Projector Workspace

Trace every nested panel from the production Cloth Layout DXF onto a hanging cloth roll. The workspace reads that saved file directly in the browser: it does not create another nest, contact the server, or produce another download.

Before you start

While signed in and online, generate the panels and save the finished Cloth Layout DXF. Keep that exact DXF with the job. Once the app and file are available, Projector Workspace makes no backend request and needs neither the current design nor an active account session.

Open the saved layout

1. Prepare the hanging roll

   Suspend the cloth roll in the workshop orientation used for tracing. The workspace turns the DXF so roll warp runs vertically and separates colour layers into selectable cloth rolls.

2. Open Projector Workspace

   Choose File > Export > Projector Workspace, Panels > Projector Workspace, or Projector Workspace in the panel-viewer toolbar. All three actions open the same local workspace.

3. Set the projection height and load the DXF

   Set Usable projection height to the cloth height visible in one projector position; the default is 1,200 mm. Choose Choose Cloth Layout DXF and select the saved MakeSail file. Open More to see its filename, cloth width, panel and screen counts, and SHA-256 fingerprint.

   Before tracing, the usable projected width must be greater than the cloth width. Do not proceed while the workspace shows the Projected width … must exceed cloth width … warning.

   For fullscreen projection, use your browser's fullscreen command before calibrating (for example, F11 in Chrome on Windows or Linux). The workspace does not change browser mode when opening, choosing a DXF, or closing. Windowed projection also works.

Calibrate the live projection

Choose Theme > Dark or Theme > Light (classic) during setup. Once the DXF is loaded, use the Dark / Light chip to switch. The compact controls sit along the right edge, with × at the top; Hide / Show or C hides and restores the numeric inputs and secondary actions. The browser remembers your theme. Changing it preserves calibration and the current page. Grid on / off or G toggles the 100 mm grid during calibration and tracing. Each chip names what clicking it will do: Light switches a dark workspace to light, and Grid off hides a visible grid.

Calibration belongs to the current projector, window, and display state. It is not saved with page progress.

Calibrate and trace in the same browser mode, with the same projector position and projector zoom level. Keep browser zoom and window position and size the same too. If any of these change, recalibrate before tracing. MakeSail cannot detect physical projector movement or changes to its optical zoom, so check the projected rectangle and grid even when no calibration warning appears.

Choose Measure to enter measured side lengths, or Drag to align the projection to a physical rectangle template. The mode is fixed while calibration is locked, so the Measure/Drag chip disappears while tracing. The other controls stay visible. Choose Calibrate to unlock calibration again. Both methods edit the same calibration. You can align the template roughly in Drag, switch to Measure for fine corrections, and return to Drag without moving the projection. Target dimensions and edge corrections carry across too. Both modes use the same four diamond handles for pincushion/barrel bow correction.

Measure

1. Check scale before correcting it

   Measure all four sides of the calibration rectangle, corner to corner, against its Fill × Warp dimensions shown above Apply sides. Top and bottom use Fill; left and right use Warp. It is bright yellow in Dark and red in Light (classic). The initial target is a square of at most 1,100 mm, reduced for the configured usable projection height. Dimensions entered in Drag replace that initial size. Use the 100 mm grid to check horizontal and vertical distances at the centre and near the edges and corners of the full area you will trace. For every complete 1,000 mm check, the measured error must be less than 10 mm. If the projection already meets that criterion, no measured correction is required.

2. Correct scale and keystone only when needed

   Enter each side length in the Side (mm) field beside that edge of the rectangle, then choose Apply sides below the mode switch. This corrects horizontal and vertical scale and both keystone axes together. Remeasure and apply again until every side matches the size shown above Apply sides. The 0.1° keystone controls remain available under More for fine adjustment. Remeasure after every correction.

   For edge straightness, use the four diamond handles described under Straighten edges in either mode. You can adjust them directly in Measure, without switching modes.

   The inputs follow the rectangle as calibration changes, staying upright and within the window. Choose Hide to expose the complete target; choose Show or press C to restore the inputs and enter the readings. The rectangle stays visible throughout.

3. Lock and verify

   Choose Trace to lock calibration only after the rectangle side lengths, edge straightness, and grid agree over the usable area. Moving or resizing the window, or changing browser zoom or display geometry invalidates the lock. This includes viewport changes caused by entering or leaving browser fullscreen. If Calibration invalid — do not trace appears, recalibrate before continuing.

Drag

Select Drag, then enter the actual Target fill (left to right) beside the top edge and Target warp (top to bottom) beside the right edge, in millimetres. These ground-truth dimensions set the grid and tracing scale. Choose Hide or press C to expose the complete rectangle.

Drag each round corner handle's centre crosshair onto the matching corner of your physical template. Click or Tab to a corner handle to select it, then use arrow keys for 0.1 screen pixel nudges, or Shift+arrow for 1 pixel. Under More, Reset rectangle centres a fresh rectangle and clears its curvature.

