To backup your Premier+™ settings:

Backing Up MySettings:

1. Open Premier+™ Configure.
2. Click on the Backup MySettings button. A 'Save As' dialog box will appear.
3. If needed, give the file a descriptive name. Click Save. By default the file will be saved within your \Documents\Premier+\SystemBackup folder
4. Open Windows Explorer.
5. Browse to your Documents folder.
6. Double click on the Premier+™ Embroidery folder.
7. Copy all folders and files - except the Samples folder - to your *external media.
8. Browse to the folder which contains your MyFonts folder - see below - and also copy the MyFonts folder to your external media.

Windows® 7 / Windows® 8 users: C:\ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\Fonts\

* external media: this can be a USB Stick, External USB Hard Disk, burned/copied onto a CD/DVD...etc.

** The main thing, is that not to store backups on the same physical hard disk that your Premier+™ Embroidery System is installed on - if that hard disk malfunctioned, then you would lose your Premier+™ software and all of your backups as well.

If your dongle is already activated to use 5D Card Shop, then there is no need to activate your dongle again.

Make sure the Premier+™ Card Shop window is maximized by clicking the Maximize icon on the title bar. Click Zoom To Fit to expand the project so it fills the work area.

To deselect a a design or some text, click the mouse on another area. To select the desired design, click on it and an outline box will appear.

Certain functions are only available if the full 5D™ Embroidery System is owned, for example the Color PortraitStitch options in the Image Wizard. If you do not own the full system these functions will be grayed out (unavailable).

Frames with running stitch that is vertical or horizontal are not always completely visible at zoom to fit. This varies depending on the font, size of lettering and envelope. Use the Zoom In feature, if desired, to verify that the stitching exists.

Some pieces of cross stitch lettering are actually designs, so only their color can be changed. If the pointer is a letter A, the block is lettering. If it is a flower head, the block is a design.

Some decorative lettering may appear to be a design, for example the Pioneer Kids lettering. The number can be changed. Right-click the number and change it in the Text Properties dialog box.

If the pointer is a letter A, the block is lettering. If it is a flower head, the block is a design.

Each letter starts with the initial variegated thread color. Where low density stitching is used the other colors may not be seen. For a more realistic preview showing all colors, ensure that ColorSort is enabled in Preferences, then use Save and select Print Preview.

You can create new fabric backgrounds for your cards in 5D™ Embroidery Extra. If 5D™ Embroidery is owned, you may load fabric backgrounds, but cannot create new ones.

If you select Single embroidery when creating a card and use a fabric background, when Print Overview is selected in Page Setup the card will be displayed on a single piece of fabric. If you move the fabric background, the fabric for all pages in the card will be affected.

If you select Multiple embroideries when creating a card and use a fabric background, when Print Overview is selected in Page Setup the card will be displayed as if on separate pieces of fabric. If you move the fabric background, only the fabric for the selected page will move.

There are no Send icons in Premier+™ Card Shop. To stitch your card embroideries, open them in Premier+™ Embroidery or send them to your machine using the Premier+™ Explorer Plug-in.

Your selected hoop is not large enough for your chosen project. Select a larger hoop, or choose a smaller project.

This message may appear when saving a project. This means that some part of your card design is not entirely within your project area (it is outside the edge of the background). Reduce the size of the text by changing the wording, or changing the size of the lettering.

This message appears if you attempt to click OK in the Color Selection dialog box when MyThreads is selected as the thread range and MyThreads is empty.

To prevent this message appearing again, use Thread Cache in Premier+™ Configure to add at least one thread to MyThreads.

The correct DPI (dots per inch) setting will depend on the size of the picture to be scanned. The desired picture size is approximately 1000 X 1000 pixels. To achieve this take the size of your artwork in inches, such as 8" x 7", and divide the longest side into 1000. In the example, 1000 divided by 8 = 125. The DPI setting of the scanner should then be 125 DPI, and this will produce a picture that is about 1000 x 875 pixels.

Although the program automatically doubles the size of a picture if its height and width are less than 500 pixels, this may still produce jagged lines. For a smoother effect, rescan the picture.

You have not selected the option to start Embroidery Machine Communication automatically when Windows starts. Resolve this as follows:

1. Start Premier+™ Configure.
2. Click the Start Machine Communication button and the icon will appear in the system tray.
3. Position the pointer over the icon in the system tray and right-click. A menu will appear.
4. Click the Start Automatically option.
5. Right-click the icon again to confirm the Start Automatically option is checked.
6. Click anywhere on the desktop, away from the menu, to close the menu without changing anything.

You may connect one of each type of embroidery machine to the same computer. For example, you may connect one Husqvarna Viking Designer SE, Diamond, Ruby and one Pfaff creative vision, 4.0 at the same time.

However, if you connect two or more of the same type of machine, the Embroidery Machine Communication module will not communicate correctly with those machines.

This message appears if you attempt to click OK in the Color Selection dialog box when My Threads is selected as the thread range and My Threads is empty.

To prevent this message appearing again, use Premier+™ Thread Cache to add at least one thread to My Threads.

There is a limit on the number of stitches that may be saved to an embroidery file in Pfaff (.pcs) file format. This message appears if the embroidery you attempt to save to this format exceeds this limit.

The refresh rate of the screen is limited by the power of your computer's processor and RAM as well as the video card and its memory. To get the best performance from your system, try using 2D view as this requires less power than 3D view.

Certain icons (for example Save and Export on the Quick Access Toolbar) are only highlighted once an embroidery is shown on the screen.

Use Premier+™ Configure to change the grid color. Follow the instructions in Premier+™ Configure and select Blue Gray (RGB values 100, 102, 153) from the standard color drop-down on the Grid Color button.

Use Screen Preferences to change the grid spacing. Set the Grid Size to 10.

This message appears if the font or SuperDesign set that you have selected is not available. The most likely reason is that it is already open in the optional Premier+™ Font Create module. Close Premier+™ Font Create, then try again. This could also happen if you opened the Premier+™ Embroidery program, then accidentally moved or deleted the font from the relevant category folder in ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\Fonts, or the SuperDesign file from ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\SuperDesigns. Close Premier+™ Embroidery, make sure the file is in the folder, then try again.

This message could appear if the desired picture is not where the module expects it to be, for example if it was loaded from a USB memory stick, then closed and the memory stick removed. It could also appear if the file you are attempting to load is corrupt. For example, it might have an extension such as .bmp or .jpg, yet not be a proper picture file.

You should first make sure that you have followed the instructions in the following FAQs before doing the instructions below:

• EP005
• EP001

You may find that Windows® Explorer displays some file formats but not all types. This usually occurs if you have had another file management program such as the Embird Iconizer installed. The issue may be that entries have been made in the computer’s Registry that do not have an owner, and therefore cannot be updated by the Premier+™ Windows® Explorer Plug-in installation.

1. Download the VSM 6D Explorer Plugin Fix utility.
2. Double click on the VSM6DExplorerPluginFix.exe file.
3. You may receive a message asking "Do you want to allow the follow program to make changes to this computer?" Click Yes.
4. A black screen will appear – when it is finished press any key to close that window.
5. Restart your computer.
6. Delete the Thumbnail cache (instructions in EP002).

The thumbnails for your stitch files should now be showing correctly.

This message will appear when trying to use your scanner or digital camera if the device has not been installed correctly. Close Premier+™ Family Tree, follow the manufacturer's instructions for the Twain-compliant device, then reopen Premier+™ Family Tree and try again.

This message appears if the Thread Range of the selected color is not found in your thread database. This could happen if the design you are attempting to edit was supplied by someone with a later version of the thread database.

Use the Import Threads from Embroidery feature in Premier+™ Thread Cache. You can alter it to any other color if desired. If you click Cancel, the color will not be changed.

To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure.

To drag and drop embroideries onto the Work Area, open Windows® Explorer. Then follow the instructions under Drag and Drop.

Certain formats are limited to the size of hoop used on their specific embroidery machine, for example .sew. If you attempt to save a file in this format that is bigger than the largest available hoop size this message would appear.

If your original embroidery had a stop command in it then this would be replaced by a color change, thus adding a color for every stop you have in your embroidery. As the Tajima file format does not have a stop command in its format, it requires the machine operator to manually enter stops into the machine. If you save or distribute files in Tajima format, then you must also specify all colors and stops and where they occur in the embroidery.

Janome software cannot load embroideries with more than 12 colors. If a file to be exported in .sew format has more than 12 color changes, it will automatically be split into multiple files, with the last character of the filename "1", "2", and so on.

This message appears if the desired embroidery is not where the module expects it to be, for example if an embroidery was loaded from a USB memory stick, then closed and the memory stick removed. The message would appear if you tried to load the embroidery from the Recent Files list on the File menu.

This message appears if the file you are attempting to load is corrupt. For example, it might have the extension .vp4, yet not be a proper Husqvarna Viking / Pfaff embroidery.

The embroidery is corrupt and cannot be loaded. Refer to source of this file for a solution.

The embroidery is corrupt and cannot be loaded. Refer to source of this file for a solution.

This message appears if you attempt to load a file with an extension that does not belong to any embroidery file types. For example, it would appear if you tried to drag and drop a .doc file onto the screen.

This message appears if you type an incorrect extension that does not belong to any embroidery file types in the File Name box when trying to save a file.

This message appears if there is a problem with your thread database. You will be unable to choose a thread color. First close all the modules of the Premier+™ Embroidery System, close down your computer and restart. If this does not clear the problem, restore a backup with Restore MySettings, if you have created one using Backup MySettings in Premier+™ Configure. Otherwise, you either need a new version of the thread database, or a repair install of your Premier+™ Embroidery System software. To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure.

If the error still appears, then repair the installation. First, delete the following files from ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\System:

• User.sqlite
• System_cdb2.sqlite

This assumes you have installed your Premier+™ Embroidery System software in the default location. If these file are not present then this is the reason for the error. The file names may be shown without their file extensions.

Put your Premier+™ Embroidery System software DVD in your computer and re-run the Applications installation. (If you downloaded your software, double-click on the Premier+™ Applications file.) When the choice appears, select the "Modify or remove" option and click Next. In the next screen, select Repair and click Next. Continue with the installation and follow the on-screen instructions. When the installation is complete, the thread database will be restored to its original installation state. This means that the MyThreads database will have the default set of threads.

This will also reset MyThreadRanges and custom Quick Color Themes to their installation states. Check Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure after repairing the installation.

This message appears if you attempt to click OK in the Color Selection dialog box when MyThreads is selected as the thread range and MyThreads is empty.

To prevent this message appearing again, use Premier+™ Thread Cache to add at least one thread to MyThreads.

Use Premier+™ Configure to change the background color. Follow the instructions in Premier+™ Configure and select the RGB values 211, 233, 255 in the Colors dialog box.

Use Reset All Modules in Premier+ Configure to return all toolbars in the module to their default settings.

To use Reset All Modules

1. Ensure your designs are saved in any Premier+ Embroidery System modules that are open.
2. Click Premier+ Configure on the QuickLink toolbar.
3. Click Reset All Modules.
4. A message will appear, indicating that all modules will be closed and reset. Click OK.
5. A message will appear, asking you to ensure that all other Premier+ Embroidery System modules have closed, apart from Premier+ Configure. Click OK.
6. A message will appear, indicating that all modules have now been reset. Click OK. The toolbars in your module will have been restored.

If preferred, you can check individual toolbars in View, Customize. Use this to see if the missing toolbar has been turned off, and also to reset the toolbar if icons have been added to or removed from the toolbar. If this does not restore the toolbar, use Reset All Modules.

This message appears if the Thread Range and Color Number of the selected color are identical to those in your thread database, but some aspect of the color is different. It could be a different material or weight, or have additional colors as a variegated thread. This could happen if the design you are attempting to edit was supplied by someone with a different version of the color, for instance if they have edited it in MyThreads, or if they have a later version of the thread database. If you click OK, the color will be replaced with the near match. You can alter it to any other color if desired. If you click Cancel, the color will not be changed. To import the new color from an embroidery if it is a MyThreads color, use Thread Cache in Premier+™ Configure. To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure.

This message appears if the Thread Range of the selected color is not found in your thread database. This could happen if the design you are attempting to edit was supplied bysomeone with a later version of the thread database. If you click OK, the color will be replaced with the nearest match in the Import Thread Range you have set in Premier+™ Configure. You can alter it to any other color if desired. If you click Cancel, the color will not be changed. To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure.

Certain formats are limited to the number of stitches they can save or the size of hoop used on their specific embroidery machine, for example .sew. If you attempt to save a file in this format that is bigger than the largest available hoop size or has more stitches than are allowed, this message would appear.

The Find Thread feature in Color Selection allows you to enter partial thread numbers. The first thread in the list matching the number is found, with priority given to an exact match. If you are attempting to find a thread with only part of the number, the first thread matched may not be the desired thread. To ensure you select the correct thread, enter the thread number as it appears in the list. Some thread ranges have prefix characters on the thread number. These must also be entered to obtain an exact match.

This message appears if there is a problem with your thread database. You will be unable to choose a thread color. First close all the modules of the Premier+™ Embroidery System, close down your computer and restart. If this does not clear the problem, restore a backup with Restore MySettings, if you have created one using Backup MySettings in Premier+™ Configure.

Otherwise, you either need a new version of the thread database, or a repair install of your Premier+™ Embroidery System software. To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure. If the error still appears, then repair the installation. First, delete the files named 'MySettings.mdb' and 'ThreadDatabase.mdb' from ProgramData\VSMSoftware\6DEmbroidery\System.

This assumes you have installed your Premier+™ Embroidery System software in the default location. If either file is not present then this is the reason for the error. The file names may simply be shown as 'MySettings' and 'ThreadDatabase'.

Put your Premier+™ Embroidery System software DVD in your computer and re-run the installation. When the choice appears, select the "Modify or remove" option and click Next. In the next screen, select Repair and click Next. Continue with the installation and follow the on-screen instructions. When the installation is complete, the thread database will be restored to its original installation state. This means that the MyThreads database will have the default set of threads. This will also reset MyThreadRanges and custom Quick Color Themes to their installation states. Check Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure after repairing the installation.

This message appears if, for instance, you have loaded an embroidery from a CD-ROM and then attempt to save the embroidery back to the CD. A CD-ROM is read only, therefore you will not be able to save the embroidery.

This message appears on attempting to save when there is no embroidery on the current window.

This message will appear if system resources are low. Close other programs and try again. If this does not work, try restarting your computer.

Confirm Premier+™ Embroidery System Documentation is Installed

This could be because you have not yet installed the Premier+™ Embroidery System Documentation. You can confirm if you have installed this by going to Premier+™ Configure and clicking on the Check Installation button and clicking Check to see which items you have installed.

Check you have the latest version of the Premier+™ System Documentation installed

Previous Premier+™ Documentation installations included Help for some modules. In the Premier+™ Documentation 11.1, we have included Help and Reference Guides for all modules except Premier+™ Font Create.

Use Smart Update to check you have the latest version:

1. Open Premier+™ Configure.
2. Click on the Smart Update button.
3. Enter your E-mail Address/Password details.
4. Click Next.
5. Click Next again to start the Download process.
6. Follow the on-screen instructions.

You receive the screen below if you have the 6D Embroidery System installed and you choose the 6D Embroidery Machine Communication option in the 6D Installation Check utility.

If you have a 6D Embroidery System installed, then you only need to select the 6D Embroidery System option and click Check. If you have installed the seven individual components of the 6D Embroidery System, then you will see the screen below when you do the 6D Installation Check.

The 6D Embroidery Machine Communication option refers to whether you have installed the individual components that make up the 6D Embroidery Machine Communication system. It does not refer to status of communication between your computer and your direct connection embroidery machine.

It is only possible to have either the 6D Embroidery System system installed or the 6D Embroidery Machine Communication system installed on one computer at any time.

It may be that you installed another software which is now associated with your stitch files.

To reset the association back to the Premier+™ Embroidery System do the following steps:

1. Close down all programs.
2. Open Premier+™ Configure.
3. Click the Reset File Association button. A Reset File Association box will appear.
4. Click on the Premier+™ Embroidery button in the Reset File Association box.
5. The Set Program Association page will appear.
6. Click on the Select All checkbox. All stitch formats will be selected in the list.
7. Click Save.

All the selected stitch formats will have been set back to open in Premier+™ Embroidery.

This message will appear when trying to start a module if the Premier+™ Embroidery System cannot detect the dongle (data protection device). Ensure the dongle is plugged into a free USB port of your computer.

This message may appear if you attempt to load an embroidery created in third-party software. Such embroideries may cause unpredictable results.

This message usually means that the motif database has been deleted or corrupted. This may be corrected by repairing the installation.

First, delete the file named 'SystemMotifs.mdb' from ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\System.

This assumes you have installed your Premier+™ Embroidery System software in the default location. If the file is not present then this is the reason for the error. The file name may simply be shown as 'SystemMotifs'.

Put your Premier+™ Embroidery System software DVD in your computer and re-run the installation. When the choice appears, select the "Modify or remove" option and click Next. In the next screen, select Repair and click Next. Continue with the installation and follow the on-screen instructions. When the installation is complete, the motifs will be restored.

You are permitted to install your software onto a secondary computer – i.e. to install it onto your Desktop computer and your laptop computer.

You only have one dongle per software package; so you are limited to using the software on one computer at a time.

Some USB ports do not have enough power to drive the dongle. By using a USB hub, which uses a power supply, this can be overcome.

This message will appear when trying to use Premier+™ Embroidery if the Premier+™ Embroidery System cannot detect the dongle (data protection device). For example, if the dongle has been removed or loosened while using Premier+™ Embroidery. Ensure the dongle is plugged into a free USB port of your computer.

The dongle and all our other USB devices work with USB 3.0 ports.

This can happen if you unplug your dongle or other USB device and then plug it back into a different USB port. When this happens, it is detected as a new hardware item and the driver is installed on the alternative USB port. Wait for the hardware wizard to finish installing the driver, then continue using the software as usual.

If your dongle is working correctly then it is not necessary to install this update. If you do not wish to see this update each time you use Windows® Update, select the Hide This Update option and it will not be listed next time you use Windows® Update.

This message will appear if the dongle driver is not accessible, has been removed or has not been installed correctly.

First, ensure you are logged onto your computer with full administrator rights and attempt to use the desired Premier+™ Embroidery System module. If the error message no longer appears, then the user name you originally tried to use is too restricted to use the Premier+™ Embroidery System.

Otherwise, use the dongle driver installation utility in the \Technical\Dongle Driver folder of your Premier+™ Embroidery System DVD (also available by download). Ensure you are logged onto your computer with full administrator rights before using the dongle driver installation utility.

This error is given when Anti-Virus / Firewall software is preventing the Sentinel HASP (dongle) software communicating with the dongle. This may cause the dongle to flash.

This is due to the connection being blocked, normally by Anti-Virus / Firewall software.

Another factor, may be that the Sentinel License Manager Service may have been stopped on your computer. Follow the steps below to start that service:

1. Open Windows Explorer/File Explorer.
2. Right click on Computer/This PC.
3. Click on the Manage option. The Computer Management window will appear.
4. Click on Services on the left hand window.
5. Right click on Sentinel HASP License Manager on the right hand window.
6. Click on the Start option.
7. When the service has started; try to open the Premier+™ Software.

When you have installed and registered certain Premier+™ Embroidery System modules, you must activate the dongle. If you attempt to run a module before activating, this message will appear.

If the error refers to any of the following files, then please install the latest Dongle Drivers to resolve the issue:

• aksclass.sys
• akshasp.sys
• akshhl.sys
• aksusb.sys
• aksdf.sys
• aksfridge.sys
• hardlock.sys

* If you installed the dongle drivers as part of a 6D Embroidery System installation, then you already have the latest dongle drivers installed.

It could be that your dongle drivers are not installed correctly.

When you install a new version of the dongle drivers, the installation will remove the old dongle drivers from your computer before it installs the latest version.

In case the old drivers were not fully removed correctly, then it is advisable to download and install the latest command-line dongle drivers - which remove all traces of the dongle drivers from your computer, before installing the latest dongle drivers:

1. Disconnect the dongle[s] from the computer.
2. Download the following file - Command-Line Purge Dongle Drivers
3. Double click on the HASPCommandLineDrivers-Purge.exe file – a black screen will appear.
4. You may receive a Microsoft warning message. Click the Run Anyway button.
5. Click Yes to any User Account Control prompts that may appear.
6. Click OK to both Sentinel Run-time Environment Installer messages reading Operation successfully completed.
7. When the process is finished, the black screen will disappear.
8. Insert your dongle into your computer – the Installing device driver software message may appear.

You do not need to uninstall the 6D Software when you come to installing the Premier+™ Embroidery System; both systems will co-exist on the same computer without issues.

The only exception being, that the 6D Explorer Plug-in will need to be uninstalled to allow the Premier+™ Explorer Plug-in to be installed

The best way to find out which features are in the latest Smart Update (or previous upgrades) is to:

1. Double click on the Premier+™ Embroidery System shortcut on your Desktop. A new Windows® Explorer window will appear
2. Double click on Readme shortcut.
3. Open the latest file.
4. The latest features will be listed at the top of the document.

Firstly, the Premier+™ Embroidery System is intended to be run on a Windows® computer.

Although, many customers have been able to get it to work fully using 3rd Party environments like Parallels and Boot Camp; we cannot support the software when it is run in a non-standard setup or using 3rd Party tools.

This error can happen when an issue has been found in the integrity of the downloaded file during the Smart Update process.

1. Close down all open programs.
2. Restart your computer.
3. Start the Smart Update process again.

Error 1722 appears when an installation of the Explorer Plugin may have become corrupted. Use the Premier+ Explorer Plugin Fix utility to correct this problem.

1. Download the Premier+ Explorer Plugin 1722 Fix utility here.
2. Double click on the downloaded PremierPlusExplorerPluginFix.exe file
3. Follow the on-screen instructions
4. Now try to install the Premier+ Explorer Plugin installation file again.

To backup your Premier+™ settings:

Backing Up MySettings:

1. Open Premier+™ Configure.
2. Click on the Backup MySettings button. A 'Save As' dialog box will appear.
3. If needed, give the file a descriptive name. Click Save. By default the file will be saved within your \Documents\Premier+\SystemBackup folder
4. Open Windows Explorer.
5. Browse to your Documents folder.
6. Double click on the Premier+™ Embroidery folder.
7. Copy all folders and files - except the Samples folder - to your *external media.
8. Browse to the folder which contains your MyFonts folder - see below - and also copy the MyFonts folder to your external media.

Windows® 7 / Windows® 8 users: C:\ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\Fonts\

* external media: this can be a USB Stick, External USB Hard Disk, burned/copied onto a CD/DVD...etc.

** The main thing, is that not to store backups on the same physical hard disk that your Premier+™ Embroidery System is installed on - if that hard disk malfunctioned, then you would lose your Premier+™ software and all of your backups as well.

This message will appear when you copy a thread from a standard thread range to MyThreads, and the thread has already been copied.

This message will appear if you enter a Thread Number that already exists in MyThreads, when adding or editing custom MyThreads. Click OK, and an underline and number will be added to the end of the Thread Number to make it unique. If desired, click in the Thread Number box and re-edit it.

This message will appear when you try to delete a thread definition from MyThreads. If you wish to go ahead and delete the thread, click Yes. Otherwise click No.

This message will appear when you try to save a new or edited thread if the Thread Number is blank. The Thread Number may not be blank. Enter a Thread Number and click OK.

If you open a file that has colors from MyThreads that are unmodified copies of standard threads, but do not exist as copies in your MyThreads list, the color will be identified and selected in the original thread range when you click the color to change it.

You have not selected the option to start Embroidery Machine Communication automatically when Windows starts. Resolve this as follows:

1. Start Premier+™ Configure.
2. Click the Start Machine Communication button and the icon will appear in the system tray.
3. Position the pointer over the icon in the system tray and right-click. A menu will appear.
4. Click the Start Automatically option.
5. Right-click the icon again to confirm the Start Automatically option is checked.
6. Click anywhere on the desktop, away from the menu, to close the menu without changing anything.

You may connect one of each type of embroidery machine to the same computer. For example, you may connect one Husqvarna Viking Designer SE, Diamond, Ruby and one Pfaff creative vision, 4.0 at the same time.

However, if you connect two or more of the same type of machine, the Embroidery Machine Communication module will not communicate correctly with those machines.

Use Premier+™ Configure to change the grid color. Follow the instructions in Premier+™ Configure and select Blue Gray (RGB values 100, 102, 153) from the standard color drop-down on the Grid Color button.

Use Screen Preferences to change the grid spacing. Set the Grid Size to 10.

There is an option in Windows Explorer to turn off thumbnails, you may have this option turned on.

1. Open Windows Explorer.
2. Click on the Options box to open the Folder Options dialog.
3. Click on the View tab.
4. Uncheck the checkmark against the "Always show icons, never thumbnails" option.
5. Click OK.

It could be that you have had a previous software on your computer which had shown thumbnails of stitch files. The cache of thumbnails needs to be cleared from Windows Explorer, so that it can start using the thumbnails shown by the Windows Explorer Plug-in.

An example of the issue can be seen below, with the incorrect thumbnail image from a third party icon software on the left; and the correct preview on the right:

Another example of strange thumbnail image display, is if one of the thumbnails shows with a black background. It will also be a smaller version of the design in the center of the thumbnail.

Clear the Thumbnail Cache to fix both types of thumbnail display issues:

Windows 10/ Windows 8

1. Open Windows Explorer – right click the Windows Explorer icon on the Task bar and select File Explorer.
2. Windows Explorer will open to the Quick Access/Libraries folder of your computer. In the left hand pane of the window, click on the This PC/Computer heading.
3. Right click on the Local Disk (C:) entry, then click Properties. The Local Disk (C:) Properties dialog box will appear.
4. On the General tab, click the Disk Cleanup button. It may take a few moments while the utility analyses the drive.
5. Uncheck everything in the list, and then place a checkmark against the Thumbnails entry at the bottom.
6. Click OK and a confirmation message will appear. Click the Delete Files button.
7. Repeat steps #3 to #6 for any other Local Disk entries that you may have in Windows Explorer.

Windows 7

1. Click on the Start menu.
2. Click on the Computer option. Windows Explorer will open.
3. Right click on the Local Disk (C:) entry, then click Properties. The Local Disk (C:) Properties dialog box will appear.
4. On the General tab, click the Disk Cleanup button. It may take a few moments while the utility analyses the drive.
5. Uncheck everything in the list, and then place a checkmark against the Thumbnails entry at the bottom.
6. Click OK

This could be because you have the Windows Search option turned off.

To turn it on:

Windows 8

1. Go to your Start screen.
2. Type windows features
3. Click on the Turn Windows Features On or Off option.
4. Scroll down to the Windows Search option.
5. Place a checkmark in the checkbox if it is empty.
6. Click OK.

Windows 7

1. Click on the Start menu
2. Type windows features
3. Click on the Turn Windows Features On or Off option.
4. Scroll down to the Windows Search option.
5. Place a checkmark in the checkbox if it is empty.
6. Click OK.

It could be that the Windows Indexing has been turned off; turn it back on and try again.

Windows 8

1. Go to your Start screen.
2. Type services
3. Click on the Services option that appears to open the Services box.
4. Scroll down to the Windows Search checkbox.
5. Right click on it.
6. Select Properties
7. On the General tab, ensure that you have the Automatic (Delay Start) selected.
8. Click OK.
9. Restart your computer.
10. Now try searching for a designs properties again.

Windows 7

1. Click on the Start menu.
2. Type services
3. Click on the Services option that appears to open the Services box.
4. Scroll down to the Windows Search checkbox.
5. Right click on it.
6. Select Properties
7. On the General tab, ensure that you have the Automatic (Delay Start) selected.
8. Click OK.
9. Restart your computer.
10. Now try searching for a designs properties again.

If you have your thumbnail view in Windows® Explorer set to Small icons, List or Details then you will not see the preview - you will only see the Premier+™ logo.

Change the View to one of the other available options to see the thumbnail images of your stitch files

Changing the View:

1. Open Windows® Explorer.
2. Browse to a folder that contains stitch files.
3. Right click on an empty area of main part of the Windows® Explorer screen.
4. Move your mouse over the View option.
5. Click on Medium icons - or whichever other option you prefer to view your thumbnail images in.

This message appears if the Thread Range of the selected color is not found in your thread database. This could happen if the design you are attempting to edit was supplied by someone with a later version of the thread database.

Use the Import Threads from Embroidery feature in Premier+™ Thread Cache. You can alter it to any other color if desired. If you click Cancel, the color will not be changed.

To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure.

If your original embroidery had a stop command in it then this would be replaced by a color change, thus adding a color for every stop you have in your embroidery. As the Tajima file format does not have a stop command in its format, it requires the machine operator to manually enter stops into the machine. If you save or distribute files in Tajima format, then you must also specify all colors and stops and where they occur in the embroidery.

Janome software cannot load embroideries with more than 12 colors. If a file to be exported in .sew format has more than 12 color changes, it will automatically be split into multiple files, with the last character of the filename "1", "2", and so on.

This message appears if there is a problem with your thread database. You will be unable to choose a thread color. First close all the modules of the Premier+™ Embroidery System, close down your computer and restart. If this does not clear the problem, restore a backup with Restore MySettings, if you have created one using Backup MySettings in Premier+™ Configure. Otherwise, you either need a new version of the thread database, or a repair install of your Premier+™ Embroidery System software. To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure.

If the error still appears, then repair the installation. First, delete the following files from ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\System:

• User.sqlite
• System_cdb2.sqlite

This assumes you have installed your Premier+™ Embroidery System software in the default location. If these file are not present then this is the reason for the error. The file names may be shown without their file extensions.

Put your Premier+™ Embroidery System software DVD in your computer and re-run the Applications installation. (If you downloaded your software, double-click on the Premier+™ Applications file.) When the choice appears, select the "Modify or remove" option and click Next. In the next screen, select Repair and click Next. Continue with the installation and follow the on-screen instructions. When the installation is complete, the thread database will be restored to its original installation state. This means that the MyThreads database will have the default set of threads.

This will also reset MyThreadRanges and custom Quick Color Themes to their installation states. Check Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure after repairing the installation.

This message appears if you attempt to click OK in the Color Selection dialog box when MyThreads is selected as the thread range and MyThreads is empty.

To prevent this message appearing again, use Premier+™ Thread Cache to add at least one thread to MyThreads.

Use Premier+™ Configure to change the background color. Follow the instructions in Premier+™ Configure and select the RGB values 211, 233, 255 in the Colors dialog box.

Use Reset All Modules in Premier+ Configure to return all toolbars in the module to their default settings.

To use Reset All Modules

1. Ensure your designs are saved in any Premier+ Embroidery System modules that are open.
2. Click Premier+ Configure on the QuickLink toolbar.
3. Click Reset All Modules.
4. A message will appear, indicating that all modules will be closed and reset. Click OK.
5. A message will appear, asking you to ensure that all other Premier+ Embroidery System modules have closed, apart from Premier+ Configure. Click OK.
6. A message will appear, indicating that all modules have now been reset. Click OK. The toolbars in your module will have been restored.

If preferred, you can check individual toolbars in View, Customize. Use this to see if the missing toolbar has been turned off, and also to reset the toolbar if icons have been added to or removed from the toolbar. If this does not restore the toolbar, use Reset All Modules.

This message appears if the Thread Range of the selected color is not found in your thread database. This could happen if the design you are attempting to edit was supplied bysomeone with a later version of the thread database. If you click OK, the color will be replaced with the nearest match in the Import Thread Range you have set in Premier+™ Configure. You can alter it to any other color if desired. If you click Cancel, the color will not be changed. To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure.

The Find Thread feature in Color Selection allows you to enter partial thread numbers. The first thread in the list matching the number is found, with priority given to an exact match. If you are attempting to find a thread with only part of the number, the first thread matched may not be the desired thread. To ensure you select the correct thread, enter the thread number as it appears in the list. Some thread ranges have prefix characters on the thread number. These must also be entered to obtain an exact match.

This message appears if, for instance, you have loaded an embroidery from a CD-ROM and then attempt to save the embroidery back to the CD. A CD-ROM is read only, therefore you will not be able to save the embroidery.

This message will appear if system resources are low. Close other programs and try again. If this does not work, try restarting your computer.

Confirm Premier+™ Embroidery System Documentation is Installed

This could be because you have not yet installed the Premier+™ Embroidery System Documentation. You can confirm if you have installed this by going to Premier+™ Configure and clicking on the Check Installation button and clicking Check to see which items you have installed.

Check you have the latest version of the Premier+™ System Documentation installed

Previous Premier+™ Documentation installations included Help for some modules. In the Premier+™ Documentation 11.1, we have included Help and Reference Guides for all modules except Premier+™ Font Create.

Use Smart Update to check you have the latest version:

1. Open Premier+™ Configure.
2. Click on the Smart Update button.
3. Enter your E-mail Address/Password details.
4. Click Next.
5. Click Next again to start the Download process.
6. Follow the on-screen instructions.

This message will appear when trying to start a module if the Premier+™ Embroidery System cannot detect the dongle (data protection device). Ensure the dongle is plugged into a free USB port of your computer.

This message may appear if you attempt to load an embroidery created in third-party software. Such embroideries may cause unpredictable results.

This message usually means that the motif database has been deleted or corrupted. This may be corrected by repairing the installation.

First, delete the file named 'SystemMotifs.mdb' from ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\System.

This assumes you have installed your Premier+™ Embroidery System software in the default location. If the file is not present then this is the reason for the error. The file name may simply be shown as 'SystemMotifs'.

Put your Premier+™ Embroidery System software DVD in your computer and re-run the installation. When the choice appears, select the "Modify or remove" option and click Next. In the next screen, select Repair and click Next. Continue with the installation and follow the on-screen instructions. When the installation is complete, the motifs will be restored.

You are permitted to install your software onto a secondary computer – i.e. to install it onto your Desktop computer and your laptop computer.

You only have one dongle per software package; so you are limited to using the software on one computer at a time.

In Windows® 10, you will need to manually reset the file association:

1. Click on the Start menu in the bottom left corner of your screen.
2. Click on Settings. The Settings window will appear.
3. Click on the System button.
4. Click on the Default apps entry on the left hand pane.
5. Scroll to the bottom of the right hand pane.
6. Click on the Set defaults by app link. The Set Default Program window will appear.
7. Click on the Premier+™ Embroidery entry from the left hand pane.
8. Click on the Choose defaults for this program link on the right hand pane.
9. Place a checkmark in the Select All checkbox - this will place a checkmark in all checkboxes if they were not already checked.
10. Click Save. This will associate all the available stitch formats from step #9 with Premier+™ Embroidery.

Click the Windows 10 Reset File Association link to see a video of the above process.

Some USB ports do not have enough power to drive the dongle. By using a USB hub, which uses a power supply, this can be overcome.

This message will appear when trying to use Premier+™ Embroidery if the Premier+™ Embroidery System cannot detect the dongle (data protection device). For example, if the dongle has been removed or loosened while using Premier+™ Embroidery. Ensure the dongle is plugged into a free USB port of your computer.

The dongle and all our other USB devices work with USB 3.0 ports.

This can happen if you unplug your dongle or other USB device and then plug it back into a different USB port. When this happens, it is detected as a new hardware item and the driver is installed on the alternative USB port. Wait for the hardware wizard to finish installing the driver, then continue using the software as usual.

If your dongle is working correctly then it is not necessary to install this update. If you do not wish to see this update each time you use Windows® Update, select the Hide This Update option and it will not be listed next time you use Windows® Update.

This message will appear if the dongle driver is not accessible, has been removed or has not been installed correctly.

First, ensure you are logged onto your computer with full administrator rights and attempt to use the desired Premier+™ Embroidery System module. If the error message no longer appears, then the user name you originally tried to use is too restricted to use the Premier+™ Embroidery System.

Otherwise, use the dongle driver installation utility in the \Technical\Dongle Driver folder of your Premier+™ Embroidery System DVD (also available by download). Ensure you are logged onto your computer with full administrator rights before using the dongle driver installation utility.

This error is given when Anti-Virus / Firewall software is preventing the Sentinel HASP (dongle) software communicating with the dongle. This may cause the dongle to flash.

This is due to the connection being blocked, normally by Anti-Virus / Firewall software.

Another factor, may be that the Sentinel License Manager Service may have been stopped on your computer. Follow the steps below to start that service:

1. Open Windows Explorer/File Explorer.
2. Right click on Computer/This PC.
3. Click on the Manage option. The Computer Management window will appear.
4. Click on Services on the left hand window.
5. Right click on Sentinel HASP License Manager on the right hand window.
6. Click on the Start option.
7. When the service has started; try to open the Premier+™ Software.

When you have installed and registered certain Premier+™ Embroidery System modules, you must activate the dongle. If you attempt to run a module before activating, this message will appear.

It could be that your dongle drivers are not installed correctly.

When you install a new version of the dongle drivers, the installation will remove the old dongle drivers from your computer before it installs the latest version.

In case the old drivers were not fully removed correctly, then it is advisable to download and install the latest command-line dongle drivers - which remove all traces of the dongle drivers from your computer, before installing the latest dongle drivers:

1. Disconnect the dongle[s] from the computer.
2. Download the following file - Command-Line Purge Dongle Drivers
3. Double click on the HASPCommandLineDrivers-Purge.exe file – a black screen will appear.
4. You may receive a Microsoft warning message. Click the Run Anyway button.
5. Click Yes to any User Account Control prompts that may appear.
6. Click OK to both Sentinel Run-time Environment Installer messages reading Operation successfully completed.
7. When the process is finished, the black screen will disappear.
8. Insert your dongle into your computer – the Installing device driver software message may appear.

