Tell Markup R-XP which PDF pages contain interesting details for your project e.g. a colour preview of the finished design, details on custom stitches or important instructions for quick reference

On this page

 

 

What this step is for

 

A picture page is a coloured image of what your finished cross-stitch design will look like once it has been stitched. Most patterns include one on the cover or front matter as a sales preview, and many include a larger version on a separate page so you have a reference to glance at while you work.

This step lets you tell Markup R-XP which PDF pages contain that finished-design image. Once selected, you can flip to the picture view at any time to remind yourself what part of the design you are stitching, the colour balance you are aiming for, and how the section you are on fits into the whole.

 

Picture pages are entirely optional. If your pattern is just a grid plus a key with no finished preview at all, you can move past this step without selecting anything and your project will still work.

 

Anything you exclude here is not deleted from your PDF. It is simply hidden from the next setup steps. Your selection is saved straight away, so if you come back later, Markup R-XP will remember which pages you chose.

The screen at a glance

 

The Select Picture Pages screen shows your PDF pages as thumbnails in a grid, with the selected picture page highlighted green and Back / Next buttons at the bottom.
Figure 1. The Select Picture Pages screen shows the same page grid you saw in the previous step. (1) The header bar shows how many pages are currently selected as picture pages. (2) Selected picture pages are shown with a green tint and green title strip. (3) Unselected pages are shown with a plain grey title strip. (4) The floating selection chip provides quick options for selecting multiple pages. (5) The Back button returns you to the previous step; the Next button moves you on to setting up the chart layout.

Reading a page tile

 

Each tile represents one page from your original PDF.

Close-up of a selected picture page tile, showing the PDF page number, thumbnail of the finished design preview, and the green selected state.
Figure 2. A page tile includes: (1) the PDF page number, which is always shown so you can match it to the original PDF; (2) a thumbnail preview of the page, which should visibly show a coloured finished image rather than a grid of symbols if it is a picture page; and (3) the selection state, where pages marked as picture pages have a green tint and thicker green border.

Including and excluding picture pages

 

To choose your picture pages:

  1. Tap a page to include it as a picture page. The page turns green to show it is selected.
  2. Tap it again to exclude it. The page returns to grey.
  3. Watch the header. The count updates immediately, for example: “1 of 8 selected”.
  4. Select the page that shows your finished design. For most patterns this is the cover, but some put the finished image on its own dedicated page.

Tip. Not sure which page shows the finished design? Double-tap a page to preview it full-screen. A picture page is almost always a full-colour image with no grid lines or thread numbers.

Note. You can select more than one picture page if your pattern has several reference images, such as a full view and a close-up. Markup R-XP will let you flip between them.

Bulk selection using the floating chip

 

The floating chip appears on the left edge of the page list. It gives you three quick ways to change your picture-page selection.

The floating chip on the left edge of the screen with three round buttons stacked vertically.
Figure 3. The floating chip contains three buttons: (1) Select All, (2) Select None, and (3) Invert Selection.

Select All

Includes every page in the PDF as a picture page.

Rarely useful here - most patterns have only one or two finished-design images. More commonly you will want to tap pages individually.

Select None

Clears your entire picture-page selection.

This is useful if you have selected the wrong pages and want to start again, or if your pattern has no finished-design preview at all and you want to leave the selection empty.

Invert Selection

Flips the current selection.

Pages that were marked as picture pages become unselected, and pages that were not become selected. Useful when you have accidentally selected most of the wrong pages and only need a few of them.

Previewing a page full-screen

 

Thumbnails can be small, especially for image-heavy pages where you want to see the colours clearly. You can open any page full-screen to take a closer look.

To preview a page:

  1. Double-tap any page tile. The page opens full-screen.
  2. Tap the Done button when finished. This returns you to the page list.

Previewing a page does not change whether it is included or excluded.

A single PDF page filling the screen, showing a finished coloured cross-stitch design, with a Done button in the top-right corner.
Figure 4. The full-screen preview lets you inspect a PDF page in detail. A picture page typically looks like a finished photograph or illustration of the completed design. (1) The Done button returns you to the page list.

Moving to the next step

 

When you are happy with your selection, tap Next in the bottom-right corner.

The label on the Next button will be one of two things depending on your pattern:

  • “Set Chart Layout” if your chart spans multiple PDF pages, since the wizard needs to know how those pages fit together side-by-side.
  • “Review Grids” if your chart is a single page, since there is no layout to set up and you can jump straight to the grid review step.

Markup R-XP saves your selected picture pages and moves you to the next step. If you want to go back and change your key-page selection, tap Back in the bottom-left corner instead.

Note. Like the previous step, you are not required to select a picture page here. If your pattern does not include a finished-design preview, you can move on with nothing selected.

Crop of the wizard footer showing the Next button labelled 'Set Chart Layout' on the bottom-right.
Figure 5. The Next button label adapts to your chart. (1) “Set Chart Layout” appears for multi-page charts. (2) “Review Grids” appears when the chart is a single page.

Tips and common questions

Here are answers to the most common questions about selecting picture pages.

Q: What exactly counts as a picture page?

Answer: Any page that shows a finished colour image of the stitched design.

This is usually a photograph or rendered illustration of the completed project, with no grid lines or thread numbers visible. The cover image of a pattern is a typical example.

Q: My pattern has no finished-design picture at all. What should I do?

Answer: Skip the selection and tap Next.

You can move on with no picture pages selected. The project will still work - you just will not have a reference image to flip to while you stitch.

Q: The cover of my pattern has a finished-design image on it. Should I select the cover as the picture page?

Answer: Yes, that is the most common case.

The cover image is almost always the best picture page if your pattern has nothing larger or more detailed elsewhere. If the pattern also has a dedicated full-page preview, prefer the larger one.

Q: Can I select more than one picture page?

Answer: Yes.

If your pattern includes multiple reference images (for example, a full view and a separate close-up of a detailed area), select all of them. Markup R-XP will let you flip between them while you work.

Q: My PDF contains several patterns in one file. Should I select the picture pages for all of them?

Answer: No - only select the picture pages that relate to the chart pages you chose at the start.

Each Markup R-XP project covers a single design. Selecting picture pages from another pattern in the same PDF would put the wrong reference image alongside your chart.

Q: Why is the Next button labelled “Review Grids” instead of “Set Chart Layout”?

Answer: Because your chart is on a single PDF page.

The Set Chart Layout step only applies to charts that span multiple pages and need to be tiled together. With a single-page chart there is no layout to set up, so the wizard skips that step and goes straight to grid review.

Q: The bulk selection buttons and double-tap preview look identical to the previous steps. Do they work the same way?

Answer: Yes - the same controls are used across all three page-selection steps.

For more on these controls, see Select Chart Pages, where they were first introduced.

What's next?

 

After selecting your picture pages, the next step depends on your chart.

If your chart spans more than one PDF page, you will move on to Set Chart Layout, where you will arrange the pages into the grid that matches the original printed pattern.

If your chart is on a single page, you will skip straight to Review Grids, where you will check that Markup R-XP has correctly detected the grid lines on your page.