For the complete documentation index, see llms.txt. This page is also available as Markdown.

Settings (app defaults & options)

Start up options for Shafts, Treadles, Overlay, Zoom, Units of Measure, and More

Default Settings

The Settings dialog lets you configure TempoWeave's behavior, appearance, and defaults for new projects. Settings are saved automatically and persist between sessions.

Location: File (backstage) → Settings

The dialog has two tabs: Default Settings (for new projects and startup) and Settings (for the current application session).

Startup Options

Setting
Description

Load Draft on Startup

When checked, automatically opens a draft when TempoWeave launches

Open Default Project

Opens the built-in blank project (or your custom default)

Reload Last Project

Reopens the last file(s) at startup that were left open when TempoWeave was last closed.

Default Project

Choose a custom WIF file to use as your default starting draft. Click Browse to select a file, or Clear to return to the built-in default.

Language

Setting
Description

Language

Choose from System Default, English, Français, Deutsch, or Español. Changes require restarting TempoWeave.

Tip: You can create custom translations by editing the JSON files in the Locales/ folder within the application directory. This directory is displayed under the Language field.

View Options

Setting
Description

Show Yarn Catalog

Display the yarn catalog panel when TempoWeave starts

Initial Drawing Tool

The drawing tool selected by default: Straight, Freehand, Line, or Point

Use GPU 3D View

Enable GPU-accelerated rendering for View Fabric and Cloth Simulation. If you experience display issues, uncheck this to use CPU-based rendering instead.

View Style Options

Setting
Description

Show Interlacement

Render interlacement shading effects in the drawdown view

Grayscale Drawdown

Desaturate cloth colors in the drawdown

Grayscale Palette

Desaturate all palette colors

Show Thickness

Display thread thickness visualization

Tie-Up Style

Controls how the tie-up matrix is displayed:

Option
Description

Block Style

Filled blocks showing shaft-to-treadle connections (default)

Numeric Style

Numbers displayed in each cell

Warp Header Style

Controls how the threading (warp) header is displayed:

Option
Description

Block Style

Filled blocks showing shaft assignments (default)

Numeric Style

Shaft numbers displayed in each cell

Color Style

Cells colored by thread color

Visible

Show or hide the warp header entirely

Weft Header Style

Same options as Warp Header Style, applied to the treadling (weft) header.

Grid Overlay Defaults

Gris Overlay and Numbering Defaults

Configure the grid overlay that helps with counting threads and picks:

Setting
Description

Drawdown

Show grid overlay on the main drawdown canvas

Warp

Show grid overlay on the threading canvas

Tie-Up

Show grid overlay on the tie-up matrix

Weft

Show grid overlay on the treadling canvas

Shaft Row Interval

Spacing between horizontal grid lines (3–14, default 4)

Thread Column Interval

Spacing between vertical grid lines (4–20, default 10)

Overlay Color

Grid line color: Dark Gray, Dark Red, Dark Blue, Dark Green, Dark Magenta, or Orange Red

Scroll Bars Display Option

If unchecked, Scroll Bars auto-hide until you hover. If checked, Scroll Bars remain at full size.

Settings (Active Settings Tab)

These settings take effect in the current application setting as well as when TempoWeave Studio is restarted.

Theme

Setting
Description

Appearance

Light, Dark, or System (follows your OS setting). Default: System.

Accent Color

The highlight color used throughout the interface. Default: Blue.

Theme changes apply immediately — no restart needed.

Application Settings

Setting
Description

Telemetry Enabled

Send anonymous usage data to help improve TempoWeave

Version History Enabled

Keep a history of file versions for recovery

Remember Window Position

Restore the window size and position from your last session

File Associations

Setting
Description

Register as Default Handler

Associate .wif and .twa files with TempoWeave so they open with a double-click. The current registration status is shown below the checkbox.

Pattern Browser Settings (Thumbnails)

Setting
Description

Enable Pattern Browser

Turn on the pattern browser for browsing WIF files visually

Thumbnail Size

Small (96px), Medium (160px, default), or Large (256px)

Max Thumbnails

Limit how many thumbnails are cached: 50 to 5,000, or Unlimited

Generate Thumbnails in Background

Generate thumbnails automatically when browsing folders. If disabled, thumbnails are generated only when you click a file.