You do not need to uninstall the 6D Software when you come to installing the Premier+™ Embroidery System; both systems will co-exist on the same computer without issues.

The only exception being, that the 6D Explorer Plug-in will need to be uninstalled to allow the Premier+™ Explorer Plug-in to be installed

The best way to find out which features are in the latest Smart Update (or previous upgrades) is to:

1. Double click on the Premier+™ Embroidery System shortcut on your Desktop. A new Windows® Explorer window will appear
2. Double click on Readme shortcut.
3. Open the latest file.
4. The latest features will be listed at the top of the document.

Firstly, the Premier+™ Embroidery System is intended to be run on a Windows® computer.

Although, many customers have been able to get it to work fully using 3rd Party environments like Parallels and Boot Camp; we cannot support the software when it is run in a non-standard setup or using 3rd Party tools.

This error can happen when an issue has been found in the integrity of the downloaded file during the Smart Update process.

1. Close down all open programs.
2. Restart your computer.
3. Start the Smart Update process again.

Error 1722 appears when an installation of the Explorer Plugin may have become corrupted. Use the Premier+ Explorer Plugin Fix utility to correct this problem.

1. Download the Premier+ Explorer Plugin 1722 Fix utility here.
2. Double click on the downloaded PremierPlusExplorerPluginFix.exe file
3. Follow the on-screen instructions
4. Now try to install the Premier+ Explorer Plugin installation file again.

You have entered an invalid credit card number. Correct the number and try again.

You have not selected (checked) the box accepting the Terms and Conditions. Check this box and try again.

Now you will be able to continue in the Embroidery Purchase Center.

The expiration date that you selected from the drop-down list is in the past. Either you selected the wrong date, or your credit card is out of date.

This will appear in the Payment Details page if at least one of the required fields is empty. This could happen if your billing address and delivery address were not the same, and you had clicked Next before adding the changed details.

Something is wrong with your dongle, so the Product Activation Code could not be added to it. Contact embroidery software support for a diagnosis of the problem.

To backup your Premier+™ settings:

Backing Up MySettings:

1. Open Premier+™ Configure.
2. Click on the Backup MySettings button. A 'Save As' dialog box will appear.
3. If needed, give the file a descriptive name. Click Save. By default the file will be saved within your \Documents\Premier+\SystemBackup folder
4. Open Windows Explorer.
5. Browse to your Documents folder.
6. Double click on the Premier+™ Embroidery folder.
7. Copy all folders and files - except the Samples folder - to your *external media.
8. Browse to the folder which contains your MyFonts folder - see below - and also copy the MyFonts folder to your external media.

Windows® 7 / Windows® 8 users: C:\ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\Fonts\

* external media: this can be a USB Stick, External USB Hard Disk, burned/copied onto a CD/DVD...etc.

** The main thing, is that not to store backups on the same physical hard disk that your Premier+™ Embroidery System is installed on - if that hard disk malfunctioned, then you would lose your Premier+™ software and all of your backups as well.

The correct DPI (dots per inch) setting will depend on the size of the picture to be scanned. The desired picture size is approximately 1000 X 1000 pixels. To achieve this take the size of your artwork in inches, such as 8" x 7", and divide the longest side into 1000. In the example, 1000 divided by 8 = 125. The DPI setting of the scanner should then be 125 DPI, and this will produce a picture that is about 1000 x 875 pixels.

Although the program automatically doubles the size of a picture if its height and width are less than 500 pixels, this may still produce jagged lines. For a smoother effect, rescan the picture.

Use the Design Area command to select the part of the picture you wish to use for your design. Alternatively, in the Picture window select the part of the Picture you want with Box or Freehand Select then Crop the picture (you can only do this before you start creating your design).

Use the Outline Thinner to narrow the outline to one pixel. This will allow areas to join together better.

To use the Outline Thinner:

1. Click on the Effects drop-down list on the Paint tab.
2. Click on the Cleaning option from that list. The Cleaning Effects dialog should appear.
3. Choose the options in the Outlinesection to get the results that you desire.
4. Click OK.

The design size is set according to the distance between the two outermost control points of the design. The stitches created from the design may go beyond these control points, so the size of the actual embroidery may exceed the height or width specified for the design size.

Try changing the angle of orientation. Even one degree can be enough to allow the artificial intelligence of the program to fill the object. Another possibility is to move the start point slightly.

The pictures used should have well differentiated color areas, which may be solid or stippled, to fill easily. Clip art is excellent for this purpose. If there is a gap where the same color flows into another area, the fill will not work as expected.

If Color Tolerance is switched off then switch it on in File menu -> Preferences. Color Tolerance will then allow you to preview any area for QuickStitch functions, which should reveal any problems with color areas in the picture. You can then alter the picture in the Picture window. Alternatively, use the Create Area or Line function on the Freehand Create or Precise Create tabs to manually create the Fill Area.

To change the color of the border:

1. Create the fill area using QuickStitch, QuickStitch + AutoHole on the Quick Create tab - or the Create Area or Line from the Freehand Create or Precise Create tab.
2. Right click on the new Pattern Fill area in the work area. The Fill Area and Line dialog box will appear.
3. Click on the Line tab.
4. Place a checkmark in the Insert Color Change checkbox.
5. Edit the Line Thread Change to your preferred thread color.
6. Click OK.

If you have an area of color that is both inside and outside the Design Area then QuickStitch will fill the whole color area with stitches. Either edit the Picture with the Picture window to reduce the size of the color area, use Create Area or Line on the Freehand Create or Precise Create tabs to fill only the parts you want, or edit the QuickStitch area on the Edit window so that the fill area falls inside the Design Area.

If border areas run into each other, two layers of stitching will be produced by the QuickStitch™ border functions. To avoid this, split the colors on the picture in the picture window, or another graphics package, e.g. put a visual 'end point' for each border area. Alternatively, use the FreeHand™ Satin Border function.

The first color can only be changed in the Edit window. Go to the Edit window and click the first color in the color palette, then select the color you want to start with. Alternatively, simply mark out your Design Area and add a Color Change command, ready for the first objects in your design. The Design Area is only used to set the initial size of the design, and is not used when stitches are created. Hence, when the initial color for the Design Area is not used for any objects, it is also not used when stitches are created.

Click the Insert Object icon again to deselect it and complete the insertion. A Jump Stitch is placed from where the new objects end to their insertion point.

If you switch to the Edit or Picture window while you are in Insert then Insert will be turned off and a Jump Stitch will be inserted to jump back to the next point in the design. When you return to the Create window and create objects then you will Add them to the end of the design. You must reselect your Insert point and select Insert Objects again. The Status Bar in the Create window shows whether you are using Add or Insert.

This is a temporary effect that lasts only until you have finished inserting, that is when you switch back to Add or go to the Edit or Picture window. If you insert a Color Change then the objects inserted after the Color Change will use the new color as usual. The objects before the Color Change will revert back to the correct color when you switch back to Add.

Use the Filter Objects buttons in the Edit window to turn off the markers for Color Changes and Stop commands, and for Ties. If you turn the markers off then you can see and select the point underneath.

This will happen if you attempt to open a design that has been set as read-only, or is read-only because it is stored on a CD-ROM. If the design file is on your hard disk as read-only then you must change its properties in Windows® Explorer so that it is no longer read-only. For designs on CD-ROMs, use Windows® Explorer to copy them to your hard disk, then change the properties so that they are no longer read-only. (Windows® Explorer Help has information on the read-only attribute.)

Use the Box Select feature to select an area of the Picture around which you wish to crop the background.

When rotating a picture, certain angles could make the picture larger than the maximum allowed. If this message appears, either rotate the picture to a different angle, or reduce the size of the picture, then try again.

This happens when you use QuickTrace to follow an outline in the picture and then QuickTrace finds a part of the outline that is very thick. This can be caused by excessively broad outlines or by selecting too much of the picture with a high Color Tolerance value. In this case, QuickTrace does not know where to trace the outline as the problem part of the outline is more like a fill area. Use a lower Color Tolerance value, or use the editing functions in the Picture window to make the outline thinner or break up the outline so that the wide parts are isolated from the rest of the outline.

This message may appear if a QuickStitch™ or FreeHand™ fill area is too complex for the stitch generation functions, usually because the fill area is very small. This may happen, for example, if a design has small areas and is then further reduced in size.

To help find the area, check the progress bar that appears when stitches are created. This shows how far through the design the object is, and can be used as an approximate guide for setting the slider bars on the Edit window. If desired, also use the filters to hide other object types. Use the FilmStrip to step through the objects quickly. Look for small areas in the remaining visible objects, and adjust as necessary.

This message will appear when trying to use your scanner or digital camera if another graphics program is already open that uses the WIA-compliant device. Close PREMIER+™ Create and the other graphics programs, then reopen PREMIER+™ Create and try again.

Use Color Tolerance to preview the area that will be used.

• Solid Colors. A solid color area must have well defined edges, either by having an outline of a different color or by being enclosed by other colors. Color Tolerance will show where there are gaps in a border around an area. If the area is not sufficiently well defined, alter the image in the Picture window, or another graphics package, so that the area is enclosed.
• Stippled Colors. Stippled colors (also called 'dithered' colors) are treated the same as solid color areas.
• Graduated Colors. If Color Tolerance is switched off then you will only be able to select a small, single colored part of a graduated color. It is also easier to select a graduated color area when it is enclosed by contrasting colors.

Color Tolerance is switched on with the Color Tolerance option in Screen Preferences.

Alternatively, use the relevant functions on the Freehand Create or Precise Create tabs.

It is important where you click after selecting the Outline Thinner tool. The color you click on is the color that will be thinned. So if you click on a black outline, this outline will be thinned. Alternatively if you click on an area (such as white on a black and white drawing), this area will be thinned and the outline around it will be thickened to compensate. This leaves the drawing indistinguishable from the original.

The Outline Thinner tool may not work if your picture has dithering, such as a scanned image or one that has been converted from a JPEG file. These pictures have additional colored pixels that can affect the result.

This message will appear when trying to use your scanner or digital camera if the device has not been installed correctly. Close PREMIER+™ Create, follow the manufacturer's instructions for the WIA-compliant device, then reopen PREMIER+™ Create and try again.

This message will appear if the connection to your scanner or digital camera has a problem. Close PREMIER+™ Create, check the connections to your scanner or digital camera, then reopen PREMIER+™ Create and try again.

This message will appear in certain circumstances when trying to use your scanner or digital camera, for example if the cable is disconnected during the scan or download. Close PREMIER+™ Create, check the connections to your scanner or digital camera, then reopen PREMIER+™ Create and try again.

This message could appear if the desired picture is not where the module expects it to be, for example if it was loaded from a USB stick, then closed and the USB stick removed. It could also appear if the file you are attempting to load is corrupt. For example, it might have an extension such as .bmp or .jpg, yet not be a proper picture file.

This message may appear if you are using a large picture and your computer's memory or hard disk space is relatively low. Close other programs and try again.

This happens when you are doing a Save As on the .ed0 design outline file and you have given the name of a file that is already there. It also happens when you are saving a stitch file and the file already exists. Click Yes or No as appropriate. You may have to replace a stitch file several times if you are creating stitch files to stitch out tests of your design.

Use Premier+ Configure to change the grid color. Follow the instructions in Premier+ Configure and select RGB values 100, 102, 153 from the standard color dropdown on the Grid Color button.

Use Size setting on the View tab to change the grid spacing. Set the Grid Size to 10.

The manufacturer of a TWAIN device must provide a Source Manager and a TWAIN Data source for your device to work with Premier+ Create. These will normally be installed when you install the software and drivers provided with the device. If you have installed a device and it is not shown in the list then it may not be TWAIN compliant. Refer to the device documentation and manufacturer for assistance.

To resize when part of a picture is selected, simply click and drag any of the resize handles on the selection box (out to increase size, in to decrease size). When the mouse is over a resize handle on a corner of the selection box, the pointer changes from an arrow to the resize pointer.

To rotate when part of a picture is selected, simply click and drag the round rotate handle on the middle right of the selection box. Click and drag down to rotate clockwise, up to rotate counterclockwise.

The Expander makes lines thicker around areas in the picture that match the background color. The Expander is intended for use with scanned pictures, such as line art that has been converted to monochrome and despeckled to clean it up.

Some wide areas of satin may be imported as fill areas, depending on their size in the embroidery. This is because any area that is very wide is assumed to be a fill area. Also, all satin sections that have a fill pattern will be imported as fill areas.

This will happen if you delete a pattern from your MyFill database and then load a design that uses the pattern. The pattern will use system pattern 3 instead of the deleted MyFill pattern. Either import the deleted pattern picture again, then select it in the MyPatterns tab of Fill Properties, or choose a different pattern.

When you have a design from somebody else that contains a fill area with a MyFill pattern, it is likely that their MyFill database will have different patterns to your MyFill database. You must obtain the exported MyFill pattern and import it into your MyFill database, then select the correct pattern in the MyPatterns tab of Fill Properties.

This may happen on slower computers if you have created a lot of very large MyFill patterns, and also if you have created and then deleted a lot of MyFill patterns. It may help if you backup and then restore the MyFills database using the Backup MySettings and Restore MySettings options in Premier+ Configure. When you restore MySettings, the MyFills database size will be optimized which may help improve the speed for selecting MyFills.

On slower computers, large or complex motif fill areas may take some time to draw in the Quick/Freehand/Precise Create window, particularly if there are holes in the area. This may be noticeable when you create new motif fill areas and when you return to the Quick/Freehand/Precise Create window from the Edit or Picture window or another Premier+Embroidery System module.

Some tools in the Create window create more than one outline at a time, such as, Double and Quadruple Trace and FreeHand™ Fill + Border. For example, Quadruple Trace puts four running stitches directly on top of each other. This means that if you want to add and move a new point to change a Quadruple Trace then you will have to do so four times, once for each of the four lines of running stitch. The same idea applies to an area with a border around it, that is, you will have to change the area and border separately.

A color change is only copied when it is part of the selected block. If you paste a block that does not start with a color change then it will use the color that is active at the point where the block is pasted. If you want to preserve the color make sure that you copy the relevant color change, or add a new color change in the desired color before pasting the block.

Objects must be fully enclosed by the selection line to be selected as part of a block. If even the smallest part of an object is outside the line then it will not be selected.

Designs elements you add with Insert are initially added to your design at a reduced size in the top left corner of your design. This is to make sure that any inserted design will fit inside the design you are working on. You can freely resize and move an inserted design, which is initially selected as a block when it is inserted. Remember to hold down the Ctrl key when resizing if you want to keep the proportions of the block.

Use the FilmStrip and/or slider bars to hide all objects except the satin borders and traveling running stitch used to create the trace. Select any Satin Line objects in the trace, then right-click in the FilmStrip and select Global Properties. The Satin Line properties dialog box will appear. Make adjustments as desired and click OK. The new properties will be applied to all visible satin borders.

The dashed line used by Color Tolerance only shows the outside of the area that is selected by the current Color Tolerance value. Simply try the Trace function and if the result is not satisfactory then Undo the result and retry the trace with a higher Color Tolerance.

This will happen when you select Gradient or Multi-Gradient Density for a fill area. Underlay stitches are only generated for fill areas with Normal Density selected. This is because the underlay stitching will spoil the effect of Gradient or Multi-Gradient Density. With Normal Density selected, some fill areas with intricate outlines or complex holes may not be able to create underlay.

If you have a fill area with a complex outline then this may cause the stitches to fill unevenly when you select Gradient or Multi-Gradient density. This is because of the way that the edge of the area interferes with the ideal spacing of the stitches. Gradient and Multi-Gradient density work best for areas with straight or smoothly curving sides. You could replace the Fill Area using Create Area or Line from the Freehand Create or Precise Create tabs, or edit the area to straighten the side that causes the uneven stitches.

The best size for a background picture is approximately 1000x1000 pixels (or greater). When using pictures significantly smaller than this Premier+ Create will magnify it, but lines may appear jagged rather than smooth. For example, if a picture is loaded that is less than 500 pixels in both height and width it will automatically be doubled in size. The best way to produce a smooth effect is to rescan the picture.

If the picture you wish to use is only a small part of the picture that has been loaded, use Crop to remove the rest of the picture. If you loaded the picture in the ExpressDesign Wizard, use the Crop Picture page of the wizard. If you loaded the picture directly onto the Picture page, select the desired area of the picture, then use Crop.

If you are creating a design from a picture, without using the ExpressDesign Wizard, use the Design Area command in the Create window when you are ready to start creating the design. This is suitable to select the desired area of the picture when the area is not much smaller than the picture.

The QuickStitch features use defined color areas to place fill areas, motif fill areas and borders. However, the Color Tolerance function allows you to merge different color shades to change the size of this area. The filters may also be useful to create color areas. For example, use the Despeckle filter to remove small spots of color that are often found on scanned pictures. Also, some scanned or clip art pictures have thick outlines so there may be gaps between the areas that are larger than desired. Use the Outline Thinner to reduce the thickness of outlines to one pixel automatically.

If there is a gap where the same color flows into another area; and some of the functions on the QuickStitch tab will not work. Because gaps in a picture are often not very large, a good way to check whether a picture is suitable is to test whether the areas will flood fill and 'patch them up' as necessary.

How To Use

1. Click the Picture tab at the bottom of the screen.
2. Use Flood Fill to fill an area with the foreground color. If it does not have complete outlines, more of the picture will be flood filled than expected.
3. Click Undo.
4. Select the foreground color to be the same as the outline around the area.
5. Click Freehand Draw and select the third line thickness.
6. Zoom In to the outline to find the gaps, then draw lines to fill any gaps in the outline.
7. Select another color and test the fill again. When only the expected area is flood filled, the picture is ready for the QuickStitch functions.

If the control panel is 'floating' on top of the window, double-click the title bar and the control panel will move back to its original position.

If the control panel is docked on the wrong side of the window, click and drag the title bar to the middle of the right-hand edge of the window until the outline snaps into position on the right. Release the mouse button and the control panel will be dropped into its original position.

If this does not work, or the control panel is not visible, use Reset All Modules.

Note that Reset All Modules affects all modules in the Premier+ Embroidery System, so any changes to settings in each module will be reset. The recent files list on the File menu is also cleared, but this does not affect any files you have saved.

To use Reset All Modules:

1. Ensure your designs are saved in any Premier+ Embroidery System modules that are open.
2. Click Premier+ Configure on the QuickLink toolbar.
3. Click Reset All Modules.
4. A message will appear, indicating that all modules will be closed and reset. Click OK.
5. A message will appear, asking you to ensure that all other Premier+ Embroidery System modules have closed, apart from Premier+ Configure. Click OK.
6. A message will appear, indicating that all modules have now been reset. Click OK. The next time you start Premier+ Create, the control panel will be in the correct position.

This message appears if a .can file cannot be loaded. For example, it might have the extension .can, yet not be a proper design outline file.

The program cannot save the file. Ensure that the disk where you are trying to save the design is not write-protected, then try again.

Certain icons (for example Break Apart on the toolbar in the Edit tab) is only highlighted once a design is shown on the screen. Also, when there is a design on the screen, some functions that might cause a mismatch between the size of the design and the size of the picture are not available in the Picture window.

If the control panel is 'floating' on top of the window, double-click the title bar and the control panel will move back to its original position.

If the control panel is docked on the wrong side of the window, click and drag the title bar to the middle of the right-hand edge of the window until the outline snaps into position on the right. Release the mouse button and the control panel will be dropped into its original position.

Using Reset All Modules in Premier+ Configure will also return the control panel to its original position.

The origin is usually shown as a dark blue circle. It may be a different color, depending the underlying picture or background colors. Also, the origin can be moved anywhere on the work area. Try Zoom To Fit to see the whole work area.

This may happen if the outlines in the picture are only one pixel wide after the Monochrome Threshold page.

For Express Trace, return to the Outline Finder and Expander page, select Find Outlines and ensure Expand is set to 1.

For Express Border, first click Picture Options and set the Area Sensitivity to High. If this does not have the desired effect, return to the Monochrome Threshold page and adjust the slider so that more of the picture within the desired areas turns black. If this also selects unwanted parts of the picture, you may need to remove the unwanted areas in a picture editor.

To remove unwanted areas, use Load Picture on the Picture page to open the picture. Set the background color to white. Select unwanted areas with Box Select or Freehand Select and Delete them. Use Save Picture As to save the picture with a new name, in case you wish to make further edits, then click Send To Wizard.

This feature is not required in the ExpressDesign Wizard, hence it is not available. It is used in the Edit page when changing object properties.

QuickStitch will not create an area from part of the picture that is very small or very thin. This is because the area will either have insignificantly few stitches, or it is not wide enough for stitches to go across it. Try editing your picture to enlarge the area, so that it is big enough to be used as a Fill area from Quick Create tab. Alternatively, use single or running stitches. For thin lines, use Trace from the Quick Create tab.

You have used Global Properties on the FilmStrip context menu to open the object properties dialog box. The Conversion feature has no effect when Global Properties is selected. Objects may only be converted one at a time with the Conversion feature.

If an area is too small or the outline of the area crosses itself, it may not always convert to a satin area. If the area is very small, adjust the outline to increase the size of the area. If the outline of the area crosses itself, adjust the outline to prevent this.

You have not selected the option to start Embroidery Machine Communication automatically when Windows starts. Resolve this as follows:

1. Start Premier+™ Configure.
2. Click the Start Machine Communication button and the icon will appear in the system tray.
3. Position the pointer over the icon in the system tray and right-click. A menu will appear.
4. Click the Start Automatically option.
5. Right-click the icon again to confirm the Start Automatically option is checked.
6. Click anywhere on the desktop, away from the menu, to close the menu without changing anything.

You may connect one of each type of embroidery machine to the same computer. For example, you may connect one Husqvarna Viking Designer SE, Diamond, Ruby and one Pfaff creative vision, 4.0 at the same time.

However, if you connect two or more of the same type of machine, the Embroidery Machine Communication module will not communicate correctly with those machines.

This message may appear when creating an Express Trace design if the final picture has thick areas of solid color. Some or all parts of the design may not be created. Try using options in the wizard, on the Outline Finder and Expander page and/or the Monochrome Threshold page, to ensure the outlines are not too thick. Cancel the wizard, adjust the picture so that the outlines are easier to isolate with Monochrome Threshold, then open the picture in the ExpressDesign Wizard again.

This can happen if the outlines in your original picture are only one pixel wide. For example, there may be gaps or missing sections of the outline. If this happens, select Find Outlines on the Outline Finder and Expander page and ensure Expand is set to 1. This will thicken all the outlines so that they are traced correctly.

This can happen with a picture that has a border or background that is black or very dark, especially if the background or border cannot be removed with Monochrome Threshold.

For pictures with a dark border, it should be possible to remove the border on the Crop Picture page of the ExpressDesign Wizard. If this is not possible, edit the picture to remove the border or change the border color.

For pictures on a dark background, use an image editor to invert the colors in the picture or change the background color to a light color.

After editing the picture, load it again in the ExpressDesign Wizard.

This message appears if you attempt to click OK in the Color Selection dialog box when My Threads is selected as the thread range and My Threads is empty.

To prevent this message appearing again, use Premier+™ Thread Cache to add at least one thread to My Threads.

There is a limit on the number of stitches that may be saved to an embroidery file in Pfaff (.pcs) file format. This message appears if the embroidery you attempt to save to this format exceeds this limit.

Use Premier+™ Configure to change the grid color. Follow the instructions in Premier+™ Configure and select Blue Gray (RGB values 100, 102, 153) from the standard color drop-down on the Grid Color button.

Use Screen Preferences to change the grid spacing. Set the Grid Size to 10.

This message appears if the font or SuperDesign set that you have selected is not available. The most likely reason is that it is already open in the optional Premier+™ Font Create module. Close Premier+™ Font Create, then try again. This could also happen if you opened the Premier+™ Embroidery program, then accidentally moved or deleted the font from the relevant category folder in ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\Fonts, or the SuperDesign file from ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\SuperDesigns. Close Premier+™ Embroidery, make sure the file is in the folder, then try again.

This message could appear if the desired picture is not where the module expects it to be, for example if it was loaded from a USB memory stick, then closed and the memory stick removed. It could also appear if the file you are attempting to load is corrupt. For example, it might have an extension such as .bmp or .jpg, yet not be a proper picture file.

This message appears if the Thread Range of the selected color is not found in your thread database. This could happen if the design you are attempting to edit was supplied by someone with a later version of the thread database.

Use the Import Threads from Embroidery feature in Premier+™ Thread Cache. You can alter it to any other color if desired. If you click Cancel, the color will not be changed.

To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure.

To drag and drop embroideries onto the Work Area, open Windows® Explorer. Then follow the instructions under Drag and Drop.

Certain formats are limited to the size of hoop used on their specific embroidery machine, for example .sew. If you attempt to save a file in this format that is bigger than the largest available hoop size this message would appear.

If your original embroidery had a stop command in it then this would be replaced by a color change, thus adding a color for every stop you have in your embroidery. As the Tajima file format does not have a stop command in its format, it requires the machine operator to manually enter stops into the machine. If you save or distribute files in Tajima format, then you must also specify all colors and stops and where they occur in the embroidery.

Janome software cannot load embroideries with more than 12 colors. If a file to be exported in .sew format has more than 12 color changes, it will automatically be split into multiple files, with the last character of the filename "1", "2", and so on.

This message appears if the file you are attempting to load is corrupt. For example, it might have the extension .vp4, yet not be a proper Husqvarna Viking / Pfaff embroidery.

The embroidery is corrupt and cannot be loaded. Refer to source of this file for a solution.

This message appears if you attempt to load a file with an extension that does not belong to any embroidery file types. For example, it would appear if you tried to drag and drop a .doc file onto the screen.

This message appears if you type an incorrect extension that does not belong to any embroidery file types in the File Name box when trying to save a file.

This message appears if there is a problem with your thread database. You will be unable to choose a thread color. First close all the modules of the Premier+™ Embroidery System, close down your computer and restart. If this does not clear the problem, restore a backup with Restore MySettings, if you have created one using Backup MySettings in Premier+™ Configure. Otherwise, you either need a new version of the thread database, or a repair install of your Premier+™ Embroidery System software. To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure.

If the error still appears, then repair the installation. First, delete the following files from ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\System:

• User.sqlite
• System_cdb2.sqlite

This assumes you have installed your Premier+™ Embroidery System software in the default location. If these file are not present then this is the reason for the error. The file names may be shown without their file extensions.

Put your Premier+™ Embroidery System software DVD in your computer and re-run the Applications installation. (If you downloaded your software, double-click on the Premier+™ Applications file.) When the choice appears, select the "Modify or remove" option and click Next. In the next screen, select Repair and click Next. Continue with the installation and follow the on-screen instructions. When the installation is complete, the thread database will be restored to its original installation state. This means that the MyThreads database will have the default set of threads.

This will also reset MyThreadRanges and custom Quick Color Themes to their installation states. Check Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure after repairing the installation.

This message appears if you attempt to click OK in the Color Selection dialog box when MyThreads is selected as the thread range and MyThreads is empty.

To prevent this message appearing again, use Premier+™ Thread Cache to add at least one thread to MyThreads.

Use Premier+™ Configure to change the background color. Follow the instructions in Premier+™ Configure and select the RGB values 211, 233, 255 in the Colors dialog box.

Use Reset All Modules in Premier+ Configure to return all toolbars in the module to their default settings.

To use Reset All Modules

1. Ensure your designs are saved in any Premier+ Embroidery System modules that are open.
2. Click Premier+ Configure on the QuickLink toolbar.
3. Click Reset All Modules.
4. A message will appear, indicating that all modules will be closed and reset. Click OK.
5. A message will appear, asking you to ensure that all other Premier+ Embroidery System modules have closed, apart from Premier+ Configure. Click OK.
6. A message will appear, indicating that all modules have now been reset. Click OK. The toolbars in your module will have been restored.

If preferred, you can check individual toolbars in View, Customize. Use this to see if the missing toolbar has been turned off, and also to reset the toolbar if icons have been added to or removed from the toolbar. If this does not restore the toolbar, use Reset All Modules.

This message appears if the Thread Range of the selected color is not found in your thread database. This could happen if the design you are attempting to edit was supplied bysomeone with a later version of the thread database. If you click OK, the color will be replaced with the nearest match in the Import Thread Range you have set in Premier+™ Configure. You can alter it to any other color if desired. If you click Cancel, the color will not be changed. To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure.

Certain formats are limited to the number of stitches they can save or the size of hoop used on their specific embroidery machine, for example .sew. If you attempt to save a file in this format that is bigger than the largest available hoop size or has more stitches than are allowed, this message would appear.

The Find Thread feature in Color Selection allows you to enter partial thread numbers. The first thread in the list matching the number is found, with priority given to an exact match. If you are attempting to find a thread with only part of the number, the first thread matched may not be the desired thread. To ensure you select the correct thread, enter the thread number as it appears in the list. Some thread ranges have prefix characters on the thread number. These must also be entered to obtain an exact match.

This message appears if, for instance, you have loaded an embroidery from a CD-ROM and then attempt to save the embroidery back to the CD. A CD-ROM is read only, therefore you will not be able to save the embroidery.

This message appears on attempting to save when there is no embroidery on the current window.

This message will appear if system resources are low. Close other programs and try again. If this does not work, try restarting your computer.

Confirm Premier+™ Embroidery System Documentation is Installed

This could be because you have not yet installed the Premier+™ Embroidery System Documentation. You can confirm if you have installed this by going to Premier+™ Configure and clicking on the Check Installation button and clicking Check to see which items you have installed.

Check you have the latest version of the Premier+™ System Documentation installed

Previous Premier+™ Documentation installations included Help for some modules. In the Premier+™ Documentation 11.1, we have included Help and Reference Guides for all modules except Premier+™ Font Create.

Use Smart Update to check you have the latest version:

1. Open Premier+™ Configure.
2. Click on the Smart Update button.
3. Enter your E-mail Address/Password details.
4. Click Next.
5. Click Next again to start the Download process.
6. Follow the on-screen instructions.

If your 6D module has some scanner functionality (6D Cross Stitch, 6D Create or 6D PhotoStitch/PhotoStitch Wizard) it may not open if you there is an existing issue with the TWAIN/scanner drivers.

To fix this, you should visit the website of your scanner manufacturer and download/install the latest drivers for your scanner.

Alternatively, if you do not use your scanner at all, then you could disable the scanner drivers using the following steps:

1. Close down all 6D modules
2. Open Windows Explorer.
3. Browse to the C:\Windows\TWAIN_32 folder
4. Using pen and paper (or in a text file), make a note of the names of any files or files within the C:\Windows\TWAIN_32 folder.
5. If there are in sub-folders, right click on the top folder that is shown in the list.
6. Choose the Rename option - the name of the folder will be highlighted.
7. Press the right arrow key on your keyboard - so that the cursor moves to the end of the folder name
8. Then type _OLD and press ENTER. So, for example if your original folder name was MyScanner; your folder would now be renamed to MyScanner_OLD.
9. Try to open the 6D module that had previously not opened
10. If the 6D module does not open then rename the folder back to its original name.
11. Repeat steps 6 to 10 if the issue still exists.

This message will appear when trying to start a module if the Premier+™ Embroidery System cannot detect the dongle (data protection device). Ensure the dongle is plugged into a free USB port of your computer.

This message may appear if you attempt to load an embroidery created in third-party software. Such embroideries may cause unpredictable results.

This message usually means that the motif database has been deleted or corrupted. This may be corrected by repairing the installation.

First, delete the file named 'SystemMotifs.mdb' from ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\System.

This assumes you have installed your Premier+™ Embroidery System software in the default location. If the file is not present then this is the reason for the error. The file name may simply be shown as 'SystemMotifs'.

Put your Premier+™ Embroidery System software DVD in your computer and re-run the installation. When the choice appears, select the "Modify or remove" option and click Next. In the next screen, select Repair and click Next. Continue with the installation and follow the on-screen instructions. When the installation is complete, the motifs will be restored.

You are permitted to install your software onto a secondary computer – i.e. to install it onto your Desktop computer and your laptop computer.

You only have one dongle per software package; so you are limited to using the software on one computer at a time.

Some USB ports do not have enough power to drive the dongle. By using a USB hub, which uses a power supply, this can be overcome.

This message will appear when trying to use Premier+™ Embroidery if the Premier+™ Embroidery System cannot detect the dongle (data protection device). For example, if the dongle has been removed or loosened while using Premier+™ Embroidery. Ensure the dongle is plugged into a free USB port of your computer.

The dongle and all our other USB devices work with USB 3.0 ports.

This can happen if you unplug your dongle or other USB device and then plug it back into a different USB port. When this happens, it is detected as a new hardware item and the driver is installed on the alternative USB port. Wait for the hardware wizard to finish installing the driver, then continue using the software as usual.

If your dongle is working correctly then it is not necessary to install this update. If you do not wish to see this update each time you use Windows® Update, select the Hide This Update option and it will not be listed next time you use Windows® Update.

This message will appear if the dongle driver is not accessible, has been removed or has not been installed correctly.

First, ensure you are logged onto your computer with full administrator rights and attempt to use the desired Premier+™ Embroidery System module. If the error message no longer appears, then the user name you originally tried to use is too restricted to use the Premier+™ Embroidery System.

Otherwise, use the dongle driver installation utility in the \Technical\Dongle Driver folder of your Premier+™ Embroidery System DVD (also available by download). Ensure you are logged onto your computer with full administrator rights before using the dongle driver installation utility.

This error is given when Anti-Virus / Firewall software is preventing the Sentinel HASP (dongle) software communicating with the dongle. This may cause the dongle to flash.

This is due to the connection being blocked, normally by Anti-Virus / Firewall software.

Another factor, may be that the Sentinel License Manager Service may have been stopped on your computer. Follow the steps below to start that service:

1. Open Windows Explorer/File Explorer.
2. Right click on Computer/This PC.
3. Click on the Manage option. The Computer Management window will appear.
4. Click on Services on the left hand window.
5. Right click on Sentinel HASP License Manager on the right hand window.
6. Click on the Start option.
7. When the service has started; try to open the Premier+™ Software.

When you have installed and registered certain Premier+™ Embroidery System modules, you must activate the dongle. If you attempt to run a module before activating, this message will appear.

It could be that your dongle drivers are not installed correctly.

When you install a new version of the dongle drivers, the installation will remove the old dongle drivers from your computer before it installs the latest version.

In case the old drivers were not fully removed correctly, then it is advisable to download and install the latest command-line dongle drivers - which remove all traces of the dongle drivers from your computer, before installing the latest dongle drivers:

1. Disconnect the dongle[s] from the computer.
2. Download the following file - Command-Line Purge Dongle Drivers
3. Double click on the HASPCommandLineDrivers-Purge.exe file – a black screen will appear.
4. You may receive a Microsoft warning message. Click the Run Anyway button.
5. Click Yes to any User Account Control prompts that may appear.
6. Click OK to both Sentinel Run-time Environment Installer messages reading Operation successfully completed.
7. When the process is finished, the black screen will disappear.
8. Insert your dongle into your computer – the Installing device driver software message may appear.

You do not need to uninstall the 6D Software when you come to installing the Premier+™ Embroidery System; both systems will co-exist on the same computer without issues.

The only exception being, that the 6D Explorer Plug-in will need to be uninstalled to allow the Premier+™ Explorer Plug-in to be installed

The best way to find out which features are in the latest Smart Update (or previous upgrades) is to:

1. Double click on the Premier+™ Embroidery System shortcut on your Desktop. A new Windows® Explorer window will appear
2. Double click on Readme shortcut.
3. Open the latest file.
4. The latest features will be listed at the top of the document.

Firstly, the Premier+™ Embroidery System is intended to be run on a Windows® computer.

Although, many customers have been able to get it to work fully using 3rd Party environments like Parallels and Boot Camp; we cannot support the software when it is run in a non-standard setup or using 3rd Party tools.

This error can happen when an issue has been found in the integrity of the downloaded file during the Smart Update process.

1. Close down all open programs.
2. Restart your computer.
3. Start the Smart Update process again.

Error 1722 appears when an installation of the Explorer Plugin may have become corrupted. Use the Premier+ Explorer Plugin Fix utility to correct this problem.

1. Download the Premier+ Explorer Plugin 1722 Fix utility here.
2. Double click on the downloaded PremierPlusExplorerPluginFix.exe file
3. Follow the on-screen instructions
4. Now try to install the Premier+ Explorer Plugin installation file again.

To backup your Premier+™ settings:

Backing Up MySettings:

1. Open Premier+™ Configure.
2. Click on the Backup MySettings button. A 'Save As' dialog box will appear.
3. If needed, give the file a descriptive name. Click Save. By default the file will be saved within your \Documents\Premier+\SystemBackup folder
4. Open Windows Explorer.
5. Browse to your Documents folder.
6. Double click on the Premier+™ Embroidery folder.
7. Copy all folders and files - except the Samples folder - to your *external media.
8. Browse to the folder which contains your MyFonts folder - see below - and also copy the MyFonts folder to your external media.

Windows® 7 / Windows® 8 users: C:\ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\Fonts\

* external media: this can be a USB Stick, External USB Hard Disk, burned/copied onto a CD/DVD...etc.

** The main thing, is that not to store backups on the same physical hard disk that your Premier+™ Embroidery System is installed on - if that hard disk malfunctioned, then you would lose your Premier+™ software and all of your backups as well.

When stitching out an embroidery from Premier+™ Cross Stitcher you are working on a grid of squares. Unlike any other type of embroidery design, you cannot add compensation, or overlap objects to allow for pull of the fabric. If your fabric is not hooped up correctly then gaps can appear between sections, sometimes appearing that stitches are missing altogether. Use extra backing and ensure the fabric is tight in the hoop. Lowering the number of cross threads and enlarging the cross size also helps.

