Attaching layers in Cricut Design Space fastens them together precisely as they appear on the Canvas. This ensures that drawing, scoring, foiling, engraving, or debossing operations happen directly on the layer you want.
Based on the provided information from October 2nd, 2024, here's how you attach layers:
Steps to Attach Layers
Using the Attach function is a straightforward process within the Design Space software. It primarily involves selecting the layers you wish to link and then using the dedicated Attach tool.
Here are the steps:
- Select the Layers: Choose the layer you want to be attached (like a Draw, Score, Foil, Engrave, or Deboss line) and the specific layer you want it placed on. You can do this by clicking on them directly on the Canvas or by selecting them in the Layers panel. To select multiple layers, hold down the Shift or Ctrl (Cmd on Mac) key while clicking.
- Find the Attach Tool: Locate the Layers panel on the right side of the Design Space screen.
- Select Attach: With your desired layers selected, click on the Attach option within the Layers panel.
- Verify Attachment: Your selected layers will now be fastened together. In the Layers panel, they will be grouped under an Attach label, indicating their connected status.
- Prepare for Cutting: Once you are satisfied with your design and attachments, select Make It to send your project to your Cricut machine. The machine will now process the attached layers together, ensuring the operations are performed in the correct position relative to each other.
Why Use Attach?
The primary purpose of the Attach function is to hold multiple layers in a fixed position relative to one another.
- It tells the machine exactly where you want drawing, scoring, foiling, engraving, or debossing to occur on a specific cut shape.
- It keeps shapes or text arranged in a particular layout for cutting.
Without attaching, Design Space might optimize your project by rearranging layers on the mat to save space, which would separate a design element from its intended base layer. Attaching overrides this optimization for the selected layers, preserving their layout.
For example, if you have text meant to be drawn onto a tag shape, you would select both the text layer (set to Draw) and the tag shape layer (set to Cut) and then click Attach. When you click "Make It," the text will appear on the tag shape on the mat preview, and the machine will draw the text exactly where you placed it on the tag before cutting the tag out.
This process is crucial for multi-layer designs where precise placement between different operation types is essential.
