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LongArm Assistant — Pattern Library User Guide

Your pattern collection, organized and ready to share.

If you've ever spent an afternoon screenshotting pattern files, resizing images, uploading them to a website, and writing descriptions one by one — you know how much time disappears before a single client sees anything. The LongArm Assistant Pattern Library is built to eliminate that work.

Upload your pattern files directly from your computer. The app automatically converts them to a clean visual preview, captures the dimensions, and adds them to your library in seconds. From there, you can organize patterns with tags, preview exactly how they'll tile across a quilt, add finished quilt photos, and share a professional-looking gallery with clients — no website, no technical setup required.

Your clients get a beautiful, mobile-friendly gallery they can browse on their phone. You get your evenings back.

Supported file formats: BQM, CQP, DXF, HQF, HQV, IQP, PAT, PLT, QLI

Getting Started

Accessing from the Dashboard

After you sign in, you'll land on your Dashboard — your hub for all LongArm Assistant features. The Pattern Library is accessible as the first feature card in the grid. Click it to start managing your library.

Free limit: You can upload and use up to 15 patterns for free, with no subscription required. To upload more patterns, you'll need to upgrade to a paid subscription.

Signing In

The web app uses the same sign-in credentials as the mobile app. If you've forgotten your password, click "Forgot password?" on the login page and follow the email link to reset it.

Your Patterns Page

The Patterns page is where all your uploaded patterns live. Each pattern appears as a card showing its thumbnail preview, name, and dimensions. As you build your library, you can filter and search from the top of the page.

From here you can:

  • Upload new patterns
  • Select multiple patterns for bulk tagging
  • Click any pattern to view its full detail page
  • Filter your library by tag

Uploading Patterns

  1. From the Patterns page, click Upload Patterns
  2. You'll see the upload area — either drag and drop your pattern files directly onto it, or click to open a file browser
  3. You can upload up to 10 files at a time
  4. Each file is processed individually — the app converts it to a visual preview and extracts the pattern dimensions automatically
  5. When processing is complete, your new patterns appear in your library
Accepted formats: .bqm, .dxf, .hqf, .iqp, .pat, .plt, .qli
Maximum file size: 50MB per file
Tip: You don't need to do anything to your files before uploading. The app handles the conversion automatically.

Viewing and Editing a Pattern

Click any pattern thumbnail to open its detail page. This is where you can rename the pattern, add a description, manage tags, set up tiling, and add photos.

Renaming a Pattern and Adding a Description

  1. From the pattern detail page, click the Edit button in the top-right corner
  2. Update the Pattern Name field
  3. Optionally add a Description — this appears in your client gallery
  4. Click Save

Deleting a Pattern

From the pattern detail page, click the red Delete button in the top-right corner. You'll be asked to confirm before anything is removed.

Tagging and Organizing Patterns

Tags let you categorize your patterns (for example: "Feathers", "Allover", "Geometric", "Baptist Fan") and filter your library quickly. There are two ways to apply tags.

Creating a Tag

Before you can apply a tag, you need to create it. Tags are created from any pattern's detail page:

  1. Open a pattern
  2. In the Tags section, click + New Tag
  3. Enter a tag name
  4. Click Create Tag

Once created, that tag is available across your entire library.

Method 1 — Tagging an Individual Pattern

  1. Open the pattern you want to tag
  2. In the Tags section, you'll see all your existing tags listed
  3. Click a tag to assign it to this pattern — it highlights to show it's applied
  4. Click it again to remove it
  5. Changes are saved automatically

Method 2 — Bulk Tagging Multiple Patterns

When you want to apply the same tag to several patterns at once:

  1. From the Patterns page, hover over any pattern card — a checkbox appears in the corner
  2. Click the checkboxes to select the patterns you want to tag
  3. A toolbar appears at the bottom of the screen showing how many patterns are selected
  4. Click Apply Tags
  5. In the modal that appears, select one or more tags to apply
  6. Click Apply — the tags are added to all selected patterns at once
  7. Click Clear selection in the toolbar to deselect
Tip: Bulk tagging is the fastest way to get a freshly uploaded batch organized. Select all the new arrivals, apply the right category tags in one shot.