This message may appear if the picture is very large. If you are loading the picture, use picture editing software to reduce it size. If you are acquiring the picture from a scanner or digital camera, change the settings in the acquiring or scanning application so the picture is smaller.

This message could appear if the selected picture is not a valid picture file. For example, it might have an extension such as .bmp or .jpg, yet not be a proper picture file.

This message appears if the desired cross stitch design (.krz) file is not where the module expects it to be. For example, if a design was loaded into the program from a USB drive, then closed and the USB drive removed. The message would appear if you tried to load the design from the recent files list on the File menu.

This message appears if the file you are attempting to load is corrupt. For example, it might have a .krz extension, yet not be a proper cross stitch design file.

This message appears if, for instance, you attempt to save the design to a CD. A CD-ROM is read only, therefore you will not be able to save the design.

This message appears when you click Remove Color in Color Configuration, if there are stitches using the selected color in the cross stitch design. Click Yes to continue, for example, to remove a color that is only used in the background.

The status bar shows the full Thread Range and Thread Number for all thread colors in both the Standard Database and MyThreads. The Thread Range and Thread Number are used to uniquely identify each thread color.

The names of colors are provided for information only and may not always be visible on the status bar. All color information can be seen in Color Configuration.

Only the first color in a variegated thread is shown in a cross stitch design. To see the effect of a variegated thread, use 3D Create Stitches.

If the grid color is similar to the color of backstitch, then the backstitch may blend with the grid at certain zoom levels so that it is hard to see. Turn off the grid temporarily to see where you have placed your backstitch. Backstitch may also be easier to see in Block mode.

The background picture and grid are not shown at the smallest zoom level. In 3D, the fabric is also not shown at the smallest zoom level. When the Cross Stitch Design Wizard closes, the screen automatically zooms to fit the design size chosen in the wizard. If the design size was large, then the smallest zoom level is used. As there are no stitches, the screen appears to be blank because the picture, fabric and grid are not shown. Zoom in to see the picture, fabric and grid.

The background picture and grid are not shown at the smallest zoom level. In 3D, the fabric is also not shown at the smallest zoom level. When Zoom To Fit is used, the smallest zoom level may be used if the design is large. Zoom in to see the picture, fabric and grid.

To drag and drop cross stitch designs onto the work area, open Windows Explorer. Then Drag and Drop the design(s) into the work area.

Flood Fill is not affected by areas of color in a background picture. An empty area of the design can be flood filled until it meets existing crosses and backstitch. A connected area of the same colored crosses can be flood filled until it meets an empty area, backstitch or crosses in a different color. To clearly see the areas that will be flood filled, turn off the background picture.

In some cases, the fill will not go through narrow areas. If the fill could not continuously connect a fill of full crosses through a narrow gap, the gap will act as a barrier to flood fill.

When a pattern is used to fill an area, freehand backstitch in the pattern will only be placed when both end points lie within the fill area. Long sections of freehand backstitch are less likely to have both ends in the fill area and may not give the desired result. If you wish to use freehand backstitch in a pattern, try to use short sections where possible.

The selection area is extended by Rotate 90 so that you can clearly see where the selection will be placed by each click of the Rotate 90 icon. The stitches in the selection area are not changed.

Each time you click with Erase, this is recorded as an action you can Undo. If you click in blank space, or you miss the item you are trying to Erase, the action is still recorded for Undo. Hence, when you Undo, the Erase action is undone, even though it seemed to have no effect on the design.

The progress bar only appears when it takes a long time to create the embroidery that is displayed by 3D Create Stitches. The amount of time taken depends on the power of your computer. It appears so that you can see that your computer is creating the stitches. All stitches are created, regardless of how far the progress bar progresses.

This may happen if you have French knots on the edges of your design. French knots are drawn by placing their center point on any point that snaps to half grid spacing. Therefore, if they are placed along the edges of the design, half the French knot will be outside the grid. If French knots are placed on all edges of the grid, the resulting embroidery will be larger than the design by the size of a French knot.

French knots are only scaled in comparison to the full cross size when the Cross Size in Preferences is set between 2mm and 4mm. The French knots will not be any smaller or larger than they are at these limits.

Check the Stitches tab in Preference to ensure you do not have a large number of strands for crosses and/or backstitch in the design. Increasing the number of strands will increase the number of stitches.

Check the Stitches tab in Preference to ensure you do not have a large number of strands for crosses and/or backstitch in the design. Increasing the number of strands will increase the density of stitches.

Standard Backstitch and Freehand Backstitch are drawn on two separate layers in Premier+™ Cross Stitcher, but they are stitched out together if they are the same color. In addition to this, Freehand Backstitch can be placed in multiple layers over the same line, as long as the end points of each line are different.

This is used, for example, to place different colors of Freehand Backstitch on top of each other to secure the edges of lace. Each layer will stitch out separately according to the color order in the design, but the same thread color is used in the stitch-out to give a single color to the lace effect.

The Save Char button is not available if there are more than three colors in the palette. Use Remove Unused Colors in Color Configuration to reduce the palette to the colors used to design the font.

Use Configure Fixed Font on the File menu to check that you have set the Line Height and Baseline values correctly. The Line Height should be the height of the 'A', plus space above for accents on uppercase characters, plus space below for descenders, plus at least one more grid square below for space between multiple lines of text. The Baseline should be the amount of grid squares that is allowed for descenders. If the Baseline is set to the same or greater than the Line Height, this may also cause nothing to appear when the font is used.

This will only happen if you have used Hide Colors to hide some of the colors or stitches in a design you were working on previously. The Hide Colors options are not reset automatically until you restart Premier+™ Cross Stitcher. Click the Hide Colors icon, then click Reset.

The cross stitch embroidery created from a cross stitch design will print at actual size. Click 3D Create Stitches, then click Print.

It has been found that when you set a very large hoop size using the Enter Hoop Size option; that most of the icons will be grayed out.

The exact size that the icons will become grayed-out is dependant on a number of factors - the most important being your screen resolution.

The issue can be resolved by choosing a higher screen resolution:

Windows 7/8

Close down Premier+™ Cross Stitcher
1. Right click on an empty area of your Desktop.
2. Click on the Screen resolution option. The 'Screen resolution' window will appear.
3. Using pen and paper, make a note of the Resolution and Colors settings - in case you need to revert back to them in the future.
4. Drag the Screen resolution slider upwards - see Common Screen Resolutions below
5. Click OK to accept the changes
6. Open Premier+™ Cross Stitcher.
7. Manually enter the large Hoop Size again.
8. Repeat steps 1 - 9 until you have entered the large Hoop Size and the icons are not grayed-out.

Common Screen Resolutions:

Standard screens

1024 x 768
• 1152 x 864
• 1280 x 1024

Widescreen resolutions:

• 1280 x 800
• 1366 x 768
• 1440 x 900
• 1440 x 960
• 1600 x 1024

As an additional step, Widescreen users may want to consult the documentation for their Widescreen monitor or laptops to see the manufacturer's own screen resolution suggestions

The correct DPI (dots per inch) setting will depend on the size of the picture to be scanned. The desired picture size is approximately 1000 X 1000 pixels. To achieve this take the size of your artwork in inches, such as 8" x 7", and divide the longest side into 1000. In the example, 1000 divided by 8 = 125. The DPI setting of the scanner should then be 125 DPI, and this will produce a picture that is about 1000 x 875 pixels.

Although the program automatically doubles the size of a picture if its height and width are less than 500 pixels, this may still produce jagged lines. For a smoother effect, rescan the picture.

You have not selected the option to start Embroidery Machine Communication automatically when Windows starts. Resolve this as follows:

1. Start Premier+™ Configure.
2. Click the Start Machine Communication button and the icon will appear in the system tray.
3. Position the pointer over the icon in the system tray and right-click. A menu will appear.
4. Click the Start Automatically option.
5. Right-click the icon again to confirm the Start Automatically option is checked.
6. Click anywhere on the desktop, away from the menu, to close the menu without changing anything.

You may connect one of each type of embroidery machine to the same computer. For example, you may connect one Husqvarna Viking Designer SE, Diamond, Ruby and one Pfaff creative vision, 4.0 at the same time.

However, if you connect two or more of the same type of machine, the Embroidery Machine Communication module will not communicate correctly with those machines.

This message appears if you attempt to click OK in the Color Selection dialog box when My Threads is selected as the thread range and My Threads is empty.

To prevent this message appearing again, use Premier+™ Thread Cache to add at least one thread to My Threads.

There is a limit on the number of stitches that may be saved to an embroidery file in Pfaff (.pcs) file format. This message appears if the embroidery you attempt to save to this format exceeds this limit.

Certain icons (for example Save and Export on the Quick Access Toolbar) are only highlighted once an embroidery is shown on the screen.

Use Premier+™ Configure to change the grid color. Follow the instructions in Premier+™ Configure and select Blue Gray (RGB values 100, 102, 153) from the standard color drop-down on the Grid Color button.

Use Screen Preferences to change the grid spacing. Set the Grid Size to 10.

This message appears if the Thread Range of the selected color is not found in your thread database. This could happen if the design you are attempting to edit was supplied by someone with a later version of the thread database.

Use the Import Threads from Embroidery feature in Premier+™ Thread Cache. You can alter it to any other color if desired. If you click Cancel, the color will not be changed.

To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure.

To drag and drop embroideries onto the Work Area, open Windows® Explorer. Then follow the instructions under Drag and Drop.

Certain formats are limited to the size of hoop used on their specific embroidery machine, for example .sew. If you attempt to save a file in this format that is bigger than the largest available hoop size this message would appear.

If your original embroidery had a stop command in it then this would be replaced by a color change, thus adding a color for every stop you have in your embroidery. As the Tajima file format does not have a stop command in its format, it requires the machine operator to manually enter stops into the machine. If you save or distribute files in Tajima format, then you must also specify all colors and stops and where they occur in the embroidery.

Janome software cannot load embroideries with more than 12 colors. If a file to be exported in .sew format has more than 12 color changes, it will automatically be split into multiple files, with the last character of the filename "1", "2", and so on.

This message appears if the desired embroidery is not where the module expects it to be, for example if an embroidery was loaded from a USB memory stick, then closed and the memory stick removed. The message would appear if you tried to load the embroidery from the Recent Files list on the File menu.

This message appears if the file you are attempting to load is corrupt. For example, it might have the extension .vp4, yet not be a proper Husqvarna Viking / Pfaff embroidery.

The embroidery is corrupt and cannot be loaded. Refer to source of this file for a solution.

This message appears if you attempt to load a file with an extension that does not belong to any embroidery file types. For example, it would appear if you tried to drag and drop a .doc file onto the screen.

This message appears if you type an incorrect extension that does not belong to any embroidery file types in the File Name box when trying to save a file.

This message appears if there is a problem with your thread database. You will be unable to choose a thread color. First close all the modules of the Premier+™ Embroidery System, close down your computer and restart. If this does not clear the problem, restore a backup with Restore MySettings, if you have created one using Backup MySettings in Premier+™ Configure. Otherwise, you either need a new version of the thread database, or a repair install of your Premier+™ Embroidery System software. To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure.

If the error still appears, then repair the installation. First, delete the following files from ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\System:

• User.sqlite
• System_cdb2.sqlite

This assumes you have installed your Premier+™ Embroidery System software in the default location. If these file are not present then this is the reason for the error. The file names may be shown without their file extensions.

Put your Premier+™ Embroidery System software DVD in your computer and re-run the Applications installation. (If you downloaded your software, double-click on the Premier+™ Applications file.) When the choice appears, select the "Modify or remove" option and click Next. In the next screen, select Repair and click Next. Continue with the installation and follow the on-screen instructions. When the installation is complete, the thread database will be restored to its original installation state. This means that the MyThreads database will have the default set of threads.

This will also reset MyThreadRanges and custom Quick Color Themes to their installation states. Check Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure after repairing the installation.

This message appears if you attempt to click OK in the Color Selection dialog box when MyThreads is selected as the thread range and MyThreads is empty.

To prevent this message appearing again, use Premier+™ Thread Cache to add at least one thread to MyThreads.

Use Premier+™ Configure to change the background color. Follow the instructions in Premier+™ Configure and select the RGB values 211, 233, 255 in the Colors dialog box.

Use Reset All Modules in Premier+ Configure to return all toolbars in the module to their default settings.

To use Reset All Modules

1. Ensure your designs are saved in any Premier+ Embroidery System modules that are open.
2. Click Premier+ Configure on the QuickLink toolbar.
3. Click Reset All Modules.
4. A message will appear, indicating that all modules will be closed and reset. Click OK.
5. A message will appear, asking you to ensure that all other Premier+ Embroidery System modules have closed, apart from Premier+ Configure. Click OK.
6. A message will appear, indicating that all modules have now been reset. Click OK. The toolbars in your module will have been restored.

If preferred, you can check individual toolbars in View, Customize. Use this to see if the missing toolbar has been turned off, and also to reset the toolbar if icons have been added to or removed from the toolbar. If this does not restore the toolbar, use Reset All Modules.

This message appears if the Thread Range of the selected color is not found in your thread database. This could happen if the design you are attempting to edit was supplied bysomeone with a later version of the thread database. If you click OK, the color will be replaced with the nearest match in the Import Thread Range you have set in Premier+™ Configure. You can alter it to any other color if desired. If you click Cancel, the color will not be changed. To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure.

Certain formats are limited to the number of stitches they can save or the size of hoop used on their specific embroidery machine, for example .sew. If you attempt to save a file in this format that is bigger than the largest available hoop size or has more stitches than are allowed, this message would appear.

The Find Thread feature in Color Selection allows you to enter partial thread numbers. The first thread in the list matching the number is found, with priority given to an exact match. If you are attempting to find a thread with only part of the number, the first thread matched may not be the desired thread. To ensure you select the correct thread, enter the thread number as it appears in the list. Some thread ranges have prefix characters on the thread number. These must also be entered to obtain an exact match.

This message appears if, for instance, you have loaded an embroidery from a CD-ROM and then attempt to save the embroidery back to the CD. A CD-ROM is read only, therefore you will not be able to save the embroidery.

This message appears on attempting to save when there is no embroidery on the current window.

This message will appear if system resources are low. Close other programs and try again. If this does not work, try restarting your computer.

Confirm Premier+™ Embroidery System Documentation is Installed

This could be because you have not yet installed the Premier+™ Embroidery System Documentation. You can confirm if you have installed this by going to Premier+™ Configure and clicking on the Check Installation button and clicking Check to see which items you have installed.

Check you have the latest version of the Premier+™ System Documentation installed

Previous Premier+™ Documentation installations included Help for some modules. In the Premier+™ Documentation 11.1, we have included Help and Reference Guides for all modules except Premier+™ Font Create.

Use Smart Update to check you have the latest version:

1. Open Premier+™ Configure.
2. Click on the Smart Update button.
3. Enter your E-mail Address/Password details.
4. Click Next.
5. Click Next again to start the Download process.
6. Follow the on-screen instructions.

This message will appear when trying to start a module if the Premier+™ Embroidery System cannot detect the dongle (data protection device). Ensure the dongle is plugged into a free USB port of your computer.

This message may appear if you attempt to load an embroidery created in third-party software. Such embroideries may cause unpredictable results.

This message usually means that the motif database has been deleted or corrupted. This may be corrected by repairing the installation.

First, delete the file named 'SystemMotifs.mdb' from ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\System.

This assumes you have installed your Premier+™ Embroidery System software in the default location. If the file is not present then this is the reason for the error. The file name may simply be shown as 'SystemMotifs'.

Put your Premier+™ Embroidery System software DVD in your computer and re-run the installation. When the choice appears, select the "Modify or remove" option and click Next. In the next screen, select Repair and click Next. Continue with the installation and follow the on-screen instructions. When the installation is complete, the motifs will be restored.

You are permitted to install your software onto a secondary computer – i.e. to install it onto your Desktop computer and your laptop computer.

You only have one dongle per software package; so you are limited to using the software on one computer at a time.

Some USB ports do not have enough power to drive the dongle. By using a USB hub, which uses a power supply, this can be overcome.

This message will appear when trying to use Premier+™ Embroidery if the Premier+™ Embroidery System cannot detect the dongle (data protection device). For example, if the dongle has been removed or loosened while using Premier+™ Embroidery. Ensure the dongle is plugged into a free USB port of your computer.

The dongle and all our other USB devices work with USB 3.0 ports.

This can happen if you unplug your dongle or other USB device and then plug it back into a different USB port. When this happens, it is detected as a new hardware item and the driver is installed on the alternative USB port. Wait for the hardware wizard to finish installing the driver, then continue using the software as usual.

If your dongle is working correctly then it is not necessary to install this update. If you do not wish to see this update each time you use Windows® Update, select the Hide This Update option and it will not be listed next time you use Windows® Update.

This message will appear if the dongle driver is not accessible, has been removed or has not been installed correctly.

First, ensure you are logged onto your computer with full administrator rights and attempt to use the desired Premier+™ Embroidery System module. If the error message no longer appears, then the user name you originally tried to use is too restricted to use the Premier+™ Embroidery System.

Otherwise, use the dongle driver installation utility in the \Technical\Dongle Driver folder of your Premier+™ Embroidery System DVD (also available by download). Ensure you are logged onto your computer with full administrator rights before using the dongle driver installation utility.

This error is given when Anti-Virus / Firewall software is preventing the Sentinel HASP (dongle) software communicating with the dongle. This may cause the dongle to flash.

This is due to the connection being blocked, normally by Anti-Virus / Firewall software.

Another factor, may be that the Sentinel License Manager Service may have been stopped on your computer. Follow the steps below to start that service:

1. Open Windows Explorer/File Explorer.
2. Right click on Computer/This PC.
3. Click on the Manage option. The Computer Management window will appear.
4. Click on Services on the left hand window.
5. Right click on Sentinel HASP License Manager on the right hand window.
6. Click on the Start option.
7. When the service has started; try to open the Premier+™ Software.

When you have installed and registered certain Premier+™ Embroidery System modules, you must activate the dongle. If you attempt to run a module before activating, this message will appear.

It could be that your dongle drivers are not installed correctly.

When you install a new version of the dongle drivers, the installation will remove the old dongle drivers from your computer before it installs the latest version.

In case the old drivers were not fully removed correctly, then it is advisable to download and install the latest command-line dongle drivers - which remove all traces of the dongle drivers from your computer, before installing the latest dongle drivers:

1. Disconnect the dongle[s] from the computer.
2. Download the following file - Command-Line Purge Dongle Drivers
3. Double click on the HASPCommandLineDrivers-Purge.exe file – a black screen will appear.
4. You may receive a Microsoft warning message. Click the Run Anyway button.
5. Click Yes to any User Account Control prompts that may appear.
6. Click OK to both Sentinel Run-time Environment Installer messages reading Operation successfully completed.
7. When the process is finished, the black screen will disappear.
8. Insert your dongle into your computer – the Installing device driver software message may appear.

You do not need to uninstall the 6D Software when you come to installing the Premier+™ Embroidery System; both systems will co-exist on the same computer without issues.

The only exception being, that the 6D Explorer Plug-in will need to be uninstalled to allow the Premier+™ Explorer Plug-in to be installed

The best way to find out which features are in the latest Smart Update (or previous upgrades) is to:

1. Double click on the Premier+™ Embroidery System shortcut on your Desktop. A new Windows® Explorer window will appear
2. Double click on Readme shortcut.
3. Open the latest file.
4. The latest features will be listed at the top of the document.

Firstly, the Premier+™ Embroidery System is intended to be run on a Windows® computer.

Although, many customers have been able to get it to work fully using 3rd Party environments like Parallels and Boot Camp; we cannot support the software when it is run in a non-standard setup or using 3rd Party tools.

This error can happen when an issue has been found in the integrity of the downloaded file during the Smart Update process.

1. Close down all open programs.
2. Restart your computer.
3. Start the Smart Update process again.

Error 1722 appears when an installation of the Explorer Plugin may have become corrupted. Use the Premier+ Explorer Plugin Fix utility to correct this problem.

1. Download the Premier+ Explorer Plugin 1722 Fix utility here.
2. Double click on the downloaded PremierPlusExplorerPluginFix.exe file
3. Follow the on-screen instructions
4. Now try to install the Premier+ Explorer Plugin installation file again.

To backup your Premier+™ settings:

Backing Up MySettings:

1. Open Premier+™ Configure.
2. Click on the Backup MySettings button. A 'Save As' dialog box will appear.
3. If needed, give the file a descriptive name. Click Save. By default the file will be saved within your \Documents\Premier+\SystemBackup folder
4. Open Windows Explorer.
5. Browse to your Documents folder.
6. Double click on the Premier+™ Embroidery folder.
7. Copy all folders and files - except the Samples folder - to your *external media.
8. Browse to the folder which contains your MyFonts folder - see below - and also copy the MyFonts folder to your external media.

Windows® 7 / Windows® 8 users: C:\ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\Fonts\

* external media: this can be a USB Stick, External USB Hard Disk, burned/copied onto a CD/DVD...etc.

** The main thing, is that not to store backups on the same physical hard disk that your Premier+™ Embroidery System is installed on - if that hard disk malfunctioned, then you would lose your Premier+™ software and all of your backups as well.

Although the program automatically doubles the size of a picture if its height and width are less than 500 pixels, this may still produce jagged lines. For a smoother effect, rescan the picture.

You have not selected the option to start Embroidery Machine Communication automatically when Windows starts. Resolve this as follows:

1. Start Premier+™ Configure.
2. Click the Start Machine Communication button and the icon will appear in the system tray.
3. Position the pointer over the icon in the system tray and right-click. A menu will appear.
4. Click the Start Automatically option.
5. Right-click the icon again to confirm the Start Automatically option is checked.
6. Click anywhere on the desktop, away from the menu, to close the menu without changing anything.

You may connect one of each type of embroidery machine to the same computer. For example, you may connect one Husqvarna Viking Designer SE, Diamond, Ruby and one Pfaff creative vision, 4.0 at the same time.

However, if you connect two or more of the same type of machine, the Embroidery Machine Communication module will not communicate correctly with those machines.

This message appears if you attempt to click OK in the Color Selection dialog box when My Threads is selected as the thread range and My Threads is empty.

To prevent this message appearing again, use Premier+™ Thread Cache to add at least one thread to My Threads.

There is a limit on the number of stitches that may be saved to an embroidery file in Pfaff (.pcs) file format. This message appears if the embroidery you attempt to save to this format exceeds this limit.

The refresh rate of the screen is limited by the power of your computer's processor and RAM as well as the video card and its memory. To get the best performance from your system, try using 2D view as this requires less power than 3D view.

Certain icons (for example Save and Export on the Quick Access Toolbar) are only highlighted once an embroidery is shown on the screen.

Use Premier+™ Configure to change the grid color. Follow the instructions in Premier+™ Configure and select Blue Gray (RGB values 100, 102, 153) from the standard color drop-down on the Grid Color button.

Use Screen Preferences to change the grid spacing. Set the Grid Size to 10.

This message appears if the Thread Range of the selected color is not found in your thread database. This could happen if the design you are attempting to edit was supplied by someone with a later version of the thread database.

Use the Import Threads from Embroidery feature in Premier+™ Thread Cache. You can alter it to any other color if desired. If you click Cancel, the color will not be changed.

To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure.

To drag and drop embroideries onto the Work Area, open Windows® Explorer. Then follow the instructions under Drag and Drop.

Certain formats are limited to the size of hoop used on their specific embroidery machine, for example .sew. If you attempt to save a file in this format that is bigger than the largest available hoop size this message would appear.

If your original embroidery had a stop command in it then this would be replaced by a color change, thus adding a color for every stop you have in your embroidery. As the Tajima file format does not have a stop command in its format, it requires the machine operator to manually enter stops into the machine. If you save or distribute files in Tajima format, then you must also specify all colors and stops and where they occur in the embroidery.

Janome software cannot load embroideries with more than 12 colors. If a file to be exported in .sew format has more than 12 color changes, it will automatically be split into multiple files, with the last character of the filename "1", "2", and so on.

This message appears if the desired embroidery is not where the module expects it to be, for example if an embroidery was loaded from a USB memory stick, then closed and the memory stick removed. The message would appear if you tried to load the embroidery from the Recent Files list on the File menu.

This message appears if the file you are attempting to load is corrupt. For example, it might have the extension .vp4, yet not be a proper Husqvarna Viking / Pfaff embroidery.

The embroidery is corrupt and cannot be loaded. Refer to source of this file for a solution.

The embroidery is corrupt and cannot be loaded. Refer to source of this file for a solution.

This message appears if you attempt to load a file with an extension that does not belong to any embroidery file types. For example, it would appear if you tried to drag and drop a .doc file onto the screen.

This message appears if you type an incorrect extension that does not belong to any embroidery file types in the File Name box when trying to save a file.

This message appears if there is a problem with your thread database. You will be unable to choose a thread color. First close all the modules of the Premier+™ Embroidery System, close down your computer and restart. If this does not clear the problem, restore a backup with Restore MySettings, if you have created one using Backup MySettings in Premier+™ Configure. Otherwise, you either need a new version of the thread database, or a repair install of your Premier+™ Embroidery System software. To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure.

If the error still appears, then repair the installation. First, delete the following files from ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\System:

• User.sqlite
• System_cdb2.sqlite

This assumes you have installed your Premier+™ Embroidery System software in the default location. If these file are not present then this is the reason for the error. The file names may be shown without their file extensions.

Put your Premier+™ Embroidery System software DVD in your computer and re-run the Applications installation. (If you downloaded your software, double-click on the Premier+™ Applications file.) When the choice appears, select the "Modify or remove" option and click Next. In the next screen, select Repair and click Next. Continue with the installation and follow the on-screen instructions. When the installation is complete, the thread database will be restored to its original installation state. This means that the MyThreads database will have the default set of threads.

This will also reset MyThreadRanges and custom Quick Color Themes to their installation states. Check Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure after repairing the installation.

This message appears if you attempt to click OK in the Color Selection dialog box when MyThreads is selected as the thread range and MyThreads is empty.

To prevent this message appearing again, use Premier+™ Thread Cache to add at least one thread to MyThreads.

Use Premier+™ Configure to change the background color. Follow the instructions in Premier+™ Configure and select the RGB values 211, 233, 255 in the Colors dialog box.

Use Reset All Modules in Premier+ Configure to return all toolbars in the module to their default settings.

To use Reset All Modules

1. Ensure your designs are saved in any Premier+ Embroidery System modules that are open.
2. Click Premier+ Configure on the QuickLink toolbar.
3. Click Reset All Modules.
4. A message will appear, indicating that all modules will be closed and reset. Click OK.
5. A message will appear, asking you to ensure that all other Premier+ Embroidery System modules have closed, apart from Premier+ Configure. Click OK.
6. A message will appear, indicating that all modules have now been reset. Click OK. The toolbars in your module will have been restored.

If preferred, you can check individual toolbars in View, Customize. Use this to see if the missing toolbar has been turned off, and also to reset the toolbar if icons have been added to or removed from the toolbar. If this does not restore the toolbar, use Reset All Modules.

This message appears if the Thread Range of the selected color is not found in your thread database. This could happen if the design you are attempting to edit was supplied bysomeone with a later version of the thread database. If you click OK, the color will be replaced with the nearest match in the Import Thread Range you have set in Premier+™ Configure. You can alter it to any other color if desired. If you click Cancel, the color will not be changed. To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure.

Certain formats are limited to the number of stitches they can save or the size of hoop used on their specific embroidery machine, for example .sew. If you attempt to save a file in this format that is bigger than the largest available hoop size or has more stitches than are allowed, this message would appear.

The Find Thread feature in Color Selection allows you to enter partial thread numbers. The first thread in the list matching the number is found, with priority given to an exact match. If you are attempting to find a thread with only part of the number, the first thread matched may not be the desired thread. To ensure you select the correct thread, enter the thread number as it appears in the list. Some thread ranges have prefix characters on the thread number. These must also be entered to obtain an exact match.

This message appears if, for instance, you have loaded an embroidery from a CD-ROM and then attempt to save the embroidery back to the CD. A CD-ROM is read only, therefore you will not be able to save the embroidery.

This message appears on attempting to save when there is no embroidery on the current window.

This message will appear if system resources are low. Close other programs and try again. If this does not work, try restarting your computer.

Confirm Premier+™ Embroidery System Documentation is Installed

This could be because you have not yet installed the Premier+™ Embroidery System Documentation. You can confirm if you have installed this by going to Premier+™ Configure and clicking on the Check Installation button and clicking Check to see which items you have installed.

Check you have the latest version of the Premier+™ System Documentation installed

Previous Premier+™ Documentation installations included Help for some modules. In the Premier+™ Documentation 11.1, we have included Help and Reference Guides for all modules except Premier+™ Font Create.

Use Smart Update to check you have the latest version:

1. Open Premier+™ Configure.
2. Click on the Smart Update button.
3. Enter your E-mail Address/Password details.
4. Click Next.
5. Click Next again to start the Download process.
6. Follow the on-screen instructions.

It may be that you installed another software which is now associated with your stitch files.

To reset the association back to the Premier+™ Embroidery System do the following steps:

1. Close down all programs.
2. Open Premier+™ Configure.
3. Click the Reset File Association button. A Reset File Association box will appear.
4. Click on the Premier+™ Embroidery button in the Reset File Association box.
5. The Set Program Association page will appear.
6. Click on the Select All checkbox. All stitch formats will be selected in the list.
7. Click Save.

All the selected stitch formats will have been set back to open in Premier+™ Embroidery.

This message will appear when trying to start a module if the Premier+™ Embroidery System cannot detect the dongle (data protection device). Ensure the dongle is plugged into a free USB port of your computer.

This message may appear if you attempt to load an embroidery created in third-party software. Such embroideries may cause unpredictable results.

This message usually means that the motif database has been deleted or corrupted. This may be corrected by repairing the installation.

First, delete the file named 'SystemMotifs.mdb' from ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\System.

This assumes you have installed your Premier+™ Embroidery System software in the default location. If the file is not present then this is the reason for the error. The file name may simply be shown as 'SystemMotifs'.

Put your Premier+™ Embroidery System software DVD in your computer and re-run the installation. When the choice appears, select the "Modify or remove" option and click Next. In the next screen, select Repair and click Next. Continue with the installation and follow the on-screen instructions. When the installation is complete, the motifs will be restored.

You are permitted to install your software onto a secondary computer – i.e. to install it onto your Desktop computer and your laptop computer.

You only have one dongle per software package; so you are limited to using the software on one computer at a time.

Some USB ports do not have enough power to drive the dongle. By using a USB hub, which uses a power supply, this can be overcome.

This message will appear when trying to use Premier+™ Embroidery if the Premier+™ Embroidery System cannot detect the dongle (data protection device). For example, if the dongle has been removed or loosened while using Premier+™ Embroidery. Ensure the dongle is plugged into a free USB port of your computer.

The dongle and all our other USB devices work with USB 3.0 ports.

This can happen if you unplug your dongle or other USB device and then plug it back into a different USB port. When this happens, it is detected as a new hardware item and the driver is installed on the alternative USB port. Wait for the hardware wizard to finish installing the driver, then continue using the software as usual.

If your dongle is working correctly then it is not necessary to install this update. If you do not wish to see this update each time you use Windows® Update, select the Hide This Update option and it will not be listed next time you use Windows® Update.

This message will appear if the dongle driver is not accessible, has been removed or has not been installed correctly.

First, ensure you are logged onto your computer with full administrator rights and attempt to use the desired Premier+™ Embroidery System module. If the error message no longer appears, then the user name you originally tried to use is too restricted to use the Premier+™ Embroidery System.

Otherwise, use the dongle driver installation utility in the \Technical\Dongle Driver folder of your Premier+™ Embroidery System DVD (also available by download). Ensure you are logged onto your computer with full administrator rights before using the dongle driver installation utility.

This error is given when Anti-Virus / Firewall software is preventing the Sentinel HASP (dongle) software communicating with the dongle. This may cause the dongle to flash.

This is due to the connection being blocked, normally by Anti-Virus / Firewall software.

Another factor, may be that the Sentinel License Manager Service may have been stopped on your computer. Follow the steps below to start that service:

1. Open Windows Explorer/File Explorer.
2. Right click on Computer/This PC.
3. Click on the Manage option. The Computer Management window will appear.
4. Click on Services on the left hand window.
5. Right click on Sentinel HASP License Manager on the right hand window.
6. Click on the Start option.
7. When the service has started; try to open the Premier+™ Software.

When you have installed and registered certain Premier+™ Embroidery System modules, you must activate the dongle. If you attempt to run a module before activating, this message will appear.

It could be that your dongle drivers are not installed correctly.

When you install a new version of the dongle drivers, the installation will remove the old dongle drivers from your computer before it installs the latest version.

In case the old drivers were not fully removed correctly, then it is advisable to download and install the latest command-line dongle drivers - which remove all traces of the dongle drivers from your computer, before installing the latest dongle drivers:

1. Disconnect the dongle[s] from the computer.
2. Download the following file - Command-Line Purge Dongle Drivers
3. Double click on the HASPCommandLineDrivers-Purge.exe file – a black screen will appear.
4. You may receive a Microsoft warning message. Click the Run Anyway button.
5. Click Yes to any User Account Control prompts that may appear.
6. Click OK to both Sentinel Run-time Environment Installer messages reading Operation successfully completed.
7. When the process is finished, the black screen will disappear.
8. Insert your dongle into your computer – the Installing device driver software message may appear.

You do not need to uninstall the 6D Software when you come to installing the Premier+™ Embroidery System; both systems will co-exist on the same computer without issues.

The only exception being, that the 6D Explorer Plug-in will need to be uninstalled to allow the Premier+™ Explorer Plug-in to be installed

The best way to find out which features are in the latest Smart Update (or previous upgrades) is to:

1. Double click on the Premier+™ Embroidery System shortcut on your Desktop. A new Windows® Explorer window will appear
2. Double click on Readme shortcut.
3. Open the latest file.
4. The latest features will be listed at the top of the document.

Firstly, the Premier+™ Embroidery System is intended to be run on a Windows® computer.

Although, many customers have been able to get it to work fully using 3rd Party environments like Parallels and Boot Camp; we cannot support the software when it is run in a non-standard setup or using 3rd Party tools.

This error can happen when an issue has been found in the integrity of the downloaded file during the Smart Update process.

1. Close down all open programs.
2. Restart your computer.
3. Start the Smart Update process again.

Error 1722 appears when an installation of the Explorer Plugin may have become corrupted. Use the Premier+ Explorer Plugin Fix utility to correct this problem.

1. Download the Premier+ Explorer Plugin 1722 Fix utility here.
2. Double click on the downloaded PremierPlusExplorerPluginFix.exe file
3. Follow the on-screen instructions
4. Now try to install the Premier+ Explorer Plugin installation file again.

To backup your Premier+™ settings:

Backing Up MySettings:

1. Open Premier+™ Configure.
2. Click on the Backup MySettings button. A 'Save As' dialog box will appear.
3. If needed, give the file a descriptive name. Click Save. By default the file will be saved within your \Documents\Premier+\SystemBackup folder
4. Open Windows Explorer.
5. Browse to your Documents folder.
6. Double click on the Premier+™ Embroidery folder.
7. Copy all folders and files - except the Samples folder - to your *external media.
8. Browse to the folder which contains your MyFonts folder - see below - and also copy the MyFonts folder to your external media.

Windows® 7 / Windows® 8 users: C:\ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\Fonts\

* external media: this can be a USB Stick, External USB Hard Disk, burned/copied onto a CD/DVD...etc.

** The main thing, is that not to store backups on the same physical hard disk that your Premier+™ Embroidery System is installed on - if that hard disk malfunctioned, then you would lose your Premier+™ software and all of your backups as well.

The message is indicating that your dongle is not activated to open the 5D Card Shop module.

5D Card Shop is an add-on module; this means that your dongle needs additional activation to use the 5D Card Shop module - even if your dongle has previously been activated to use other 5D modules.

To activate your dongle to use 5D Card Shop; contact your local dealer or go to the 5D Purchase Center.

The correct DPI (dots per inch) setting will depend on the size of the picture to be scanned. The desired picture size is approximately 1000 X 1000 pixels. To achieve this take the size of your artwork in inches, such as 8" x 7", and divide the longest side into 1000. In the example, 1000 divided by 8 = 125. The DPI setting of the scanner should then be 125 DPI, and this will produce a picture that is about 1000 x 875 pixels.

Although the program automatically doubles the size of a picture if its height and width are less than 500 pixels, this may still produce jagged lines. For a smoother effect, rescan the picture.

This message will appear if the embroidery you are attempting to load is more than 200mm wide, but would fit if it was rotated; that is it is between 200mm and 360mm wide, and less than 200mm high. Click Yes to continue.

You have not selected the option to start Embroidery Machine Communication automatically when Windows starts. Resolve this as follows:

1. Start Premier+™ Configure.
2. Click the Start Machine Communication button and the icon will appear in the system tray.
3. Position the pointer over the icon in the system tray and right-click. A menu will appear.
4. Click the Start Automatically option.
5. Right-click the icon again to confirm the Start Automatically option is checked.
6. Click anywhere on the desktop, away from the menu, to close the menu without changing anything.

You may connect one of each type of embroidery machine to the same computer. For example, you may connect one Husqvarna Viking Designer SE, Diamond, Ruby and one Pfaff creative vision, 4.0 at the same time.

However, if you connect two or more of the same type of machine, the Embroidery Machine Communication module will not communicate correctly with those machines.

This message may appear when creating an Express Trace design if the final picture has thick areas of solid color. Some or all parts of the design may not be created. Try using options in the wizard, on the Outline Finder and Expander page and/or the Monochrome Threshold page, to ensure the outlines are not too thick. Cancel the wizard, adjust the picture so that the outlines are easier to isolate with Monochrome Threshold, then open the picture in the ExpressDesign Wizard again.

