The Interface

AnyTa works on a single canvas with floating panels. The window is organized as follows:

Toolbar: vertical floating card in the top-left corner, with the main menu and the tools.
Canvas: rulers, grid, guides, hoop, and the design.
Top context bar: options that change according to the tool or the selection (star points, stitch type, alignment, etc.).
Properties: floating, draggable card with the parameters of the selected object or stitch.
Objects and AI: right panel with two tabs, Objects and AI.
Bottom bar: status, needle palette, object count, and zoom. The stitch player replaces it when it is open.

The bar is 52 px wide and floats over the canvas, to the right of the rulers. Tools are grouped by function and the groups are separated by thin lines.

The active tool is shown with a lime background.
A triangle in the bottom-right corner indicates that there are additional options: press and hold the button or right-click.
Hovering shows the name, shortcut, and a usage hint.
The top icon with the hoop and the ▾ arrow opens the main menu (File, Edit, View, Generate…). It is not a drawing tool.

Tool	Shortcut	What it does
Select	`V` or `O`	Selects objects and shows the transform frame. Drag to move, use the handles to scale, rotate, or skew, and drag over empty space to make a marquee (selects what is completely inside). `Shift`+click adds, `Ctrl`+click removes, and double-click enters node editing.
Reshape / Nodes	`H`	Edits the nodes and handles of the selected shape. Drag a node to move it, double-click a segment to insert a new one, and use `Tab` to cycle through contours and holes. Disabled if there is no selection.
Pan view	`Space` (hold)	Scrolls the canvas by dragging. It also works with the middle mouse button. Releasing `Space` restores the previous tool.
Zoom	`Z`	Drag a rectangle to zoom into that area; `Ctrl`+click zooms out. Press and hold or right-click to open the menu: Fit to window, Actual size, Zoom in, and Zoom out. The zoom field accepts 10% to 2000%.

Drawing

Tool	Shortcut	What it does
Rectangle	—	Drag from a corner to create a rectangular object.
Circle	—	Drag from the center; the radius is defined by the distance to the cursor.
Star	—	Drag from the center to create a star. In the top bar, adjust the points (3–48), the inner radius (10–95%), or enable Polygon to get a regular polygon.
Text / Lettering	—	Click on the canvas to place text. The content, embroidery font, and stitch parameters are edited in Properties.

Stitches

Tool	Shortcut	What it does
Stitch / run	`F8`	Draws a running line. Click to add nodes; drag when placing a node to create a curve and use `Ctrl` for a straight node. Double-click or `Enter` finishes the path, and then entry and exit are defined. In the top bar you choose Manual, Run, Double, or Bean stitch.
Column A	`F4` or `A`	Alternates nodes on the right and left: right-click, left-click, right-click… `Enter` closes the column when there is at least one pair.
Column B	`F5` or `B`	Two-edge column. Draw the first edge (drag for a curve, `Ctrl` for a smooth node), press `Enter`, draw the second edge, and press `Enter` to finish.
Column C	`F6` or `C`	Centerline column. Click the points (`Ctrl`+click for a curve), `Enter` to close the centerline, drag to set the width, and define entry and exit.
Complex Fill	—	Draws a closed contour, adds holes, and defines the stitch angle. `Enter` closes each contour; two `Enter` presses in a row finish the holes; then entry, exit, and angle are chosen.

Utilities

Tool	Shortcut	What it does
Measure	`M`	Drag between two points to see the distance in millimeters and inches and the angle of the line. `Esc` cancels the measurement.
Preview mode	`Ctrl+3` for 3D	The icon changes according to the active mode: Vector, Stitches, Combined, or Realistic (3D). One click enables or disables the 3D view; disabling it returns to Combined. Press and hold to choose another mode. It is also in View → Render mode.
Stitch Player	`Ctrl+P`	Opens or closes the bottom simulation bar: go to start, rewind 10, rewind 1, play/pause, step forward 1, step forward 10, go to end, and control the speed in stitches per minute.

note

Tool shortcuts are disabled while you type in a text field or a dialog is open. Esc cancels the path in progress, Enter closes it, and Del deletes the selection.

The canvas

The design area includes rulers, grid, and guides. You can scroll with the middle mouse button or by holding Space, and zoom with the wheel (Shift+wheel to zoom, Ctrl+wheel for horizontal scrolling).

The hoop and the reference image are shown as independent layers and are controlled from the right sidebar and the objects panel. The button in the top-left corner of the rulers opens the Canvas Settings, where the grid, guides, units, and hoop are configured. See also Rulers and Guides to create, move, delete, and change their color.

Top context bar

It is a floating card that appears over the canvas, usually above the selection or centered at the top. Its width adapts to the content, and it is hidden when there is no active context.

It gathers three types of controls:

Action icons: flip, align, crop, rotate, reveal, or open more actions.
Numeric fields: height (H), width (W), points, length, density…
Menus and options: stitch types, node types, and object actions.

Changes are applied instantly. In size fields, Enter confirms the value and Esc restores it.

Contexts

Context	When it appears	Main content
Single object	There is exactly one object selected.	Flip, size, proportion, reveal in the list, and more actions.
Multiple objects	Two or more objects are selected.	Align, flip the group, group size, and count.
Artwork	The reference image is selected and unlocked.	Flip, size, proportion, crop, and rotation.
Node editing	The Reshape / Nodes tool is active.	Add/delete nodes, join/split, node type, and corners.
Star	The Star tool is active.	Points, polygon, and inner radius.
Stitch / Run	The Stitch tool is active.	Stitch type and numeric options.

