Translations:UserManual:Tape measurements Tutorial/13/en

Personally, I'm not happy with reading only half of the descriptions in columns 2 & 3, so by positioning the cursor between columns 2 & 3, the cursor changes and I can drag the column wider and I do the same between columns 3 & 4. Now I can read the description in them and the heights column has become narrower. You can resize any of the columns like this.

Adding Custom Measurement Codes
While I was setting up my working document, there was one item that I couldn't find a code for - Vertical trunk (Neck side, around crotch, to neck side) - I marked it in red at the code area. We will add this one now. Custom codes all get a prefix @. We can only use the alpha-numeric for them and the under-score (_), no spaces. We can give it a name and a description, but since it isn't known by the system, it won't have a diagram attached to it, so the description should be quite detailed. To add the custom code, we click on 'Add Custom' and an item is added to our list with the name '@M_1' which is highlighted in the list: We can now change the name to something that we will identify with while drafting our pattern, add the full name and full description. Here is what I have entered because I know that, in a years time, I won't remember what this measurement was about:

Adding, Moving and Deleting Lines
And here we are at the part that creates the magic... Unfortunately, our codes have now disappeared and our list is in the order of Tape's list rather than that of our worksheet but all is not lost as we can move rows up or down. We can also add more codes or delete codes: At the top, the 'Add Known' and 'Add Custom' are always available and will be every time you open this file in Tape, so you can add more items to it at any time you wish. The 4 tiny icons in the centre of the screen to the left are what we use to move the lines. The 1st one will take the selected line to the top, the 2nd one will move the line up a line, the 3rd one will move it down a line and the 4th one will take it to the last line. The single icon in the centre right will delete the line. You may now re-arrange your lines into the order of the list, if you wish. I like doing this because it helps me not to make mistakes when entering base values and increments.

Adding Base Values and Increments
Starting at the top of the list, we can start entering our values. I suggest that you double check that all the descriptions are the same and the diagram corresponds to list item before entering values. I can't stress this enough because the success of your pattern drafting depends on it and this is why we have created a list, added all the lines and sorted them into order... To minimize making errors. At this point, I advise that all items in the 'Vertical' section of our list have the increments entered into the Height column. The rest can be entered into the 'Size' column. As you can see, I have checked that I have the correct line and it corresponds to the diagram and description. I've entered the base value into the box provided and Tape has added it to the line in the column 'Base Value'. I've entered the increment value into the 'In sizes' box and it has been added to the line in the column 'In Sizes'. To easily move from the Base Value box to the In Sizes box, you may use the TAB key or the mouse. Continue in this fashion until you have all the values entered, remembering to enter the increment of the Vertical section into the 'In Height' box so that they can go into the 'In Height' column for those lines. Also, remember to save your work often. I don't like doing everything twice, so I do. Here is an image of a part of my completed table. Once you have entered all your base values and increments, you may save your file one last time and close Tape. It will be available to you when you need it to create a pattern in Valentina.