This can happen if the outlines in your original picture are only one pixel wide. For example, there may be gaps or missing sections of the outline. If this happens, select Find Outlines on the Outline Finder and Expander page and ensure Expand is set to 1. This will thicken all the outlines so that they are traced correctly.

This can happen with a picture that has a border or background that is black or very dark, especially if the background or border cannot be removed with Monochrome Threshold.

For pictures with a dark border, it should be possible to remove the border on the Crop Picture page of the ExpressDesign Wizard. If this is not possible, edit the picture to remove the border or change the border color.

For pictures on a dark background, use an image editor to invert the colors in the picture or change the background color to a light color.

After editing the picture, load it again in the ExpressDesign Wizard.

To deselect an embroidery, click the mouse on another embroidery. To select the desired embroidery, click on it and an outline box will appear. If one embroidery or piece of lettering is overlapping another making it difficult to select, click the Previous and Next Design icons on the Home tab. Alternatively, press the Tab key to select each embroidery in turn.

This message appears if you attempt to click OK in the Color Selection dialog box when My Threads is selected as the thread range and My Threads is empty.

To prevent this message appearing again, use Premier+™ Thread Cache to add at least one thread to My Threads.

Certain icons (for example Save and Save As on the File tab and most of the Home tab icons) are only highlighted once an embroidery is shown on the screen.

When creating multi-color lettering, ensure that the Jump Connection is selected. If Running Connection is selected, you will not be able to ColorSort the lettering.

This message is displayed if you click the Modify tab when a group is selected. Select the item within the group that you wish to edit individually after using Restrict Groups, then click the Modify tab again.

The ColorSort process does not just put the same color blocks together. It checks for overlap between areas, therefore depending on the overlaps, the final number of color blocks may vary, even if you are Combining a similar number of shapes or monograms.

This message appears if the size entered in the Size Box on the Letter tab is below 3mm or above 200mm. The Size setting refers to the height in millimeters of an uppercase 'A' in the selected font. If you wish to increase lettering above this you could click and drag one of the corner boxes or alter the Height or Width proportions.

This message is displayed if you click the Modify tab when several items are selected. Click the individual item that you wish to modify, or use the Tab key to step through the designs until the desired one is selected, then click the Modify tab again.

This message is displayed if you click the Modify tab when no item is selected. Select an item, then click the Modify tab again.

This message appears when trying to select or use a lettering style if the file has corrupted. Reinstall the font.

This may also appear if a font is created in Premier+™ Font Create and has no characters defined. Use Premier+™ Font Create to define at least one character in the font.

This message appears if an embroidery you are trying to Export or Print is outside the selected hoop or larger than will fit in it. For example, with the 100mm x 100mm hoop selected, an embroidery smaller than 100mm x 100mm might be placed partially outside the work area when you click Export or Print. This message would then appear. Move the embroidery completely within the four blue corners of the work area and try again.

This message appears if the embroidery on screen is partially outside the selected hoop. Move the embroidery completely within the four blue corners of the work area and try again.

This message is displayed if you click the Modify tab when a SuperDesign, Lettering, or frame is selected. When a design is fixed, the stitches are then created, and any further resizing may affect stitch density and length. The stitch properties, for example the density, pattern, angle or stitch length, may not be changed after it is fixed, and for lettering the font and text may not be changed. Only click OK if you wish that item to be fixed as stitches.

This message is displayed if you click the Modify tab when decorations are selected. You

cannot adjust decorations on the Modify tab.

This message is displayed if you copy designs to the clipboard block, and then attempt to paste them into the Modify tab. Only click OK if you wish the items to be fixed as stitches.

If a design is within a group, you cannot initially select it individually for adjusting. Use Restrict Groups on the Home tab or context menu, and then select the desired design, lettering, SuperDesign or frame individually.

There is a limit on the number of stitches that may be saved to an embroidery file in Pfaff (.pcs) file format. This message appears if the embroidery you attempt to save to this format exceeds this limit.

Make sure the Premier+™ Embroidery window is maximized by clicking the Maximize icon on the title bar. Click Zoom To Fit to expand the hoop so it fills the work area. Also, choose a Hoop Size in Hoop Selection that is suitable to the embroidery size.

Many functions of Premier+™ Embroidery can be used to help see sections of embroideries more easily. They include the Zoom Commands and the Draw Range. The different methods of selection (Box Select, Freehand Select, Polygon Select and Make Block From Visible Area) are also useful for different situations.

This message appears when attempting to open Premier+™ Embroidery if your computer is set to a display of 256 colors or less. Reset the display as follows:

1. Right-click on the desktop and a shortcut menu appears.
2. In Windows® 7, click Screen resolution, then click Advanced settings - Properties box will appear. From there click the Monitor tab.
3. Change Color quality to High Color (16 bit) or higher using the drop-down menu.
4. Click OK, and allow your computer to restart if required.

The refresh rate of the screen is limited by the power of your computer's processor and RAM as well as the video card and its memory. To get the best performance from your system, try using 2D view as this requires less power than 3D view.

Certain icons (for example Save and Export on the Quick Access Toolbar) are only highlighted once an embroidery is shown on the screen.

Use Premier+™ Configure to change the grid color. Follow the instructions in Premier+™ Configure and select Blue Gray (RGB values 100, 102, 153) from the standard color drop-down on the Grid Color button.

Use Screen Preferences to change the grid spacing. Set the Grid Size to 10.

If the control panel is 'floating' on top of the window, double-click the title bar and the control panel will move back to its original position.

If the control panel is docked on the wrong side of the window, click and drag the title bar to the middle of the right-hand edge of the window until the outline snaps into position on the right. Release the mouse button and the control panel will be dropped into its original position.

If a design is within a multiple selection or a group, resizing is always proportional. Either use Restrict Groups on the Home tab or context menu and select the desired designs individually, or Ungroup and Combine all of the designs to resize them together in different proportions.

For the following Line Types, there are no control boxes to change the size of the characters in the lettering:

• Circle Clockwise
• Circle Counter-Clockwise
• Full Circle
• Fit To Straight Line
• Fit To Wavy Line

Instead, use Size, Height and Width in Letter Properties to change the size of the characters.

Some fonts and shapes sets have non-uniform properties. For example, they may use more than one pattern for satin or fill, or use the same fill pattern at different angles in different characters or shapes. Therefore, there is no overall uniform property that can be changed, so the Satin and Fill buttons may not be used to change the Satin and Fill Properties. You may wish to use a different font with a similar style that allows you to change its properties, or create a new font with the QuickFont Wizard based on a TrueType® or OpenType® font with a similar style.

You have changed a property that is not used by the font you have chosen. For instance, if the font is created from satin sections, changing the fill properties will have no effect on the lettering. Similarly, if the font is an outline font of running, double or triple stitch, neither the fill or satin properties will affect the appearance of the characters.

For script fonts, the Gap setting has no effect on adjacent lowercase characters. Script fonts use a special 'continuous' joining method, which places lowercase characters adjacent to each other to give the appearance of handwriting. All the fonts in the Script category use this joining method, and you may also create new fonts with the QuickFont Wizard or the optional Premier+™ Font Create module that use this joining method.

You are using an uppercase font. In an uppercase font (with UC in the name), all the lowercase characters are identical to the uppercase characters.

You are using an lowercase font. In an lowercase font (with LC in the name), all the uppercase characters are identical to the lowercase characters.

Select the desired lettering, then right-click on the lettering. The Letter Properties will appear and you may change the text.

Once lettering has been converted to embroidery, no adjustments can be made with Letter Properties.

If a design is within a multiple selection or a group, there is no flip handle, and you cannot mirror the multiple selection or group. Either use Restrict Groups on the Home tab or context menu and select the desired designs individually, or Ungroup and Combine all of the designs to mirror them together.

If you paste a design with decorations into the Modify tab, the decorations are not visible. They will reappear as separate subdesigns when you move to one of the other tabs. Retain or delete them as desired.

Only embroideries may be ColorSorted. Lettering must be 'fixed' as an embroidery to allow this. Select the Design or Edit page and all lettering will be fixed as embroideries.

If you select the Edit page, in 5D Embroidery Extra, only the selected embroidery can be adjusted.

To cancel a stitch block selection made using Box Select, Freehand Select, Polygon Select or Make Block From Visible Area, click anywhere in the currently active embroidery, but outside the dotted box showing the selected stitches. The stitches will no longer be selected.

Design Player uses the Export settings in Premier+™ Configure when displaying the stitching out of an embroidery. The slider bars in the Modify tab show the stitch order as displayed in the Color Select area of the Design Panel. If the embroidery is ColorSorted, some color blocks may be placed together. If ColorSort is selected in the Optimize for Sewing settings in the Export tab of Premier+™ Configure, Design Player will then show different results from the slider bars.

This will happen if you choose a Universal Hoop that is the same size. The Universal Hoops are shown as plain hoops of the selected size. Use Hoop Selection to choose the desired hoop size, but do not choose a Universal Hoop.

The hoop is only shown graphically when 3D mode is selected. Therefore, it is not shown graphically when the Modify tab in Premier+™ Embroidery Extra is selected.

Only the currently selected section can be sent to an embroidery machine when some multi-part hoops are selected.

1. Send the first section and stitch it out.
2. Then adjust the hoop for the next section, send it and stitch it out.
3. Continue until the whole design has been completely stitched out.

Note that for certain embroidery machines such as the Husqvarna Viking Designer series, and the Pfaff creative series, multi-part embroideries are transferred in one .vp3 file.

If the control panel is visible but in the wrong position, first try to click and drag its title bar to move it back to its normal position on the right.

If this does not work, or the control panel is not visible, use Reset All Modules.

Note that Reset All Modules affects all modules in the Premier+™ Embroidery System, so any changes to settings in each module will be reset. The recent files list on the File menu is also cleared, but this does not affect any files you have saved.

To use Reset All Modules:

1. Ensure your designs are saved in any Premier+™ Embroidery System modules that are open.
2. Click Premier+™ Configure on the QuickLink toolbar.
3. Click Reset All Modules.
4. A message will appear, indicating that all modules will be closed and reset. Click OK.
5. A message will appear, asking you to ensure that all other Premier+™ Embroidery System modules have closed, apart from Premier+™ Configure. Click OK.
6. A message will appear, indicating that all modules have now been reset. Click OK.

The next time you start Premier+™ Embroidery, the control panel will be in the correct position.

This is because the shape of an embroidery becomes a factor when there is an odd number of repeats. For an even number of repeats, the shape of an embroidery is cancelled out by the exact same shape on the opposite side of the circle. For an odd number of repeats, the circle is not 'balanced' in quite the same way, so the center point of the final embroidery may not be in the same place as the original center of the circle after you right-click.

This may also happen with an even number of repeats when the Mirror option is chosen for Position and the embroidery is not horizontally symmetrical. If you regard each pair of mirrored embroideries as a single item, an odd number of pairs may cause the center of rotation to move.

If your embroidery is horizontally symmetrical before you use the Encore function, the Mirror option will have no apparent effect. However, it will affect stitch order of each alternate copy. For example, clockwise stitching will become counter-clockwise, and so on.

The Notes for an embroidery will have the words Endless added after any other Notes text. If the Notes have been edited so that this is no longer the case, use the slider bars on the Edit tab to see if there are marker stitches at the beginning and end of the embroidery.

If you use ColorSort on a multiple selection or group, the number of colors seen in the Color Select area may be more than if the same embroideries were combined. This is because ColorSort looks at the embroideries within the selection or group separately. To keep embroidery elements editable in your project and minimize the number of colors when stitching out, use Export with ColorSort to create a version for stitching.

Use Design Player or Print Preview to see how many colors the exported embroidery will have, according to the current options.

This can happen if you use the Repeat Embroidery option and you do not use Undo before trying again. This is because you have already created a repeated sequence with no gaps that then becomes a single embroidery. If you then use the Endless Embroidery function again to try to add a Gap, the whole repeated sequence is treated as a single embroidery. This should be apparent if you look at the Notes, because the word 'Endless' will occur twice at the end of the Notes. Always click Undo to go back to the single copy of the embroidery before trying Endless Embroidery again with different settings.

The Endless function is not available in any of the following situations:

• There is no embroidery selected, so there is nothing that can be made endless: load an embroidery
• The embroidery is too big for or is outside the current hoop: adjust the embroidery as needed or choose a larger hoop

This is called "Highlight Selected Color". It allows you to see where each color is used in an embroidery. For example, if you have several color blocks using the same thread color and you wish to change the color of a specific section, hover over each color in the worksheet in turn until the section you require is highlighted.

This message will appear when trying to use your scanner or digital camera if the device has not been installed correctly. Close Premier+™ Embroidery, follow the manufacturer's instructions for the Twain-compliant device, then reopen Premier+™ Embroidery and try again.

This message will appear when trying to use your scanner or digital camera if another graphics program is already open that uses the WIA-compliant device. Close Premier+™ Embroidery and the other graphics program, then reopen Premier+™ Embroidery and try again.

This message will appear if the connection to your scanner or digital camera has a problem. Close Premier+™ Embroidery, check the connections to your scanner or digital camera, then reopen Premier+™ Embroidery and try again.

This message will appear in certain circumstances when trying to use your scanner or digital camera, for example if the cable is disconnected during the scan or download. Close Premier+™ Embroidery Extra, check the connections to your scanner or digital camera, then reopen Premier+™ Embroidery Extra and try again.

This message will appear if you attempt to repeat an embroidery so that it is larger than 500mm high or wide. Click OK. The Encore function will be cancelled without repeating the embroidery.

When you have created a monogram and placed it in the work area, right-click it and select Properties to reopen the ExpressMonogram Wizard with the monogram loaded. The pale green handles indicate that the monogram has not been fixed as an embroidery, and can still be adjusted in the ExpressMonogram Wizard.

This may happen if the outlines in the picture are only one pixel wide after theMonochrome Threshold page.

For Express Trace, return to the Outline Finder and Expander page, select Find Outlines and ensure Expand is set to 1.

For Express Border, first click Picture Options and set the Area Sensitivity to High. If this does not have the desired effect, return to the Monochrome Threshold page and adjust the slider so that more of the picture within the desired areas turns black. If this also selects unwanted parts of the picture, you may need to remove the unwanted areas in a picture editor.

Premier+™ Create and Premier+™ PhotoStitch have picture editing functions that may be used to remove unwanted areas.

If your monogram in the work area has pale green handles (indicating that it has not been fixed as an embroidery), you can save it individually, or as part of a selection or group in a .vp4 file.

As with Circle and Line, you must right-click to finish using Encore and create the repeated embroidery. Until you right-click, Encore is simply previewing the chosen Encore Hoop settings and you may click the Encore Setup button to change settings. Notice also that there is no selection box shown around any embroidery when Encore is active.

If you click one of the other control panel tabs, Encore will be cancelled, the preview will be removed from the screen and the original embroidery will be selected.

The control boxes on blocks of lettering allow subtle adjustments directly to the shape of the lettering. However, the Letter Properties only allows the proportions of Height and Width to be adjusted. When the Letter Properties are changed, the previous adjustments may be partially lost when the Height and Width values are applied. Therefore, it is recommended to make all desired adjustments in Letter Properties before making final adjustments directly with the control boxes.

This message can occur if you have are trying to generate some special characters from fonts you have made in the QuickFont Wizard and the Check Spelling option is selected in Preferences.

Open Preferences.
1. Uncheck the Check Spelling checkbox.
2. Click OK.
3. Close down Premier+™ Embroidery/Embroidery Extra.
4. Re-open Premier+™ Embroidery/Embroidery Extra.
5. Generate the characters again.

When a monogram is resized on the work area, it is fixed as a group of embroideries and you will not be able to edit the text. To change the size of a monogram without fixing it, right-click and select Properties in the Context menu to open it in the ExpressMonogram Wizard. You can then resize the letters within the monogram, and the border around it.

My design will not split for the Pfaff creative Grand Dream Hoop/Husqvarna Viking Mega Multi-Part Hoop SE (or any other Multi-Part hoop) an error message says it is too large for the hoop.

When using Multi-Part hoops with the Intelligent split option, some designs which do not have any stitching in the overlap area will not split and produce a 'Design too large' error.

When this occurs, change to the Straight Line split option in Preferences.

The control boxes on blocks of lettering allow subtle adjustments directly to the shape of the lettering. However, the Letter Properties only allows the proportions of Height and Width to be adjusted. When the Letter Properties are changed, the previous adjustments may be partially lost when the Height and Width values are applied. Therefore, it is recommended to make all desired adjustments in Letter Properties before making final adjustments directly with the control boxes.

If a font does not use an editable stitch type, the Stitch Type will not be available in Letter Options.

Some multipart embroideries are created with alignment stitches that overlap exactly. When viewing these designs in Premier+™ Embroidery, deselect Remove Overlap in Premier+™ Configure, Export, before sending them to the embroidery machine.

When a decoration line or shape is enlarged, the number of decorations increases; and when it is made smaller the number decreases. Where decorations are placed individually, the number of decorations does not change when the decoration subdesign is made larger or smaller.

You can use a utility called charmap; which is already installed onto Windows computers?

1. Click on the Start menu.
2. Type charmap .
3. Press Enter or click on the Charmap entry near the top of the Start menu.
4. Select Arial from the font drop-down list. Other fonts may show all the special characters, but by choosing Arial, you are guaranteed that they will be seeing all the characters.
5. Scroll down if needed to find the character that you want to use. Click on the characters to select it.
6. Click on the Select button and that character will appear in the Characters to copy textbox.
7. Click on the Copy button to place that character in the clipboard.
8. Go back to Premier+™ Embroidery (or whichever Premier+™ module you are enterring lettering in) and paste it into the Letter textbox.

The MyFonts folder for the Premier+ Embroidery System, can be found here:

Windows® 7 / Windows® 8 / Windows® 10 users: C:\ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\Fonts\MyFonts

If you do not see the ProgramData folder; then you may have to take the following steps to stop them being hidden by your operating system:

1. Click on your Start menu.
2. Click on Control Panel.
3. Type folder option into the Search textbox
4. Click on the Folder Options link.
5. The Folder Options dialog box will appear – set it to Show hidden files, folders and drives files and uncheck the two Hide options indicated in the screenshot – click Yes to the warning message.
6. Click OK.
7. Once you have followed all the instructions for accessing the MyFonts folder, you can reverse these instructions to put the Folder Options to what they were.

The largest design that can be created is 4000mm x 4000mm (4 meters by 4 meters)

This message appears if you try to create a monogram with no letters selected. Select some letters.

This message appears if you try to create a monogram using a character that is outside the available font range (ASCII 33-255). Use a valid character.

This message will appear if the scanner has created an image file that is not supported by Premier+™ Embroidery. Convert the image to a supported image file format.

This message appears if the font or SuperDesign set that you have selected is not available. The most likely reason is that it is already open in the optional Premier+™ Font Create module. Close Premier+™ Font Create, then try again. This could also happen if you opened the Premier+™ Embroidery program, then accidentally moved or deleted the font from the relevant category folder in ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\Fonts, or the SuperDesign file from ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\SuperDesigns. Close Premier+™ Embroidery, make sure the file is in the folder, then try again.

This message appears if the SuperDesigns or Frames folder is empty or has been accidentally moved, deleted or renamed. Close Premier+™ Embroidery, make sure the folder ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\SuperDesigns, or \Frames, is in the correct location and contains the SuperDesign or frames files, then try again.

If you are unable to restore or replace the SuperDesigns or Frames folder, repair the installation. Put your Premier+™ Embroidery System software DVD in your computer and re-run the Premier+™ Components installation. When the choice appears, select the "Modify or remove" option and click Next. In the next screen, select Repair and click Next. Continue with the installation and follow the on-screen instructions. When the installation is complete, the SuperDesigns or Frames will be restored.

Check Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure after repairing the installation.

This message may appear if the font is corrupt, or if the character selected is not in that font. Reinstall the font, or use Premier+™ Font Create to add the character to the font.

This message appears if the database of Frames and Borders, or the database of shapes used for Encore shapes, shape fill, and creating border and appliqué shapes, has been corrupted or accidentally moved or deleted.

This error does not prevent Premier+™ Embroidery from starting. However, you will not be able to use the relevant functions until this is resolved. To correct this, start the installation for your Premier+™ Embroidery System software, then choose the Repair option.

If the problem persists, delete the file named 'BorderShapes.bdr' from ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\System, and then use the Repair option again.

This assumes you have installed your Premier+™ Embroidery System software in the default location. If the file is not present then this is the reason for the error.

If no design is selected, or more than one design is selected, the worksheet will be blank. To view and change the threads in an embroidery, select the single embroidery, then view the threads in the color worksheet.

Certain functions are only available in Premier+™ Embroidery Extra or Ultra, for example the ExpressDesign Wizard, the PhotoStitch Wizard, the QuiltBlock Wizard, Split Project Wizard and the Background Wizard. In Premier+™ Embroidery these functions will be grayed out (unavailable).

This can happen if the outlines in your original picture are only one pixel wide. For example, there may be gaps or missing sections of the outline. If this happens, select Find Outlines on the Outline Finder and Expander page and ensure Expand is set to 1. This will thicken all the outlines so that they are traced correctly.

This can happen with a picture that has a border or background that is black or very dark, especially if the background or border cannot be removed with Monochrome Threshold.

For pictures with a dark border, it should be possible to remove the border on the Crop Picture page of the ExpressDesign Wizard. If this is not possible, edit the picture to remove the border or change the border color.

For pictures on a dark background, use an image editor to invert the colors in the picture or change the background color to a light color.

After editing the picture, load it again in the ExpressDesign Wizard.

After creating and saving an embroidery, use the Edit tab or open the file in Premier+™ Modify Plus and use the following instructions.

1. Use the Freehand Point Select feature to mark the stitches in the background.
2. Click Delete button.
3. Save the adjusted embroidery.

This message could appear if the desired picture is not where the module expects it to be, for example if it was loaded from a USB memory stick, then closed and the memory stick removed. It could also appear if the file you are attempting to load is corrupt. For example, it might have an extension such as .bmp or .jpg, yet not be a proper picture file.

If the selected motif width is larger than the size of the monogram or name, then only one motif may be created. Adjusting lettering or motif size or spacing may allow multiple motifs to be included in the border. If the selected motif shape is irregular it may overlap the monogram. Adjusting lettering or motif size or spacing may produce the desired results.

Frames and Flourishes with running stitch that is vertical or horizontal are not always completely visible at zoom to fit. This varies depending on the font, size of lettering and envelope. Use the Zoom In feature, if desired, to verify that the stitching exists.

The Monogram font category fonts Condensed Block and Square Block include two versions of the characters ’I’ and ’W’. If you enter an upper case letter, the displayed version will be even width (square). If you use a lower case ’I’ (or Ì, Í, Î or Ï) the letter will be narrower. If you use a lower case ’W’ the letter will be wider.

The ExpressMonogram Wizard can only use the fonts provided in the Premier+™ Embroidery System or created using the Premier+™ QuickFont Wizard. It cannot use new fonts created in Premier+™ Font Create.

In Encore Shape and Encore Hoop, when two embroideries are selected, the embroidery that is first in the stitch-out order will be placed in the corners. If you want to use the other embroidery in the corners, use Layout Order to change the order.

A maximum of two designs can be used with Encore Shape and Encore Hoop. If more than two designs are selected, only the first two that were loaded will be used in the Encore. Either use Encore Circle or Line, or combine some of the embroideries before using Encore.

The Endless function is not available in any of the following situations:

• There is no embroidery loaded, so there is nothing that can be made endless: load an embroidery
• The embroidery is too big for or is outside the current hoop: adjust the embroidery as needed or choose a larger hoop

Information on the font, SuperDesign, Motif or Frame used in an embroidery made in Premier+™ Embroidery is stored in the Settings. Open the embroidery and click the Settings tab in the Home tab to view the settings. Alternatively, print a worksheet for the embroidery.

Premier+™ Embroidery and Premier+™ Font Create cannot have the same font open at the same time. Therefore, you must close the font in Premier+™ Font Create to make it fully available to Premier+™ Embroidery.

For the following Line Types, there are no control boxes to change the size of the characters in the lettering:

• Circle Clockwise
• Circle Clockwise
• Full Circle
• Fit To Straight Line
• Fit To Wavy Line

Instead, use Size, Height and Width in Letter Properties to change the size of the characters.

Some fonts and SuperDesign sets have non-editable properties. For example, they may use more than one pattern for satin or fill, or use the same fill pattern at different angles in different characters or shapes. Therefore, there is no overall uniform property that can be changed, so the properties dialog box may not be used to change the stitch Properties. You may wish to use a different font with a similar style that allows you to change its properties, or create a new font with the QuickFont Wizard based on a TrueType® or OpenType® font with a similar style.

You are trying to change a property in a font or SuperDesign set that is not editable. For instance, if a font uses more than one type of Pattern Fill, the stitch type will be unavailable. Also, if a font is an outline font of running, double or triple stitch, no fill or satin properties will be available.

Script fonts use a special connection method that allows adjacent lower case letters to be connected to each other, regardless of the Gap setting. This is not compatible with the way the characters are arranged by the Full Circle line type.

Circle Clockwise and Circle Counter-Clockwise are compatible with Script fonts.

The control boxes on blocks of lettering allow subtle adjustments directly to the shape of the lettering. However, the Letter Properties only allows the proportions of Height and Width to be adjusted. When the Letter Properties are changed, the previous adjustments may be partially lost when the Height and Width values are applied. Therefore, it is recommended to make all desired adjustments in Letter Properties before making final adjustments directly with the control boxes.

If a font does not use an editable stitch type, the Stitch Type will not be available in Letter Options.

If a SuperDesign does not include an editable stitch type, the Stitch Type drop-down list will not be available in the SuperDesign Options dialog box.

Stitch types are not available in the Letter Properties dialog box. Right-click the lettering, and select the stitch type from the right-click menu.

Appliqué is associated with the selected Color Change or Stop. If you add appliqué to a Color Change or Stop in a different design, the appliqué will be associated with the selected design, not the desired one. Make sure that you select a Color Change or Stop in the desired design before adding appliqué.

Appliqué is associated with the selected design. If you add appliqué to a design that is not selected, the stitching will be treated as background stitching, and the appliqué will be placed on top of it. Make sure that you select the desired design before you add appliqué to it.

If you select Hoop Zoom to Fit in the Print page, the grid will be proportional to the scaling used to fit the hoop to the printed page. If you select ’Garment/Quilt Block Zoom to Fit’ or ’Garment/Quilt Block Real Size’ in the Print page, the grid will extend across the whole of the selected background, not just the hoop area. The grid will be proportional to the scaling used to fit the garment and hoop to the printed page.

There is an option in Windows Explorer to turn off thumbnails, you may have this option turned on.

1. Open Windows Explorer.
2. Click on the Options box to open the Folder Options dialog.
3. Click on the View tab.
4. Uncheck the checkmark against the "Always show icons, never thumbnails" option.
5. Click OK.

It could be that you have had a previous software on your computer which had shown thumbnails of stitch files. The cache of thumbnails needs to be cleared from Windows Explorer, so that it can start using the thumbnails shown by the Windows Explorer Plug-in.

An example of the issue can be seen below, with the incorrect thumbnail image from a third party icon software on the left; and the correct preview on the right:

Another example of strange thumbnail image display, is if one of the thumbnails shows with a black background. It will also be a smaller version of the design in the center of the thumbnail.

Clear the Thumbnail Cache to fix both types of thumbnail display issues:

Windows 10/ Windows 8

1. Open Windows Explorer – right click the Windows Explorer icon on the Task bar and select File Explorer.
2. Windows Explorer will open to the Quick Access/Libraries folder of your computer. In the left hand pane of the window, click on the This PC/Computer heading.
3. Right click on the Local Disk (C:) entry, then click Properties. The Local Disk (C:) Properties dialog box will appear.
4. On the General tab, click the Disk Cleanup button. It may take a few moments while the utility analyses the drive.
5. Uncheck everything in the list, and then place a checkmark against the Thumbnails entry at the bottom.
6. Click OK and a confirmation message will appear. Click the Delete Files button.
7. Repeat steps #3 to #6 for any other Local Disk entries that you may have in Windows Explorer.

Windows 7

1. Click on the Start menu.
2. Click on the Computer option. Windows Explorer will open.
3. Right click on the Local Disk (C:) entry, then click Properties. The Local Disk (C:) Properties dialog box will appear.
4. On the General tab, click the Disk Cleanup button. It may take a few moments while the utility analyses the drive.
5. Uncheck everything in the list, and then place a checkmark against the Thumbnails entry at the bottom.
6. Click OK

This could be because you have the Windows Search option turned off.

To turn it on:

Windows 8

1. Go to your Start screen.
2. Type windows features
3. Click on the Turn Windows Features On or Off option.
4. Scroll down to the Windows Search option.
5. Place a checkmark in the checkbox if it is empty.
6. Click OK.

Windows 7

1. Click on the Start menu
2. Type windows features
3. Click on the Turn Windows Features On or Off option.
4. Scroll down to the Windows Search option.
5. Place a checkmark in the checkbox if it is empty.
6. Click OK.

It could be that the Windows Indexing has been turned off; turn it back on and try again.

Windows 8

1. Go to your Start screen.
2. Type services
3. Click on the Services option that appears to open the Services box.
4. Scroll down to the Windows Search checkbox.
5. Right click on it.
6. Select Properties
7. On the General tab, ensure that you have the Automatic (Delay Start) selected.
8. Click OK.
9. Restart your computer.
10. Now try searching for a designs properties again.

Windows 7

1. Click on the Start menu.
2. Type services
3. Click on the Services option that appears to open the Services box.
4. Scroll down to the Windows Search checkbox.
5. Right click on it.
6. Select Properties
7. On the General tab, ensure that you have the Automatic (Delay Start) selected.
8. Click OK.
9. Restart your computer.
10. Now try searching for a designs properties again.

If you have your thumbnail view in Windows® Explorer set to Small icons, List or Details then you will not see the preview - you will only see the Premier+™ logo.

Change the View to one of the other available options to see the thumbnail images of your stitch files

Changing the View:

1. Open Windows® Explorer.
2. Browse to a folder that contains stitch files.
3. Right click on an empty area of main part of the Windows® Explorer screen.
4. Move your mouse over the View option.
5. Click on Medium icons - or whichever other option you prefer to view your thumbnail images in.

The QuickFont Wizard is designed to work with Windows TrueType® and OpenType ® fonts. The QuickFont Wizard does not support Postscript Type 1 fonts. To check Font Properties:

1. Click Start, Control Panel, then select Fonts.
2. Click the desired font to select it.
3. Right-click and select Properties from the menu that appears.
4. Check the Type of file section. If it is PostScript Metrics or Type 1 Font File it will not work with the QuickFont Wizard.

This message may appear at the end of font creation if one or more characters is not properly defined in a font. That is, there is no data in the TrueType or OpenType font about the characters, so they have not been created in the embroidery font. This may happen with specialist or symbol fonts, which are not designed for general text usage. If desired, use Premier+™ Font Create to create any missing characters.

This message may appear when trying to preview or create a font with the QuickFont Wizard. When some parts of characters have very narrow sections, they may not be large enough to have fill areas created when the Stitch Type is set to Fill or Fill + Satin Border. If the font is created, it may have characters or parts of some characters missing. It is recommended to choose a different Stitch Type. Alternatively, create the font then use Premier+™ Font Create to create the missing parts and/or characters.

This can happen if you have selected a very small (or complex) TrueType Font that is installed on your computer.

If a particular character is extremely small; then some of the narrower sections of a character will not be large enough to contain a Satin/Fill area. This may result in that character not being generated.

For example when trying to generate the Garamond font; by default the 'e' character is too small to generate - resulting in the following message

A way around this is to increase DPI settings on your computer (the size that your Operating System displays your fonts at):

The image below gives an approximation of moving from normal (left) to Large (right)

Windows 7

1. Right click on an empty area of your Desktop.
2. Click on the Screen resolutionoption. The Screen resolution appears
3. Click on the Make text and other items larger or smaller option.
4. Choose the Medium (or Larger) option.
5. Click Apply. Restart your computer if prompted.

This message will appear if you specify a PhotoStitch larger than 26,000mm square. Click OK to continue creating the PhotoStitch. To reduce the stitch creation time, remove the picture background, particularly any very detailed areas. Stitch creation time is shorter for Linear PhotoStitch.

This message appears if the Thread Range of the selected color is not found in your thread database. This could happen if the design you are attempting to edit was supplied by someone with a later version of the thread database.

Use the Import Threads from Embroidery feature in Premier+™ Thread Cache. You can alter it to any other color if desired. If you click Cancel, the color will not be changed.

To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure.

To drag and drop embroideries onto the Work Area, open Windows® Explorer. Then follow the instructions under Drag and Drop.

Certain formats are limited to the size of hoop used on their specific embroidery machine, for example .sew. If you attempt to save a file in this format that is bigger than the largest available hoop size this message would appear.

If your original embroidery had a stop command in it then this would be replaced by a color change, thus adding a color for every stop you have in your embroidery. As the Tajima file format does not have a stop command in its format, it requires the machine operator to manually enter stops into the machine. If you save or distribute files in Tajima format, then you must also specify all colors and stops and where they occur in the embroidery.

Janome software cannot load embroideries with more than 12 colors. If a file to be exported in .sew format has more than 12 color changes, it will automatically be split into multiple files, with the last character of the filename "1", "2", and so on.

This message appears if the desired embroidery is not where the module expects it to be, for example if an embroidery was loaded from a USB memory stick, then closed and the memory stick removed. The message would appear if you tried to load the embroidery from the Recent Files list on the File menu.

This message appears if the file you are attempting to load is corrupt. For example, it might have the extension .vp4, yet not be a proper Husqvarna Viking / Pfaff embroidery.

The embroidery is corrupt and cannot be loaded. Refer to source of this file for a solution.

The embroidery is corrupt and cannot be loaded. Refer to source of this file for a solution.

This message appears if you attempt to load a file with an extension that does not belong to any embroidery file types. For example, it would appear if you tried to drag and drop a .doc file onto the screen.

This message appears if you type an incorrect extension that does not belong to any embroidery file types in the File Name box when trying to save a file.

This message will appear if system resources are low. Close other programs and try again. If this does not work, try restarting your computer.

This message appears if there is a problem with your thread database. You will be unable to choose a thread color. First close all the modules of the Premier+™ Embroidery System, close down your computer and restart. If this does not clear the problem, restore a backup with Restore MySettings, if you have created one using Backup MySettings in Premier+™ Configure. Otherwise, you either need a new version of the thread database, or a repair install of your Premier+™ Embroidery System software. To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure.

If the error still appears, then repair the installation. First, delete the following files from ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\System:

• User.sqlite
• System_cdb2.sqlite

This assumes you have installed your Premier+™ Embroidery System software in the default location. If these file are not present then this is the reason for the error. The file names may be shown without their file extensions.

Put your Premier+™ Embroidery System software DVD in your computer and re-run the Applications installation. (If you downloaded your software, double-click on the Premier+™ Applications file.) When the choice appears, select the "Modify or remove" option and click Next. In the next screen, select Repair and click Next. Continue with the installation and follow the on-screen instructions. When the installation is complete, the thread database will be restored to its original installation state. This means that the MyThreads database will have the default set of threads.

This will also reset MyThreadRanges and custom Quick Color Themes to their installation states. Check Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure after repairing the installation.

This message appears if you attempt to click OK in the Color Selection dialog box when MyThreads is selected as the thread range and MyThreads is empty.

To prevent this message appearing again, use Premier+™ Thread Cache to add at least one thread to MyThreads.

Use 5D Configure to change the grid color. Follow the instructions in 5D Configure and select Blue Gray (RGB values 102, 102, 153) from the standard color drop-down on the Grid Color button.

Use Preferences to change the grid spacing.

Use Premier+™ Configure to change the background color. Follow the instructions in Premier+™ Configure and select the RGB values 211, 233, 255 in the Colors dialog box.

Use 5D Configure to alter the background color for the work area. 5D Configure may also be used to change the texture for modules that use texture.

Use 5D Configure to alter the background color for the work area and Real Size. 5D Configure may also be used to turn the texture on or off.

Use Reset All Modules in Premier+ Configure to return all toolbars in the module to their default settings.

To use Reset All Modules

1. Ensure your designs are saved in any Premier+ Embroidery System modules that are open.
2. Click Premier+ Configure on the QuickLink toolbar.
3. Click Reset All Modules.
4. A message will appear, indicating that all modules will be closed and reset. Click OK.
5. A message will appear, asking you to ensure that all other Premier+ Embroidery System modules have closed, apart from Premier+ Configure. Click OK.
6. A message will appear, indicating that all modules have now been reset. Click OK. The toolbars in your module will have been restored.

If preferred, you can check individual toolbars in View, Customize. Use this to see if the missing toolbar has been turned off, and also to reset the toolbar if icons have been added to or removed from the toolbar. If this does not restore the toolbar, use Reset All Modules.

This message appears if the Thread Range of the selected color is not found in your thread database. This could happen if the design you are attempting to edit was supplied bysomeone with a later version of the thread database. If you click OK, the color will be replaced with the nearest match in the Import Thread Range you have set in Premier+™ Configure. You can alter it to any other color if desired. If you click Cancel, the color will not be changed. To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure.

Click the 5D Configure icon to start 5D Configure. This will allow you to adjust the Send 1 and Send 2 options for your embroidery machine.

5D Embroidery is the central module of the 5D Embroidery System. When 5D Embroidery closes, all other open modules are closed at the same time.