Single object

Icon	Control	Function
	Flip horizontal	Mirrors the object from left to right.
	Flip vertical	Mirrors the object from top to bottom.
`H` / `W` + unit	Height and width	Changes the size in the active unit. `Enter` applies and `Esc` restores.
	Lock proportion	Maintains the height/width ratio when editing one of the two measurements.
	Show in Objects	Scrolls to and highlights the object in the Objects list.
	More actions	Opens the menu for copy, cut, duplicate, delete, paste properties/size/width/height, create border, and convert text to objects.

Multiple objects

Icon	Control	Function
	Align left	Aligns objects by their left edge.
	Center horizontally	Aligns the centers on the horizontal axis.
	Align right	Aligns by the right edge.
	Align top	Aligns by the top edge.
	Center vertically	Aligns the centers on the vertical axis.
	Align bottom	Aligns by the bottom edge.
	Flip group	Mirrors the entire selection.
`H` / `W` + unit	Group size	Scales the set to the specified height and width.
	Lock proportion	Maintains the group's proportion.
—	Count	Indicates how many objects are selected.

Alignment uses the bounding rectangle of the entire selection as a reference.

Artwork

Icon	Control	Function
	Flip reference	Mirrors the reference image.
`H` / `W` + unit	Size	Changes the size of the image.
	Lock proportion	Maintains the height/width ratio.
	Crop	Activates crop mode with handles.
	Apply / cancel crop	Confirm with `Enter` or cancel with `Esc`.
	Rotate 90°	Rotates the reference clockwise.

The artwork bar does not appear if the image is locked.

Node editing

Icon	Control	Function
	Add node	Inserts a node in the selected segment.
	Delete node	Deletes the selected node or nodes.
	Join ends	Joins the ends of a column.
	Break path	Splits the path at the selected node.
	Cusp node	Vertex with asymmetric handles.
	Smooth node	Aligned handles for a continuous curve.
	Symmetric node	Handles of equal length.
	Segment to line	Converts the segment to a straight line.
	Segment to curve	Converts the segment to a curve.
	Column corner	Square, miter, or round on columns A/B/C.

With several nodes selected, the node type, segment, and corner controls are hidden.

Star

Icon	Control	Function
	Points	Number of points, from 3 to 48.
—	Polygon	Converts the star into a regular polygon.
—	Inner	Depth of the star, from 10% to 95%. Hidden in polygon mode.

Stitch / Run

Icon	Control	Function
	Manual	Places the points manually.
	Run	Single-pass run.
	Double	Several back-and-forth passes.
	Bean stitch	Reinforced stitch that repeats each point.

The › button expands the numeric options:

Length: between 0.5 and 12 mm; typical value, 2.5 mm.
Min. and Max.: minimum and maximum length of the run.
Passes and Return: only in Double; number of passes and return.
Repeats: only in Bean stitch; stitch repetitions.

Properties

The Properties card floats over the canvas and can be dragged and collapsed. It shows the parameters of the selected object or of the active digitizing tool: stitch type, density, angle, compensation, thread, entry/exit points, and geometry. The reset icon returns the card to its original position.

The card changes according to the object type. See Properties for all the variants: fill, complex fill, lettering, columns A/B/C, and running lines.

Objects and AI

The layers icon in the right sidebar opens or closes the panel. The panel has two tabs:

Objects (lime): list of objects grouped by color and embroidery order.
AI (violet): agent run history and access to the composer.

Icon	Button	What it does
	Objects	Opens or closes the panel. It is highlighted when open.
	Hoop	Shows or hides the hoop on the canvas.
	Symmetry	Opens the symmetric copy bar.
	Machine Origin	Defines the (0,0) point of the design.

Objects tab

From top to bottom, the panel contains:

Artwork: card to load the reference image. In the empty state it shows Add artwork · Load image and the entire card is clickable. With an image loaded it shows the thumbnail, the file name, the eye to hide it, the trash to remove it, the lock, and an Opacity control.
Summary: number of colors, objects, and total stitches in the format N colors · N objects · N stitches. On the right, the button Expand/Collapse all groups.
Object list grouped by color: each group shows an arrow to collapse it, the thread swatch, the color name, and the count of objects and stitches of that color. Manual groups appear as Group and are indented under their color.
Object rows: show/hide, lock/unlock, thumbnail, object type, order number with the thread name, and total stitches.
Sequence: bottom strip with the thread swatches in embroidery order ( …). Clicking a swatch selects all objects of that color; if there are many, it scrolls horizontally.

Icon	Action	Result
	Eye	Hides or shows the object without deleting it.
	Lock	Locks the object so it cannot be selected or edited on the canvas, or unlocks it.
—	Click an object	Selects it on the canvas.
—	Double-click an object	Enters isolated editing of the group or object.
—	Click a color group	Selects all its objects.
—	Click the group arrow	Collapses or expands its objects.
—	Drag a row	Changes the embroidery order; a lime line indicates the insertion position.

The order of the list is the embroidery order. Dragging a row updates the sequence and the object becomes selected.

AI tab

When you enable AI, the pill turns violet and the agent history opens; the composer appears at the bottom of the canvas. Each entry shows the prompt, the mode (Digitize, Vectorize, Variants, or Edit), the number of colors and stitches, a thumbnail, and the generated variants.

While the agent is working, a live card shows the current step and the Working or Paused status.
If the agent needs an answer, it indicates Waiting for your response.
Hovering over a finished entry shows Restore; one click restores that version of the design.
Entries can be marked as Active or Modified.
If there are no runs yet, No runs yet is shown with an explanation that they will appear here when each job finishes.

Bottom bar

The bottom bar shows the cursor status, the needle palette, the number of objects, and the zoom. When you open the stitch player, this bar is hidden and leaves its place to the playback controls.

See Status Bar and Stitch Player for all the elements, the transport icons, the speed, and the progress bar.

The Interface