Let’s Explore v4
Silhouette Studio Software Upgrades

Affiliate links may be present in the following blog post.

Software upgrades are on sale right now over at Swing Design. So let’s explore a little bit about them.

What is an upgrade?

A software upgrade is an additional purchase that gives you a code to unlock additional features in the software.

Do I need it?

That is all going to depend on each individual user. I highly recommend at least the Designer Edition upgrade for all of my students. It makes life easier and saves you time and headache. It is well worth the investment!

Which one to I get?

First, that depends on how far you want to go. Like I said above, I highly recommend the Designer Edition upgrade for all students. But, I love the Business Edition because all the features are unlocked and you never have to question if something is available to you.

Next, you have to consider if you already have an upgrade. There are different levels and you want to make sure to buy the correct level.

If you have the basic (free) software, you would want to purchase 1 of 3 options depending on what upgrade you want to go to:
Option 1 – Silhouette Studio to Designer Edition (highly recommend at least this)
Option 2 – Silhouette Studio to Designer Plus (unlocks a few more features – see below)
Option 3 – Silhouette Studio to Business Edition (unlocks it all)

Now here is the important part, if you already have one of the upgrades above, you only need to purchase the step up to the next level you want.

For instance, if you already have the Designer Edition upgrade but you want to go to Business Edition, you want to buy the Designer Edition to Business Edition upgrade. You do not need to buy the full upgrade. You would purchase the level that you need to go from to the level you want to be at.

The options are:
Option 1 – Designer Edition to Designer Edition Plus (personally I would just go to Business)
Option 2 – Designer Edition to Business Edition
Option 3 – Designer Edition Plus to Business Edition

Now, keep in mind, if you purchase the upgrades in steps it is no different than purchasing the upgrade all together, except that you will need to enter the codes in that same order if you install it on another computer or have to re-enter your codes for any reason.

So how do you activate the code?

In the Silhouette software, click on Help in the top left menu. Then choose Upgrade and a pop up window will show up. Enter the information in the window and type the upgrade code exactly as you received it.
Make sure you are entering the codes in the order that you purchased them in.

For example, if you ordered Designer Edition and then the Business Edition upgrade later. To activate it on a computer, you would need to enter it in that order. First the Designer Edition code and then the Business Edition code.

If you purchased the Silhouette Studio to Business Edition code right off the bat, then you only have 1 code to enter.

Software Upgrade Details

What do each of the upgrades offer?

To see the full comparison chart, click HERE to go directly to the Silhouette America website and see the full chart. Click on the video camera icon next to each feature to see a short demo.

But, lets briefly name some of the features I find the most useful in each of the upgrades.

Designer Edition unlocks:
– Ability to open svg and pdf file directly in the software
– Rulers and guides can now be activated
– Additional Knife tools
– Additional sketch effects
– Trace by Color
– Magnet Trace
– Glyphs Panel
– Ability to create Rhinestone designs
– Warp Templates
And more…..

Designer Edition Plus unlocks all of the above and …..
– Flexishapes
– Ability to open some embroidery file types (PES, DST, EXP, JEF, and XXX)
– Puzzle Generator
– Conical Warp
And more…..

Business Edition unlocks all of the above and …..
– Import Ai/CDR/EPS Files
– Weed Line Feature
– Multi-cutter Support (I use this one all the time)
– Multiple Undo/Redo (one of my favorites)
– Export SVG, PDF, JPG
– Edition Toggle (this is great for those of us who teach, so we can see exactly what the students see in their version)
And more…..

Now, the list above is not the extensive list of all the features unlocked with each upgrade. However, it is a list of the features I find the most useful in each upgrade.
For the complete comparison chart click HERE to go look at Silhouette America.

I am all about making a Silhouette user save time and frustration in working with their software AND getting the best cut possible. I would highly recommend at least the Designer Edition to all users, for the ability to open a svg file, as that is generally the higher quality cut file when you compare it to a trace or dxf file.
Check out this post – Let’s Explore v4 – How to open a svg

If you have question about an upgrade just let me know. Comment below or post on my Facebook group at Silhouette Secrets with EllyMae.

I would love to see what you creating with your Silhouette machine!

Enjoy!