If you have created a new file or made changes in another module, you will be prompted to save the file before the module closes.

All modules that you have installed are available on the QuickLink toolbar and QuickLink menu. The QuickLink toolbar is shown in every module that uses toolbars. It is shown here for a fully installed 5D Embroidery System:

In some cases, part of the toolbar may not be fully visible. In this case, the remainder of the toolbar can be seen by clicking the >> symbol at the right end of the toolbar. This will drop down a menu of any options that were not visible.

Also notice that the machine accessories are shown only on the Accessories sub-menu (Green cross) on the toolbar, or on the Accessories sub-menu of the QuickLink menu.

Click on the Clipboard Block area of your 5D module; and the contents of the Clipboard will be cleared.

Certain formats are limited to the number of stitches they can save or the size of hoop used on their specific embroidery machine, for example .sew. If you attempt to save a file in this format that is bigger than the largest available hoop size or has more stitches than are allowed, this message would appear.

Use Reset All Modules in 5D Configure to return all toolbars in the module to their default settings (see GA018).

Alternatively, to change the icon size in this module only, select View, Customize, then go to the Options tab and select the Large Icons option.

This may happen if you are trying to view wmf (Windows Meta File) pictures as thumbnails in Windows® Vista. Windows® Vista does not provide thumbnail views of wmf pictures.

This message appears if you try to select a motif from MyMotifs, and all the motifs have been deleted from MyMotifs. Use Premier+™ Create to add at least one motif to MyMotifs.

The Find Thread feature in Color Selection allows you to enter partial thread numbers. The first thread in the list matching the number is found, with priority given to an exact match. If you are attempting to find a thread with only part of the number, the first thread matched may not be the desired thread. To ensure you select the correct thread, enter the thread number as it appears in the list. Some thread ranges have prefix characters on the thread number. These must also be entered to obtain an exact match.

To search within the FAQs for information on an error message, copy the text, or number, of the error message into the search field, checking that you have used the correct spelling.

Note the following:

• Sometimes a short query works better (use the one or two most distinctive words).
• Try using the error text and the number in separate searches.

Some information is provided with the software:

• A printed User's Guide is included with most products. It contains QuickStart exercises to introduce you to the software.
• The Help file also includes the QuickStart exercises.
• A larger Reference Guide, containing 'How to use' exercises is present on the product CD or DVD in PDF format.

Further learning materials can be found in the 5D Learning Center. On your computer go to Start, All Programs, 5D Embroidery System, then choose Learning Center.

• Tutorials are interactive training exercises that give you a step-by-step demonstration of the QuickStart Exercises for many of the 5D Embroidery System modules.
• Video Demonstrations show how to use the software, and the samples produced.
• Inspiration Guides show how to use selected software features (you can download related sample files).

The best way to search for information in the FAQs is to use a short query, checking that you have used the correct spelling.

Note the following:

• A query using one or two distinctive words often works best.
• Two separate searches may work better than one for a complex issue.

For example, instead of "How do I send a design to my embroidery machine?" use "send design".

The update can be manually downloaded via the User Web Portal:

Go to the 5D Embroidery System website
1. Click on the Mailing List link. A new browser window will open.
2. Ensure that the "I have registered before" option is selected.
3. Enter your existing registration details.
4. Click Next. Your Name/E-mail Address details will be shown.
5. Click Next. Your Registration Summary will be shown.
6. Click on the Software Updates link on the left hand side of the web page.
7. Download the Smart Update that you need.

You will need to double click on the file that you downloaded to start the installation process.

It should be noted, that the above process will show you all Update files - not just the ones that you need. If you are unsure of which files that you need to download/install, it is recommended that you use Smart Update via 5D Configure.

This message appears if, for instance, you have loaded an embroidery from a CD-ROM and then attempt to save the embroidery back to the CD. A CD-ROM is read only, therefore you will not be able to save the embroidery.

This message appears on attempting to save when there is no embroidery on the current window.

This message will appear if system resources are low. Close other programs and try again. If this does not work, try restarting your computer.

Confirm Premier+™ Embroidery System Documentation is Installed

This could be because you have not yet installed the Premier+™ Embroidery System Documentation. You can confirm if you have installed this by going to Premier+™ Configure and clicking on the Check Installation button and clicking Check to see which items you have installed.

Check you have the latest version of the Premier+™ System Documentation installed

Previous Premier+™ Documentation installations included Help for some modules. In the Premier+™ Documentation 11.1, we have included Help and Reference Guides for all modules except Premier+™ Font Create.

Use Smart Update to check you have the latest version:

1. Open Premier+™ Configure.
2. Click on the Smart Update button.
3. Enter your E-mail Address/Password details.
4. Click Next.
5. Click Next again to start the Download process.
6. Follow the on-screen instructions.

It may be that you installed another software which is now associated with your stitch files.

To reset the association back to the Premier+™ Embroidery System do the following steps:

1. Close down all programs.
2. Open Premier+™ Configure.
3. Click the Reset File Association button. A Reset File Association box will appear.
4. Click on the Premier+™ Embroidery button in the Reset File Association box.
5. The Set Program Association page will appear.
6. Click on the Select All checkbox. All stitch formats will be selected in the list.
7. Click Save.

All the selected stitch formats will have been set back to open in Premier+™ Embroidery.

This message will appear when trying to start a module if the Premier+™ Embroidery System cannot detect the dongle (data protection device). Ensure the dongle is plugged into a free USB port of your computer.

This message may appear if you attempt to load an embroidery created in third-party software. Such embroideries may cause unpredictable results.

This message usually means that the motif database has been deleted or corrupted. This may be corrected by repairing the installation.

First, delete the file named 'SystemMotifs.mdb' from ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\System.

This assumes you have installed your Premier+™ Embroidery System software in the default location. If the file is not present then this is the reason for the error. The file name may simply be shown as 'SystemMotifs'.

Put your Premier+™ Embroidery System software DVD in your computer and re-run the installation. When the choice appears, select the "Modify or remove" option and click Next. In the next screen, select Repair and click Next. Continue with the installation and follow the on-screen instructions. When the installation is complete, the motifs will be restored.

You are permitted to install your software onto a secondary computer – i.e. to install it onto your Desktop computer and your laptop computer.

You only have one dongle per software package; so you are limited to using the software on one computer at a time.

In Windows® 10, you will need to manually reset the file association:

1. Click on the Start menu in the bottom left corner of your screen.
2. Click on Settings. The Settings window will appear.
3. Click on the System button.
4. Click on the Default apps entry on the left hand pane.
5. Scroll to the bottom of the right hand pane.
6. Click on the Set defaults by app link. The Set Default Program window will appear.
7. Click on the Premier+™ Embroidery entry from the left hand pane.
8. Click on the Choose defaults for this program link on the right hand pane.
9. Place a checkmark in the Select All checkbox - this will place a checkmark in all checkboxes if they were not already checked.
10. Click Save. This will associate all the available stitch formats from step #9 with Premier+™ Embroidery.

Click the Windows 10 Reset File Association link to see a video of the above process.

Some USB ports do not have enough power to drive the dongle. By using a USB hub, which uses a power supply, this can be overcome.

This message will appear when trying to use Premier+™ Embroidery if the Premier+™ Embroidery System cannot detect the dongle (data protection device). For example, if the dongle has been removed or loosened while using Premier+™ Embroidery. Ensure the dongle is plugged into a free USB port of your computer.

The dongle and all our other USB devices work with USB 3.0 ports.

This can happen if you unplug your dongle or other USB device and then plug it back into a different USB port. When this happens, it is detected as a new hardware item and the driver is installed on the alternative USB port. Wait for the hardware wizard to finish installing the driver, then continue using the software as usual.

If your dongle is working correctly then it is not necessary to install this update. If you do not wish to see this update each time you use Windows® Update, select the Hide This Update option and it will not be listed next time you use Windows® Update.

This message will appear if the dongle driver is not accessible, has been removed or has not been installed correctly.

First, ensure you are logged onto your computer with full administrator rights and attempt to use the desired Premier+™ Embroidery System module. If the error message no longer appears, then the user name you originally tried to use is too restricted to use the Premier+™ Embroidery System.

Otherwise, use the dongle driver installation utility in the \Technical\Dongle Driver folder of your Premier+™ Embroidery System DVD (also available by download). Ensure you are logged onto your computer with full administrator rights before using the dongle driver installation utility.

This error is given when Anti-Virus / Firewall software is preventing the Sentinel HASP (dongle) software communicating with the dongle. This may cause the dongle to flash.

This is due to the connection being blocked, normally by Anti-Virus / Firewall software.

Another factor, may be that the Sentinel License Manager Service may have been stopped on your computer. Follow the steps below to start that service:

1. Open Windows Explorer/File Explorer.
2. Right click on Computer/This PC.
3. Click on the Manage option. The Computer Management window will appear.
4. Click on Services on the left hand window.
5. Right click on Sentinel HASP License Manager on the right hand window.
6. Click on the Start option.
7. When the service has started; try to open the Premier+™ Software.

When you have installed and registered certain Premier+™ Embroidery System modules, you must activate the dongle. If you attempt to run a module before activating, this message will appear.

This message will appear if your dongle is not activated to use the 5D module(s) that you are trying to open.

If you would like to activate your dongle to use a new 5D module(s), then you could contact your local dealer or go to the 5D Purchase Center to purchase an Activation Code.

If you have already purchased an Activation Code to use the module(s) that is giving this error message; then you will need to go to 5D Configure and then click on the Activate Dongle button. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the activation process.

It could be that your dongle drivers are not installed correctly.

When you install a new version of the dongle drivers, the installation will remove the old dongle drivers from your computer before it installs the latest version.

In case the old drivers were not fully removed correctly, then it is advisable to download and install the latest command-line dongle drivers - which remove all traces of the dongle drivers from your computer, before installing the latest dongle drivers:

1. Disconnect the dongle[s] from the computer.
2. Download the following file - Command-Line Purge Dongle Drivers
3. Double click on the HASPCommandLineDrivers-Purge.exe file – a black screen will appear.
4. You may receive a Microsoft warning message. Click the Run Anyway button.
5. Click Yes to any User Account Control prompts that may appear.
6. Click OK to both Sentinel Run-time Environment Installer messages reading Operation successfully completed.
7. When the process is finished, the black screen will disappear.
8. Insert your dongle into your computer – the Installing device driver software message may appear.

Please go here to find the latest Wacom Volita 2 Drivers.

Select the relevant details from the drop-down lists, then click Submit.

Choose the driver with the highest version number - which will usually be the top entry on the page.

You do not need to uninstall the 6D Software when you come to installing the Premier+™ Embroidery System; both systems will co-exist on the same computer without issues.

The only exception being, that the 6D Explorer Plug-in will need to be uninstalled to allow the Premier+™ Explorer Plug-in to be installed

The best way to find out which features are in the latest Smart Update (or previous upgrades) is to:

1. Double click on the Premier+™ Embroidery System shortcut on your Desktop. A new Windows® Explorer window will appear
2. Double click on Readme shortcut.
3. Open the latest file.
4. The latest features will be listed at the top of the document.

Firstly, the Premier+™ Embroidery System is intended to be run on a Windows® computer.

Although, many customers have been able to get it to work fully using 3rd Party environments like Parallels and Boot Camp; we cannot support the software when it is run in a non-standard setup or using 3rd Party tools.

This error can happen when an issue has been found in the integrity of the downloaded file during the Smart Update process.

1. Close down all open programs.
2. Restart your computer.
3. Start the Smart Update process again.

Error 1722 appears when an installation of the Explorer Plugin may have become corrupted. Use the Premier+ Explorer Plugin Fix utility to correct this problem.

1. Download the Premier+ Explorer Plugin 1722 Fix utility here.
2. Double click on the downloaded PremierPlusExplorerPluginFix.exe file
3. Follow the on-screen instructions
4. Now try to install the Premier+ Explorer Plugin installation file again.

You have entered an invalid credit card number. Correct the number and try again.

You have not selected (checked) the box accepting the Terms and Conditions. Check this box and try again.

Now you will be able to continue in the Embroidery Purchase Center.

The expiration date that you selected from the drop-down list is in the past. Either you selected the wrong date, or your credit card is out of date.

This will appear in the Payment Details page if at least one of the required fields is empty. This could happen if your billing address and delivery address were not the same, and you had clicked Next before adding the changed details.

Something is wrong with your dongle, so the Product Activation Code could not be added to it. Contact embroidery software support for a diagnosis of the problem.

If you own the 4D™ Embroidery System, you can upgrade to the 5D™ Embroidery System in the following ways:

For customers who already own a 4D™ Embroidery System dongle:

1. Go to your local dealer.
2. Purchase the 4D™ to 5D™ Upgrade Kit
3. Insert the DVD into your computer.
4. Start the installation process.
5. Complete the installation process.
6. Insert your 4D dongle into your computer if it is not already inserted.
7. Open your internet browser.
8. Go to www.5DPurchaseCenter.com - 5D Purchase Center
9. Click on the "Software" or "More Software" links
10. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the purchase procedure.
11. Your 5D Activation Code will be emailed to you at the end of the purchase process.
12. Go to your Inbox.
13. Open the email from 5D Embroidery System Support
14. Open the PDF file that is attached to that email.
15. Open 5D Configure.
16. Click on the Register button
17. Follow the on-screen instructions - refer the the PDF file when you are prompted to enter your Product Activation Code.

For customers who do NOT own a 4D Embroidery System dongle:

1. Visit your local dealer.
2. Ask your dealer to give you a demonstration of the features of the 5D Embroidery System.
3. Decide which 5D Embroidery System boxed product, best suits your needs.

There are a few ways that you can get to the Learning Center:

via 5D Embroidery:

1. Open 5D Embroidey.
2. Click on the Learning Center button.

via the Start menu:

1. Click on the Start menu.
2. Click All Programs.
3. Click 5D Embroidery System.
4. Click on the Learning Center option.

and via your internet browser:

1. Open your internet browser.
2. Go to www.5DLearningCenter.com - 5D Learning Center

To change the password that you use to log into your account, you will need to do the following:

1. Insert your 5D dongle - if you have one
2. Open 5D Configure.
3. Click on the Register button.
4. Log into your record.
5. Click Next until you are on the last page of the Registration wizard - the Registration Summary page.
6. Click on the Account Password link - on the left-hand side of the window.
7. Follow the on-screen instructions to change your password.
8. Click Next.
9. Click Finish.

To backup your Premier+™ settings:

Backing Up MySettings:

1. Open Premier+™ Configure.
2. Click on the Backup MySettings button. A 'Save As' dialog box will appear.
3. If needed, give the file a descriptive name. Click Save. By default the file will be saved within your \Documents\Premier+\SystemBackup folder
4. Open Windows Explorer.
5. Browse to your Documents folder.
6. Double click on the Premier+™ Embroidery folder.
7. Copy all folders and files - except the Samples folder - to your *external media.
8. Browse to the folder which contains your MyFonts folder - see below - and also copy the MyFonts folder to your external media.

Windows® 7 / Windows® 8 users: C:\ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\Fonts\

* external media: this can be a USB Stick, External USB Hard Disk, burned/copied onto a CD/DVD...etc.

** The main thing, is that not to store backups on the same physical hard disk that your Premier+™ Embroidery System is installed on - if that hard disk malfunctioned, then you would lose your Premier+™ software and all of your backups as well.

You have not selected the option to start Embroidery Machine Communication automatically when Windows starts. Resolve this as follows:

1. Start Premier+™ Configure.
2. Click the Start Machine Communication button and the icon will appear in the system tray.
3. Position the pointer over the icon in the system tray and right-click. A menu will appear.
4. Click the Start Automatically option.
5. Right-click the icon again to confirm the Start Automatically option is checked.
6. Click anywhere on the desktop, away from the menu, to close the menu without changing anything.

You may connect one of each type of embroidery machine to the same computer. For example, you may connect one Husqvarna Viking Designer SE, Diamond, Ruby and one Pfaff creative vision, 4.0 at the same time.

However, if you connect two or more of the same type of machine, the Embroidery Machine Communication module will not communicate correctly with those machines.

This message appears if you attempt to click OK in the Color Selection dialog box when My Threads is selected as the thread range and My Threads is empty.

To prevent this message appearing again, use Premier+™ Thread Cache to add at least one thread to My Threads.

There is a limit on the number of stitches that may be saved to an embroidery file in Pfaff (.pcs) file format. This message appears if the embroidery you attempt to save to this format exceeds this limit.

Use Premier+™ Configure to change the grid color. Follow the instructions in Premier+™ Configure and select Blue Gray (RGB values 100, 102, 153) from the standard color drop-down on the Grid Color button.

Use Screen Preferences to change the grid spacing. Set the Grid Size to 10.

There is an option in Windows Explorer to turn off thumbnails, you may have this option turned on.

1. Open Windows Explorer.
2. Click on the Options box to open the Folder Options dialog.
3. Click on the View tab.
4. Uncheck the checkmark against the "Always show icons, never thumbnails" option.
5. Click OK.

It could be that you have had a previous software on your computer which had shown thumbnails of stitch files. The cache of thumbnails needs to be cleared from Windows Explorer, so that it can start using the thumbnails shown by the Windows Explorer Plug-in.

An example of the issue can be seen below, with the incorrect thumbnail image from a third party icon software on the left; and the correct preview on the right:

Another example of strange thumbnail image display, is if one of the thumbnails shows with a black background. It will also be a smaller version of the design in the center of the thumbnail.

Clear the Thumbnail Cache to fix both types of thumbnail display issues:

Windows 10/ Windows 8

1. Open Windows Explorer – right click the Windows Explorer icon on the Task bar and select File Explorer.
2. Windows Explorer will open to the Quick Access/Libraries folder of your computer. In the left hand pane of the window, click on the This PC/Computer heading.
3. Right click on the Local Disk (C:) entry, then click Properties. The Local Disk (C:) Properties dialog box will appear.
4. On the General tab, click the Disk Cleanup button. It may take a few moments while the utility analyses the drive.
5. Uncheck everything in the list, and then place a checkmark against the Thumbnails entry at the bottom.
6. Click OK and a confirmation message will appear. Click the Delete Files button.
7. Repeat steps #3 to #6 for any other Local Disk entries that you may have in Windows Explorer.

Windows 7

1. Click on the Start menu.
2. Click on the Computer option. Windows Explorer will open.
3. Right click on the Local Disk (C:) entry, then click Properties. The Local Disk (C:) Properties dialog box will appear.
4. On the General tab, click the Disk Cleanup button. It may take a few moments while the utility analyses the drive.
5. Uncheck everything in the list, and then place a checkmark against the Thumbnails entry at the bottom.
6. Click OK

This could be because you have the Windows Search option turned off.

To turn it on:

Windows 8

1. Go to your Start screen.
2. Type windows features
3. Click on the Turn Windows Features On or Off option.
4. Scroll down to the Windows Search option.
5. Place a checkmark in the checkbox if it is empty.
6. Click OK.

Windows 7

1. Click on the Start menu
2. Type windows features
3. Click on the Turn Windows Features On or Off option.
4. Scroll down to the Windows Search option.
5. Place a checkmark in the checkbox if it is empty.
6. Click OK.

It could be that the Windows Indexing has been turned off; turn it back on and try again.

Windows 8

1. Go to your Start screen.
2. Type services
3. Click on the Services option that appears to open the Services box.
4. Scroll down to the Windows Search checkbox.
5. Right click on it.
6. Select Properties
7. On the General tab, ensure that you have the Automatic (Delay Start) selected.
8. Click OK.
9. Restart your computer.
10. Now try searching for a designs properties again.

Windows 7

1. Click on the Start menu.
2. Type services
3. Click on the Services option that appears to open the Services box.
4. Scroll down to the Windows Search checkbox.
5. Right click on it.
6. Select Properties
7. On the General tab, ensure that you have the Automatic (Delay Start) selected.
8. Click OK.
9. Restart your computer.
10. Now try searching for a designs properties again.

If you have your thumbnail view in Windows® Explorer set to Small icons, List or Details then you will not see the preview - you will only see the Premier+™ logo.

Change the View to one of the other available options to see the thumbnail images of your stitch files

Changing the View:

1. Open Windows® Explorer.
2. Browse to a folder that contains stitch files.
3. Right click on an empty area of main part of the Windows® Explorer screen.
4. Move your mouse over the View option.
5. Click on Medium icons - or whichever other option you prefer to view your thumbnail images in.

This message appears if the Thread Range of the selected color is not found in your thread database. This could happen if the design you are attempting to edit was supplied by someone with a later version of the thread database.

Use the Import Threads from Embroidery feature in Premier+™ Thread Cache. You can alter it to any other color if desired. If you click Cancel, the color will not be changed.

To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure.

Certain formats are limited to the size of hoop used on their specific embroidery machine, for example .sew. If you attempt to save a file in this format that is bigger than the largest available hoop size this message would appear.

If your original embroidery had a stop command in it then this would be replaced by a color change, thus adding a color for every stop you have in your embroidery. As the Tajima file format does not have a stop command in its format, it requires the machine operator to manually enter stops into the machine. If you save or distribute files in Tajima format, then you must also specify all colors and stops and where they occur in the embroidery.

Janome software cannot load embroideries with more than 12 colors. If a file to be exported in .sew format has more than 12 color changes, it will automatically be split into multiple files, with the last character of the filename "1", "2", and so on.

This message appears if there is a problem with your thread database. You will be unable to choose a thread color. First close all the modules of the Premier+™ Embroidery System, close down your computer and restart. If this does not clear the problem, restore a backup with Restore MySettings, if you have created one using Backup MySettings in Premier+™ Configure. Otherwise, you either need a new version of the thread database, or a repair install of your Premier+™ Embroidery System software. To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure.

If the error still appears, then repair the installation. First, delete the following files from ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\System:

• User.sqlite
• System_cdb2.sqlite

This assumes you have installed your Premier+™ Embroidery System software in the default location. If these file are not present then this is the reason for the error. The file names may be shown without their file extensions.

Put your Premier+™ Embroidery System software DVD in your computer and re-run the Applications installation. (If you downloaded your software, double-click on the Premier+™ Applications file.) When the choice appears, select the "Modify or remove" option and click Next. In the next screen, select Repair and click Next. Continue with the installation and follow the on-screen instructions. When the installation is complete, the thread database will be restored to its original installation state. This means that the MyThreads database will have the default set of threads.

This will also reset MyThreadRanges and custom Quick Color Themes to their installation states. Check Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure after repairing the installation.

This message appears if you attempt to click OK in the Color Selection dialog box when MyThreads is selected as the thread range and MyThreads is empty.

To prevent this message appearing again, use Premier+™ Thread Cache to add at least one thread to MyThreads.

Use Premier+™ Configure to change the background color. Follow the instructions in Premier+™ Configure and select the RGB values 211, 233, 255 in the Colors dialog box.

This message appears if the Thread Range of the selected color is not found in your thread database. This could happen if the design you are attempting to edit was supplied bysomeone with a later version of the thread database. If you click OK, the color will be replaced with the nearest match in the Import Thread Range you have set in Premier+™ Configure. You can alter it to any other color if desired. If you click Cancel, the color will not be changed. To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure.

Certain formats are limited to the number of stitches they can save or the size of hoop used on their specific embroidery machine, for example .sew. If you attempt to save a file in this format that is bigger than the largest available hoop size or has more stitches than are allowed, this message would appear.

The Find Thread feature in Color Selection allows you to enter partial thread numbers. The first thread in the list matching the number is found, with priority given to an exact match. If you are attempting to find a thread with only part of the number, the first thread matched may not be the desired thread. To ensure you select the correct thread, enter the thread number as it appears in the list. Some thread ranges have prefix characters on the thread number. These must also be entered to obtain an exact match.

This message appears if, for instance, you have loaded an embroidery from a CD-ROM and then attempt to save the embroidery back to the CD. A CD-ROM is read only, therefore you will not be able to save the embroidery.

This message appears on attempting to save when there is no embroidery on the current window.

This message will appear if system resources are low. Close other programs and try again. If this does not work, try restarting your computer.

Confirm Premier+™ Embroidery System Documentation is Installed

This could be because you have not yet installed the Premier+™ Embroidery System Documentation. You can confirm if you have installed this by going to Premier+™ Configure and clicking on the Check Installation button and clicking Check to see which items you have installed.

Check you have the latest version of the Premier+™ System Documentation installed

Previous Premier+™ Documentation installations included Help for some modules. In the Premier+™ Documentation 11.1, we have included Help and Reference Guides for all modules except Premier+™ Font Create.

Use Smart Update to check you have the latest version:

1. Open Premier+™ Configure.
2. Click on the Smart Update button.
3. Enter your E-mail Address/Password details.
4. Click Next.
5. Click Next again to start the Download process.
6. Follow the on-screen instructions.

It may be that you installed another software which is now associated with your stitch files.

To reset the association back to the Premier+™ Embroidery System do the following steps:

1. Close down all programs.
2. Open Premier+™ Configure.
3. Click the Reset File Association button. A Reset File Association box will appear.
4. Click on the Premier+™ Embroidery button in the Reset File Association box.
5. The Set Program Association page will appear.
6. Click on the Select All checkbox. All stitch formats will be selected in the list.
7. Click Save.

All the selected stitch formats will have been set back to open in Premier+™ Embroidery.

This message will appear when trying to start a module if the Premier+™ Embroidery System cannot detect the dongle (data protection device). Ensure the dongle is plugged into a free USB port of your computer.

This message may appear if you attempt to load an embroidery created in third-party software. Such embroideries may cause unpredictable results.

This message usually means that the motif database has been deleted or corrupted. This may be corrected by repairing the installation.

First, delete the file named 'SystemMotifs.mdb' from ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\System.

This assumes you have installed your Premier+™ Embroidery System software in the default location. If the file is not present then this is the reason for the error. The file name may simply be shown as 'SystemMotifs'.

Put your Premier+™ Embroidery System software DVD in your computer and re-run the installation. When the choice appears, select the "Modify or remove" option and click Next. In the next screen, select Repair and click Next. Continue with the installation and follow the on-screen instructions. When the installation is complete, the motifs will be restored.

You are permitted to install your software onto a secondary computer – i.e. to install it onto your Desktop computer and your laptop computer.

You only have one dongle per software package; so you are limited to using the software on one computer at a time.

In Windows® 10, you will need to manually reset the file association:

1. Click on the Start menu in the bottom left corner of your screen.
2. Click on Settings. The Settings window will appear.
3. Click on the System button.
4. Click on the Default apps entry on the left hand pane.
5. Scroll to the bottom of the right hand pane.
6. Click on the Set defaults by app link. The Set Default Program window will appear.
7. Click on the Premier+™ Embroidery entry from the left hand pane.
8. Click on the Choose defaults for this program link on the right hand pane.
9. Place a checkmark in the Select All checkbox - this will place a checkmark in all checkboxes if they were not already checked.
10. Click Save. This will associate all the available stitch formats from step #9 with Premier+™ Embroidery.

Click the Windows 10 Reset File Association link to see a video of the above process.

This message will appear when trying to use Premier+™ Embroidery if the Premier+™ Embroidery System cannot detect the dongle (data protection device). For example, if the dongle has been removed or loosened while using Premier+™ Embroidery. Ensure the dongle is plugged into a free USB port of your computer.

The dongle and all our other USB devices work with USB 3.0 ports.

This can happen if you unplug your dongle or other USB device and then plug it back into a different USB port. When this happens, it is detected as a new hardware item and the driver is installed on the alternative USB port. Wait for the hardware wizard to finish installing the driver, then continue using the software as usual.

If your dongle is working correctly then it is not necessary to install this update. If you do not wish to see this update each time you use Windows® Update, select the Hide This Update option and it will not be listed next time you use Windows® Update.

This message will appear if the dongle driver is not accessible, has been removed or has not been installed correctly.

First, ensure you are logged onto your computer with full administrator rights and attempt to use the desired Premier+™ Embroidery System module. If the error message no longer appears, then the user name you originally tried to use is too restricted to use the Premier+™ Embroidery System.

Otherwise, use the dongle driver installation utility in the \Technical\Dongle Driver folder of your Premier+™ Embroidery System DVD (also available by download). Ensure you are logged onto your computer with full administrator rights before using the dongle driver installation utility.

This error is given when Anti-Virus / Firewall software is preventing the Sentinel HASP (dongle) software communicating with the dongle. This may cause the dongle to flash.

This is due to the connection being blocked, normally by Anti-Virus / Firewall software.

Another factor, may be that the Sentinel License Manager Service may have been stopped on your computer. Follow the steps below to start that service:

1. Open Windows Explorer/File Explorer.
2. Right click on Computer/This PC.
3. Click on the Manage option. The Computer Management window will appear.
4. Click on Services on the left hand window.
5. Right click on Sentinel HASP License Manager on the right hand window.
6. Click on the Start option.
7. When the service has started; try to open the Premier+™ Software.

When you have installed and registered certain Premier+™ Embroidery System modules, you must activate the dongle. If you attempt to run a module before activating, this message will appear.

It could be that your dongle drivers are not installed correctly.

When you install a new version of the dongle drivers, the installation will remove the old dongle drivers from your computer before it installs the latest version.

In case the old drivers were not fully removed correctly, then it is advisable to download and install the latest command-line dongle drivers - which remove all traces of the dongle drivers from your computer, before installing the latest dongle drivers:

1. Disconnect the dongle[s] from the computer.
2. Download the following file - Command-Line Purge Dongle Drivers
3. Double click on the HASPCommandLineDrivers-Purge.exe file – a black screen will appear.
4. You may receive a Microsoft warning message. Click the Run Anyway button.
5. Click Yes to any User Account Control prompts that may appear.
6. Click OK to both Sentinel Run-time Environment Installer messages reading Operation successfully completed.
7. When the process is finished, the black screen will disappear.
8. Insert your dongle into your computer – the Installing device driver software message may appear.

You do not need to uninstall the 6D Software when you come to installing the Premier+™ Embroidery System; both systems will co-exist on the same computer without issues.

The only exception being, that the 6D Explorer Plug-in will need to be uninstalled to allow the Premier+™ Explorer Plug-in to be installed

The best way to find out which features are in the latest Smart Update (or previous upgrades) is to:

1. Double click on the Premier+™ Embroidery System shortcut on your Desktop. A new Windows® Explorer window will appear
2. Double click on Readme shortcut.
3. Open the latest file.
4. The latest features will be listed at the top of the document.

Firstly, the Premier+™ Embroidery System is intended to be run on a Windows® computer.

Although, many customers have been able to get it to work fully using 3rd Party environments like Parallels and Boot Camp; we cannot support the software when it is run in a non-standard setup or using 3rd Party tools.

This error can happen when an issue has been found in the integrity of the downloaded file during the Smart Update process.

1. Close down all open programs.
2. Restart your computer.
3. Start the Smart Update process again.

Error 1722 appears when an installation of the Explorer Plugin may have become corrupted. Use the Premier+ Explorer Plugin Fix utility to correct this problem.

1. Download the Premier+ Explorer Plugin 1722 Fix utility here.
2. Double click on the downloaded PremierPlusExplorerPluginFix.exe file
3. Follow the on-screen instructions
4. Now try to install the Premier+ Explorer Plugin installation file again.

Using Convert in the Explorer Plug-in may show the error 'Embroidery is too large for the selected hoop'. This will occur if the design is either too wide or too high for the selected hoop and only applies when saving for file types that have a hoop restriction:

• Brother / Babylock / Bernina (.pes)
• Janome (.jef)
• Janome (.sew)
• Pfaff (.pcs)

See the Export dialog to see the hoop size.

The message may also appear if:

1. The design has to be rotated 90 degrees to fit into the hoop.
2. The design has not been saved centered.

In both cases you would have to open the design into Premier+™ Embroidery and either rotate or center it as required and then export as your preferred format.

To backup your Premier+™ settings:

Backing Up MySettings:

1. Open Premier+™ Configure.
2. Click on the Backup MySettings button. A 'Save As' dialog box will appear.
3. If needed, give the file a descriptive name. Click Save. By default the file will be saved within your \Documents\Premier+\SystemBackup folder
4. Open Windows Explorer.
5. Browse to your Documents folder.
6. Double click on the Premier+™ Embroidery folder.
7. Copy all folders and files - except the Samples folder - to your *external media.
8. Browse to the folder which contains your MyFonts folder - see below - and also copy the MyFonts folder to your external media.

Windows® 7 / Windows® 8 users: C:\ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\Fonts\

* external media: this can be a USB Stick, External USB Hard Disk, burned/copied onto a CD/DVD...etc.

** The main thing, is that not to store backups on the same physical hard disk that your Premier+™ Embroidery System is installed on - if that hard disk malfunctioned, then you would lose your Premier+™ software and all of your backups as well.

The correct DPI (dots per inch) setting will depend on the size of the picture to be scanned. The desired picture size is approximately 1000 X 1000 pixels. To achieve this take the size of your artwork in inches, such as 8" x 7", and divide the longest side into 1000. In the example, 1000 divided by 8 = 125. The DPI setting of the scanner should then be 125 DPI, and this will produce a picture that is about 1000 x 875 pixels.

Although the program automatically doubles the size of a picture if its height and width are less than 500 pixels, this may still produce jagged lines. For a smoother effect, rescan the picture.

You have not selected the option to start Embroidery Machine Communication automatically when Windows starts. Resolve this as follows:

1. Start Premier+™ Configure.
2. Click the Start Machine Communication button and the icon will appear in the system tray.
3. Position the pointer over the icon in the system tray and right-click. A menu will appear.
4. Click the Start Automatically option.
5. Right-click the icon again to confirm the Start Automatically option is checked.
6. Click anywhere on the desktop, away from the menu, to close the menu without changing anything.

You may connect one of each type of embroidery machine to the same computer. For example, you may connect one Husqvarna Viking Designer SE, Diamond, Ruby and one Pfaff creative vision, 4.0 at the same time.

However, if you connect two or more of the same type of machine, the Embroidery Machine Communication module will not communicate correctly with those machines.

This message appears if you attempt to click OK in the Color Selection dialog box when My Threads is selected as the thread range and My Threads is empty.

To prevent this message appearing again, use Premier+™ Thread Cache to add at least one thread to My Threads.

There is a limit on the number of stitches that may be saved to an embroidery file in Pfaff (.pcs) file format. This message appears if the embroidery you attempt to save to this format exceeds this limit.

Use Premier+™ Configure to change the grid color. Follow the instructions in Premier+™ Configure and select Blue Gray (RGB values 100, 102, 153) from the standard color drop-down on the Grid Color button.

Use Screen Preferences to change the grid spacing. Set the Grid Size to 10.

This message appears if the font or SuperDesign set that you have selected is not available. The most likely reason is that it is already open in the optional Premier+™ Font Create module. Close Premier+™ Font Create, then try again. This could also happen if you opened the Premier+™ Embroidery program, then accidentally moved or deleted the font from the relevant category folder in ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\Fonts, or the SuperDesign file from ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\SuperDesigns. Close Premier+™ Embroidery, make sure the file is in the folder, then try again.

This message appears when attempting to open Premier+™ Family Tree if your computer is set to a display of 256 colors or less. Reset the display as follows:

1. Right-click on the desktop and a shortcut menu appears.
2. In Windows® 7, click Screen resolution, then click Advanced settings - Properties box will appear. From there click the Monitor tab.
3. Change the Color quality to High Color (16 bit) or higher using the drop-down menu.
4. Click OK, and allow your computer to restart if required.

This message appears if you attempt to load a file with an extension that does not belong to any embroidery file types.

The family tree (.ged) file cannot be read. Where possible, export the file again from the original program, using the ASCII character set.

Note: This error message may be reported when importing GEDCOM files from other family history programs.

The family tree (.ged) file cannot be read. Export the file again from the original program. You may need to adjust your export settings.

This message will appear when trying to start a module if Premier+™ Family Tree cannot detect the dongle (data protection device). For example, if the dongle has been

removed or loosened while using Premier+™ Family Tree. Ensure the dongle is plugged into a free USB port of your computer.

This message will appear when trying to use your scanner or digital camera if the device has not been installed correctly. Close Premier+™ Family Tree, follow the manufacturer's instructions for the Twain-compliant device, then reopen Premier+™ Family Tree and try again.

This message will appear when trying to use your scanner or digital camera if another graphics program is already open that uses the Twain-compliant device. Close Premier+™ Family Tree and the other graphics program, then reopen Premier+™ Family Tree and try again.

This message will appear if the connection to your scanner or digital camera has a problem. Close Premier+™ Family Tree, check the connections to your scanner or digital camera, then reopen Premier+™ Family Tree and try again.

This message will appear in certain circumstances when trying to use your scanner or digital camera, for example if the cable is disconnected during the scan or download. Close Premier+™ Family Tree, check the connections to your scanner or digital camera, then reopen Premier+™ Family Tree and try again.

This message could appear if the desired picture is not where the program expects it to be, for example if it was loaded into the program from a floppy disk, then closed and the floppy disk removed. It could also appear if the file you are attempting to load is corrupt. For example, it might have an extension such as .bmp or .jpg, yet not be a proper image file.

This message will appear if you specify a PhotoStitch larger than 26,000mm square. Click OK to continue creating the PhotoStitch. To reduce the stitch creation time, remove the picture background, particularly any very detailed areas. Stitch creation time is shorter for Linear PhotoStitch.

This message may appear in the Customize Chart page of the Chart Wizard where a family tree includes complicated features, for example, marriage between relatives. Reduce the number of generation levels in the chart, and try again.

Note: This will only happen with imported GEDCOM files, as this type of family structure cannot be created within Premier+™ Family Tree. Where relatives have married, recreate the individual.

This message may appear in the Customize Chart page of the Chart Wizard where a family tree chart would be larger than 4.5m (too big to split). Reduce the number of generation levels in the chart, and try again.

