Sloper Dialog Box Features
 
Before we begin entering measurements for a specific body, let's review the basics of working with dialogs. When you open the Sloper dialog (achieved by choosing the New Simple Fit, New Refined Fit or Edit commands of the Sloper menu), a window appears with various measurement fields. The following is a list of data entry basics that exist with dialog windows:

• Measurements are entered/edited by clicking in a field and typing.
  
• You may press the Tab key on the keyboard to move from field to field.
  
• If a field is highlighted (typically shown in reverse colors), the text in it is already selected and the moment you begin to type, the old text disappears. Thus, it is not necessary to backspace over the existing text.
  
• If you click to the right of the numbers in a field, then you will need to backspace (Windows) or delete (Mac) to remove them.
  
• If you click to the left of the numbers in a field, you will need to press the delete key (Windows) to remove them. If you click in the middle of the numbers in a field, you will need to both backspace and delete to remove them. See Side Bar for specifics.
  
• If you double-click in a field that has numbers, the field will be selected (highlighted), and the moment you begin to type, the old numbers disappear and the new numbers will begin to appear.
   

The Garment Designer Refined-Fit Sloper dialog has some additional features to it. You will see:

• Buttons which you may click on to view additional options, e.g. Show Check Boxes/Hide Check Boxes, Switch to Simple/Refined Fit, Hide Unused Measurements. These vary according to what is currently displayed.
• Check boxes, which you may click on to turn the 'check' on or off. These are used to view or hide additional measurements. These boxes are what is known as toggle boxes, as one click turns them on (with a check mark displayed), and the next time you click, they are turned off (no check mark is displayed).
  
• T's and A's which are short for Total and Average. These are field labels which allow you to determine if the measurement is a Total or Average measurement.
  
• F/B which is short for Front and Back, which pertains to separate front and back body measurements.
  
• L/R, short for Left and Right, which pertains to separate left and right body measurements.
  
• A Message Prompt Area which occasionally assists you in understanding the window and various actions as you work.
   

The Refined-Fit sloper dialog has intelligence. It is able to add, subtract and average, as necessary, to assist you in entering your measurements. A few principles exist:

• Once you have entered a Total or Average measurement, you are not obligated or forced to enter the separate Front/Back or Left/Right measurements. If you enter only the Total or the Average, the program will internally calculate the front vs. back or left vs. right by dividing the Total/Average number in half. You will not see the numbers displayed.
• Garment Designer will use the Front/Back measurements and Left/Right measurements if they are entered and displayed (by clicking on the check box). You may enter the separate measurements so the program has them recorded, but choose to bypass them for certain patterns, simply by closing the checkbox and thus the display of the number. Thus, when the check boxes are off in the Sloper dialog, the separate numbers are not used. Large busted women may want to consider this with a square armhole style, in order to balance the top of the sleeve cap (although Designer is very intelligent on how it develops the cap - it just looks 'strange' to the eye). The program will often prompt you to balance measurements, but you have the option to say no. If you do say no, realize that the side seam will not necessarily hang straight, but this is your option. Note: If you check a box to display the separate measurements, you must enter the measurements or Designer will not let you close the Sloper dialog window. If you do not want to enter these measurements, simply click on the check box to turn it off, and then Designer will let you close the Sloper dialog window and build the sloper.
  
• If you enter a total measurement, and then a front or back measurement, the program will calculate the alternate measurement so that the two equal your total. If you make a mistake in the total and correct it, the program will add/subtract the difference equally between the front and back.
  
• If you enter an Average measurement, and then a Left or Right measurement, the program will calculate the alternate measurement so that the two average to equal the number you used in Average. If you make a mistake in the Average and correct it, the program will add/subtract the difference equally between the left and right. The same applies to Average and Left/Right.