Preferences #
Edit > Preferences... holds the settings that belong to you rather than to a project: the look of Carvio, the units, autosave, the preview, the demo machines and your company details for the setup sheets. They are saved when you click Close and apply to every project.
Settings that belong to one job (its size, material, Z zero...) are in Job Setup
(F4) instead.
Units #
The units Carvio shows and takes every length and every speed in, everywhere: the drawing and toolpath forms, Job Setup, the Tool Database, the Machine view, Machine Setup and these Preferences. New jobs start in them too.
Carvio keeps everything in millimetres inside, so switching the units never changes a design, a tool or a G-code file; only the numbers you see change. The units are yours rather than the project's: a project made in inches opens in mm on a computer set to mm.
Distance #
The unit of every length: mm or inches. It is the same setting as Units in Job Setup, so changing either changes both. Switching it also switches Speed to mm/min or inch/min when the speed was in the other system.
Speed #
The unit of every speed: feed and plunge rates, a laser's speed, the rapid rate, jog and probe feeds and the Machine view's feed readout. Choose mm/min, mm/sec, inch/min or inch/sec.
General #
The look of Carvio, the help cards, autosave and the grid.
Theme #
Light or dark colours for the whole window, or Follow the system to match your operating system's setting (when Carvio can read it there). Edit > Light Theme / Dark Theme / Follow System Theme does the same.
Switch tab to the picked object #
When ticked, clicking a 3D component brings up the Modeling tab and clicking a vector brings up the Drawing tab, so the tools for what you picked are at hand. It does not switch while a Modeling form that takes vectors (such as Create Shape) is open.
Show help when the pointer rests on an option #
When ticked, resting the pointer on an option shows a small card with its help; F1 then
opens the full topic in Help. Untick it once you know your way around.
Show node editing hints in the view #
When ticked, a small card in the corner of the 2D and 3D views lists the mouse actions and keys while you node edit. Untick it once you know them; the node editing menu can turn it back on.
Open big windows as windows of their own #
When ticked (the first choice), Carvio's big windows open as windows of their own, which you can move beside Carvio or onto a second monitor and leave open while you work: Project Notes, the G-code Preview, the Tool Database, Print Manual, Machine Setup, the Post Processor Editor, Setup and Tool Sheets and Preferences itself. Untick it to have them open inside Carvio's window instead. When one of these windows closes, the window you opened it from comes to the front again.
A file window or a question that one of these windows asks for (such as Save PDF... in Print Manual) comes up in that window, and Carvio's other windows wait until you answer it, as they do for the system's own dialogs. A waiting window is dimmed and says which window is asking; clicking it brings that window to the front. The Tool Database opened to pick a tool for a form makes the main window wait for the pick the same way. Carvio Help has its own choice, on its bar (see Where Help is shown).
Show file previews in the file manager #
When ticked (the first choice), your computer's file manager shows the picture each Carvio
project (.carvio) and clip (.carvioclip) carries as its thumbnail, so you can find a job or
a piece of clipart by eye. The picture is saved in the file itself, so it travels with the
file to other computers and to web pages that read it.
- Windows: Explorer shows the picture once Carvio has run with this ticked. Carvio adds its thumbnail handler for your user only; no administrator rights are needed. Choose Medium icons or larger in Explorer's View menu to see it.
- Linux: GNOME Files, KDE's Dolphin, Nemo, Caja, Thunar and other file managers that use thumbnailers show it. Carvio adds the file types and a thumbnailer for your user. In Dolphin, turn on Show Previews (and check that Carvio project is ticked under Dolphin's Configure > Interface > Previews).
- macOS: the picture becomes the file's Finder icon when Carvio saves it.
Untick it to take Carvio's thumbnail handler away again. The files keep their pictures.
Recent fonts shown #
How many of the fonts you used last are listed at the top of the font list in the Text form, for quick access (0 = none).
Autosave every #
How often, in minutes, Carvio saves a copy of your work in progress (0 turns autosave off). The copy is kept apart from your project file; if Carvio does not close normally, it offers to recover the unsaved changes the next time it starts.
Autosave does not replace saving: press Ctrl+S as usual.
Grid spacing #
The spacing of the 2D view's grid, in the app's distance unit. Snap to Grid snaps to it, and the arrow keys nudge
the selection by this much (Shift for ten times, Alt for a tenth).
Simulation #
Settings for the toolpath preview and the Machine view.
Rapid rate #
How fast your machine moves in rapids (G0), in the app's speed unit. Carvio uses it to estimate the time of
a job on the Run panel and to follow the tool between position reports in the Machine view.
Set it to your machine's real rapid speed (for grbl, its $110 / $111 max rates).
Stock resolution #
How many cells across the simulated block of the preview has, from 256 to 4096. Higher gives a sharper preview but uses more graphics memory and takes longer. It is the same setting as Resolution in the Preview form.
Show the tool at the cut in the preview #
Shows a model of the tool where it cuts while the preview animates or is scrubbed, as in the Machine view.
Show the toolpath lines in the Machine view #
Draws the job's toolpath lines in the Machine view while you run it. View > Toolpaths in Machine view does the same.
Machines #
The machine profiles themselves are kept in Machine Setup (Machine > Machine Setup...); here you can bring back the demo machines.
Add the demo machines #
Puts Demo CNC and Demo Laser back in the machine list, if you deleted them in Machine Setup. They are controllers in software for trying the machine control without hardware. The button is greyed out while both are in the list.
Company details #
Your company's details are printed in the header of every setup and tool sheet (see Setup and Tool Sheets). Leave a field empty to leave it off.
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
| Company name | Printed large at the top of each sheet |
| Address | Under the name; use ; to start a new line |
| Phone, Email, Website | On one line under the address |
| Logo | A picture shown at the top left; empty uses the built-in Carvio logo |
| Sheet footer | A line at the bottom of every page |
| Paper | A4 or Letter |
| Orientation | Portrait (upright) or Landscape (on its side) |
Company name #
Your company's name, printed in bold at the top of every setup and tool sheet.
Address #
Your address, printed under the company name. Type ; where a new line should start, for
example 12 Mill Lane; Springfield.
Phone, Email and Website #
Contact details printed on one line under the address on every sheet.
Logo #
A picture of your logo for the top left of the sheets. Click Browse... to choose an image file, or Built-in to go back to the Carvio logo. If the file cannot be found later, the built-in logo is used.
Sheet footer #
A line of text printed at the bottom left of every page of the sheets, for example Checked by: ____________.
Paper #
The paper size of the setup and tool sheets: A4 or Letter.
Orientation #
How the setup and tool sheets lie on the paper: Portrait (upright) or Landscape (on its side, with room for wider columns).