With the size of the hard drives that are on the computers nowadays, the size of the file does not seem to be as important to me as perhaps it once was. As Viking has recommended downloading the vp3 format, saying that it contains the most information, I was very surprised to find that many of the vp3 files that I have purchased do not have ties. If a color chart is included with the design, it is a relatively easy task to make the necessary changes, adding ties is a more difficult proposition, at least for me. I have yet to determine which software(s) produce the vp3 files with no ties when converted from their original format. Recently I had a problem with a redwork design unraveling, and found that pes is the only format from this particular digitizer which has ties that I can see in my software. Prior to this, it had never occurred to me to check if a design had ties - I just assumed that they all did, and that the color information was the only criteria that made the vp3 the best choice. Of course, with a design that I create myself, vp3 is the best format, as it will indeed have all the information - color and ties. The issue comes in with purchased designs, especially if multiple formats are not included in a zip file. It would be nice to know which software other than Vikings' retains the ties when converted/saved as a vp3.

Vikings 5D needed ties to be added by hand and you could choose which ties (out of 5) to use; 6D no longer offers a choice, has only one, but it does add that automatically unless you set the software to not add them.
Embird does keep ties and let you add tie ons and tie offs if they are not there to start with..

How do you check to see if the design has ties?

pennyhal2 - You can see the ties when you bring the design into the embroidery software.

mops- Thank you so much for your comments. I have the Viking software (from 3DPro - to 6D Premier), so am familiar with what you are saying, and agree completely. The issue I have is with the purchased vp3 designs. Many do not have ties, and adding them after the fact is not such an easy thing. I have tried converting the file using 6D, but it does not add all the ties that are needed. For that reason, even though I would prefer the vp3 format, I have been downloading pes, just to make sure the ties are included.

WOW this is good o know. I just bought 6D and haven't had time to really have a look at it. Been occupied with getting all my (too) many designs on my new laptop since the old one had the Vista operating system... hey, if it still worked...why change it... 8-)