Clear Thumbnail Cache

Purge all cached thumbnails to free disk space

New Project Defaults

These values are used when creating a new draft:

Setting
Description

Shafts

Number of shafts (2–128, default 8)

Treadles

Number of treadles (2–128, default 10)

Loom Type

Tie-Up or Liftplan

Unit of Measure

Imperial (Inches) or Metric (cm)

Initial Zoom

Starting zoom level (1–40, default 10)

Default Palette

A yarn palette to load automatically for new projects. Choose from the Yarn Catalog or MyYarns collections, or "None" for default colors.

Default Warp Color

Starting warp thread color from the selected palette

Default Weft Color

Starting weft thread color from the selected palette

File Locations

Setting
Description

Default WIF Location

The folder that opens by default when saving WIF files. Click Browse to choose a folder, or Clear to reset.


Draft Style Options

Controls the notation convention used for the drawdown. See video below.

Swedish Defaults are normally: Draft Style Bottom to Top, Origin Side Right, Shaft 1 Placement At Top, Treadle 1 Placement On Right.

American Defaults are normally: Draft Style Top to Bottom, Origin Side Right, Shaft 1 Placement At Bottom, Treadle 1 Placement On Left.

Any combination of these settings may be used.

Option
Description

Draft Style

Top to Bottom (Pick 1 is at the top, Last Pick is at the Bottom); Bottom to Top (Pick 1 is at the Bottom, Last Pick is at the top)

Origin Side

Right (Warp thread 1 is on the right), Left (Warp Thread 1 is on the left side of the draft)

Shaft 1 Placement

Bottom: Shaft 1 appears at the bottom of the warp and tie-up grids; Top: Shaft 1 appears at the top of the warp and tie-up grids.

Treadle 1 Placement

On Left: Treadle 1 appears on the left side of the treadling and tie-up grids; On Right: Treadle 1 appears on the right side of the treadling and tie-up grids.

Default Shed Mode

Controls the default rising or sinking shed mode applied when TempoWeave starts. This sets the initial selection of the Rising/Sinking Shed option on the Project menu.

Option
Description

Rising Shed (default)

Black squares in the drawdown indicate warp threads that rise above the weft

Sinking Shed

Black squares indicate warp threads that sink below the weft

Default Selection Mode

Two independent settings — one for the Warp / Weft headers and one for the Tie-up — control how dragging selects cells. You can mix them: e.g. set Warp/Weft to Full while leaving Tie-up on Region (or vice versa).

Warp / Weft headers

Option
Description

Region (default)

Selects a thread range bounded by the shafts (warp) or treadles (weft) you drag through — a rectangular region, the classic behavior.

Full Shaft / Treadle

Selects every shaft (warp) or every treadle (weft) across the thread range you drag through. You only need to drag along the threads; the full height of shafts/treadles is selected automatically.

Tie-up

Option
Description

Region (default)

A free 2-D drag — selects exactly the rectangle of cells the pointer covers.

Full Shaft / Treadle

The first axis of pointer movement after the click decides the band: drag mostly horizontally and the selection locks to the full treadle column (every shaft for that one treadle, drag extends across more treadles); drag mostly vertically and it locks to the full shaft row (every treadle for that one shaft, drag extends across more shafts). The axis stays locked for the rest of the drag so the band doesn't flicker.

Tip: Hold Shift while dragging to temporarily use the other mode for that selection, in either axis. So with the default Region tie-up, Shift+drag uses Full mode for that drag; with Full set as the default, Shift+drag uses Region. The Shift behavior is identical on macOS, Windows, and Linux.

Note: A single click without dragging still just places the cursor in either mode, on either axis.

Show Thread Markers

When enabled, displays blue locator marks at the edges of the threading, tie-up, and treadling grids to help identify the active row and column. On by default.

Cloud Library Settings

Setting
Description

Display Name

Your name as shown to others in the Cloud Pattern Library. Click Save to update it across all your shared patterns.

AI Draft Generation Settings

These settings appear only when the AI Draft feature is enabled.

Setting
Description

Claude API Key

Your API key for AI-powered draft generation. Click Test Key to verify it works.

AI Model

Choose between Claude Sonnet (more capable) or Claude Haiku (faster).


Update Settings (removed)

Update settings are accessed separately from Help → Check for Updates.

Setting
Description

Auto Check for Updates

Automatically check for new versions on startup

Skipped Version

If you previously chose to skip a version, it's shown here. Click Clear to be notified about it again.

Check for Updates Now

Manually check for available updates

This video shows changing the settings for the Draft Style for the typical American and Swedish layouts.

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