This page describes the functions and operations of xTool Creative Space (XCS) on the mobile phone, with xTool P2 as an example device for connection and settings. The user interface of XCS may vary when XCS is connected with different machines.

Open XCS on your mobile phone. The home screen of XCS can be divided into the following zones:

• Software settings: On the top-left corner of the home screen, tap the icon to enter the Settings screen.
  On this screen, you can adjust the general settings for the software, such as unit and language. You can also check the current software version, enter the help center, find processing projects, etc.
• Device connecting/setting: The upper part of the home screen displays the connection status of the device and a button for you to connect a device or check device settings.
  If XCS is not connected to a device, the Connect device button is displayed. You can tap Connect device to enter the connection process.
  If XCS is connected to a device, the home screen displays the name of the device and the Device setting button. You can tap Device setting to check or adjust device settings.
• Project editing/processing: The lower part of the home screen provides four ways to start a processing project.
  You can tap any button to start a project. After completing the project editing, you can start processing with a laser.
• xTool Passport Log in/Sign up: By signing up and logging in to xTool Passport, you can use the Cloud storage space and sync data across your PC, mobile phone, and tablet.

Set up the software

On the top-left corner of the home screen, tap the icon to enter the Settings screen.

• Unit: sets the units of measure used in the software.
• Language: sets the language of the user interface. XCS supports the following languages: English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, German, Spanish, French, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Russian, and Ukrainian.
• Vector quality: sets the quality of vector paths, including the following options:
  • Optimal (ideal for patterns larger than 20 inches and allows for an average speed)
  • High (good for patterns of 10 to 20 inches and allows for a moderately faster speed)
  • Medium (good for patterns smaller than 10 inches and allows for a fast speed)

• About: tap to view the software version, Terms of Service, Privacy Policy, and Safety Terms. If the current version is not the latest, you can update the version.
   
• Help center: redirects to xTool help center to view product user guides or get other support.
• Projects: redirects to xTool projects center to view various processing projects and get project tutorials and processing files.
• Shop: redirects to xTool online store to buy the products you want.

Connect to and set up a device

Connect to a device

If XCS is not connected with a device, you can tap Connect device to enter the connection process. For more information about how to connect XCS with your device, see Use xTool Creative Space on Your Mobile Phone.

Set up a device

If XCS is connected to your device, you can tap Device setting to enter the Device Details screen.

• Switch device: tap to connect to other devices.
• Laser model: the specification of the laser module used on the device.
• Laser safety classification: the laser safety level of the device. Class 1 laser devices are the safest in terms of laser safety. Class IV laser devices are the most dangerous and require high safety precautions during laser operation.
• Serial number: the unique identification number of the device.
• Firmware version: the firmware version used on the device. You can tap Check for updates to check if there is a new firmware version. If there is a new firmware version, you can update the device through XCS.
• Wi-Fi setting: displays the IP address of the device when the device is connected to a Wi-Fi network.
• Working parameters: tap to reveal the device configurations during processing. 
  The working parameters of different devices may vary. For more information about the working parameters of a device, you can check the instructions of the device.

Start a project

To operate the laser machine with XCS for laser processing, you need to start a processing project in XCS. In the project, you need to design or import a processing pattern, and set the processing mode and other parameters. After completing editing the project, you can tap Process to start processing.

XCS provides you with four ways to start a project.

Create project

Tap Create project, and XCS will create a new blank project for you. In the project, you need to design patterns and set parameters from scratch.

My projects

If you have any project file saved on your phone, you can tap My projects to open a project from the project list or from the files on your mobile phone.

Camera

Take a photo by using the camera of your mobile phone and use it as an object for processing.

(1) Tap Camera and use the camera of your mobile phone to take a photo.

(2) Tap the button to confirm your selection, and the photo will be imported into a new project as a processing object.

Album

Import a photo from your album and use it as an object for processing

(1) Tap Album to open the album on your mobile phone.

(2) Select a photo from the album and tap it to import it into a new project as a processing object.

Edit a project

Connect device

• Device not connected

If XCS is not connected to a device, the button is displayed in grey next to “Connect device”. Tap this section to go to the Connect device screen. Tap your device name to connect to it.

