Two power-user tools sit on the Set Symbols tool chip: Build rebuilds the symbols from scratch using either PDF data or an image scan, and Erase mode wipes out unwanted detections with a block brush.

On this page

 

 

The Build popup

 

Tap the wrench icon (Build) on the tool chip to open the symbol-setup popup. This is the wizard's way of saying “start the symbol detection over with different parameters”.

The Symbol Setup popup with two source options (PDF data, Image scan), a contrast slider for the image-scan option, a coloured-chart toggle, and a Run button.
Figure 1. The Symbol Setup popup. (1) The PDF data option reads the symbol information directly from text encoded in the PDF. (2) The Image scan option treats every chart page as a picture and clusters similar marks. (3) The contrast slider tunes the image scan's sensitivity. (4) The Coloured chart toggle tells the scan that symbol colour is meaningful. (5) Run kicks off the rebuild; Cancel leaves the existing symbols untouched.

Heads up. Running Build replaces the entire confirmed-symbols list. Any colour and naming work you have done on existing symbols will be lost, so prefer the lighter Scan pages button when possible.

PDF data: when the symbols are text

 

Some cross-stitch PDFs encode every symbol as actual text inside the PDF, rather than just printing it as part of the image. When this option is available, it is by far the most accurate way to identify symbols - the app gets the exact symbol used in every cell directly from the publisher.

The PDF data option is only enabled when Markup R-XP detects readable symbol text in your file. If your PDF was made from scanned pages, this option will be greyed out and you will need to use Image scan instead.

Image scan: when only the picture is available

 

Image scan treats every chart page as a picture and looks for the printed marks visually. It is what runs by default the first time you arrive on the Set Symbols step, and it is the only option when the PDF has no symbol text data.

  1. Select Image scan in the popup. The contrast slider becomes active.
  2. Set the contrast. Higher contrast helps when print is faint; lower contrast helps when there is background noise.
  3. Tap Run. Markup R-XP scans every chart page and rebuilds the confirmed list.

The Coloured chart toggle

 

The Coloured chart toggle tells the rest of the symbol logic to take colour into account. Turn it on for full-colour charts (where the symbols are printed in their thread colour); leave it off for black-and-white charts (where colour is meaningless).

Turning this on also flips the search panels in Adding and Existing modes into Colour-first matching by default. See Filter, search and refine for what that does.

Scan pages: lighter re-detection

 

The Scan pages button on the tool chip (magnifier-in-a-page icon) runs the symbol detection again across every chart page without throwing away your existing confirmed list. New matches are added; existing matches are re-validated.

The chart with an activity indicator overlaid and a message reading 'Scanning all pages...'
Figure 5. A scan in progress. (1) An activity indicator at the top of the chart shows progress. (2) Tap the indicator to cancel if it is taking too long.

Use this when you have edited a symbol's search settings and want the changes applied everywhere, or after adding a few new symbols when you want the chart to refresh.

Erase mode

 

The Erase button (texture icon) on the tool chip switches the chart into a different interaction mode where dragging across cells removes their symbol assignment. Useful when the auto-detection mistakenly classified a lot of cells incorrectly and you want to clear them quickly rather than going symbol-by-symbol.

The tool chip with the Erase button highlighted, plus a second chip nearby showing horizontal and vertical brush size steppers and a Bulk-erase-unassigned button.
Figure 2. Erase mode active. (1) The Erase button is highlighted on the tool chip. (2) A horizontal brush-size stepper appears. (3) A vertical brush-size stepper appears beside it. (4) A Bulk-erase unassigned button gives you a one-tap purge of every unassigned cell.
  1. Tap Erase on the tool chip. The button stays highlighted and the right-hand symbols panel is hidden to give the chart more room.
  2. Drag across the chart. Cells under the brush lose their symbol assignment.
  3. Tap Erase again to leave the mode. The symbols panel returns and chart taps go back to normal.
A finger dragging across a chart in erase mode with a rectangular outline showing the brush extent and the cells beneath returning to unassigned.
Figure 3. The erase brush in action. (1) The brush outline tracks your finger. (2) Cells under the brush are unassigned as you drag.

Resizing the block brush

 

The block brush is the rectangular cell range that gets erased on each touch. Two steppers on the erase-mode chip control its horizontal and vertical reach independently.

Three sample brush sizes side by side: 1x1, 3x3 and 5x5 cells, with the corresponding chip values.
Figure 4. Brush sizes. (1) 1x1 - a single cell at a time. (2) 3x3 - quick cleanup of small areas. (3) 5x5 - clear large patches in one swipe.
  1. Tap the horizontal stepper to grow the brush wider. Each tap adds one cell; tapping past the maximum wraps back to one.
  2. Tap the vertical stepper to grow the brush taller. Same rules.
  3. Your brush size is remembered. Next time you enter erase mode the chip restores the dimensions you used last.

Tip. Use a small brush (1x1 or 2x2) for precise work; switch to a larger brush when you have a big area of misdetections to wipe.

Tips and common questions

Here are answers to the most common questions about Build and Erase.

Q: Build or Scan pages - which should I use?

Answer: Use Scan pages first; only Build if Scan does not find what you need.

Scan pages reuses your existing settings and preserves the confirmed list. Build is a full reset - everything is rediscovered from scratch. Build is the right choice when you want to switch between PDF data and image-scan modes, or when you have changed the “coloured chart” setting.

Q: The PDF data option is greyed out in the Build popup.

Answer: Your PDF does not contain readable symbol text.

This is normal for scanned patterns and for some publishers who flatten their PDFs to plain images. Use Image scan instead - the result is usually still very good.

Q: Erase mode looks dangerous. Can I undo?

Answer: Yes - tap the undo button on the wizard chrome to step back any erase strokes.

Each drag is one undo step, so a single Undo brings back the cells you just erased.

Q: What is the Bulk-erase-unassigned button?

Answer: It clears every cell that does not yet have a symbol assigned.

Sometimes the auto detection partially classifies a cell and leaves traces. Bulk-erase wipes those traces from every page in one tap, giving you a clean slate of unassigned cells. Use after a Build or before a fresh Scan pages run.

Q: The Scan pages indicator has been spinning for a long time.

Answer: Large charts can take a minute or two to scan.

Tap the activity indicator to cancel if you need to do something else. Your confirmed symbols are not changed until the scan completes.

What's next?

 

Once the chart is clean - every cell either assigned to a symbol or genuinely unassigned - return to the Set Symbols overview.

If you have two or more confirmed symbols that should really be one, the next stop is Merge Symbols. Otherwise, head straight to Set Colors.