Oversized work
Flat edges for floor-standing pieces
A cut-out figure has nothing to stand on. Squaring off an edge gives it one — and the number you pass is how much to remove, not where to put the line.
3 min read
Flat edges are a setting of the panelling tool, which runs from the command line rather than in the web app. For a shape that is drawn rather than traced, the equivalent is on the shape screen and is described at the bottom of this page.
A silhouette cut follows the artwork exactly, which is right for a decal and wrong for anything that has to stand up. A figure cut around its own feet has two small contact patches and falls over. Squaring an edge trades a little of the artwork for a straight line to stand on, mount against or slot into a base.
Four settings, one idea
| Setting | Squares off |
|---|---|
| Flat bottom | The bottom edge — the usual one, for a floor-standing piece. |
| Flat top | The top, for a piece that fits under a rail or a header. |
| Flat left | The left, for a piece that mounts against a wall or another panel. |
| Flat right | The right, likewise. |
The number is how much to remove
Each takes a measurement in centimetres, and it is how far in to cut — not where the line goes. Two centimetres off the bottom takes two centimetres of artwork away and leaves a straight edge across what is left.
0 removes nothing and changes nothing. It is not "flatten at the extreme point": the cut already reaches the lowest point of the silhouette, and squaring there would have to ADD material to be straight. If you want a flat edge you have to give up some artwork for it.
So the number comes from the artwork, not from the base. Look at how far up the piece the silhouette becomes as wide as you want the foot to be, and take that much.
It is applied before the split
On a panelled job the flattening happens before the piece is divided, so the straight line is the same on every panel that touches it. Flatten each panel separately and a three-panel standee stands on three slightly different edges.
This is the same reasoning as the seam itself: one line, found once, and used by everything that meets it. Splitting across panels has the rest of the settings.
For a drawn shape instead of a traced one
If the outline is a decision rather than a measurement, the shape screen already has this. A rounded outline with the radius on the top corners only leaves the bottom square — which is the edge a panel stands on — and a scalloped edge can be run on the top and sides while the bottom stays dead straight.
Both of those are on the screen rather than at the command line. Arch-top and rounded banners and waving some edges and not others cover them.