Tiled Preview

The Tiled Preview shows you how a pattern will look repeated across a quilt — a grid of copies stitched together. This is the preview your clients will see in the gallery.

Setting Up the Tiled Preview

  1. Open a pattern and click the Tiled Preview tab
  2. On the left side, you'll see the tiling controls:
    • Rows — how many rows to tile (default: 3)
    • Cols — how many columns to tile (default: 3)
    • Horizontal Spacing (dx) — gap between columns in inches (use negative to overlap)
    • Vertical Spacing (dy) — gap between rows in inches (use negative to overlap)
    • Offset Alternate Rows — shifts every other row horizontally, like a brick pattern
    • Row Offset — how far to shift alternate rows, in inches
  3. As you adjust the controls, the preview on the right updates in real time
  4. When you're happy with how it looks, click Save Tiling Defaults
  5. The pattern card in your library will now show a tiling badge to let you know it's configured
Note: A yellow dot on the Tiled Preview tab label means you have unsaved changes. Click Save Tiling Defaults to keep them.

To start over, click Clear Tiling Settings — this removes the saved configuration and clears the badge from the pattern list.

Adding Photos to a Pattern

The Photos tab lets you upload finished quilt photos for this pattern. These photos appear alongside the pattern in your client gallery, helping clients visualize what the finished result actually looks like.

  1. Open a pattern and click the Photos tab
  2. Click Upload Photo or drag an image onto the upload area
  3. Repeat for additional photos — you can add multiple images per pattern
  4. Photos appear in a carousel in the gallery view

Business Profile & Gallery Customization

Your Business Profile is where you manage your business information and customize how your gallery appears to clients. Access it from your Dashboard:

  1. Go to your Dashboard
  2. Click the Business Profile card (subtitle: "Business info, invoice settings, and gallery branding")

Business Information

In the Business Information section, you can set:

FieldUsed ForDetails
Business NameGallery + InvoicesDisplayed as the gallery header; also appears on PDF invoices. If no logo is set, this name appears as the main gallery title.
LogoGallery + InvoicesPNG, JPG, or SVG; max 2MB. Landscape format recommended (e.g. 400×150px). Transparent background recommended. Appears at the top of your gallery and on invoice PDFs.
Business AddressInvoices onlyYour mailing address. Appears on PDF invoices for customer reference.
Default Invoice TermsInvoices onlyPayment terms (e.g. "Payment due within 30 days of delivery"). Pre-filled on all invoices; also syncs with the mobile app.
Note: All fields save automatically as you fill them in. You'll see a "Saved" confirmation next to each field when the update is complete.
Tip: You can also edit Business Name and Logo from the Gallery Settings page inside the Pattern Library (click Gallery Settings from the Patterns page). Both locations save to the same data, so you can update your branding from whichever is most convenient.

Quick Reference

TaskWhere
Upload patternsPatterns page → Upload Patterns
Rename a patternPattern detail → Edit button
Tag a single patternPattern detail → Tags section
Bulk tag patternsPatterns page → select patterns → Apply Tags toolbar
Create a new tagPattern detail → Tags section → + New Tag
Set up tiled previewPattern detail → Tiled Preview tab
Add photosPattern detail → Photos tab
Enable galleryPatterns page → Gallery Settings → Enable Gallery toggle
Copy gallery linkPatterns page → Gallery Settings → Copy Link
Download QR codePatterns page → Gallery Settings → QR Code → Download
Preview galleryPatterns page → Gallery Settings → Preview Gallery
Customize business infoDashboard → Business Profile

Questions or Feedback

We're actively building this and your feedback shapes what gets built next. If something isn't working the way you'd expect, or you have an idea for something that would make your workflow easier, please reach out to us at admin@longarmassistant.com.

Thank you for being part of the LongArm Assistant community.