This message appears if the Thread Range and Color Number of the selected color are identical to those in your thread database, but some aspect of the color is different. It could be a different material or weight, or have additional colors as a variegated thread. This could happen if the design you are attempting to edit was supplied by someone with a different version of the color, for instance if they have edited it in MyThreads, or if they have a later version of the thread database. If you click OK, the color will be replaced with the near match. You can alter it to any other color if desired. If you click Cancel, the color will not be changed. To import the new color from an embroidery if it is a MyThreads color, use Premier+™ Thread Cache. To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure.

This message appears if the Thread Range of the selected color is not found in your thread database. This could happen if the design you are attempting to edit was supplied by someone with a later version of the thread database.

Use the Import Threads from Embroidery feature in Premier+™ Thread Cache. You can alter it to any other color if desired. If you click Cancel, the color will not be changed.

To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure.

This message appears if, for instance, you have loaded an embroidery from a CD-ROM and then attempt to save the embroidery back to the CD. A CD-ROM is read only, therefore you will not be able to save the embroidery.

This message will appear if system resources are low. Close other programs and try again. If this does not work, try restarting your computer.

Certain icons (for example Move Child Up on the Edit toolbar) are only highlighted once it is possible to perform the action concerned.

Some functions, such as the Zoom buttons, are only available when the Tree View tab is selected. To use these functions, click the Tree View tab on the control panel.

Similarly, Edit Selected, Back, Forwards, Move Child Up and Move Child Down are only available when the Family View tab is selected.

The father becomes the selected individual after you have used Move Child Up, or Move Child Down, because a change has been written to the GEDCOM file. To move the child further up or down the list, select it, and move it again.

Premier+™ Family Tree will open at the New Family Wizard if the last family file that you were editing is not available (for example, if you were using a file on a memory stick that has now been removed). Browse to the folder that contains that family file.

Make sure the Premier+™ Family Tree window is maximized by clicking the Maximize icon on the title bar. Click Zoom To Fit to expand the picture so it fills the work area. Use Zoom In if you are working on details within the picture.

Many functions of Premier+™ Family Tree can be used to help see sections of pictures more easily. Use the Zoom Commands when working on details.

You cannot change more than two font colors within Premier+™ Family Tree. The Multi-Color fonts included with Premier+™ Family Tree are not affected, as they have only two colors. If you use a Premier+™ Embroidery System Multi-Color font with more than two colors, for example Acorn or Ornamental, and you want to change the font colors, edit the finished embroidery in Premier+™ Embroidery.

Premier+™ Family Tree and Premier+™ Font Create cannot have the same font or shapes set open at the same time. Therefore, you must close the font or SuperDesign set in Premier+™ Font Create to make it fully available to Premier+™ Family Tree.

Some fonts and shapes sets have non-uniform properties. For example, they may use more than one pattern for satin or fill, or use the same fill pattern at different angles in different characters or shapes. Therefore, there is no overall uniform property that can be changed, so the Satin and Fill buttons may not be used to change the Satin and Fill Properties. You may wish to use a different font with a similar style that allows you to change its properties, or create a new font with the QuickFont Wizard based on a TrueType® or OpenType® font with a similar style.

For script fonts, the Gap setting has no effect on adjacent lowercase characters. Script fonts use a special 'continuous' joining method, which places lowercase characters adjacent to each other to give the appearance of handwriting. All the fonts in the Script category use this joining method, and you may also create new fonts with the Premier+™ QuickFont Wizard or the optional Premier+™ Font Create module that use this joining method.

If you have used the "Resides At" attribute within your family tree, Family Historian will generate an error message when the GEDCOM file for that family tree is imported: "An exception report has been generated which lists all data lines (if any) that have been skipped (i.e. not loaded)..."

This happens because Family Historian version 3.1 does not fully support the RESI attribute.

Premier+™ Family Tree uses the ASCII character set. When a family tree (.ged) file is loaded, some accented characters may be changed if a non-ASCII character set is used. This happens because the way that accented and special characters are represented varies between character sets. Where possible, export the file again from the original program, using the ASCII character set. Otherwise, check the imported family information and, where necessary, edit the family tree information.

When some other genealogy programs open a .ged file, the file association is automatically taken back. You will still be able to open the .ged file from within Premier+™ Family Tree.

In these circumstances, to open a .ged file with Premier+™ Family Tree, right-click the file, select "Open with", and select Premier+™ Family Tree from the menu.

You can select to automatically open .ged files with Premier+™ Family Tree from the same menu. However, the next time you use the other genealogy program the file association will switch back.

The family tree (.ged) file cannot be read. Export the file again from the original program. You may need to adjust your export settings.

Note: This error message may be reported when importing GEDCOM files from other family history programs.

If a picture that is too large is loaded into the ExpressPortrait wizard, it vanishes from the Preview window. If Next is clicked nonetheless, the program will crash. A Windows error message may be reported.

The maximum recommended size for a picture for the Premier+™ Family Tree ExpressPortrait wizard is 2000 x 2000 pixels.

To drag and drop embroideries onto the Work Area, open Windows® Explorer. Then follow the instructions under Drag and Drop.

Certain formats are limited to the size of hoop used on their specific embroidery machine, for example .sew. If you attempt to save a file in this format that is bigger than the largest available hoop size this message would appear.

If your original embroidery had a stop command in it then this would be replaced by a color change, thus adding a color for every stop you have in your embroidery. As the Tajima file format does not have a stop command in its format, it requires the machine operator to manually enter stops into the machine. If you save or distribute files in Tajima format, then you must also specify all colors and stops and where they occur in the embroidery.

Janome software cannot load embroideries with more than 12 colors. If a file to be exported in .sew format has more than 12 color changes, it will automatically be split into multiple files, with the last character of the filename "1", "2", and so on.

This message appears if the desired embroidery is not where the module expects it to be, for example if an embroidery was loaded from a USB memory stick, then closed and the memory stick removed. The message would appear if you tried to load the embroidery from the Recent Files list on the File menu.

This message appears if the file you are attempting to load is corrupt. For example, it might have the extension .vp4, yet not be a proper Husqvarna Viking / Pfaff embroidery.

The embroidery is corrupt and cannot be loaded. Refer to source of this file for a solution.

The embroidery is corrupt and cannot be loaded. Refer to source of this file for a solution.

This message appears if you attempt to load a file with an extension that does not belong to any embroidery file types. For example, it would appear if you tried to drag and drop a .doc file onto the screen.

This message appears if you type an incorrect extension that does not belong to any embroidery file types in the File Name box when trying to save a file.

This message appears if there is a problem with your thread database. You will be unable to choose a thread color. First close all the modules of the Premier+™ Embroidery System, close down your computer and restart. If this does not clear the problem, restore a backup with Restore MySettings, if you have created one using Backup MySettings in Premier+™ Configure. Otherwise, you either need a new version of the thread database, or a repair install of your Premier+™ Embroidery System software. To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure.

If the error still appears, then repair the installation. First, delete the following files from ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\System:

• User.sqlite
• System_cdb2.sqlite

This assumes you have installed your Premier+™ Embroidery System software in the default location. If these file are not present then this is the reason for the error. The file names may be shown without their file extensions.

Put your Premier+™ Embroidery System software DVD in your computer and re-run the Applications installation. (If you downloaded your software, double-click on the Premier+™ Applications file.) When the choice appears, select the "Modify or remove" option and click Next. In the next screen, select Repair and click Next. Continue with the installation and follow the on-screen instructions. When the installation is complete, the thread database will be restored to its original installation state. This means that the MyThreads database will have the default set of threads.

This will also reset MyThreadRanges and custom Quick Color Themes to their installation states. Check Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure after repairing the installation.

This message appears if you attempt to click OK in the Color Selection dialog box when MyThreads is selected as the thread range and MyThreads is empty.

To prevent this message appearing again, use Premier+™ Thread Cache to add at least one thread to MyThreads.

Use Premier+™ Configure to change the background color. Follow the instructions in Premier+™ Configure and select the RGB values 211, 233, 255 in the Colors dialog box.

Use Reset All Modules in Premier+ Configure to return all toolbars in the module to their default settings.

To use Reset All Modules

1. Ensure your designs are saved in any Premier+ Embroidery System modules that are open.
2. Click Premier+ Configure on the QuickLink toolbar.
3. Click Reset All Modules.
4. A message will appear, indicating that all modules will be closed and reset. Click OK.
5. A message will appear, asking you to ensure that all other Premier+ Embroidery System modules have closed, apart from Premier+ Configure. Click OK.
6. A message will appear, indicating that all modules have now been reset. Click OK. The toolbars in your module will have been restored.

If preferred, you can check individual toolbars in View, Customize. Use this to see if the missing toolbar has been turned off, and also to reset the toolbar if icons have been added to or removed from the toolbar. If this does not restore the toolbar, use Reset All Modules.

This message appears if the Thread Range of the selected color is not found in your thread database. This could happen if the design you are attempting to edit was supplied bysomeone with a later version of the thread database. If you click OK, the color will be replaced with the nearest match in the Import Thread Range you have set in Premier+™ Configure. You can alter it to any other color if desired. If you click Cancel, the color will not be changed. To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure.

Certain formats are limited to the number of stitches they can save or the size of hoop used on their specific embroidery machine, for example .sew. If you attempt to save a file in this format that is bigger than the largest available hoop size or has more stitches than are allowed, this message would appear.

This message appears on attempting to save the picture and the picture is not saved. For example, if you attempt to overwrite an existing picture that is read only or if you attempt to save the picture to a read only location such as a CD-ROM.

The Find Thread feature in Color Selection allows you to enter partial thread numbers. The first thread in the list matching the number is found, with priority given to an exact match. If you are attempting to find a thread with only part of the number, the first thread matched may not be the desired thread. To ensure you select the correct thread, enter the thread number as it appears in the list. Some thread ranges have prefix characters on the thread number. These must also be entered to obtain an exact match.

This message appears if, for instance, you have loaded an embroidery from a CD-ROM and then attempt to save the embroidery back to the CD. A CD-ROM is read only, therefore you will not be able to save the embroidery.

This message appears on attempting to save when there is no embroidery on the current window.

This message will appear if system resources are low. Close other programs and try again. If this does not work, try restarting your computer.

Confirm Premier+™ Embroidery System Documentation is Installed

This could be because you have not yet installed the Premier+™ Embroidery System Documentation. You can confirm if you have installed this by going to Premier+™ Configure and clicking on the Check Installation button and clicking Check to see which items you have installed.

Check you have the latest version of the Premier+™ System Documentation installed

Previous Premier+™ Documentation installations included Help for some modules. In the Premier+™ Documentation 11.1, we have included Help and Reference Guides for all modules except Premier+™ Font Create.

Use Smart Update to check you have the latest version:

1. Open Premier+™ Configure.
2. Click on the Smart Update button.
3. Enter your E-mail Address/Password details.
4. Click Next.
5. Click Next again to start the Download process.
6. Follow the on-screen instructions.

This message will appear when trying to start a module if the Premier+™ Embroidery System cannot detect the dongle (data protection device). Ensure the dongle is plugged into a free USB port of your computer.

This message may appear if you attempt to load an embroidery created in third-party software. Such embroideries may cause unpredictable results.

This message usually means that the motif database has been deleted or corrupted. This may be corrected by repairing the installation.

First, delete the file named 'SystemMotifs.mdb' from ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\System.

This assumes you have installed your Premier+™ Embroidery System software in the default location. If the file is not present then this is the reason for the error. The file name may simply be shown as 'SystemMotifs'.

Put your Premier+™ Embroidery System software DVD in your computer and re-run the installation. When the choice appears, select the "Modify or remove" option and click Next. In the next screen, select Repair and click Next. Continue with the installation and follow the on-screen instructions. When the installation is complete, the motifs will be restored.

You are permitted to install your software onto a secondary computer – i.e. to install it onto your Desktop computer and your laptop computer.

You only have one dongle per software package; so you are limited to using the software on one computer at a time.

Some USB ports do not have enough power to drive the dongle. By using a USB hub, which uses a power supply, this can be overcome.

This message will appear when trying to use Premier+™ Embroidery if the Premier+™ Embroidery System cannot detect the dongle (data protection device). For example, if the dongle has been removed or loosened while using Premier+™ Embroidery. Ensure the dongle is plugged into a free USB port of your computer.

The dongle and all our other USB devices work with USB 3.0 ports.

This can happen if you unplug your dongle or other USB device and then plug it back into a different USB port. When this happens, it is detected as a new hardware item and the driver is installed on the alternative USB port. Wait for the hardware wizard to finish installing the driver, then continue using the software as usual.

If your dongle is working correctly then it is not necessary to install this update. If you do not wish to see this update each time you use Windows® Update, select the Hide This Update option and it will not be listed next time you use Windows® Update.

This message will appear if the dongle driver is not accessible, has been removed or has not been installed correctly.

First, ensure you are logged onto your computer with full administrator rights and attempt to use the desired Premier+™ Embroidery System module. If the error message no longer appears, then the user name you originally tried to use is too restricted to use the Premier+™ Embroidery System.

Otherwise, use the dongle driver installation utility in the \Technical\Dongle Driver folder of your Premier+™ Embroidery System DVD (also available by download). Ensure you are logged onto your computer with full administrator rights before using the dongle driver installation utility.

This error is given when Anti-Virus / Firewall software is preventing the Sentinel HASP (dongle) software communicating with the dongle. This may cause the dongle to flash.

This is due to the connection being blocked, normally by Anti-Virus / Firewall software.

Another factor, may be that the Sentinel License Manager Service may have been stopped on your computer. Follow the steps below to start that service:

1. Open Windows Explorer/File Explorer.
2. Right click on Computer/This PC.
3. Click on the Manage option. The Computer Management window will appear.
4. Click on Services on the left hand window.
5. Right click on Sentinel HASP License Manager on the right hand window.
6. Click on the Start option.
7. When the service has started; try to open the Premier+™ Software.

When you have installed and registered certain Premier+™ Embroidery System modules, you must activate the dongle. If you attempt to run a module before activating, this message will appear.

It could be that your dongle drivers are not installed correctly.

When you install a new version of the dongle drivers, the installation will remove the old dongle drivers from your computer before it installs the latest version.

In case the old drivers were not fully removed correctly, then it is advisable to download and install the latest command-line dongle drivers - which remove all traces of the dongle drivers from your computer, before installing the latest dongle drivers:

1. Disconnect the dongle[s] from the computer.
2. Download the following file - Command-Line Purge Dongle Drivers
3. Double click on the HASPCommandLineDrivers-Purge.exe file – a black screen will appear.
4. You may receive a Microsoft warning message. Click the Run Anyway button.
5. Click Yes to any User Account Control prompts that may appear.
6. Click OK to both Sentinel Run-time Environment Installer messages reading Operation successfully completed.
7. When the process is finished, the black screen will disappear.
8. Insert your dongle into your computer – the Installing device driver software message may appear.

You do not need to uninstall the 6D Software when you come to installing the Premier+™ Embroidery System; both systems will co-exist on the same computer without issues.

The only exception being, that the 6D Explorer Plug-in will need to be uninstalled to allow the Premier+™ Explorer Plug-in to be installed

The best way to find out which features are in the latest Smart Update (or previous upgrades) is to:

1. Double click on the Premier+™ Embroidery System shortcut on your Desktop. A new Windows® Explorer window will appear
2. Double click on Readme shortcut.
3. Open the latest file.
4. The latest features will be listed at the top of the document.

Firstly, the Premier+™ Embroidery System is intended to be run on a Windows® computer.

Although, many customers have been able to get it to work fully using 3rd Party environments like Parallels and Boot Camp; we cannot support the software when it is run in a non-standard setup or using 3rd Party tools.

This error can happen when an issue has been found in the integrity of the downloaded file during the Smart Update process.

1. Close down all open programs.
2. Restart your computer.
3. Start the Smart Update process again.

Error 1722 appears when an installation of the Explorer Plugin may have become corrupted. Use the Premier+ Explorer Plugin Fix utility to correct this problem.

1. Download the Premier+ Explorer Plugin 1722 Fix utility here.
2. Double click on the downloaded PremierPlusExplorerPluginFix.exe file
3. Follow the on-screen instructions
4. Now try to install the Premier+ Explorer Plugin installation file again.

To backup your Premier+™ settings:

Backing Up MySettings:

1. Open Premier+™ Configure.
2. Click on the Backup MySettings button. A 'Save As' dialog box will appear.
3. If needed, give the file a descriptive name. Click Save. By default the file will be saved within your \Documents\Premier+\SystemBackup folder
4. Open Windows Explorer.
5. Browse to your Documents folder.
6. Double click on the Premier+™ Embroidery folder.
7. Copy all folders and files - except the Samples folder - to your *external media.
8. Browse to the folder which contains your MyFonts folder - see below - and also copy the MyFonts folder to your external media.

Windows® 7 / Windows® 8 users: C:\ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\Fonts\

* external media: this can be a USB Stick, External USB Hard Disk, burned/copied onto a CD/DVD...etc.

** The main thing, is that not to store backups on the same physical hard disk that your Premier+™ Embroidery System is installed on - if that hard disk malfunctioned, then you would lose your Premier+™ software and all of your backups as well.

The correct DPI (dots per inch) setting will depend on the size of the picture to be scanned. The desired picture size is approximately 1000 X 1000 pixels. To achieve this take the size of your artwork in inches, such as 8" x 7", and divide the longest side into 1000. In the example, 1000 divided by 8 = 125. The DPI setting of the scanner should then be 125 DPI, and this will produce a picture that is about 1000 x 875 pixels.

Although the program automatically doubles the size of a picture if its height and width are less than 500 pixels, this may still produce jagged lines. For a smoother effect, rescan the picture.

You have not selected the option to start Embroidery Machine Communication automatically when Windows starts. Resolve this as follows:

1. Start Premier+™ Configure.
2. Click the Start Machine Communication button and the icon will appear in the system tray.
3. Position the pointer over the icon in the system tray and right-click. A menu will appear.
4. Click the Start Automatically option.
5. Right-click the icon again to confirm the Start Automatically option is checked.
6. Click anywhere on the desktop, away from the menu, to close the menu without changing anything.

You may connect one of each type of embroidery machine to the same computer. For example, you may connect one Husqvarna Viking Designer SE, Diamond, Ruby and one Pfaff creative vision, 4.0 at the same time.

However, if you connect two or more of the same type of machine, the Embroidery Machine Communication module will not communicate correctly with those machines.

This message may appear when creating an Express Trace design if the final picture has thick areas of solid color. Some or all parts of the design may not be created. Try using options in the wizard, on the Outline Finder and Expander page and/or the Monochrome Threshold page, to ensure the outlines are not too thick. Cancel the wizard, adjust the picture so that the outlines are easier to isolate with Monochrome Threshold, then open the picture in the ExpressDesign Wizard again.

This message appears if you attempt to click OK in the Color Selection dialog box when My Threads is selected as the thread range and My Threads is empty.

To prevent this message appearing again, use Premier+™ Thread Cache to add at least one thread to My Threads.

This message appears when trying to select or use a lettering style if the file has corrupted. Reinstall the font.

This may also appear if a font is created in Premier+™ Font Create and has no characters defined. Use Premier+™ Font Create to define at least one character in the font.

There is a limit on the number of stitches that may be saved to an embroidery file in Pfaff (.pcs) file format. This message appears if the embroidery you attempt to save to this format exceeds this limit.

Use Premier+™ Configure to change the grid color. Follow the instructions in Premier+™ Configure and select Blue Gray (RGB values 100, 102, 153) from the standard color drop-down on the Grid Color button.

Use Screen Preferences to change the grid spacing. Set the Grid Size to 10.

This message appears if the Thread Range of the selected color is not found in your thread database. This could happen if the design you are attempting to edit was supplied by someone with a later version of the thread database.

Use the Import Threads from Embroidery feature in Premier+™ Thread Cache. You can alter it to any other color if desired. If you click Cancel, the color will not be changed.

To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure.

To drag and drop embroideries onto the Work Area, open Windows® Explorer. Then follow the instructions under Drag and Drop.

Certain formats are limited to the size of hoop used on their specific embroidery machine, for example .sew. If you attempt to save a file in this format that is bigger than the largest available hoop size this message would appear.

If your original embroidery had a stop command in it then this would be replaced by a color change, thus adding a color for every stop you have in your embroidery. As the Tajima file format does not have a stop command in its format, it requires the machine operator to manually enter stops into the machine. If you save or distribute files in Tajima format, then you must also specify all colors and stops and where they occur in the embroidery.

Janome software cannot load embroideries with more than 12 colors. If a file to be exported in .sew format has more than 12 color changes, it will automatically be split into multiple files, with the last character of the filename "1", "2", and so on.

This message appears if the file you are attempting to load is corrupt. For example, it might have the extension .vp4, yet not be a proper Husqvarna Viking / Pfaff embroidery.

This message appears if you attempt to load a file with an extension that does not belong to any embroidery file types. For example, it would appear if you tried to drag and drop a .doc file onto the screen.

This message appears if you type an incorrect extension that does not belong to any embroidery file types in the File Name box when trying to save a file.

This message appears if there is a problem with your thread database. You will be unable to choose a thread color. First close all the modules of the Premier+™ Embroidery System, close down your computer and restart. If this does not clear the problem, restore a backup with Restore MySettings, if you have created one using Backup MySettings in Premier+™ Configure. Otherwise, you either need a new version of the thread database, or a repair install of your Premier+™ Embroidery System software. To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure.

If the error still appears, then repair the installation. First, delete the following files from ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\System:

• User.sqlite
• System_cdb2.sqlite

This assumes you have installed your Premier+™ Embroidery System software in the default location. If these file are not present then this is the reason for the error. The file names may be shown without their file extensions.

Put your Premier+™ Embroidery System software DVD in your computer and re-run the Applications installation. (If you downloaded your software, double-click on the Premier+™ Applications file.) When the choice appears, select the "Modify or remove" option and click Next. In the next screen, select Repair and click Next. Continue with the installation and follow the on-screen instructions. When the installation is complete, the thread database will be restored to its original installation state. This means that the MyThreads database will have the default set of threads.

This will also reset MyThreadRanges and custom Quick Color Themes to their installation states. Check Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure after repairing the installation.

This message appears if you attempt to click OK in the Color Selection dialog box when MyThreads is selected as the thread range and MyThreads is empty.

To prevent this message appearing again, use Premier+™ Thread Cache to add at least one thread to MyThreads.

Use Premier+™ Configure to change the background color. Follow the instructions in Premier+™ Configure and select the RGB values 211, 233, 255 in the Colors dialog box.

Use Reset All Modules in Premier+ Configure to return all toolbars in the module to their default settings.

To use Reset All Modules

1. Ensure your designs are saved in any Premier+ Embroidery System modules that are open.
2. Click Premier+ Configure on the QuickLink toolbar.
3. Click Reset All Modules.
4. A message will appear, indicating that all modules will be closed and reset. Click OK.
5. A message will appear, asking you to ensure that all other Premier+ Embroidery System modules have closed, apart from Premier+ Configure. Click OK.
6. A message will appear, indicating that all modules have now been reset. Click OK. The toolbars in your module will have been restored.

If preferred, you can check individual toolbars in View, Customize. Use this to see if the missing toolbar has been turned off, and also to reset the toolbar if icons have been added to or removed from the toolbar. If this does not restore the toolbar, use Reset All Modules.

This message appears if the Thread Range of the selected color is not found in your thread database. This could happen if the design you are attempting to edit was supplied bysomeone with a later version of the thread database. If you click OK, the color will be replaced with the nearest match in the Import Thread Range you have set in Premier+™ Configure. You can alter it to any other color if desired. If you click Cancel, the color will not be changed. To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure.

Certain formats are limited to the number of stitches they can save or the size of hoop used on their specific embroidery machine, for example .sew. If you attempt to save a file in this format that is bigger than the largest available hoop size or has more stitches than are allowed, this message would appear.

The Find Thread feature in Color Selection allows you to enter partial thread numbers. The first thread in the list matching the number is found, with priority given to an exact match. If you are attempting to find a thread with only part of the number, the first thread matched may not be the desired thread. To ensure you select the correct thread, enter the thread number as it appears in the list. Some thread ranges have prefix characters on the thread number. These must also be entered to obtain an exact match.

This message appears if, for instance, you have loaded an embroidery from a CD-ROM and then attempt to save the embroidery back to the CD. A CD-ROM is read only, therefore you will not be able to save the embroidery.

This message appears on attempting to save when there is no embroidery on the current window.

This message will appear if system resources are low. Close other programs and try again. If this does not work, try restarting your computer.

Confirm Premier+™ Embroidery System Documentation is Installed

This could be because you have not yet installed the Premier+™ Embroidery System Documentation. You can confirm if you have installed this by going to Premier+™ Configure and clicking on the Check Installation button and clicking Check to see which items you have installed.

Check you have the latest version of the Premier+™ System Documentation installed

Previous Premier+™ Documentation installations included Help for some modules. In the Premier+™ Documentation 11.1, we have included Help and Reference Guides for all modules except Premier+™ Font Create.

Use Smart Update to check you have the latest version:

1. Open Premier+™ Configure.
2. Click on the Smart Update button.
3. Enter your E-mail Address/Password details.
4. Click Next.
5. Click Next again to start the Download process.
6. Follow the on-screen instructions.

This message will appear when trying to start a module if the Premier+™ Embroidery System cannot detect the dongle (data protection device). Ensure the dongle is plugged into a free USB port of your computer.

This message may appear if you attempt to load an embroidery created in third-party software. Such embroideries may cause unpredictable results.

This message usually means that the motif database has been deleted or corrupted. This may be corrected by repairing the installation.

First, delete the file named 'SystemMotifs.mdb' from ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\System.

This assumes you have installed your Premier+™ Embroidery System software in the default location. If the file is not present then this is the reason for the error. The file name may simply be shown as 'SystemMotifs'.

Put your Premier+™ Embroidery System software DVD in your computer and re-run the installation. When the choice appears, select the "Modify or remove" option and click Next. In the next screen, select Repair and click Next. Continue with the installation and follow the on-screen instructions. When the installation is complete, the motifs will be restored.

You are permitted to install your software onto a secondary computer – i.e. to install it onto your Desktop computer and your laptop computer.

You only have one dongle per software package; so you are limited to using the software on one computer at a time.

Some USB ports do not have enough power to drive the dongle. By using a USB hub, which uses a power supply, this can be overcome.

This message will appear when trying to use Premier+™ Embroidery if the Premier+™ Embroidery System cannot detect the dongle (data protection device). For example, if the dongle has been removed or loosened while using Premier+™ Embroidery. Ensure the dongle is plugged into a free USB port of your computer.

The dongle and all our other USB devices work with USB 3.0 ports.

This can happen if you unplug your dongle or other USB device and then plug it back into a different USB port. When this happens, it is detected as a new hardware item and the driver is installed on the alternative USB port. Wait for the hardware wizard to finish installing the driver, then continue using the software as usual.

If your dongle is working correctly then it is not necessary to install this update. If you do not wish to see this update each time you use Windows® Update, select the Hide This Update option and it will not be listed next time you use Windows® Update.

This message will appear if the dongle driver is not accessible, has been removed or has not been installed correctly.

First, ensure you are logged onto your computer with full administrator rights and attempt to use the desired Premier+™ Embroidery System module. If the error message no longer appears, then the user name you originally tried to use is too restricted to use the Premier+™ Embroidery System.

Otherwise, use the dongle driver installation utility in the \Technical\Dongle Driver folder of your Premier+™ Embroidery System DVD (also available by download). Ensure you are logged onto your computer with full administrator rights before using the dongle driver installation utility.

This error is given when Anti-Virus / Firewall software is preventing the Sentinel HASP (dongle) software communicating with the dongle. This may cause the dongle to flash.

This is due to the connection being blocked, normally by Anti-Virus / Firewall software.

Another factor, may be that the Sentinel License Manager Service may have been stopped on your computer. Follow the steps below to start that service:

1. Open Windows Explorer/File Explorer.
2. Right click on Computer/This PC.
3. Click on the Manage option. The Computer Management window will appear.
4. Click on Services on the left hand window.
5. Right click on Sentinel HASP License Manager on the right hand window.
6. Click on the Start option.
7. When the service has started; try to open the Premier+™ Software.

When you have installed and registered certain Premier+™ Embroidery System modules, you must activate the dongle. If you attempt to run a module before activating, this message will appear.

It could be that your dongle drivers are not installed correctly.

When you install a new version of the dongle drivers, the installation will remove the old dongle drivers from your computer before it installs the latest version.

In case the old drivers were not fully removed correctly, then it is advisable to download and install the latest command-line dongle drivers - which remove all traces of the dongle drivers from your computer, before installing the latest dongle drivers:

1. Disconnect the dongle[s] from the computer.
2. Download the following file - Command-Line Purge Dongle Drivers
3. Double click on the HASPCommandLineDrivers-Purge.exe file – a black screen will appear.
4. You may receive a Microsoft warning message. Click the Run Anyway button.
5. Click Yes to any User Account Control prompts that may appear.
6. Click OK to both Sentinel Run-time Environment Installer messages reading Operation successfully completed.
7. When the process is finished, the black screen will disappear.
8. Insert your dongle into your computer – the Installing device driver software message may appear.

You do not need to uninstall the 6D Software when you come to installing the Premier+™ Embroidery System; both systems will co-exist on the same computer without issues.

The only exception being, that the 6D Explorer Plug-in will need to be uninstalled to allow the Premier+™ Explorer Plug-in to be installed

The best way to find out which features are in the latest Smart Update (or previous upgrades) is to:

1. Double click on the Premier+™ Embroidery System shortcut on your Desktop. A new Windows® Explorer window will appear
2. Double click on Readme shortcut.
3. Open the latest file.
4. The latest features will be listed at the top of the document.

Firstly, the Premier+™ Embroidery System is intended to be run on a Windows® computer.

Although, many customers have been able to get it to work fully using 3rd Party environments like Parallels and Boot Camp; we cannot support the software when it is run in a non-standard setup or using 3rd Party tools.

This error can happen when an issue has been found in the integrity of the downloaded file during the Smart Update process.

1. Close down all open programs.
2. Restart your computer.
3. Start the Smart Update process again.

Error 1722 appears when an installation of the Explorer Plugin may have become corrupted. Use the Premier+ Explorer Plugin Fix utility to correct this problem.

1. Download the Premier+ Explorer Plugin 1722 Fix utility here.
2. Double click on the downloaded PremierPlusExplorerPluginFix.exe file
3. Follow the on-screen instructions
4. Now try to install the Premier+ Explorer Plugin installation file again.

To backup your Premier+™ settings:

Backing Up MySettings:

1. Open Premier+™ Configure.
2. Click on the Backup MySettings button. A 'Save As' dialog box will appear.
3. If needed, give the file a descriptive name. Click Save. By default the file will be saved within your \Documents\Premier+\SystemBackup folder
4. Open Windows Explorer.
5. Browse to your Documents folder.
6. Double click on the Premier+™ Embroidery folder.
7. Copy all folders and files - except the Samples folder - to your *external media.
8. Browse to the folder which contains your MyFonts folder - see below - and also copy the MyFonts folder to your external media.

Windows® 7 / Windows® 8 users: C:\ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\Fonts\

* external media: this can be a USB Stick, External USB Hard Disk, burned/copied onto a CD/DVD...etc.

** The main thing, is that not to store backups on the same physical hard disk that your Premier+™ Embroidery System is installed on - if that hard disk malfunctioned, then you would lose your Premier+™ software and all of your backups as well.

You have not selected the option to start Embroidery Machine Communication automatically when Windows starts. Resolve this as follows:

1. Start Premier+™ Configure.
2. Click the Start Machine Communication button and the icon will appear in the system tray.
3. Position the pointer over the icon in the system tray and right-click. A menu will appear.
4. Click the Start Automatically option.
5. Right-click the icon again to confirm the Start Automatically option is checked.
6. Click anywhere on the desktop, away from the menu, to close the menu without changing anything.

You may connect one of each type of embroidery machine to the same computer. For example, you may connect one Husqvarna Viking Designer SE, Diamond, Ruby and one Pfaff creative vision, 4.0 at the same time.

However, if you connect two or more of the same type of machine, the Embroidery Machine Communication module will not communicate correctly with those machines.

This message appears if you attempt to click OK in the Color Selection dialog box when My Threads is selected as the thread range and My Threads is empty.

To prevent this message appearing again, use Premier+™ Thread Cache to add at least one thread to My Threads.

There is a limit on the number of stitches that may be saved to an embroidery file in Pfaff (.pcs) file format. This message appears if the embroidery you attempt to save to this format exceeds this limit.

The refresh rate of the screen is limited by the power of your computer's processor and RAM as well as the video card and its memory. To get the best performance from your system, try using 2D view as this requires less power than 3D view.

Certain icons (for example Save and Export on the Quick Access Toolbar) are only highlighted once an embroidery is shown on the screen.

Use Premier+™ Configure to change the grid color. Follow the instructions in Premier+™ Configure and select Blue Gray (RGB values 100, 102, 153) from the standard color drop-down on the Grid Color button.

Use Screen Preferences to change the grid spacing. Set the Grid Size to 10.

This message will appear if you specify a PhotoStitch larger than 26,000mm square. Click OK to continue creating the PhotoStitch. To reduce the stitch creation time, remove the picture background, particularly any very detailed areas. Stitch creation time is shorter for Linear PhotoStitch.

This message appears if the Thread Range of the selected color is not found in your thread database. This could happen if the design you are attempting to edit was supplied by someone with a later version of the thread database.

Use the Import Threads from Embroidery feature in Premier+™ Thread Cache. You can alter it to any other color if desired. If you click Cancel, the color will not be changed.

To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure.

To drag and drop embroideries onto the Work Area, open Windows® Explorer. Then follow the instructions under Drag and Drop.

Certain formats are limited to the size of hoop used on their specific embroidery machine, for example .sew. If you attempt to save a file in this format that is bigger than the largest available hoop size this message would appear.

If your original embroidery had a stop command in it then this would be replaced by a color change, thus adding a color for every stop you have in your embroidery. As the Tajima file format does not have a stop command in its format, it requires the machine operator to manually enter stops into the machine. If you save or distribute files in Tajima format, then you must also specify all colors and stops and where they occur in the embroidery.

Janome software cannot load embroideries with more than 12 colors. If a file to be exported in .sew format has more than 12 color changes, it will automatically be split into multiple files, with the last character of the filename "1", "2", and so on.

This message appears if the desired embroidery is not where the module expects it to be, for example if an embroidery was loaded from a USB memory stick, then closed and the memory stick removed. The message would appear if you tried to load the embroidery from the Recent Files list on the File menu.

This message appears if the file you are attempting to load is corrupt. For example, it might have the extension .vp4, yet not be a proper Husqvarna Viking / Pfaff embroidery.

The embroidery is corrupt and cannot be loaded. Refer to source of this file for a solution.

The embroidery is corrupt and cannot be loaded. Refer to source of this file for a solution.

This message appears if you attempt to load a file with an extension that does not belong to any embroidery file types. For example, it would appear if you tried to drag and drop a .doc file onto the screen.

This message appears if you type an incorrect extension that does not belong to any embroidery file types in the File Name box when trying to save a file.

This message appears if there is a problem with your thread database. You will be unable to choose a thread color. First close all the modules of the Premier+™ Embroidery System, close down your computer and restart. If this does not clear the problem, restore a backup with Restore MySettings, if you have created one using Backup MySettings in Premier+™ Configure. Otherwise, you either need a new version of the thread database, or a repair install of your Premier+™ Embroidery System software. To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure.

If the error still appears, then repair the installation. First, delete the following files from ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\System:

• User.sqlite
• System_cdb2.sqlite

This assumes you have installed your Premier+™ Embroidery System software in the default location. If these file are not present then this is the reason for the error. The file names may be shown without their file extensions.

Put your Premier+™ Embroidery System software DVD in your computer and re-run the Applications installation. (If you downloaded your software, double-click on the Premier+™ Applications file.) When the choice appears, select the "Modify or remove" option and click Next. In the next screen, select Repair and click Next. Continue with the installation and follow the on-screen instructions. When the installation is complete, the thread database will be restored to its original installation state. This means that the MyThreads database will have the default set of threads.

This will also reset MyThreadRanges and custom Quick Color Themes to their installation states. Check Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure after repairing the installation.

This message appears if you attempt to click OK in the Color Selection dialog box when MyThreads is selected as the thread range and MyThreads is empty.

To prevent this message appearing again, use Premier+™ Thread Cache to add at least one thread to MyThreads.

Use Premier+™ Configure to change the background color. Follow the instructions in Premier+™ Configure and select the RGB values 211, 233, 255 in the Colors dialog box.

Use Reset All Modules in Premier+ Configure to return all toolbars in the module to their default settings.

To use Reset All Modules

1. Ensure your designs are saved in any Premier+ Embroidery System modules that are open.
2. Click Premier+ Configure on the QuickLink toolbar.
3. Click Reset All Modules.
4. A message will appear, indicating that all modules will be closed and reset. Click OK.
5. A message will appear, asking you to ensure that all other Premier+ Embroidery System modules have closed, apart from Premier+ Configure. Click OK.
6. A message will appear, indicating that all modules have now been reset. Click OK. The toolbars in your module will have been restored.

If preferred, you can check individual toolbars in View, Customize. Use this to see if the missing toolbar has been turned off, and also to reset the toolbar if icons have been added to or removed from the toolbar. If this does not restore the toolbar, use Reset All Modules.

This message appears if the Thread Range of the selected color is not found in your thread database. This could happen if the design you are attempting to edit was supplied bysomeone with a later version of the thread database. If you click OK, the color will be replaced with the nearest match in the Import Thread Range you have set in Premier+™ Configure. You can alter it to any other color if desired. If you click Cancel, the color will not be changed. To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure.