Straighten edges in either mode

Hold a straight edge between the two corners of a target side. Drag that side's diamond handle until the projected edge follows the straight edge. Each diamond adjusts its own edge while all four corners stay fixed. The same correction applies to the rectangle, grid, panel geometry, and registration targets.

Click or Tab to a diamond to select it. Arrow keys nudge it by 0.1 screen pixel; hold Shift for 1 pixel. The selection stays highlighted when you click the canvas or hide and show controls. Arrow keys in input fields continue to edit the field. Switching Measure/Drag clears handle selection and preserves the projection; select a handle again to resume nudging. Measure has four diamond handles; Drag also has four round corner handles.

Hide / Show or C hides the inputs while keeping the handles available. Under More, Reset edge curvature clears all four bows and preserves corner positions in either mode. Remeasure the sides and check the 100 mm grid across the area you will trace, then choose Trace to lock calibration. Handles are hidden while tracing and return when you choose Calibrate. In either mode, check directly that the entire tracing page fits the usable projection area; size warnings use average edge scales.

Measure the sides using the four fields, then drag or nudge the diamond handles to straighten the edges. Drag mode uses the same diamonds and adds four corner handles.

Trace and advance the cloth

Dark uses a black background; Light restores the classic pale background. Both use fixed line colours:

Meaning	Dark	Light (classic)
Panel outlines, marks, and labels	White	Black
Seam allowances	Green, dashed	Black, dashed
Roll outline	Blue, dashed	Black, dashed
Calibration rectangle	Bright yellow	Red
Registration targets	Yellow	Red

The 100 mm grid stays subdued grey.

1. Trace the first page

   Page 1 is the bottommost part of the saved roll. Use the arrow keys or the position controls under More for 1 mm X/Y movement, or hold Shift for 10 mm. Use comma and period, or the rotation buttons under More, for 0.05° counter-clockwise and clockwise adjustment. Trace its visible geometry and mark the next transition pair, T1-L and T1-R, near the top of the page. Tracing strokes render 2 mm wide, and DXF text is enlarged to at least 20 mm high.

2. Register and trace each interior page

   Press Page Down or choose Page down, then advance the cloth until the repeated previous pair meets the marks from the preceding page. Consecutive pages share 40 mm, with each target centre 20 mm from its adjoining page edge and 20 mm inside the cloth side. Interior pages show the previous pair near the bottom and the next pair near the top.

   Use position and rotation to register the repeated pair; do not unlock or change scale. Aim for 2 mm registration. Up to 3 mm is accepted for spinnaker cloth. Then trace the visible geometry and mark the next pair. Page Up returns to the preceding page.

3. Finish the final page and every colour roll

   The final page shows only the previous transition pair. Register it, trace the remaining geometry, and do not look for another pair at the top. When the DXF contains more than one colour layer, select the next Cloth roll / colour under More and repeat the page sequence. Position and rotation reset when you change rolls.

   The current page is saved separately for every cloth roll. With controls hidden, the page counter remains at centre-right and the × close chip stays visible. Before cutting, check the panel labels, cut lines, seam allowances, seam marks, and transition targets.

1234

An interior page repeats the preceding targets at the bottom and supplies the next pair at the top. The workspace displays only the trace geometry owned by this page.

1. 1 Next transition pair
2. 2 Trace geometry for this page
3. 3 Repeated previous transition pair
4. 4 Current page remains visible with controls hidden

What resumes after closing?

Closing and reopening Projector Workspace in the same browser tab keeps the loaded layout and page. If you select the file again after a reload, the selected roll and current page for each roll are restored only when both the DXF bytes and usable projection height match the stored record. A changed DXF or height starts a separate page record. Calibration, X/Y position, and rotation are retained within the tab when the usable height and browser/display setup match, including when you load a regenerated DXF. Confirm the projector position and choose Trace again after reopening.

Physical verification

The workshop trial traced every page of a representative saved layout on suspended cloth, then cut and assembled the panels into a working sail. In that trial every generated panel appeared once, warp stayed vertical, the 100 mm grid stayed within the approved tolerance of less than 10 mm error over 1,000 mm, every page transition aligned without a scale change, and no required line, mark, label, or target was lost at a boundary. The recorded operator result was: accuracy was well within tolerance, and the advance mechanism worked very well.

A later projector check found visible top and side edge bow. The four-edge calibration above was added for that residual distortion. A subsequent browser/projector check recorded that all grid lines appeared straight after the correction was applied.

That trial also exposed the confirmation-heavy paging flow as clumsy. The current direct Page Up / Page Down workflow and persistent per-roll page are the resulting controls.

Prepare the jobCloth Layout DXF → Save the exact nested roll file that Projector Workspace reads. Build the panelsGenerate and inspect panels → Check panel labels and warnings before producing the cloth layout.