• Device connected

If XCS is connected to a device, the button is displayed in green along with the name of the connected device in the Connect device section. Tap this section to go to the Device Details screen to view device information or modify device settings.

Canvas

When you create a project in XCS on your mobile phone, you can only use one canvas by default.

If a project that contains multiple canvases was created on another device and then imported to your mobile phone, the canvases will be preserved. You can tap Canvas to switch between canvases. You can have different design elements on different canvases.

Mode

The processing modes. Different models of devices support different processing modes. To learn about the differences between each processing mode, you can check the instructions for the corresponding device.

Material

Select the name of the material you use, and XCS automatically generates material thickness (performs autofocus) and sets processing parameters based on the material type.

If you cannot find the material you use in the materials list, tap More to go to the Select material library to find more materials.

If you can't find your material in the material list or in the material library, you can select User-defined material.

Thickness

The thickness of the material to be processed. The device performs auto focus based on this parameter.

You can measure the thickness of the material and enter it into XCS, or you can tap to use the automatic measurement function to obtain the thickness of the material.

Note: The focusing function varies in different models of devices. Some devices use the "Distance" parameter, which is the distance from the laser to the material surface.

Processing Path

The path that the device takes to process the material.

• Auto planning: During processing, the device performs laser engraving before laser cutting. During laser engraving, the device follows the shortest path. During laser cutting, the device cuts internal objects first.
   
• By Layer: During processing, the device processes the elements on each layer based on the layer order you set.

Pattern editing/parameter setting

Tap the blank box in the lower part to open the canvas.

Use the toolbar at the bottom of the canvas to insert and edit processing elements.

Select one or more objects on the canvas, and you can set processing parameters for it or them.

Note:
- For more information on how to design and edit elements, see the next chapter "Designing and editing".
- For more information on how to set each processing parameter, see the last chapter "Processing parameters".

Manage projects

Name and save a project

Double-tap the project title to change the project name.

Tap the button at the top right corner to save or copy the project.

Note: If you want to view or open a saved project, you can tap My projects on the home screen of XCS.

Download and transfer projects

You can download project files in XCS format from the internet and save them to your phone. For example, you can visit the xTool Projects center (https://projects.xtool.com/explore/featured) to download XCS project files.

Note: For quick access to the xTool Projects center, tap the button in the upper left corner of the XCS home screen and then tap Projects to go to the xTool Projects center.

You can also send project files saved on other devices (e.g. computer, iPad) to your mobile phone.

Open a project

On the home screen of XCS, tap My projects. In the project list, you can view the projects you have edited and saved on this device. Tap to open a project.

If your project file is downloaded from the internet or transferred to your phone from other devices, you can tap Import from system file. Select a file in XCS format from your local storage and tap it to import it into the project list, then tap it on the project list to open it.

Note: 
- XCS only supports opening files in XCS format.
- A project file can contain information such as processing patterns, processing modes, and processing parameters. However, if the machine model, processing mode, or material thickness used in the project varies from the current situation, you need to reset the corresponding parameters.

Start processing

After finishing project editing, you can start processing. The operation steps are as follows:

(1) Tap Process to enter the preview screen and preview the processing pattern.

Note: Some devices have the Framing function. You can tap Framing to let the laser spot move along the edge of the processing pattern, so as to preview the processing area on the surface of the material.

(2) If the processing pattern (or processing area) is not as expected, you can Tap Go to canvas adjustment to adjust the processing pattern. After confirming the processing pattern (or processing area), tap Start to start processing.

(3) Read the safety instructions carefully and tap OK.

(4) Press the start button on the device to start processing the material.

Designing and editing

Images

Import images

Tap Import image and select a method to import images.
● Camera: Take a picture with your phone's camera and import it to the canvas.
● Album: Select a picture from your phone's album and import it to the canvas.
● My files: Select a picture from your phone's local files and import it to the canvas.

Notes:
● Currently, XCS only supports the following image formats: JPG, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, SVG, DXF, and WEBP.
● Currently, XCS cannot parse text objects in SVG files. If the imported SVG image contains text objects, please convert the text objects to vector graphic paths in the graphic design software first, and then import the SVG image into XCS.

