VinylCut 5 — UI overview (software-only)
VinylCut-only. No physical cutter required to learn this page. Sources: AM softwaretraining UI mini-series + observed 5.028 install layout on Monitor-PC.
Two faces of the suite
- VinylCut Craft Design — artwork, vectors, text, libraries, mats.
- VinylCut Cutting — cutter connection, cut settings, send job.
Same suite; design on the mat, then open Cutter / cut settings when ready to output.
Main workspace (from UI Part 1)
When VinylCut 5 opens you typically see:
| Area | Role |
|---|---|
| Mat / canvas (left-centre) | Design surface; what you see is what will cut (WYSIWYG). Mat size/orientation matches the project media. |
| Library (bottom) | Drag pre-made or saved assets onto the mat (shapes, patterns, pens, rhinestones, custom library items). |
| Properties (right) | Document properties → position/size → Fill and Stroke → style → font (when text) → useful tips. |
| Layers (lower right) | Groups and shapes; show/hide (eye), lock, reorder. |
| Main toolbar (top) | New / Open / Save; copy-paste; undo-redo; Import; Trace; Library preview; Cut / Cutter (send to machine). |
| Tool strip (far left) | Selection; text; node/shape editing; pen / pencil / brush; shapes; colour picker; gradient; other draw tools. Context properties appear for the active tool. |
| Status bar (bottom) | Cursor coordinates; save / status messages. |
| Title | Shows VinylCut version. |
Training: UI & workspace overview · Workspace management · index UI mini-series.
Menus / entry points you will use often
Software-only practice can stay entirely in these:
- File — new project (name + cutting/media dimensions), open/save layouts, import/export.
- Edit — undo/redo, preferences (e.g. SVG DPI defaults under General), copy/paste.
- Object — show/hide, lock, arrange; right-click on a shape also exposes show/hide.
- Cutter (or cut-blade toolbar icon) — opens cut settings dialog (connection, modes, layers, colour, tiles, extras).
- View / workspace — manage workspaces, mats, guidelines, registration-mark visibility (when learning print-and-cut later).
Exact menu labels can vary slightly by build; follow on-screen wording on Monitor-PC 5.028.
Properties panel — Fill and Stroke + style
Critical for clean cut paths (also used in “remove strokes” training):
- A shape can look stroke-free while Stroke still has a colour matching the fill — set stroke to none when you do not want an outline.
- Under style, cut-line modes include concepts such as Draw / Print+Cut / Cut only / Print only / colour alignment. For cut-only vinyl jobs prefer the cut style, not Draw (Draw brings the stroke behaviour back).
- See AM how-to: Remove strokes.
Layers visibility
- Eye icon on the layers panel hides/shows a layer or a shape inside a group.
- Show all / hide all / toggle all from the layers panel menu.
- Object → Hide / Show; right-click shape → Show / Hide / Show all (Show all from right-click needs a shape selected, not empty mat).
- Same family of habits as lock/unlock — isolate complex work without deleting.
Training: Controlling what you see.
Install tree cues (Monitor-PC, learning only)
Under C:\Program Files\VinylCut 5\ (do not land KB here):
Library\,Mats\,Palettes\,Patterns\,Pens\,Rhinestones\— content libraries used from the UI.Hints\,Lang\— UI hints / localisation.- Main exe:
VinylCut 5.exe(build 5.028 / file version5.0.2.8on Monitor-PC).
Software-only drills (no cutter)
- New project → set mat size → draw shapes → rename layers.
- Hide/show layers; lock a group; unlock.
- Change fill/stroke; set stroke none; set style to Cut.
- Save/reopen the project; confirm layers and styles persist.
- Open cut settings dialog only to read tabs (General / Layers / Cut by colour / Tiles / Extras) — do not require a live machine.
Updated: 2026-09-05 (SAST).