Customizer 11000 - What is The Difference between Open and Import?

There are two ways to bring designs to the screen in Customizer 11000, the Open process and the Import process. Each process has a specific function which helps us when working with embroidery designs. 

The Open Process 
There are several ways to access the Open process. If you like to work with icons, click the Open icon. If you prefer to use words, click File, Open...

Either method will bring up the Open dialog box.  Note: All computer software utilizes an open dialog to bring files into the software. They all work the same way. You must point the Look in box to the location where the file is stored in your computer, point to file name, then click the open button to bring it to the screen.

What makes the Open dialog in Customizer 11000 unique is the file types it can open. The file types are limited to those Customizer 11000 can process. 

Click the down arrow in the Files of type: box. A menu will appear showing the file types that can be opened.

They are:

• .clf – this is a layout file that is created using Customizer 11000.
• .jef+ - this is an embroidery design file that the Memory Craft 11000 uses.
• .jef – this is an embroidery design file that the Memory Craft 10001, 10000, 9700, 9500, and 300E use
• .caf – this is a layout file that is created using Customizer 10000/Plus Easy Edit
• .arg – this is a GigaHoop layout file that is created using Customizer 10000/Plus Easy GigaHoop
• .arf – this is a layout file that is created using Customizer 2000 EasyEdit or Personalizer 2000 EasyEdit
• .arr – this is a layout file that is created using Scan ‘n Sew PC Easy Layout

Note: If you did not have Janome embroidery software previous to Customizer 11000, you probably don’t have layouts with some of these file types. If you wish to experiment with some layouts, several are included in the 5.Classic Format folder under Sample Designs. 

When an embroidery design (file extension .jef or .jef+) or a layout file (file extension .clf, .caf, .arg, .arf, .arr) is opened, a brand new screen is created and the design or the layout will appear on the screen. Anything that was on the screen is eliminated to show the new screen. 

Embroidery designs will open on the screen in the hoop size appropriate to the design. If the design is under 2” by 2” and can fit in a free-arm hoop, it will open on the screen in a free-arm hoop. If it is too large to fit in the ST hoop, it will open in a SQ hoop. Otherwise, it shows in an ST hoop. These files always put Customizer 11000 into Hoop Mode. 

GigaHoop layouts (file extension .arg) and Customizer 11000 layouts (file extension .clf that were saved with a hoop showing on the screen) will open showing the hoop size in which they were saved. These files always put Customizer 11000 into Hoop Mode. 

All other layouts (file extensions .caf, .arf, and .arr) and Customizer 11000 layouts (file extension .clf that were saved as layouts) will open as layouts in Layout Mode. 

The Import Process 

There are several ways to access the Import process. If you like to work with icons, click the Import icon.

If you prefer to use words, click File, Import Design. A pop-up menu will appear, where you can choose a stitch (embroidery design) file or an image file to digitize.

A third way to access the pop-up menu is to click the down arrow next to the Import icon. Click the file type you want to access. 
 

Any of these methods will bring up the Import dialog box. Note: If you choose stitch file from the pop-up menu, you will only see file extensions of .jef+, .jef, and .sew in the Files of type: box. These are allembroidery design types. 

 

The file types are:

• .jef+ - this is an embroidery design file that the Memory Craft 11000 uses.
• .jef – this is an embroidery design file that the Memory Craft 10001, 10000, 9700, 9500, and 300E use
• .sew – this is an embroidery design file that the Memory Craft 9000, 5700, and 5000 use

If you choose image file from the pop-up menu, you will only see file extensions of .bmp and .wmf in the Files of type: box. These are graphic files (picture) design types. 
 

The file types are:

• .bmp – this is a bitmap graphic file
• .wmf – Windows Metaframe File graphic file

Stitch File

• If you have a hoop showing on the screen, the design is inserted into the hoop. Any previous designs in the hoop will remain on the screen. This allows you to combine designs automatically in a hoop – just by having more than one design in a hoop, they are treated as if they are one design.
• If you have a layout showing on the screen, the design is inserted into the layout. Any previous designs in the layout will remain on the screen. This allows you to create layouts larger than the SQ hoop. You will have to combine the designs into SQ hoop-sized groupings by manually combining them using the Combine function.

Image File Since an image file must be digitized before you can use it, it will open in a Line Drawing digitize dialog that will pop up over the hoop or layout on the screen.  

Once it is digitized into an embroidery design,

• If you have a hoop showing on the screen, the design is inserted into the hoop. Any previous designs in the hoop will remain on the screen. This allows you to combine this newly digitized design automatically with any other designs in a hoop – just by having more than one design in a hoop, they are treated as if they are one design.
• If you have a layout showing on the screen, the design is inserted into the layout.Any previous designs in the layout will remain on the screen. This allows you to add this newly digitized design to your layout, which could be larger than the SQ hoop. You will have to combine the designs into SQ hoop-sized groupings by manually combining them using the Combine function.

Remember, if there is a hoop on the screen, Customizer 11000 is in Hoop Mode. If there is a layout on the screen, Customizer 11000 is in Layout Mode. 

New Screens 
To get a new screen with either a blank hoop or a blank layout, 
click the New icon or click File, New

Either one will bring the Select Hoop/Sheets dialog box to the screen. This dialog is divided into a hoop choice section at the top and a layout choice section at the bottom.

If you click on any of the four hoops across the top of the dialog, that size hoop will be placed on the screen. It will be empty, or blank.  To choose a layout size, first choose the number of sheets of paper to go across (horizontally) and down (vertically). If you don’t change the sheets, you will get one sheet across and one down.  Choose the orientation of the sheets of paper, too. It can be Portrait or Landscape.

Now you can click the Layout button to bring a blank layout to the screen.

Change Hoop Size  Click Edit, Change Hoop Size...

 

The Change Hoop Size dialog will appear. Click the size hoop you want to appear and the new size will be placed on the screen.

Change Layout Size  Click Edit, Change Layout Size...

 

The Change Number of Sheets dialog will appear. You can change the number of sheets, the orientation of the sheets, and the size of the combine hoop. 

Here are some suggestions for using Import and Open: 
use the Open process when you want to

• bring an existing .jef or .jef+ design to the screen that you want to send to the Memory Craft 11000
• bring an existing .jef or .jef+ design to the screen that you want to modify or work with
• bring a layout file that you created in any version of Customizer or Personalizer to the screen

use the Import process when you want to

• bring a graphic picture to the screen to digitize it
• combine several embroideries in a hoop
• bring an existing .sew file to the screen
• bring existing embroidery designs onto a layout

The following table explains what happen to each file type within each mode when it is opened or imported.