Process an image

If the imported image is a bitmap image, you can select the image and use the tools below to further process the image.

Edit the image

Tap Edit image to open the editing panel.

• Magic wand: deletes the area you tap
  
  • Fuzziness: This parameter is available only for the magic wand, indicating the range of pixel colors you delete at a time. The larger the value, the wider the color range, that is, the colors of the pixels to be deleted can be quite different; the smaller the value, the narrower the color range, that is, the colors of the pixels to be deleted are very similar.
• Eraser: erases the area you pass over
  
  • Size: This parameter is available only for the eraser, indicating the size of the eraser. The larger the value, the larger the eraser. 

• Crop: crops the image, keeping only the selected area 

Filters

Select different filters to transform the image into different effects.

Original
Grid
Sketch
Comic 1
Comic 2
Embossment
Black-and-white

Adjust: Invert

Inverts the colors of the bitmap image. This function can be useful for the processing of some dark materials, such as engraving bitmap images on transparent or translucent acrylic, black slates, ruber, and mirrors. The engraving results can be improved by using this function.

Note: When an image is inverted, the image is converted to grayscale first, and then the black and white colors will be inverted.

Sharpness

Adjusts the clarity of detail in an image.
 

• Sharpness = 50: The image maintains the original clarity.
• Sharpness < 50: The clarity of the image decreases and the image becomes blurred.
• Sharpness > 50: The clarity of the image increases and the image lines become sharp.

Note: When the sharpness changes, the image is converted to grayscale by default.

Grayscale

Adjusts the range of grayscale values for the image.
The larger the grayscale range, the more shades of gray are contained in the image. The smaller the grayscale range, the fewer shades of gray are contained in the image and the more homogeneous the image.

The larger the grayscale value, the darker the overall color of the image; the smaller the grayscale value, the lighter the overall color of the image.

Text

Insert text

Tap Text, XCS will insert a string of characters "HELLO" on the canvas.

Edit Text

Select the text in the canvas and tap Text setting to edit the text.

Modify the text

Tap the text box to modify the text.

Typeface

You can use xTool selected typefaces or typefaces from your local system.

Size (pt)

Select Size(pt) in the toolbar and slide the slider to adjust the font size.

You can also hold down the icon at the bottom right corner of the text in the canvas and drag the icon to adjust the font size.

Style

Adjusts the style of the font, such as thickness, slant, and so on.

Regular
Italic
Medium
Bold

Note: Different typefaces support different styles.

Spacing

Select the parameter you want to adjust, slide the slider to adjust the parameter value, or directly enter the parameter value.

● Spacing: adjusts the horizontal spacing of the characters in the same line

● Leading: adjusts the vertical spacing between lines

Align

Set the alignment between the different lines of text.

Operations: Weld

This function is used to unite the character strings that overlap one another partially in a text. After being welded, the text becomes vector paths and the text setting panel is not displayed after you select it.

If no character strings overlap one another partially in the text, the text looks the same but becomes vector paths after you weld it, and the text setting panel is not displayed after you select it.

Bend the text

Select the text, hold down the icon next to the text, and drag the icon to change the direction of the text.

Shape

Tap Insert shape, select your favorite shape, and tap to insert it into the canvas. The inserted shape is located in the center of the canvas by default.

Note: XCS provides shapes in a variety of themes, including basic, festival, plant, animal, and border.

Code

You can generate codes with input text. Tap Code, select the type of code you want to generate, enter the text, and tap OK to generate a code with the input information.

• Example of QR code:
  
• Example of Barcode:
  

Note: Barcode only supports inputting letters and numbers.

Basic editing functions

Select

Select one or more elements.

● Single Select: Tap to select one element.

● Multi-select: Hold your finger on any point in the canvas and drag to draw a rectangle. Elements that overlap with the rectangle are selected.

Move

Hold down an element and drag it to move it.

Delete

Select an element and tap the icon in the upper left corner of the element to delete it.

Copy

Select an element and tap the icon in the upper right corner of the element to copy it.

Note: The copied element may overlap with the original element. You can how down and drag the elements to separate them.

Scale

Select an element and drag the icon in the lower right corner of the element to scale it up or down.

