns are aligned to the upper edge or the lower edge. Later, you can change this alignment for each particular pattern, if you wish.
• Regular offset (cm)
  When we modify a pattern we can set an offset around the pattern which allows us welding of patterns and the creation of lacings, keders or other elements. Well, before you start to modify the patterns we can set an offset common to all. Of course, then we can modify the offset of each pattern individually.
• Special offset (cm)
  It creates offset similar to above but for one (or more) specific edge of the pattern (such as offsetting for cable pocket)