Embroidery format VP3

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VP3 format is a Pfaff format. Unlike most other embroidery formats. It's divided into stitchblocks. Conceptually it's typical to think of embroidery rather than the set of low level commands which control the machine but as sets of unbroken stitches in a particular color. While this is quite common at the level of embroidery software, most formats typically consist of large dumps of direct embroidery commands with some various cruft for the machines in question. For example, PEC blocks (in PEC files and PES files) contain 1 bit graphics files.

Header

VP3 consists of: a magic code, some hoop and design information, a number for the number of stitch blocks and stitch blocks.

Type Bytes Value Description
`string` 5 %vsm% Magic String.
`s8` 1 '\0' maybe null terminator for the string.
`16be` 2 byte_length Production String Bytes (N0)
`UTF-16BE` N0 "Produced by ...." Production String


020 Location And Data

The 0x0 tags are some of the more recognizable tags as they always denote a location in the file. So I will break at them.

Type Bytes Value Description
`s8` 3 \x00\x02\x00 Tag indicates the following is a location.
`32be` 2 Bytes_To_EOF bytes the the end of the file.
`16be` 2 byte_length unknown string, always 00 (N1)
`UTF-16BE` N1 "" Rumor has it this is a string.

Extends Section

VP3 like most embroidery is y-flipped from common programming languages. Most models put the origin point in the upper-left point programming in quadrant III whereas embroidery is almost always Quadrant I with the origin point in the lower-left. Consequently most overt numbers within embroidery have to be y-flipped.

VP3 however stores all position information as multiplied by 100 as a conversion between the standard units of Embroidery 1/10th mm. This actually gives the units therefore in 1*10^-6 and are micron or (micrometers or micrometres).

Type Bytes Description
`s16be` 2 Right * 100
`s16be` 2 -Top * 100
`s16be` 2 Left * 100
`s16be` 2 -Bottom * 100

Thread Count and Unknown

Type Bytes Value Description
`u8` 1 \x00 unknown
`u8` 1 count_threads the number of expected colorblocks
`u8` 1 \x0C Unknown
`u8` 1 \x00 Unknown
`u8` 1 \x01 Unknown

030 Location And Hoop.

Type Bytes Value Description
`s8` 3 \x00\x03\x00 Tag indicates the following is a location.
`32be` 2 Bytes_to_EOF bytes the the end of the file.
`s32be` 4 center_x Design center. In microns. max_x - half_width * 100
`s32be` 4 -center_y Design center. In microns. max_y - half_height * -100
`u8` 1 \x00 Unknown
`u8` 1 \x00 Unknown
`u8` 1 \x00 Unknown
`s32be` 4 -half_width -half_width, If center_x were made zero, this is the extends.
`s32be` 4 half_width +half_width
`s32be` 4 -half_height -half_height
`s32be` 4 half_height +half_height
`16be` 2 byte_length unknown string, always 00 (N0)
`UTF-16BE` N0 "" Rumor has it this is a string.
`u8` 1 \x64 'd' maybe "dd", maybe 25700 (the 00 in dec end makes that seem like a position)
`u8` 1 \x64 see above
`s32be` 4 4096 Unknown, b'\x00\x00\x10\x00'
`s32be` 4 0 Unknown, b'\x00\x00\x00\x00'
`s32be` 4 0 Unknown, b'\x00\x00\x00\x00'
`s32be` 4 4096 Unknown, b'\x00\x00\x10\x00'
`string` 4 "xxPP" Magic String?
`u8` 1 \x01 Unknown
`u8` 1 \x00 Unknown
`16be` 2 byte_length Production String Bytes (N1)
`UTF-16BE` N1 "Produced by ...." Production String

Body

Each vp3 stitchblock contains: Thread information. (Brand, Catalog Number, and Description) The position of the end of the block. And stitches.

Also See

https://community.kde.org/Projects/Liberty/File_Formats/Viking_Pfaff http://www.jasonweiler.com/VP3FileFormatInfo.html