Lock the length-to-width ratio

Select an element and tap the / icon in the lower-left corner of the element to lock or unlock its length-to-width ratio.

● When the icon is displayed in the lower-left corner of the element, the length-to-width ratio of the element is locked. The length-to-width ratio of the element remains unchanged when you scale the element up or down.

● When the icon is displayed in the lower-left corner of the element, the length-to-width ratio of the element is unlocked. The length-to-width ratio of the element can be changed when you scale the element up or down.

Rotate

Select an element, hold down the icon above the element, and drag the icon to rotate the element.

Group

You can group multiple elements into one so that you can move, rotate, and scale the group at a time.

Select two or more elements, tap Edit > Group at the bottom, and tap the icon to group the selected elements.

If you want to ungroup the elements, you can select the group, tap Edit > Group at the bottom, and tap the icon.

Outline

Select an element and tap Edit > Outline to add an outer or inner outline to the element.

• Set the offset distance to a positive value and tap OK to add an outer outline.
  
• Set the offset distance to a negative value and tap OK to add an inner outline.
  

Note: The added outline is a separate element, and you can edit the outline individually. If you want to combine the outline with the original element, you can use the Group function.

Add inner outline for bitmap: Only available for bitmaps with transparent background. (You can see the difference in the application effect on bitmaps with an inner skeleton.)

• When Add inner outline for bitmap is unchecked, the outline is added only to the outermost layer of the image.
• When Add inner outline for bitmap is checked, outlines are added to both the outermost layer and the inner elements of the image.

Align

Aligns two or more elements.

Select two or more elements, tap Edit > Align, and select the corresponding alignment options.

Align left
Horizonral align center
Align right
Align top
Vertical align center
Align bottom
Distribute horizontally
Distribute vertically

Combine

Combines two or more selected vectors.

Original
Unite the two elements
Subtract the two elements
Unite the two elements at the overlap
Subtract the two elements at the overlap

Reflect

Reflects the element horizontally or vertically.

Original
Reflect horizontally
Reflect vertically

Move between layers

Select an element, tap Edit > Move to, and tap a dot of a color to move the element to that layer. Each color represents a layer.

Note: You can set the Processing path to By layer. During processing, the device will process elements from the top layer to the bottom layer according to the order you set.

Other canvas functions

Zoom the canvas

Pinch the screen with two fingers to zoom in and out.

Move the canvas

Hold down on any area of the canvas with two fingers and slide both fingers at the same time to move the canvas.

Restore canvas position

Click the icon in the lower-right corner of the canvas to restore the canvas to its original position and size.

Undo/Redo

At the top of the canvas, tap to undo the previous action. The button is grayed out if there is no previous action. Tap to redo the action that is canceled by undo. The button is grayed out if there is no action canceled by undo.

Canvas background

The canvas background is usually a picture of the working area of the device, which can help you locate the material and determine the processing area.

Note: Not all devices support generating a background for the canvas.

Tap the icon in the upper right corner of the canvas to refresh, display, or hide the canvas background.

Shift layers

Tap Layer in the lower left corner of the canvas to view the layers in the canvas. When you tap a layer, all elements within that layer will be selected.

Processing parameters

Select one or more objects in the canvas, and then select Parameter setting at the bottom of the screen to set processing parameters for the selected object(s).

Notes: 
● You need to set parameters for every object. A missed object may fail to be processed.
● The parameters that can be set for bitmap objects and vector objects are different. You can select multiple objects of the same type and set parameters for them at once.

 

Processing types

For bitmap objects, the processing type can only be set to Engrave; for vector objects, the processing type can be set to Score, Engrave, or Cut. Different processing types include different processing parameters.

● Bitmap-Engrave: engraves bitmap images on the material.

● Vector-Score: engraves only the outline of the vector object(s).

● Vector-Engrave: engraves the entire surface area of the vector object(s).

● Vector-Cut: cuts along the outlines of the vector object(s).

Note: Engraving processes the surface of the material, leaving a mark on the material surface. Cutting cuts into the interior and can cut through the material.

General parameters

Select material

This displays the material you have selected for processing. It is for viewing only and cannot be modified.