Certain formats are limited to the number of stitches they can save or the size of hoop used on their specific embroidery machine, for example .sew. If you attempt to save a file in this format that is bigger than the largest available hoop size or has more stitches than are allowed, this message would appear.

The Find Thread feature in Color Selection allows you to enter partial thread numbers. The first thread in the list matching the number is found, with priority given to an exact match. If you are attempting to find a thread with only part of the number, the first thread matched may not be the desired thread. To ensure you select the correct thread, enter the thread number as it appears in the list. Some thread ranges have prefix characters on the thread number. These must also be entered to obtain an exact match.

This message appears if, for instance, you have loaded an embroidery from a CD-ROM and then attempt to save the embroidery back to the CD. A CD-ROM is read only, therefore you will not be able to save the embroidery.

This message appears on attempting to save when there is no embroidery on the current window.

This message will appear if system resources are low. Close other programs and try again. If this does not work, try restarting your computer.

Confirm Premier+™ Embroidery System Documentation is Installed

This could be because you have not yet installed the Premier+™ Embroidery System Documentation. You can confirm if you have installed this by going to Premier+™ Configure and clicking on the Check Installation button and clicking Check to see which items you have installed.

Check you have the latest version of the Premier+™ System Documentation installed

Previous Premier+™ Documentation installations included Help for some modules. In the Premier+™ Documentation 11.1, we have included Help and Reference Guides for all modules except Premier+™ Font Create.

Use Smart Update to check you have the latest version:

1. Open Premier+™ Configure.
2. Click on the Smart Update button.
3. Enter your E-mail Address/Password details.
4. Click Next.
5. Click Next again to start the Download process.
6. Follow the on-screen instructions.

It may be that you installed another software which is now associated with your stitch files.

To reset the association back to the Premier+™ Embroidery System do the following steps:

1. Close down all programs.
2. Open Premier+™ Configure.
3. Click the Reset File Association button. A Reset File Association box will appear.
4. Click on the Premier+™ Embroidery button in the Reset File Association box.
5. The Set Program Association page will appear.
6. Click on the Select All checkbox. All stitch formats will be selected in the list.
7. Click Save.

All the selected stitch formats will have been set back to open in Premier+™ Embroidery.

This message will appear when trying to start a module if the Premier+™ Embroidery System cannot detect the dongle (data protection device). Ensure the dongle is plugged into a free USB port of your computer.

This message may appear if you attempt to load an embroidery created in third-party software. Such embroideries may cause unpredictable results.

This message usually means that the motif database has been deleted or corrupted. This may be corrected by repairing the installation.

First, delete the file named 'SystemMotifs.mdb' from ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\System.

This assumes you have installed your Premier+™ Embroidery System software in the default location. If the file is not present then this is the reason for the error. The file name may simply be shown as 'SystemMotifs'.

Put your Premier+™ Embroidery System software DVD in your computer and re-run the installation. When the choice appears, select the "Modify or remove" option and click Next. In the next screen, select Repair and click Next. Continue with the installation and follow the on-screen instructions. When the installation is complete, the motifs will be restored.

You are permitted to install your software onto a secondary computer – i.e. to install it onto your Desktop computer and your laptop computer.

You only have one dongle per software package; so you are limited to using the software on one computer at a time.

Some USB ports do not have enough power to drive the dongle. By using a USB hub, which uses a power supply, this can be overcome.

This message will appear when trying to use Premier+™ Embroidery if the Premier+™ Embroidery System cannot detect the dongle (data protection device). For example, if the dongle has been removed or loosened while using Premier+™ Embroidery. Ensure the dongle is plugged into a free USB port of your computer.

The dongle and all our other USB devices work with USB 3.0 ports.

This can happen if you unplug your dongle or other USB device and then plug it back into a different USB port. When this happens, it is detected as a new hardware item and the driver is installed on the alternative USB port. Wait for the hardware wizard to finish installing the driver, then continue using the software as usual.

If your dongle is working correctly then it is not necessary to install this update. If you do not wish to see this update each time you use Windows® Update, select the Hide This Update option and it will not be listed next time you use Windows® Update.

This message will appear if the dongle driver is not accessible, has been removed or has not been installed correctly.

First, ensure you are logged onto your computer with full administrator rights and attempt to use the desired Premier+™ Embroidery System module. If the error message no longer appears, then the user name you originally tried to use is too restricted to use the Premier+™ Embroidery System.

Otherwise, use the dongle driver installation utility in the \Technical\Dongle Driver folder of your Premier+™ Embroidery System DVD (also available by download). Ensure you are logged onto your computer with full administrator rights before using the dongle driver installation utility.

This error is given when Anti-Virus / Firewall software is preventing the Sentinel HASP (dongle) software communicating with the dongle. This may cause the dongle to flash.

This is due to the connection being blocked, normally by Anti-Virus / Firewall software.

Another factor, may be that the Sentinel License Manager Service may have been stopped on your computer. Follow the steps below to start that service:

1. Open Windows Explorer/File Explorer.
2. Right click on Computer/This PC.
3. Click on the Manage option. The Computer Management window will appear.
4. Click on Services on the left hand window.
5. Right click on Sentinel HASP License Manager on the right hand window.
6. Click on the Start option.
7. When the service has started; try to open the Premier+™ Software.

When you have installed and registered certain Premier+™ Embroidery System modules, you must activate the dongle. If you attempt to run a module before activating, this message will appear.

It could be that your dongle drivers are not installed correctly.

When you install a new version of the dongle drivers, the installation will remove the old dongle drivers from your computer before it installs the latest version.

In case the old drivers were not fully removed correctly, then it is advisable to download and install the latest command-line dongle drivers - which remove all traces of the dongle drivers from your computer, before installing the latest dongle drivers:

1. Disconnect the dongle[s] from the computer.
2. Download the following file - Command-Line Purge Dongle Drivers
3. Double click on the HASPCommandLineDrivers-Purge.exe file – a black screen will appear.
4. You may receive a Microsoft warning message. Click the Run Anyway button.
5. Click Yes to any User Account Control prompts that may appear.
6. Click OK to both Sentinel Run-time Environment Installer messages reading Operation successfully completed.
7. When the process is finished, the black screen will disappear.
8. Insert your dongle into your computer – the Installing device driver software message may appear.

You do not need to uninstall the 6D Software when you come to installing the Premier+™ Embroidery System; both systems will co-exist on the same computer without issues.

The only exception being, that the 6D Explorer Plug-in will need to be uninstalled to allow the Premier+™ Explorer Plug-in to be installed

The best way to find out which features are in the latest Smart Update (or previous upgrades) is to:

1. Double click on the Premier+™ Embroidery System shortcut on your Desktop. A new Windows® Explorer window will appear
2. Double click on Readme shortcut.
3. Open the latest file.
4. The latest features will be listed at the top of the document.

Firstly, the Premier+™ Embroidery System is intended to be run on a Windows® computer.

Although, many customers have been able to get it to work fully using 3rd Party environments like Parallels and Boot Camp; we cannot support the software when it is run in a non-standard setup or using 3rd Party tools.

This error can happen when an issue has been found in the integrity of the downloaded file during the Smart Update process.

1. Close down all open programs.
2. Restart your computer.
3. Start the Smart Update process again.

Error 1722 appears when an installation of the Explorer Plugin may have become corrupted. Use the Premier+ Explorer Plugin Fix utility to correct this problem.

1. Download the Premier+ Explorer Plugin 1722 Fix utility here.
2. Double click on the downloaded PremierPlusExplorerPluginFix.exe file
3. Follow the on-screen instructions
4. Now try to install the Premier+ Explorer Plugin installation file again.

Unlike Husqvarna Viking/Pfaff (.vp4 and .vp3) format files, Tajima (.dst) does not have stitches specially designated as trims or stops. Instead these are replaced as three extra jump stitches instead of a trim and a color change instead of a stop. When the machine is stitching the design, it converts these back to the correct stitch types

Make sure the Premier+™ Modify window is maximized by clicking the Maximize icon on the title bar, then maximize the window of the desired embroidery by clicking the Maximize icon on its title bar. Click Zoom To Fit to expand the embroidery so it fills the window or use Zoom In together with the Overview Window to move around the embroidery. Check the Hoop Size in Hoop Selection to make sure the Hoop Size is not too large for the embroidery.

Many functions of Premier+™ Modify can be used to help see sections of embroideries more easily. They include the Zoom Commands and the Overview Window, as well as Draw Next Color, Draw Previous Color, the slider bars and Ghost Mode. The Coordinates can also be used to help run through designs to find the required stitch or command. The different methods of selection (Box Select, Color Block Select, Freehand Select, Polygon Select and Make Block From Visible Area) are also useful for different situations.

Compensation works on the visible part of an embroidery. Hide stitches with Draw Range, Draw Next Color or turn colors off by right-clicking in the Color Worksheet to isolate a specific area before using this function.

Break Up Stitches works on the visible part of an embroidery. Hide stitches with Draw Range, Draw Next Color or turn colors off by right-clicking in the Color Worksheet to isolate a specific area before using this function.

Use Draw Next Color and Draw Previous Color or turn colors off by right-clicking in the Color Worksheet to isolate the desired color area, then click Color Block to select those stitches.

To cancel a stitch block selection made using Box Select, Color Block Select, Freehand Select, Polygon Select or Make Block From Visible Area, click anywhere in the currently active embroidery, but outside the dotted box showing the selected stitches. The stitches will no longer be selected.

Click Undo once the stamping process is complete, then isolate the desired stitches and use Stamp Fill again. If necessary, click Undo once more to Undo the use of Remove Needle Points in Fill.

This message appears when you place a cut line that crosses itself at some point. If you want to split the embroidery then you must redo the cut line, without it crossing over itself.

This message appears when you right-click to end the cut line before the cut line has crossed any stitches. If you want to split the embroidery then you must redo the cut line.

The refresh rate of the screen is limited by the power of your computer's processor and RAM as well as the video card and its memory. To get the best performance from your system, keep the Overview Window closed, as this must be redrawn every time the screen changes. Also try using 2D view as this requires less power than 3D view.

Certain icons (for example Box Select, Cut and Copy) are only highlighted once an embroidery is shown on the screen.

Use Premier+™ Configure to change the grid color. Follow the instructions in Premier+™ Configure and select Blue Gray (RGB values 100, 102, 153) from the standard color dropdown on the Grid Color button.

Go to the Grid section of the toolbar (on the View tab) to change the grid spacing. Set the Grid Size to 5.

If the control panel is 'floating' on top of the window, double-click the title bar and the control panel will move back to its original position.

If the control panel is docked on the wrong side of the window, click and drag the title bar to the middle of the right-hand edge of the window until the outline snaps into position on the right. Release the mouse button and the control panel will be dropped into its original position.

Using Reset All Modules in Premier+™ Configure will also return the control panel to its original position.

To use Reset All Modules

1. Ensure your designs are saved in any Premier+™ Embroidery System modules that are open.
2. Click Premier+™ Configure on the QuickLink toolbar.
3. Click Reset All Modules.
4. A message will appear, indicating that all modules will be closed and reset. Click OK.
5. A message will appear, asking you to ensure that all other Premier+™ Embroidery System modules have closed, apart from Premier+™ Configure. Click OK.
6. A message will appear, indicating that all modules have now been reset. Click OK. The control panel will have been restored.

If the control panel is visible but in the wrong position, first try to click and drag its title bar to move it back to its normal position on the right.

If this does not work, or the control panel is not visible, use Reset All Modules.

Note that Reset All Modules affects all modules in the Premier+™ Embroidery System, so any changes to settings in each module will be reset. The recent files list on the File menu is also cleared, but this does not affect any files you have saved.

To use Reset All Modules:

1. Ensure your designs are saved in any Premier+™ Embroidery System modules that are open.
2. Click Premier+™ Configure on the QuickLink toolbar.
3. Click Reset All Modules.
4. A message will appear, indicating that all modules will be closed and reset. Click OK.
5. A message will appear, asking you to ensure that all other Premier+™ Embroidery System modules have closed, apart from Premier+™ Configure. Click OK.
6. A message will appear, indicating that all modules have now been reset. Click OK.

The next time you start Premier+™ Modify, the control panel will be in the correct position.

This message appears when you place only two points to define your cut line. You must place at least three points to define the area that will be separated.

This may happen with some border shapes that have sharp points if they are not drawn proportionally, or if you create very sharp points with Freehand Point Border Line. This may also happen when border shapes are used at very small sizes.

For best results when drawing preset shapes with sharp points, it is recommended to hold down Ctrl so that the shape is perfectly in proportion.

When using Freehand Point Border Line, if you need to have an acute angle, try placing an extra point or two around the turn, instead of using a single point. Also, try to join the polygon border back to itself on a straight side. If the border starts and finishes at a corner, that corner will not be mitered because the ends of the border will be flat at that point.

When drawing border/appliqué shapes, right-click is used to cancel without using the shape. To use the shape, you must click one of the Create Border or Create Appliqué functions. This then creates a new embroidery with the border or appliqué.

When drawing a Border Shape, the border shape using right-click will cancel without using the shape.

Use one of the Create External Border, Create Internal Border or Create Overlay Border functions.

To backup your Premier+™ settings:

Backing Up MySettings:

1. Open Premier+™ Configure.
2. Click on the Backup MySettings button. A 'Save As' dialog box will appear.
3. If needed, give the file a descriptive name. Click Save. By default the file will be saved within your \Documents\Premier+\SystemBackup folder
4. Open Windows Explorer.
5. Browse to your Documents folder.
6. Double click on the Premier+™ Embroidery folder.
7. Copy all folders and files - except the Samples folder - to your *external media.
8. Browse to the folder which contains your MyFonts folder - see below - and also copy the MyFonts folder to your external media.

Windows® 7 / Windows® 8 users: C:\ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\Fonts\

* external media: this can be a USB Stick, External USB Hard Disk, burned/copied onto a CD/DVD...etc.

** The main thing, is that not to store backups on the same physical hard disk that your Premier+™ Embroidery System is installed on - if that hard disk malfunctioned, then you would lose your Premier+™ software and all of your backups as well.

The correct DPI (dots per inch) setting will depend on the size of the picture to be scanned. The desired picture size is approximately 1000 X 1000 pixels. To achieve this take the size of your artwork in inches, such as 8" x 7", and divide the longest side into 1000. In the example, 1000 divided by 8 = 125. The DPI setting of the scanner should then be 125 DPI, and this will produce a picture that is about 1000 x 875 pixels.

Although the program automatically doubles the size of a picture if its height and width are less than 500 pixels, this may still produce jagged lines. For a smoother effect, rescan the picture.

You have not selected the option to start Embroidery Machine Communication automatically when Windows starts. Resolve this as follows:

1. Start Premier+™ Configure.
2. Click the Start Machine Communication button and the icon will appear in the system tray.
3. Position the pointer over the icon in the system tray and right-click. A menu will appear.
4. Click the Start Automatically option.
5. Right-click the icon again to confirm the Start Automatically option is checked.
6. Click anywhere on the desktop, away from the menu, to close the menu without changing anything.

You may connect one of each type of embroidery machine to the same computer. For example, you may connect one Husqvarna Viking Designer SE, Diamond, Ruby and one Pfaff creative vision, 4.0 at the same time.

However, if you connect two or more of the same type of machine, the Embroidery Machine Communication module will not communicate correctly with those machines.

This message appears if you attempt to click OK in the Color Selection dialog box when My Threads is selected as the thread range and My Threads is empty.

To prevent this message appearing again, use Premier+™ Thread Cache to add at least one thread to My Threads.

There is a limit on the number of stitches that may be saved to an embroidery file in Pfaff (.pcs) file format. This message appears if the embroidery you attempt to save to this format exceeds this limit.

The refresh rate of the screen is limited by the power of your computer's processor and RAM as well as the video card and its memory. To get the best performance from your system, try using 2D view as this requires less power than 3D view.

Certain icons (for example Save and Export on the Quick Access Toolbar) are only highlighted once an embroidery is shown on the screen.

Use Premier+™ Configure to change the grid color. Follow the instructions in Premier+™ Configure and select Blue Gray (RGB values 100, 102, 153) from the standard color drop-down on the Grid Color button.

Use Screen Preferences to change the grid spacing. Set the Grid Size to 10.

This message could appear if the desired picture is not where the module expects it to be, for example if it was loaded from a USB memory stick, then closed and the memory stick removed. It could also appear if the file you are attempting to load is corrupt. For example, it might have an extension such as .bmp or .jpg, yet not be a proper picture file.

This message appears if the Thread Range of the selected color is not found in your thread database. This could happen if the design you are attempting to edit was supplied by someone with a later version of the thread database.

Use the Import Threads from Embroidery feature in Premier+™ Thread Cache. You can alter it to any other color if desired. If you click Cancel, the color will not be changed.

To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure.

To drag and drop embroideries onto the Work Area, open Windows® Explorer. Then follow the instructions under Drag and Drop.

Certain formats are limited to the size of hoop used on their specific embroidery machine, for example .sew. If you attempt to save a file in this format that is bigger than the largest available hoop size this message would appear.

If your original embroidery had a stop command in it then this would be replaced by a color change, thus adding a color for every stop you have in your embroidery. As the Tajima file format does not have a stop command in its format, it requires the machine operator to manually enter stops into the machine. If you save or distribute files in Tajima format, then you must also specify all colors and stops and where they occur in the embroidery.

Janome software cannot load embroideries with more than 12 colors. If a file to be exported in .sew format has more than 12 color changes, it will automatically be split into multiple files, with the last character of the filename "1", "2", and so on.

This message appears if the desired embroidery is not where the module expects it to be, for example if an embroidery was loaded from a USB memory stick, then closed and the memory stick removed. The message would appear if you tried to load the embroidery from the Recent Files list on the File menu.

This message appears if the file you are attempting to load is corrupt. For example, it might have the extension .vp4, yet not be a proper Husqvarna Viking / Pfaff embroidery.

The embroidery is corrupt and cannot be loaded. Refer to source of this file for a solution.

This message appears if you attempt to load a file with an extension that does not belong to any embroidery file types. For example, it would appear if you tried to drag and drop a .doc file onto the screen.

This message appears if you type an incorrect extension that does not belong to any embroidery file types in the File Name box when trying to save a file.

This message appears if there is a problem with your thread database. You will be unable to choose a thread color. First close all the modules of the Premier+™ Embroidery System, close down your computer and restart. If this does not clear the problem, restore a backup with Restore MySettings, if you have created one using Backup MySettings in Premier+™ Configure. Otherwise, you either need a new version of the thread database, or a repair install of your Premier+™ Embroidery System software. To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure.

If the error still appears, then repair the installation. First, delete the following files from ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\System:

• User.sqlite
• System_cdb2.sqlite

This assumes you have installed your Premier+™ Embroidery System software in the default location. If these file are not present then this is the reason for the error. The file names may be shown without their file extensions.

Put your Premier+™ Embroidery System software DVD in your computer and re-run the Applications installation. (If you downloaded your software, double-click on the Premier+™ Applications file.) When the choice appears, select the "Modify or remove" option and click Next. In the next screen, select Repair and click Next. Continue with the installation and follow the on-screen instructions. When the installation is complete, the thread database will be restored to its original installation state. This means that the MyThreads database will have the default set of threads.

This will also reset MyThreadRanges and custom Quick Color Themes to their installation states. Check Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure after repairing the installation.

This message appears if you attempt to click OK in the Color Selection dialog box when MyThreads is selected as the thread range and MyThreads is empty.

To prevent this message appearing again, use Premier+™ Thread Cache to add at least one thread to MyThreads.

Use Premier+™ Configure to change the background color. Follow the instructions in Premier+™ Configure and select the RGB values 211, 233, 255 in the Colors dialog box.

Use Reset All Modules in Premier+ Configure to return all toolbars in the module to their default settings.

To use Reset All Modules

1. Ensure your designs are saved in any Premier+ Embroidery System modules that are open.
2. Click Premier+ Configure on the QuickLink toolbar.
3. Click Reset All Modules.
4. A message will appear, indicating that all modules will be closed and reset. Click OK.
5. A message will appear, asking you to ensure that all other Premier+ Embroidery System modules have closed, apart from Premier+ Configure. Click OK.
6. A message will appear, indicating that all modules have now been reset. Click OK. The toolbars in your module will have been restored.

If preferred, you can check individual toolbars in View, Customize. Use this to see if the missing toolbar has been turned off, and also to reset the toolbar if icons have been added to or removed from the toolbar. If this does not restore the toolbar, use Reset All Modules.

This message appears if the Thread Range of the selected color is not found in your thread database. This could happen if the design you are attempting to edit was supplied bysomeone with a later version of the thread database. If you click OK, the color will be replaced with the nearest match in the Import Thread Range you have set in Premier+™ Configure. You can alter it to any other color if desired. If you click Cancel, the color will not be changed. To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure.

Certain formats are limited to the number of stitches they can save or the size of hoop used on their specific embroidery machine, for example .sew. If you attempt to save a file in this format that is bigger than the largest available hoop size or has more stitches than are allowed, this message would appear.

The Find Thread feature in Color Selection allows you to enter partial thread numbers. The first thread in the list matching the number is found, with priority given to an exact match. If you are attempting to find a thread with only part of the number, the first thread matched may not be the desired thread. To ensure you select the correct thread, enter the thread number as it appears in the list. Some thread ranges have prefix characters on the thread number. These must also be entered to obtain an exact match.

This message appears if, for instance, you have loaded an embroidery from a CD-ROM and then attempt to save the embroidery back to the CD. A CD-ROM is read only, therefore you will not be able to save the embroidery.

This message appears on attempting to save when there is no embroidery on the current window.

This message will appear if system resources are low. Close other programs and try again. If this does not work, try restarting your computer.

Confirm Premier+™ Embroidery System Documentation is Installed

This could be because you have not yet installed the Premier+™ Embroidery System Documentation. You can confirm if you have installed this by going to Premier+™ Configure and clicking on the Check Installation button and clicking Check to see which items you have installed.

Check you have the latest version of the Premier+™ System Documentation installed

Previous Premier+™ Documentation installations included Help for some modules. In the Premier+™ Documentation 11.1, we have included Help and Reference Guides for all modules except Premier+™ Font Create.

Use Smart Update to check you have the latest version:

1. Open Premier+™ Configure.
2. Click on the Smart Update button.
3. Enter your E-mail Address/Password details.
4. Click Next.
5. Click Next again to start the Download process.
6. Follow the on-screen instructions.

It may be that you installed another software which is now associated with your stitch files.

To reset the association back to the Premier+™ Embroidery System do the following steps:

1. Close down all programs.
2. Open Premier+™ Configure.
3. Click the Reset File Association button. A Reset File Association box will appear.
4. Click on the Premier+™ Embroidery button in the Reset File Association box.
5. The Set Program Association page will appear.
6. Click on the Select All checkbox. All stitch formats will be selected in the list.
7. Click Save.

All the selected stitch formats will have been set back to open in Premier+™ Embroidery.

This message will appear when trying to start a module if the Premier+™ Embroidery System cannot detect the dongle (data protection device). Ensure the dongle is plugged into a free USB port of your computer.

This message may appear if you attempt to load an embroidery created in third-party software. Such embroideries may cause unpredictable results.

This message usually means that the motif database has been deleted or corrupted. This may be corrected by repairing the installation.

First, delete the file named 'SystemMotifs.mdb' from ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\System.

This assumes you have installed your Premier+™ Embroidery System software in the default location. If the file is not present then this is the reason for the error. The file name may simply be shown as 'SystemMotifs'.

Put your Premier+™ Embroidery System software DVD in your computer and re-run the installation. When the choice appears, select the "Modify or remove" option and click Next. In the next screen, select Repair and click Next. Continue with the installation and follow the on-screen instructions. When the installation is complete, the motifs will be restored.

You are permitted to install your software onto a secondary computer – i.e. to install it onto your Desktop computer and your laptop computer.

You only have one dongle per software package; so you are limited to using the software on one computer at a time.

Some USB ports do not have enough power to drive the dongle. By using a USB hub, which uses a power supply, this can be overcome.

This message will appear when trying to use Premier+™ Embroidery if the Premier+™ Embroidery System cannot detect the dongle (data protection device). For example, if the dongle has been removed or loosened while using Premier+™ Embroidery. Ensure the dongle is plugged into a free USB port of your computer.

The dongle and all our other USB devices work with USB 3.0 ports.

This can happen if you unplug your dongle or other USB device and then plug it back into a different USB port. When this happens, it is detected as a new hardware item and the driver is installed on the alternative USB port. Wait for the hardware wizard to finish installing the driver, then continue using the software as usual.

If your dongle is working correctly then it is not necessary to install this update. If you do not wish to see this update each time you use Windows® Update, select the Hide This Update option and it will not be listed next time you use Windows® Update.

This message will appear if the dongle driver is not accessible, has been removed or has not been installed correctly.

First, ensure you are logged onto your computer with full administrator rights and attempt to use the desired Premier+™ Embroidery System module. If the error message no longer appears, then the user name you originally tried to use is too restricted to use the Premier+™ Embroidery System.

Otherwise, use the dongle driver installation utility in the \Technical\Dongle Driver folder of your Premier+™ Embroidery System DVD (also available by download). Ensure you are logged onto your computer with full administrator rights before using the dongle driver installation utility.

This error is given when Anti-Virus / Firewall software is preventing the Sentinel HASP (dongle) software communicating with the dongle. This may cause the dongle to flash.

This is due to the connection being blocked, normally by Anti-Virus / Firewall software.

Another factor, may be that the Sentinel License Manager Service may have been stopped on your computer. Follow the steps below to start that service:

1. Open Windows Explorer/File Explorer.
2. Right click on Computer/This PC.
3. Click on the Manage option. The Computer Management window will appear.
4. Click on Services on the left hand window.
5. Right click on Sentinel HASP License Manager on the right hand window.
6. Click on the Start option.
7. When the service has started; try to open the Premier+™ Software.

When you have installed and registered certain Premier+™ Embroidery System modules, you must activate the dongle. If you attempt to run a module before activating, this message will appear.

It could be that your dongle drivers are not installed correctly.

When you install a new version of the dongle drivers, the installation will remove the old dongle drivers from your computer before it installs the latest version.

In case the old drivers were not fully removed correctly, then it is advisable to download and install the latest command-line dongle drivers - which remove all traces of the dongle drivers from your computer, before installing the latest dongle drivers:

1. Disconnect the dongle[s] from the computer.
2. Download the following file - Command-Line Purge Dongle Drivers
3. Double click on the HASPCommandLineDrivers-Purge.exe file – a black screen will appear.
4. You may receive a Microsoft warning message. Click the Run Anyway button.
5. Click Yes to any User Account Control prompts that may appear.
6. Click OK to both Sentinel Run-time Environment Installer messages reading Operation successfully completed.
7. When the process is finished, the black screen will disappear.
8. Insert your dongle into your computer – the Installing device driver software message may appear.

You do not need to uninstall the 6D Software when you come to installing the Premier+™ Embroidery System; both systems will co-exist on the same computer without issues.

The only exception being, that the 6D Explorer Plug-in will need to be uninstalled to allow the Premier+™ Explorer Plug-in to be installed

The best way to find out which features are in the latest Smart Update (or previous upgrades) is to:

1. Double click on the Premier+™ Embroidery System shortcut on your Desktop. A new Windows® Explorer window will appear
2. Double click on Readme shortcut.
3. Open the latest file.
4. The latest features will be listed at the top of the document.

Firstly, the Premier+™ Embroidery System is intended to be run on a Windows® computer.

Although, many customers have been able to get it to work fully using 3rd Party environments like Parallels and Boot Camp; we cannot support the software when it is run in a non-standard setup or using 3rd Party tools.

This error can happen when an issue has been found in the integrity of the downloaded file during the Smart Update process.

1. Close down all open programs.
2. Restart your computer.
3. Start the Smart Update process again.

Error 1722 appears when an installation of the Explorer Plugin may have become corrupted. Use the Premier+ Explorer Plugin Fix utility to correct this problem.

1. Download the Premier+ Explorer Plugin 1722 Fix utility here.
2. Double click on the downloaded PremierPlusExplorerPluginFix.exe file
3. Follow the on-screen instructions
4. Now try to install the Premier+ Explorer Plugin installation file again.

This message will appear when you have checked the Make Disk option, but have not put a floppy disk in the drive before clicking Next on the Output Options page. Disk creation is skipped, so if you wanted to create the disk, click Back on the Print Options page, insert a floppy disk and click Next again.

As you increase the Output Size, the number of stitches required to build each character will increase. If the characters are very large then the combined number of stitches for all the characters may mean that the full character set will not fit on a single floppy disk. This message will appear, allowing you to make a three-disk set.

This message appears when the font is so large and there are so many stitches that it will not fit onto disks, even when split across three disks. This is most likely to happen with fonts that are created as Fill + Satin Border. This message will inform you of this situation, but no disks will be made.

One solution is to create two copies of the font, one as Fill and one as Satin Border and stitch the Satin Border font over the top of the Fill font. Alternatively, reduce the size at which the font is generated and try again.

The sizes of the shapes in a symbol font often vary in size within a single font. The size of converted fonts is set by specifying the height of the uppercase letter A, or whichever symbol or character occupies its position in the font (ASCII character 65). This may affect your converted symbols if the symbol at ASCII 65 is a lot smaller or larger than other symbols in the font. If your symbols convert to unexpectedly small or large sizes, compare the symbols by selecting the font in a word processor and typing on your keyboard. Type in A and some other letters to see how the corresponding shapes differ in size from the shape for A. Alternatively, type in some letters in a normal font then select the letters and change them to the required symbol font.

There is a free word processor called WordPad supplied with all current versions of Windows®.

Ensure you are using Designer I software version 1.41 or later, as this feature is not available in earlier versions.

This message will appear when you try to set the Output Size too low or too high for the chosen Stitch Type. Change the Output Size accordingly.

This message appears if there is no room in the MyFonts folder on the Designer SE to transfer the font you have selected. Delete some fonts, then try again.

This message may appear when trying to preview or create a font with the QuickFont Wizard. When some parts of characters have very narrow sections, they may not be large enough to have fill areas created when the Stitch Type is set to Fill or Fill + Satin Border. If the font is created, it may have characters or parts of some characters missing. It is recommended to choose a different Stitch Type. Alternatively, create the font then use Premier+™ Font Create to create the missing parts and/or characters

This message may appear during font creation if one or more characters is not properly defined in a font. That is, there is no data in the TrueType or OpenType font about the characters, so they cannot be created in the embroidery font. This may happen with specialist or symbol fonts, which are not designed for general text usage. Click Yes to continue and create the available characters, or click No to cancel creating the font and choose a different TrueType or OpenType font.

This message appears if there is no disk inserted in the floppy disk drive of your computer when you try to save the font to floppy disk.

To backup your Premier+™ settings:

Backing Up MySettings:

1. Open Premier+™ Configure.
2. Click on the Backup MySettings button. A 'Save As' dialog box will appear.
3. If needed, give the file a descriptive name. Click Save. By default the file will be saved within your \Documents\Premier+\SystemBackup folder
4. Open Windows Explorer.
5. Browse to your Documents folder.
6. Double click on the Premier+™ Embroidery folder.
7. Copy all folders and files - except the Samples folder - to your *external media.
8. Browse to the folder which contains your MyFonts folder - see below - and also copy the MyFonts folder to your external media.

Windows® 7 / Windows® 8 users: C:\ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\Fonts\

* external media: this can be a USB Stick, External USB Hard Disk, burned/copied onto a CD/DVD...etc.

** The main thing, is that not to store backups on the same physical hard disk that your Premier+™ Embroidery System is installed on - if that hard disk malfunctioned, then you would lose your Premier+™ software and all of your backups as well.

You have not selected the option to start Embroidery Machine Communication automatically when Windows starts. Resolve this as follows:

1. Start Premier+™ Configure.
2. Click the Start Machine Communication button and the icon will appear in the system tray.
3. Position the pointer over the icon in the system tray and right-click. A menu will appear.
4. Click the Start Automatically option.
5. Right-click the icon again to confirm the Start Automatically option is checked.
6. Click anywhere on the desktop, away from the menu, to close the menu without changing anything.

This message appears if you attempt to click OK in the Color Selection dialog box when My Threads is selected as the thread range and My Threads is empty.

To prevent this message appearing again, use Premier+™ Thread Cache to add at least one thread to My Threads.

Use Premier+™ Configure to change the grid color. Follow the instructions in Premier+™ Configure and select Blue Gray (RGB values 100, 102, 153) from the standard color drop-down on the Grid Color button.

Use Screen Preferences to change the grid spacing. Set the Grid Size to 10.

The MyFonts folder for the Premier+ Embroidery System, can be found here:

Windows® 7 / Windows® 8 / Windows® 10 users: C:\ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\Fonts\MyFonts

If you do not see the ProgramData folder; then you may have to take the following steps to stop them being hidden by your operating system:

1. Click on your Start menu.
2. Click on Control Panel.
3. Type folder option into the Search textbox
4. Click on the Folder Options link.
5. The Folder Options dialog box will appear – set it to Show hidden files, folders and drives files and uncheck the two Hide options indicated in the screenshot – click Yes to the warning message.
6. Click OK.
7. Once you have followed all the instructions for accessing the MyFonts folder, you can reverse these instructions to put the Folder Options to what they were.

The QuickFont Wizard is designed to work with Windows TrueType® and OpenType ® fonts. The QuickFont Wizard does not support Postscript Type 1 fonts. To check Font Properties:

1. Click Start, Control Panel, then select Fonts.
2. Click the desired font to select it.
3. Right-click and select Properties from the menu that appears.
4. Check the Type of file section. If it is PostScript Metrics or Type 1 Font File it will not work with the QuickFont Wizard.

This message may appear at the end of font creation if one or more characters is not properly defined in a font. That is, there is no data in the TrueType or OpenType font about the characters, so they have not been created in the embroidery font. This may happen with specialist or symbol fonts, which are not designed for general text usage. If desired, use Premier+™ Font Create to create any missing characters.

This message may appear when trying to preview or create a font with the QuickFont Wizard. When some parts of characters have very narrow sections, they may not be large enough to have fill areas created when the Stitch Type is set to Fill or Fill + Satin Border. If the font is created, it may have characters or parts of some characters missing. It is recommended to choose a different Stitch Type. Alternatively, create the font then use Premier+™ Font Create to create the missing parts and/or characters.

This can happen if you have selected a very small (or complex) TrueType Font that is installed on your computer.

If a particular character is extremely small; then some of the narrower sections of a character will not be large enough to contain a Satin/Fill area. This may result in that character not being generated.

For example when trying to generate the Garamond font; by default the 'e' character is too small to generate - resulting in the following message

A way around this is to increase DPI settings on your computer (the size that your Operating System displays your fonts at):

The image below gives an approximation of moving from normal (left) to Large (right)

Windows 7

1. Right click on an empty area of your Desktop.
2. Click on the Screen resolutionoption. The Screen resolution appears
3. Click on the Make text and other items larger or smaller option.
4. Choose the Medium (or Larger) option.
5. Click Apply. Restart your computer if prompted.

This message appears if the Thread Range of the selected color is not found in your thread database. This could happen if the design you are attempting to edit was supplied by someone with a later version of the thread database.

Use the Import Threads from Embroidery feature in Premier+™ Thread Cache. You can alter it to any other color if desired. If you click Cancel, the color will not be changed.

To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure.

This message appears if you type an incorrect extension that does not belong to any embroidery file types in the File Name box when trying to save a file.

This message appears if there is a problem with your thread database. You will be unable to choose a thread color. First close all the modules of the Premier+™ Embroidery System, close down your computer and restart. If this does not clear the problem, restore a backup with Restore MySettings, if you have created one using Backup MySettings in Premier+™ Configure. Otherwise, you either need a new version of the thread database, or a repair install of your Premier+™ Embroidery System software. To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure.

If the error still appears, then repair the installation. First, delete the following files from ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\System:

• User.sqlite
• System_cdb2.sqlite

This assumes you have installed your Premier+™ Embroidery System software in the default location. If these file are not present then this is the reason for the error. The file names may be shown without their file extensions.

Put your Premier+™ Embroidery System software DVD in your computer and re-run the Applications installation. (If you downloaded your software, double-click on the Premier+™ Applications file.) When the choice appears, select the "Modify or remove" option and click Next. In the next screen, select Repair and click Next. Continue with the installation and follow the on-screen instructions. When the installation is complete, the thread database will be restored to its original installation state. This means that the MyThreads database will have the default set of threads.

This will also reset MyThreadRanges and custom Quick Color Themes to their installation states. Check Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure after repairing the installation.

This message appears if you attempt to click OK in the Color Selection dialog box when MyThreads is selected as the thread range and MyThreads is empty.

To prevent this message appearing again, use Premier+™ Thread Cache to add at least one thread to MyThreads.

Use Reset All Modules in Premier+ Configure to return all toolbars in the module to their default settings.

To use Reset All Modules

1. Ensure your designs are saved in any Premier+ Embroidery System modules that are open.
2. Click Premier+ Configure on the QuickLink toolbar.
3. Click Reset All Modules.
4. A message will appear, indicating that all modules will be closed and reset. Click OK.
5. A message will appear, asking you to ensure that all other Premier+ Embroidery System modules have closed, apart from Premier+ Configure. Click OK.
6. A message will appear, indicating that all modules have now been reset. Click OK. The toolbars in your module will have been restored.

If preferred, you can check individual toolbars in View, Customize. Use this to see if the missing toolbar has been turned off, and also to reset the toolbar if icons have been added to or removed from the toolbar. If this does not restore the toolbar, use Reset All Modules.

