Arrange your chart pages into the grid that matches the original printed pattern - how many pages across, how many pages down, which corner page is page one, and whether the pages are numbered left-to-right or top-to-bottom.

On this page

 

 

What this step is for

 

Most cross-stitch charts that span more than one page are printed as a tiled grid - for example, a six-page chart might be laid out three pages wide and two pages tall. Markup R-XP needs to know that arrangement so it can stitch your pages back together into one continuous chart later in the wizard.

This step shows your selected chart pages tiled the way the wizard thinks they should be, and lets you change three things if it has guessed wrong: the overall grid (how many pages across by how many down), the flow direction (whether the page numbers run across in rows or down in columns), and which corner of the layout holds page one.

 

The wizard makes a sensible first guess based on the dimensions of the pages you imported, so for many patterns you can simply check that the preview looks right and tap Next. The adjustments are there for the cases where the auto-guess does not match how your pattern was printed.

 

This step only appears when your chart has more than one page. If you imported a single-page chart, the wizard skips straight from picture pages to the grid review step.

The screen at a glance

 

The Set Chart Layout screen shows the chart pages tiled in a grid inside a white panel, with a floating chip of layout controls on the left edge and Back / Next buttons at the bottom.
Figure 1. The Set Chart Layout screen. (1) The chart pages are tiled in their current layout in the white panel. (2) The floating chip on the left edge holds all of the layout controls. (3) A small label below the grid icon tells you the currently chosen layout, such as 2x3. (4) The Back button returns you to the previous step. (5) The Next button moves you on to the chart overview.

The layout chip

 

All of the layout adjustments live in the floating chip on the left edge of the panel. The chip has three controls stacked vertically.

Close-up of the floating layout chip showing a grid icon with a size label below it, a flow-direction icon, and a first-page-position icon.
Figure 2. The layout chip's three controls. (1) The grid icon opens the layout picker; the small label below it shows the current layout (for example, 2x3). (2) The flow direction button toggles between left-to-right (horizontal flow) and top-to-bottom (vertical flow). (3) The first-page button toggles whether page one sits at the top of the layout or at the bottom.

Choosing the page grid

 

The first control on the chip lets you pick the overall shape of the grid. Markup R-XP works out the layouts that fit your number of chart pages and offers them as a short list.

  1. Tap the grid icon. A pop-up titled “Select layout” appears.
  2. Pick the layout that matches your printed pattern. Options are written as columns x rows, for example 2 x 3 means two pages wide and three pages tall.
  3. Watch the tiled preview update. The chart pages rearrange themselves to match your choice.

Tip. If you have six chart pages the picker will offer at least 2 x 3 and 3 x 2, and possibly the long thin options 1 x 6 and 6 x 1 too. Pick the shape that matches how the pages were printed on paper.

Flow direction

 

The flow direction button decides whether your PDF's page numbers run across in rows, or down in columns. The icon switches between a right-arrow (horizontal flow) and a down-arrow (vertical flow).

Two side-by-side previews of the same chart with the page numbers marked: on the left, pages flow left-to-right across each row; on the right, pages flow top-to-bottom down each column.
Figure 3. Flow direction. (1) Horizontal flow numbers pages across in rows: 1 then 2 then 3 across the top, 4 then 5 then 6 across the second row. (2) Vertical flow numbers pages down in columns: 1 then 2 then 3 down the left column, 4 then 5 then 6 down the next column.
  1. Tap the arrow icon. The flow flips to the opposite direction.
  2. Read the brief toast at the bottom of the screen. It confirms the new setting, for example “Page numbering: left to right”.
  3. Check the preview. Page one should still be in its expected corner, but the other pages will have moved to match the new flow.

First-page position

 

The third button on the chip decides whether page one sits at the top of the layout or at the bottom. The icon shows an up-arrow when page one is at the top and a down-arrow when page one is at the bottom.

Two side-by-side previews of the same chart with page numbers labelled: on the left, page 1 sits in the top-left corner; on the right, page 1 sits in the bottom-left corner.
Figure 4. First-page position. (1) “First page at top” puts page one in the top-left corner of the layout. (2) “First page at bottom” puts page one in the bottom-left corner instead - useful for patterns that are numbered from the bottom up.

Tip. The two toggles work together: flow direction sets which way the page numbers travel, first-page position sets where they start. If the preview is mirrored or the rows are reversed, try toggling either one and see which fixes it.

Moving to the next step

 

When the tiled preview matches the way your chart was printed - same shape, same flow, page one in the right corner - tap Next in the bottom-right corner to continue. Markup R-XP saves your layout choice and takes you to the chart overview, where you will check that each page has its grid detected correctly.

If you want to go back and change which pages were included as chart, key or picture pages, tap Back in the bottom-left corner instead.

Note. You can return to this step at any time from later in the wizard. Your layout choice is remembered as part of the project, so you only have to set it once.

Tips and common questions

Here are answers to the most common questions about setting the chart layout.

Q: My chart pages all look the same shape. How do I know which way round to put them?

Answer: Look at the page numbers on each page in the original PDF.

Cross-stitch charts almost always have a page number printed in a corner, or alphabetical row/column labels along the edges. Cross-reference those against the tiled preview to make sure each page is in the position the designer intended.

Q: The picker only shows one layout option. Is something wrong?

Answer: No - some page counts only have one sensible grid arrangement.

If you have a prime number of pages (5, 7, 11 and so on) the only options are long thin strips. If you have a count that only factors one way at sensible proportions, you may only see a single option. The wizard still draws the preview so you can confirm it is correct.

Q: Does it matter if I get the flow direction wrong?

Answer: Yes - the symbols and grid lines later in the wizard will only line up if the pages are in the right order.

If overlapping areas between pages don't match when you reach the Set Overlap step later on, come back here and try toggling the flow direction or first-page position.

Q: Why don't I see this step?

Answer: Your chart only has one page.

There is nothing to lay out when the chart is a single page, so the wizard skips straight to the next step. If you later add more chart pages by going back to Select Chart Pages, this step will reappear.

Q: I changed the layout but the preview still looks wrong. What now?

Answer: Use the layout picker, the flow direction button and the first-page button together.

It usually takes a small combination of those three controls to get the preview matching the printed pattern. Tap each in turn, watch what happens, and stop when the page numbers in the preview match the page numbers in your PDF.

Q: I've used the layout picker options but I still can't get my chart pages laid out correctly. What should I do?

Answer: I rare cases, there is no real order to the chart pages in the PDF, which means that usin the layout picker options still means the layout is incorrect. 

In these cases, the answer is to delete the current project and reload the PDF chart again. This time however, in the Configure PDF step, pay attention to the order of the chart pages. Drag and drop pages that are not in the correct order (start with page 1, then go across the top row from left to right, and repeat for each column going down). Now when this step is loaded for the new PDF the chart pages should already be in the correct order. 

What's next?

 

After confirming your chart layout, the next step is to review the grids on every chart page.

Markup R-XP will display all your chart pages tiled together so you can confirm that each one has its grid lines detected correctly. Any pages with missing or wrong grids can be opened and adjusted before moving on.