Output

Sets whether an element is to be processed. If you choose Output, the selected object(s) will be processed and have an output; if you choose Ignore, the selected object(s) will not be processed.

Setting

You can set all the parameters manually or use the XCS-recommended parameters when you have selected a material type.

If you have selected a material from the XCS material list or the Select material library, XCS automatically generates recommended parameters for you. You can select Reference to use the recommended parameters, or you can select Manual setting to set parameters by yourself.

If you have selected User-defined material, no recommended parameters are available. You need to set parameters manually.

Power

Sets the power for engraving or cutting. 100% indicates the maximum laser power.

Speed

Sets the speed at which engraving or cutting is to be performed.

During laser engraving, the higher the speed, the lighter the engraving marks; the lower the speed, the darker the engraving marks.

During laser cutting, the larger the speed, the shallower the cutting depth; the smaller the speed, the deeper the cutting depth.

Pass

Sets the number of processing times.

During laser engraving, the more processing passes, the darker the engraving marks.

During laser cutting, the more processing passes, the deeper the cutting depth.

Engraving-specific parameters

Bitmap mode, Lines per cm, and Engraving mode are engraving-specific parameters. Besides, the Lines per cm and Engraving mode parameters can be used for bitmap engraving and vector engraving, while the Bitmap mode parameter is only used for bitmap engraving.

Bitmap mode

XCS provides multiple bitmap modes, including grayscale, Bayer, Floyd, Stucki, Atkinson, Jarvis, and Sierra. The default mode is grayscale.

With the other settings unchanged, the output of an image on a wooden board varies according to image mode, as shown in the following figure.

• Grayscale

Transforms an image into the grayscale mode. A grayscale image has pixels that are formed by the shade of gray between black and white, which may be the darkest one in black or the brightest one in white. The darker the grayscale pixel, the deeper the engraving.

• Jarvis 

Jarvis is a dithering mode that provides a softer transition between pixels than Floyd mode and renders good results on almost all images.

• Bayer

Looks like adding a special grid mosaic filter to an image.

• Floyd

Dithers the image by using the Floyd algorithm that diffuses the error to neighboring pixels. And the dithering is extremely subtle, resulting in a fine, less distorted, and detailed image. It is recommended for highly-detailed images but not for images with monochrome.

• Stucki 

Stucki is a dithering mode that processes slightly faster than Jarvis mode and produces a cleaner and sharper image.

• Atkinson

Dithers is a similar algorithm to Jarvis and Sierra that preserves details well. But we do not recommend using it in a very dark or bright environment, where exposure may occur.  

• Sierra 

Sierra dithers based on Jarvis mode and they process with similar results on images. But the sharpness of Sierra is higher. 

Lines per cm

Sets the number of lines in one centimeter. This parameter determines the resolution of the image to be engraved.

Engraving mode

Sets the bi-directional or uni-directional engraving mode for bitmaps and filled vector paths.

Bi-directional: The laser module emits light beams when it moves both from left to right and from right to left. Compared to the uni-directional mode, it takes less time to process a material. Due to backlashes, however, the processed patterns, especially the edges of the patterns, are not as clear as those processed in uni-directional mode.

Uni-directional: The laser module emits light beams only when it moves from left to right. Compared to the bi-directional mode, it takes more time to process a material, but the processed patterns are clearer.

Specific parameters for xTool F1 bitmap engraving 

Since xTool F1 uses a galvanometer laser to engrave bitmaps dot by dot, xTool F1 bitmap engraving uses special engraving parameters: Dot duration, Power range, and DPI.

Dot duration

The amount of time the laser spends on engraving each dot. The larger the dot duration, the longer the overall processing time and the darker the engraving marks.

Power rang

The power range that the laser uses for engraving.

• The greater the power range, the more color shades the engraved image contains and the clearer the image. The smaller the power range, the smaller the difference in the image color and the more monotonous the image looks.
• The higher the overall power range, the darker the engraving marks; the lower the overall power range, the lighter the engraving marks.

DPI

xTool F1 engraves bitmaps by dots. The DPI parameter can be used to set the number of dots per inch; DPI affects the resolution of the engraved image.