This message appears if the Thread Range of the selected color is not found in your thread database. This could happen if the design you are attempting to edit was supplied bysomeone with a later version of the thread database. If you click OK, the color will be replaced with the nearest match in the Import Thread Range you have set in Premier+™ Configure. You can alter it to any other color if desired. If you click Cancel, the color will not be changed. To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure.

The Find Thread feature in Color Selection allows you to enter partial thread numbers. The first thread in the list matching the number is found, with priority given to an exact match. If you are attempting to find a thread with only part of the number, the first thread matched may not be the desired thread. To ensure you select the correct thread, enter the thread number as it appears in the list. Some thread ranges have prefix characters on the thread number. These must also be entered to obtain an exact match.

This message appears if, for instance, you have loaded an embroidery from a CD-ROM and then attempt to save the embroidery back to the CD. A CD-ROM is read only, therefore you will not be able to save the embroidery.

This message will appear if system resources are low. Close other programs and try again. If this does not work, try restarting your computer.

Confirm Premier+™ Embroidery System Documentation is Installed

This could be because you have not yet installed the Premier+™ Embroidery System Documentation. You can confirm if you have installed this by going to Premier+™ Configure and clicking on the Check Installation button and clicking Check to see which items you have installed.

Check you have the latest version of the Premier+™ System Documentation installed

Previous Premier+™ Documentation installations included Help for some modules. In the Premier+™ Documentation 11.1, we have included Help and Reference Guides for all modules except Premier+™ Font Create.

Use Smart Update to check you have the latest version:

1. Open Premier+™ Configure.
2. Click on the Smart Update button.
3. Enter your E-mail Address/Password details.
4. Click Next.
5. Click Next again to start the Download process.
6. Follow the on-screen instructions.

This message will appear when trying to start a module if the Premier+™ Embroidery System cannot detect the dongle (data protection device). Ensure the dongle is plugged into a free USB port of your computer.

This message may appear if you attempt to load an embroidery created in third-party software. Such embroideries may cause unpredictable results.

This message usually means that the motif database has been deleted or corrupted. This may be corrected by repairing the installation.

First, delete the file named 'SystemMotifs.mdb' from ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\System.

This assumes you have installed your Premier+™ Embroidery System software in the default location. If the file is not present then this is the reason for the error. The file name may simply be shown as 'SystemMotifs'.

Put your Premier+™ Embroidery System software DVD in your computer and re-run the installation. When the choice appears, select the "Modify or remove" option and click Next. In the next screen, select Repair and click Next. Continue with the installation and follow the on-screen instructions. When the installation is complete, the motifs will be restored.

You are permitted to install your software onto a secondary computer – i.e. to install it onto your Desktop computer and your laptop computer.

You only have one dongle per software package; so you are limited to using the software on one computer at a time.

This message will appear when trying to use Premier+™ Embroidery if the Premier+™ Embroidery System cannot detect the dongle (data protection device). For example, if the dongle has been removed or loosened while using Premier+™ Embroidery. Ensure the dongle is plugged into a free USB port of your computer.

The dongle and all our other USB devices work with USB 3.0 ports.

This can happen if you unplug your dongle or other USB device and then plug it back into a different USB port. When this happens, it is detected as a new hardware item and the driver is installed on the alternative USB port. Wait for the hardware wizard to finish installing the driver, then continue using the software as usual.

If your dongle is working correctly then it is not necessary to install this update. If you do not wish to see this update each time you use Windows® Update, select the Hide This Update option and it will not be listed next time you use Windows® Update.

This message will appear if the dongle driver is not accessible, has been removed or has not been installed correctly.

First, ensure you are logged onto your computer with full administrator rights and attempt to use the desired Premier+™ Embroidery System module. If the error message no longer appears, then the user name you originally tried to use is too restricted to use the Premier+™ Embroidery System.

Otherwise, use the dongle driver installation utility in the \Technical\Dongle Driver folder of your Premier+™ Embroidery System DVD (also available by download). Ensure you are logged onto your computer with full administrator rights before using the dongle driver installation utility.

This error is given when Anti-Virus / Firewall software is preventing the Sentinel HASP (dongle) software communicating with the dongle. This may cause the dongle to flash.

This is due to the connection being blocked, normally by Anti-Virus / Firewall software.

Another factor, may be that the Sentinel License Manager Service may have been stopped on your computer. Follow the steps below to start that service:

1. Open Windows Explorer/File Explorer.
2. Right click on Computer/This PC.
3. Click on the Manage option. The Computer Management window will appear.
4. Click on Services on the left hand window.
5. Right click on Sentinel HASP License Manager on the right hand window.
6. Click on the Start option.
7. When the service has started; try to open the Premier+™ Software.

When you have installed and registered certain Premier+™ Embroidery System modules, you must activate the dongle. If you attempt to run a module before activating, this message will appear.

It could be that your dongle drivers are not installed correctly.

When you install a new version of the dongle drivers, the installation will remove the old dongle drivers from your computer before it installs the latest version.

In case the old drivers were not fully removed correctly, then it is advisable to download and install the latest command-line dongle drivers - which remove all traces of the dongle drivers from your computer, before installing the latest dongle drivers:

1. Disconnect the dongle[s] from the computer.
2. Download the following file - Command-Line Purge Dongle Drivers
3. Double click on the HASPCommandLineDrivers-Purge.exe file – a black screen will appear.
4. You may receive a Microsoft warning message. Click the Run Anyway button.
5. Click Yes to any User Account Control prompts that may appear.
6. Click OK to both Sentinel Run-time Environment Installer messages reading Operation successfully completed.
7. When the process is finished, the black screen will disappear.
8. Insert your dongle into your computer – the Installing device driver software message may appear.

You do not need to uninstall the 6D Software when you come to installing the Premier+™ Embroidery System; both systems will co-exist on the same computer without issues.

The only exception being, that the 6D Explorer Plug-in will need to be uninstalled to allow the Premier+™ Explorer Plug-in to be installed

The best way to find out which features are in the latest Smart Update (or previous upgrades) is to:

1. Double click on the Premier+™ Embroidery System shortcut on your Desktop. A new Windows® Explorer window will appear
2. Double click on Readme shortcut.
3. Open the latest file.
4. The latest features will be listed at the top of the document.

Firstly, the Premier+™ Embroidery System is intended to be run on a Windows® computer.

Although, many customers have been able to get it to work fully using 3rd Party environments like Parallels and Boot Camp; we cannot support the software when it is run in a non-standard setup or using 3rd Party tools.

This error can happen when an issue has been found in the integrity of the downloaded file during the Smart Update process.

1. Close down all open programs.
2. Restart your computer.
3. Start the Smart Update process again.

Error 1722 appears when an installation of the Explorer Plugin may have become corrupted. Use the Premier+ Explorer Plugin Fix utility to correct this problem.

1. Download the Premier+ Explorer Plugin 1722 Fix utility here.
2. Double click on the downloaded PremierPlusExplorerPluginFix.exe file
3. Follow the on-screen instructions
4. Now try to install the Premier+ Explorer Plugin installation file again.

To backup your Premier+™ settings:

Backing Up MySettings:

1. Open Premier+™ Configure.
2. Click on the Backup MySettings button. A 'Save As' dialog box will appear.
3. If needed, give the file a descriptive name. Click Save. By default the file will be saved within your \Documents\Premier+\SystemBackup folder
4. Open Windows Explorer.
5. Browse to your Documents folder.
6. Double click on the Premier+™ Embroidery folder.
7. Copy all folders and files - except the Samples folder - to your *external media.
8. Browse to the folder which contains your MyFonts folder - see below - and also copy the MyFonts folder to your external media.

Windows® 7 / Windows® 8 users: C:\ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\Fonts\

* external media: this can be a USB Stick, External USB Hard Disk, burned/copied onto a CD/DVD...etc.

** The main thing, is that not to store backups on the same physical hard disk that your Premier+™ Embroidery System is installed on - if that hard disk malfunctioned, then you would lose your Premier+™ software and all of your backups as well.

The correct DPI (dots per inch) setting will depend on the size of the picture to be scanned. The desired picture size is approximately 1000 X 1000 pixels. To achieve this take the size of your artwork in inches, such as 8" x 7", and divide the longest side into 1000. In the example, 1000 divided by 8 = 125. The DPI setting of the scanner should then be 125 DPI, and this will produce a picture that is about 1000 x 875 pixels.

Although the program automatically doubles the size of a picture if its height and width are less than 500 pixels, this may still produce jagged lines. For a smoother effect, rescan the picture.

You have not selected the option to start Embroidery Machine Communication automatically when Windows starts. Resolve this as follows:

1. Start Premier+™ Configure.
2. Click the Start Machine Communication button and the icon will appear in the system tray.
3. Position the pointer over the icon in the system tray and right-click. A menu will appear.
4. Click the Start Automatically option.
5. Right-click the icon again to confirm the Start Automatically option is checked.
6. Click anywhere on the desktop, away from the menu, to close the menu without changing anything.

You may connect one of each type of embroidery machine to the same computer. For example, you may connect one Husqvarna Viking Designer SE, Diamond, Ruby and one Pfaff creative vision, 4.0 at the same time.

However, if you connect two or more of the same type of machine, the Embroidery Machine Communication module will not communicate correctly with those machines.

This message appears if you attempt to click OK in the Color Selection dialog box when My Threads is selected as the thread range and My Threads is empty.

To prevent this message appearing again, use Premier+™ Thread Cache to add at least one thread to My Threads.

There is a limit on the number of stitches that may be saved to an embroidery file in Pfaff (.pcs) file format. This message appears if the embroidery you attempt to save to this format exceeds this limit.

The refresh rate of the screen is limited by the power of your computer's processor and RAM as well as the video card and its memory. To get the best performance from your system, try using 2D view as this requires less power than 3D view.

Certain icons (for example Save and Export on the Quick Access Toolbar) are only highlighted once an embroidery is shown on the screen.

Use Premier+™ Configure to change the grid color. Follow the instructions in Premier+™ Configure and select Blue Gray (RGB values 100, 102, 153) from the standard color drop-down on the Grid Color button.

Use Screen Preferences to change the grid spacing. Set the Grid Size to 10.

This message could appear if the desired picture is not where the module expects it to be, for example if it was loaded from a USB memory stick, then closed and the memory stick removed. It could also appear if the file you are attempting to load is corrupt. For example, it might have an extension such as .bmp or .jpg, yet not be a proper picture file.

This message appears if the Thread Range of the selected color is not found in your thread database. This could happen if the design you are attempting to edit was supplied by someone with a later version of the thread database.

Use the Import Threads from Embroidery feature in Premier+™ Thread Cache. You can alter it to any other color if desired. If you click Cancel, the color will not be changed.

To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure.

To drag and drop embroideries onto the Work Area, open Windows® Explorer. Then follow the instructions under Drag and Drop.

Certain formats are limited to the size of hoop used on their specific embroidery machine, for example .sew. If you attempt to save a file in this format that is bigger than the largest available hoop size this message would appear.

If your original embroidery had a stop command in it then this would be replaced by a color change, thus adding a color for every stop you have in your embroidery. As the Tajima file format does not have a stop command in its format, it requires the machine operator to manually enter stops into the machine. If you save or distribute files in Tajima format, then you must also specify all colors and stops and where they occur in the embroidery.

Janome software cannot load embroideries with more than 12 colors. If a file to be exported in .sew format has more than 12 color changes, it will automatically be split into multiple files, with the last character of the filename "1", "2", and so on.

This message appears if the desired embroidery is not where the module expects it to be, for example if an embroidery was loaded from a USB memory stick, then closed and the memory stick removed. The message would appear if you tried to load the embroidery from the Recent Files list on the File menu.

This message appears if the file you are attempting to load is corrupt. For example, it might have the extension .vp4, yet not be a proper Husqvarna Viking / Pfaff embroidery.

The embroidery is corrupt and cannot be loaded. Refer to source of this file for a solution.

The embroidery is corrupt and cannot be loaded. Refer to source of this file for a solution.

This message appears if you attempt to load a file with an extension that does not belong to any embroidery file types. For example, it would appear if you tried to drag and drop a .doc file onto the screen.

This message appears if you type an incorrect extension that does not belong to any embroidery file types in the File Name box when trying to save a file.

This message appears if there is a problem with your thread database. You will be unable to choose a thread color. First close all the modules of the Premier+™ Embroidery System, close down your computer and restart. If this does not clear the problem, restore a backup with Restore MySettings, if you have created one using Backup MySettings in Premier+™ Configure. Otherwise, you either need a new version of the thread database, or a repair install of your Premier+™ Embroidery System software. To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure.

If the error still appears, then repair the installation. First, delete the following files from ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\System:

• User.sqlite
• System_cdb2.sqlite

This assumes you have installed your Premier+™ Embroidery System software in the default location. If these file are not present then this is the reason for the error. The file names may be shown without their file extensions.

Put your Premier+™ Embroidery System software DVD in your computer and re-run the Applications installation. (If you downloaded your software, double-click on the Premier+™ Applications file.) When the choice appears, select the "Modify or remove" option and click Next. In the next screen, select Repair and click Next. Continue with the installation and follow the on-screen instructions. When the installation is complete, the thread database will be restored to its original installation state. This means that the MyThreads database will have the default set of threads.

This will also reset MyThreadRanges and custom Quick Color Themes to their installation states. Check Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure after repairing the installation.

This message appears if you attempt to click OK in the Color Selection dialog box when MyThreads is selected as the thread range and MyThreads is empty.

To prevent this message appearing again, use Premier+™ Thread Cache to add at least one thread to MyThreads.

Use Premier+™ Configure to change the background color. Follow the instructions in Premier+™ Configure and select the RGB values 211, 233, 255 in the Colors dialog box.

Use Reset All Modules in Premier+ Configure to return all toolbars in the module to their default settings.

To use Reset All Modules

1. Ensure your designs are saved in any Premier+ Embroidery System modules that are open.
2. Click Premier+ Configure on the QuickLink toolbar.
3. Click Reset All Modules.
4. A message will appear, indicating that all modules will be closed and reset. Click OK.
5. A message will appear, asking you to ensure that all other Premier+ Embroidery System modules have closed, apart from Premier+ Configure. Click OK.
6. A message will appear, indicating that all modules have now been reset. Click OK. The toolbars in your module will have been restored.

If preferred, you can check individual toolbars in View, Customize. Use this to see if the missing toolbar has been turned off, and also to reset the toolbar if icons have been added to or removed from the toolbar. If this does not restore the toolbar, use Reset All Modules.

This message appears if the Thread Range of the selected color is not found in your thread database. This could happen if the design you are attempting to edit was supplied bysomeone with a later version of the thread database. If you click OK, the color will be replaced with the nearest match in the Import Thread Range you have set in Premier+™ Configure. You can alter it to any other color if desired. If you click Cancel, the color will not be changed. To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure.

Certain formats are limited to the number of stitches they can save or the size of hoop used on their specific embroidery machine, for example .sew. If you attempt to save a file in this format that is bigger than the largest available hoop size or has more stitches than are allowed, this message would appear.

The Find Thread feature in Color Selection allows you to enter partial thread numbers. The first thread in the list matching the number is found, with priority given to an exact match. If you are attempting to find a thread with only part of the number, the first thread matched may not be the desired thread. To ensure you select the correct thread, enter the thread number as it appears in the list. Some thread ranges have prefix characters on the thread number. These must also be entered to obtain an exact match.

This message appears if, for instance, you have loaded an embroidery from a CD-ROM and then attempt to save the embroidery back to the CD. A CD-ROM is read only, therefore you will not be able to save the embroidery.

This message appears on attempting to save when there is no embroidery on the current window.

This message will appear if system resources are low. Close other programs and try again. If this does not work, try restarting your computer.

Confirm Premier+™ Embroidery System Documentation is Installed

This could be because you have not yet installed the Premier+™ Embroidery System Documentation. You can confirm if you have installed this by going to Premier+™ Configure and clicking on the Check Installation button and clicking Check to see which items you have installed.

Check you have the latest version of the Premier+™ System Documentation installed

Previous Premier+™ Documentation installations included Help for some modules. In the Premier+™ Documentation 11.1, we have included Help and Reference Guides for all modules except Premier+™ Font Create.

Use Smart Update to check you have the latest version:

1. Open Premier+™ Configure.
2. Click on the Smart Update button.
3. Enter your E-mail Address/Password details.
4. Click Next.
5. Click Next again to start the Download process.
6. Follow the on-screen instructions.

It may be that you installed another software which is now associated with your stitch files.

To reset the association back to the Premier+™ Embroidery System do the following steps:

1. Close down all programs.
2. Open Premier+™ Configure.
3. Click the Reset File Association button. A Reset File Association box will appear.
4. Click on the Premier+™ Embroidery button in the Reset File Association box.
5. The Set Program Association page will appear.
6. Click on the Select All checkbox. All stitch formats will be selected in the list.
7. Click Save.

All the selected stitch formats will have been set back to open in Premier+™ Embroidery.

This message will appear when trying to start a module if the Premier+™ Embroidery System cannot detect the dongle (data protection device). Ensure the dongle is plugged into a free USB port of your computer.

This message may appear if you attempt to load an embroidery created in third-party software. Such embroideries may cause unpredictable results.

This message usually means that the motif database has been deleted or corrupted. This may be corrected by repairing the installation.

First, delete the file named 'SystemMotifs.mdb' from ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\System.

This assumes you have installed your Premier+™ Embroidery System software in the default location. If the file is not present then this is the reason for the error. The file name may simply be shown as 'SystemMotifs'.

Put your Premier+™ Embroidery System software DVD in your computer and re-run the installation. When the choice appears, select the "Modify or remove" option and click Next. In the next screen, select Repair and click Next. Continue with the installation and follow the on-screen instructions. When the installation is complete, the motifs will be restored.

You are permitted to install your software onto a secondary computer – i.e. to install it onto your Desktop computer and your laptop computer.

You only have one dongle per software package; so you are limited to using the software on one computer at a time.

Some USB ports do not have enough power to drive the dongle. By using a USB hub, which uses a power supply, this can be overcome.

This message will appear when trying to use Premier+™ Embroidery if the Premier+™ Embroidery System cannot detect the dongle (data protection device). For example, if the dongle has been removed or loosened while using Premier+™ Embroidery. Ensure the dongle is plugged into a free USB port of your computer.

The dongle and all our other USB devices work with USB 3.0 ports.

This can happen if you unplug your dongle or other USB device and then plug it back into a different USB port. When this happens, it is detected as a new hardware item and the driver is installed on the alternative USB port. Wait for the hardware wizard to finish installing the driver, then continue using the software as usual.

If your dongle is working correctly then it is not necessary to install this update. If you do not wish to see this update each time you use Windows® Update, select the Hide This Update option and it will not be listed next time you use Windows® Update.

This message will appear if the dongle driver is not accessible, has been removed or has not been installed correctly.

First, ensure you are logged onto your computer with full administrator rights and attempt to use the desired Premier+™ Embroidery System module. If the error message no longer appears, then the user name you originally tried to use is too restricted to use the Premier+™ Embroidery System.

Otherwise, use the dongle driver installation utility in the \Technical\Dongle Driver folder of your Premier+™ Embroidery System DVD (also available by download). Ensure you are logged onto your computer with full administrator rights before using the dongle driver installation utility.

This error is given when Anti-Virus / Firewall software is preventing the Sentinel HASP (dongle) software communicating with the dongle. This may cause the dongle to flash.

This is due to the connection being blocked, normally by Anti-Virus / Firewall software.

Another factor, may be that the Sentinel License Manager Service may have been stopped on your computer. Follow the steps below to start that service:

1. Open Windows Explorer/File Explorer.
2. Right click on Computer/This PC.
3. Click on the Manage option. The Computer Management window will appear.
4. Click on Services on the left hand window.
5. Right click on Sentinel HASP License Manager on the right hand window.
6. Click on the Start option.
7. When the service has started; try to open the Premier+™ Software.

When you have installed and registered certain Premier+™ Embroidery System modules, you must activate the dongle. If you attempt to run a module before activating, this message will appear.

It could be that your dongle drivers are not installed correctly.

When you install a new version of the dongle drivers, the installation will remove the old dongle drivers from your computer before it installs the latest version.

In case the old drivers were not fully removed correctly, then it is advisable to download and install the latest command-line dongle drivers - which remove all traces of the dongle drivers from your computer, before installing the latest dongle drivers:

1. Disconnect the dongle[s] from the computer.
2. Download the following file - Command-Line Purge Dongle Drivers
3. Double click on the HASPCommandLineDrivers-Purge.exe file – a black screen will appear.
4. You may receive a Microsoft warning message. Click the Run Anyway button.
5. Click Yes to any User Account Control prompts that may appear.
6. Click OK to both Sentinel Run-time Environment Installer messages reading Operation successfully completed.
7. When the process is finished, the black screen will disappear.
8. Insert your dongle into your computer – the Installing device driver software message may appear.

You do not need to uninstall the 6D Software when you come to installing the Premier+™ Embroidery System; both systems will co-exist on the same computer without issues.

The only exception being, that the 6D Explorer Plug-in will need to be uninstalled to allow the Premier+™ Explorer Plug-in to be installed

The best way to find out which features are in the latest Smart Update (or previous upgrades) is to:

1. Double click on the Premier+™ Embroidery System shortcut on your Desktop. A new Windows® Explorer window will appear
2. Double click on Readme shortcut.
3. Open the latest file.
4. The latest features will be listed at the top of the document.

Firstly, the Premier+™ Embroidery System is intended to be run on a Windows® computer.

Although, many customers have been able to get it to work fully using 3rd Party environments like Parallels and Boot Camp; we cannot support the software when it is run in a non-standard setup or using 3rd Party tools.

This error can happen when an issue has been found in the integrity of the downloaded file during the Smart Update process.

1. Close down all open programs.
2. Restart your computer.
3. Start the Smart Update process again.

Error 1722 appears when an installation of the Explorer Plugin may have become corrupted. Use the Premier+ Explorer Plugin Fix utility to correct this problem.

1. Download the Premier+ Explorer Plugin 1722 Fix utility here.
2. Double click on the downloaded PremierPlusExplorerPluginFix.exe file
3. Follow the on-screen instructions
4. Now try to install the Premier+ Explorer Plugin installation file again.

This message will appear when trying to start Premier+™ Sketch if the Premier+™ Embroidery System cannot detect the dongle (data protection device). Ensure the dongle is plugged into a free USB port of your computer.

This message appears when attempting to open Premier+™ Sketch if your computer is set to a display of 256 colors or less. Reset the display as follows.

1. Right-click on the desktop and a shortcut menu appears.
2. In Windows® 7, click Screen resolution, then click Advanced settings - Properties box will appear. From there click the Monitor tab.
3. Set the Color quality to High Color (16 bit) or higher using the drop-down menu.
4. Click OK, and allow your computer to restart if required.

This message appears on the Load Embroidery page of the Load Design Wizard if you choose an embroidery that will not fit the chosen hoop size, even if it is rotated. If you wish to load the selected embroidery, step back through the wizard, increase the hoop size as necessary and try again.

This message appears on the Load Embroidery page of the Load Design Wizard if you choose an embroidery that will only fit the chosen hoop size if it is rotated. If you wish to accept the embroidery you have selected, but rotate it to fit in the hoop, click Yes. Otherwise, click No. If you click No because you want to load the embroidery in its original orientation, you should go back through the Load Design Wizard and change the hoop size or orientation.

When setting the Minimum and Maximum ZigZag Width in Stitches Preferences, the Minimum must be the same or smaller than the Maximum. Adjust either the Minimum or Maximum to ensure that the Minimum is not larger than the Maximum ZigZag Width.

Certain icons (for example, most of the Edit toolbar icons) are only highlighted once there are stitches on the screen.

This can happen in 3D view with any of the zigzag stitches when the ZigZag Width is very low. You have drawn very short stitches close to each other, and this causes them to appear broken up in 3D view. Select 2D view and you will see the stitches. Hence, this is only an issue with displaying the stitches in 3D.

Make sure the Premier+™ Sketch window is maximized by clicking the Maximize icon on the title bar. Click Zoom To Fit to expand the hoop so it fills the work area. Also, choose a Hoop Size in the Load Design Wizard or Hoop Selection that is suitable to the embroidery size.

Many functions of Premier+™ Sketch can be used to help see sections of embroideries more easily. They include the Zoom Commands and hiding thread colors. The different methods of selection (Box Select, Freehand Select, Polygon Select and Make Block From Visible Area) are also useful for different situations.

This happens when you have a stitch point part way through your embroidery selected and Insert Mode is on. When Insert Mode is on, new stitches and/or color changes are inserted at the selected stitch point. This also affects stitches added to the embroidery with Paste, and embroideries inserted with Open, View and so on. To ensure you only add stitches and color changes at the end of your embroidery, turn off Insert Mode.

Right-click to finish the Erase Stitches operation. The highlighted stitches will be erased. Click Undo, and the erase operation will be reversed. Use Erase Stitches again to remove the stitches you wanted to erase, without removing the stitches you want to keep.

The plan view and the picture pages only have stitches and the picture on the printed page. This is necessary on the sheet that prints the picture, so that only the picture is printed onto the printable fabric or tee shirt transfer paper. Similarly, the plan view should only show the picture and the alignment stitches and/or the embroidery.

This message appears if you select Finish on the Load Embroidery page of the Load Design Wizard when there is no embroidery loaded. Load an embroidery so there is an embroidery shown in the preview area. If you do not wish to load an embroidery, return to the Design Options page and choose a different option.

This message appears on attempting to save when there is no embroidery loaded, no alignment stitches have been created and no stitches have been drawn.

This may happen if you pause the pen on the same point on the tablet for an extended time when drawing with Free Motion, Horizontal ZigZag, Rotational ZigZag or Calligraphy. Each of these drawing functions adds stitches to the design continuously when the pen is on the tablet (or when the mouse button is held down), as controlled by the Free Motion Stitch Speed. This is the same as holding fabric in one place in a sewing machine while continuously stitching. The stitches will be on the same point. You can see this happening as the stitch count on the status bar increases.

Either select and delete the excess stitches, or remove them with the Eraser.

Alternatively, Premier+™ Modify includes a Density Advisor, which can automatically reduce the density where stitch points are tightly packed together.

This might happen if the CTRL key is still held down when you have no stitch drawing function selected. When no other functions are active, stitches can be selected by selecting a stitch, then using CTRL+click to select another stitch. This will make a selection of all the stitches between the two selected stitches. If no other stitch is selected, the last stitch in the embroidery is selected. Hence, CTRL+click will select all stitches from the clicked stitch to the end of the embroidery. To cancel the selection, right-click. If you have moved the selection, click Undo to move the stitches back to their original positions.

The CTRL key should only be held down if a stitch drawing function is selected. It is recommended to also release the CTRL key when you right-click to deselect a function.

To backup your Premier+™ settings:

Backing Up MySettings:

1. Open Premier+™ Configure.
2. Click on the Backup MySettings button. A 'Save As' dialog box will appear.
3. If needed, give the file a descriptive name. Click Save. By default the file will be saved within your \Documents\Premier+\SystemBackup folder
4. Open Windows Explorer.
5. Browse to your Documents folder.
6. Double click on the Premier+™ Embroidery folder.
7. Copy all folders and files - except the Samples folder - to your *external media.
8. Browse to the folder which contains your MyFonts folder - see below - and also copy the MyFonts folder to your external media.

Windows® 7 / Windows® 8 users: C:\ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\Fonts\

* external media: this can be a USB Stick, External USB Hard Disk, burned/copied onto a CD/DVD...etc.

** The main thing, is that not to store backups on the same physical hard disk that your Premier+™ Embroidery System is installed on - if that hard disk malfunctioned, then you would lose your Premier+™ software and all of your backups as well.

This message will appear when you copy a thread from a standard thread range to MyThreads, and the thread has already been copied.

This message will appear if you enter a Thread Number that already exists in MyThreads, when adding or editing custom MyThreads. Click OK, and an underline and number will be added to the end of the Thread Number to make it unique. If desired, click in the Thread Number box and re-edit it.

This message will appear when you try to delete a thread definition from MyThreads. If you wish to go ahead and delete the thread, click Yes. Otherwise click No.

This message will appear when you try to save a new or edited thread if the Thread Number is blank. The Thread Number may not be blank. Enter a Thread Number and click OK.

If you open a file that has colors from MyThreads that are unmodified copies of standard threads, but do not exist as copies in your MyThreads list, the color will be identified and selected in the original thread range when you click the color to change it.

You have not selected the option to start Embroidery Machine Communication automatically when Windows starts. Resolve this as follows:

1. Start Premier+™ Configure.
2. Click the Start Machine Communication button and the icon will appear in the system tray.
3. Position the pointer over the icon in the system tray and right-click. A menu will appear.
4. Click the Start Automatically option.
5. Right-click the icon again to confirm the Start Automatically option is checked.
6. Click anywhere on the desktop, away from the menu, to close the menu without changing anything.

You may connect one of each type of embroidery machine to the same computer. For example, you may connect one Husqvarna Viking Designer SE, Diamond, Ruby and one Pfaff creative vision, 4.0 at the same time.

However, if you connect two or more of the same type of machine, the Embroidery Machine Communication module will not communicate correctly with those machines.

This message appears if you attempt to click OK in the Color Selection dialog box when My Threads is selected as the thread range and My Threads is empty.

To prevent this message appearing again, use Premier+™ Thread Cache to add at least one thread to My Threads.

Use Premier+™ Configure to change the grid color. Follow the instructions in Premier+™ Configure and select Blue Gray (RGB values 100, 102, 153) from the standard color drop-down on the Grid Color button.

Use Screen Preferences to change the grid spacing. Set the Grid Size to 10.

This message appears if the Thread Range of the selected color is not found in your thread database. This could happen if the design you are attempting to edit was supplied by someone with a later version of the thread database.

Use the Import Threads from Embroidery feature in Premier+™ Thread Cache. You can alter it to any other color if desired. If you click Cancel, the color will not be changed.

To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure.

This message appears if there is a problem with your thread database. You will be unable to choose a thread color. First close all the modules of the Premier+™ Embroidery System, close down your computer and restart. If this does not clear the problem, restore a backup with Restore MySettings, if you have created one using Backup MySettings in Premier+™ Configure. Otherwise, you either need a new version of the thread database, or a repair install of your Premier+™ Embroidery System software. To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure.

If the error still appears, then repair the installation. First, delete the following files from ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\System:

• User.sqlite
• System_cdb2.sqlite

This assumes you have installed your Premier+™ Embroidery System software in the default location. If these file are not present then this is the reason for the error. The file names may be shown without their file extensions.

Put your Premier+™ Embroidery System software DVD in your computer and re-run the Applications installation. (If you downloaded your software, double-click on the Premier+™ Applications file.) When the choice appears, select the "Modify or remove" option and click Next. In the next screen, select Repair and click Next. Continue with the installation and follow the on-screen instructions. When the installation is complete, the thread database will be restored to its original installation state. This means that the MyThreads database will have the default set of threads.

This will also reset MyThreadRanges and custom Quick Color Themes to their installation states. Check Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure after repairing the installation.

This message appears if you attempt to click OK in the Color Selection dialog box when MyThreads is selected as the thread range and MyThreads is empty.

To prevent this message appearing again, use Premier+™ Thread Cache to add at least one thread to MyThreads.

Use Reset All Modules in Premier+ Configure to return all toolbars in the module to their default settings.

To use Reset All Modules

1. Ensure your designs are saved in any Premier+ Embroidery System modules that are open.
2. Click Premier+ Configure on the QuickLink toolbar.
3. Click Reset All Modules.
4. A message will appear, indicating that all modules will be closed and reset. Click OK.
5. A message will appear, asking you to ensure that all other Premier+ Embroidery System modules have closed, apart from Premier+ Configure. Click OK.
6. A message will appear, indicating that all modules have now been reset. Click OK. The toolbars in your module will have been restored.

If preferred, you can check individual toolbars in View, Customize. Use this to see if the missing toolbar has been turned off, and also to reset the toolbar if icons have been added to or removed from the toolbar. If this does not restore the toolbar, use Reset All Modules.

This message appears if the Thread Range of the selected color is not found in your thread database. This could happen if the design you are attempting to edit was supplied bysomeone with a later version of the thread database. If you click OK, the color will be replaced with the nearest match in the Import Thread Range you have set in Premier+™ Configure. You can alter it to any other color if desired. If you click Cancel, the color will not be changed. To check for the latest updates for the Premier+™ Embroidery System, use Smart Update in Premier+™ Configure.

The Find Thread feature in Color Selection allows you to enter partial thread numbers. The first thread in the list matching the number is found, with priority given to an exact match. If you are attempting to find a thread with only part of the number, the first thread matched may not be the desired thread. To ensure you select the correct thread, enter the thread number as it appears in the list. Some thread ranges have prefix characters on the thread number. These must also be entered to obtain an exact match.

This message appears if, for instance, you have loaded an embroidery from a CD-ROM and then attempt to save the embroidery back to the CD. A CD-ROM is read only, therefore you will not be able to save the embroidery.

This message will appear if system resources are low. Close other programs and try again. If this does not work, try restarting your computer.

Confirm Premier+™ Embroidery System Documentation is Installed

This could be because you have not yet installed the Premier+™ Embroidery System Documentation. You can confirm if you have installed this by going to Premier+™ Configure and clicking on the Check Installation button and clicking Check to see which items you have installed.

Check you have the latest version of the Premier+™ System Documentation installed

Previous Premier+™ Documentation installations included Help for some modules. In the Premier+™ Documentation 11.1, we have included Help and Reference Guides for all modules except Premier+™ Font Create.

Use Smart Update to check you have the latest version:

1. Open Premier+™ Configure.
2. Click on the Smart Update button.
3. Enter your E-mail Address/Password details.
4. Click Next.
5. Click Next again to start the Download process.
6. Follow the on-screen instructions.

This message will appear when trying to start a module if the Premier+™ Embroidery System cannot detect the dongle (data protection device). Ensure the dongle is plugged into a free USB port of your computer.

This message may appear if you attempt to load an embroidery created in third-party software. Such embroideries may cause unpredictable results.

This message usually means that the motif database has been deleted or corrupted. This may be corrected by repairing the installation.

First, delete the file named 'SystemMotifs.mdb' from ProgramData\VSMSoftware\Premier+\System.

This assumes you have installed your Premier+™ Embroidery System software in the default location. If the file is not present then this is the reason for the error. The file name may simply be shown as 'SystemMotifs'.

Put your Premier+™ Embroidery System software DVD in your computer and re-run the installation. When the choice appears, select the "Modify or remove" option and click Next. In the next screen, select Repair and click Next. Continue with the installation and follow the on-screen instructions. When the installation is complete, the motifs will be restored.

You are permitted to install your software onto a secondary computer – i.e. to install it onto your Desktop computer and your laptop computer.

You only have one dongle per software package; so you are limited to using the software on one computer at a time.

This message will appear when trying to use Premier+™ Embroidery if the Premier+™ Embroidery System cannot detect the dongle (data protection device). For example, if the dongle has been removed or loosened while using Premier+™ Embroidery. Ensure the dongle is plugged into a free USB port of your computer.

The dongle and all our other USB devices work with USB 3.0 ports.

This can happen if you unplug your dongle or other USB device and then plug it back into a different USB port. When this happens, it is detected as a new hardware item and the driver is installed on the alternative USB port. Wait for the hardware wizard to finish installing the driver, then continue using the software as usual.

If your dongle is working correctly then it is not necessary to install this update. If you do not wish to see this update each time you use Windows® Update, select the Hide This Update option and it will not be listed next time you use Windows® Update.

This message will appear if the dongle driver is not accessible, has been removed or has not been installed correctly.

First, ensure you are logged onto your computer with full administrator rights and attempt to use the desired Premier+™ Embroidery System module. If the error message no longer appears, then the user name you originally tried to use is too restricted to use the Premier+™ Embroidery System.

Otherwise, use the dongle driver installation utility in the \Technical\Dongle Driver folder of your Premier+™ Embroidery System DVD (also available by download). Ensure you are logged onto your computer with full administrator rights before using the dongle driver installation utility.

This error is given when Anti-Virus / Firewall software is preventing the Sentinel HASP (dongle) software communicating with the dongle. This may cause the dongle to flash.

This is due to the connection being blocked, normally by Anti-Virus / Firewall software.

Another factor, may be that the Sentinel License Manager Service may have been stopped on your computer. Follow the steps below to start that service:

1. Open Windows Explorer/File Explorer.
2. Right click on Computer/This PC.
3. Click on the Manage option. The Computer Management window will appear.
4. Click on Services on the left hand window.
5. Right click on Sentinel HASP License Manager on the right hand window.
6. Click on the Start option.
7. When the service has started; try to open the Premier+™ Software.

When you have installed and registered certain Premier+™ Embroidery System modules, you must activate the dongle. If you attempt to run a module before activating, this message will appear.

It could be that your dongle drivers are not installed correctly.

When you install a new version of the dongle drivers, the installation will remove the old dongle drivers from your computer before it installs the latest version.

In case the old drivers were not fully removed correctly, then it is advisable to download and install the latest command-line dongle drivers - which remove all traces of the dongle drivers from your computer, before installing the latest dongle drivers:

1. Disconnect the dongle[s] from the computer.
2. Download the following file - Command-Line Purge Dongle Drivers
3. Double click on the HASPCommandLineDrivers-Purge.exe file – a black screen will appear.
4. You may receive a Microsoft warning message. Click the Run Anyway button.
5. Click Yes to any User Account Control prompts that may appear.
6. Click OK to both Sentinel Run-time Environment Installer messages reading Operation successfully completed.
7. When the process is finished, the black screen will disappear.
8. Insert your dongle into your computer – the Installing device driver software message may appear.