If you have a Cricut Maker, a Cricut Easy Press or a Cricut Explore, then you’ll be familiar with Cricut Design Space. This is the software which lets you design and cut your images.
If you’re new to creating and cutting your own designs, then it has lots of good features to help you get started.
- It works with most recognised image types: .jpg, .gif, .pgn, .svg and .dxf
- It has more than 60,000 images for you to start with
- And it includes some pre-prepared projects so that you can get used to creating and designing.
One potential drawback is that you need to keep connected to the internet and this can sometimes cause problems, so what can you do if your Cricut Design Space isn’t working?
There is no simple answer and some things are tried and tested ways of fixing other problems too, but here are some ways to fix some of the most common errors (fix the remove exclusive content error here).
Program Lagging or Freezing
One thing you may experience is the program freezing or taking a long time to do anything. If you do, then first check your internet speed as a slow speed can cause this. You may be paying for a high speed, but in reality you may not be getting this.
1. Run a speed test
There are many sites where you can run a free speed test. To run Cricut Design space you will need both good upload and download speeds.
- Recommended minimum download speed: 5 Mbps
- Recommended minimum upload speed: 1.0 Mbps
If either your upload or download speeds are not enough, the best thing to do is get in touch with your internet service provider. They can often tell you the best way to increase these or upgrade your contract so you can get the desired speed.
It’s possible you may need a new modem or router and they will be able to tell you.
2. Check what else is connected
Most households these days have several people sharing one internet connection. This can put a strain on it and even slow it down. Streaming movies and TV programs can affect the speed of everyone else in the house.
If you find your Cricut Design space is lagging or freezing, check to see what else is being used and if necessary turn it off. This could give you the extra speed you need.
You also need to look at your own computer to see what’s running in the background. It’s sometimes easy to forget that you have other programs open and these can be slowing your system down. If you can hear the processor working hard, then something is using it.
Some of the things to look out for are:
- If you are using a Windows machine, Windows may be updating in the background.
- Anti-virus programs run scans and updates, and you may find this is running and causing problems. If it is, then you can stop the scan until you have finished working.
- If you are streaming while working, that might prevent your Cricut Design Space from running smoothly.
- Similarly having too many pages open such as Facebook, Skype, Twitter, News feeds and sites like Ebay, can all slow things down.
- If you cannot see anything running in the background, try restarting your computer. This often works to speed things up, particularly if it’s not been turned off for several days.
3. Restart the router
Every now and then it can help to turn off your router and restart it. Many people don’t like to do this, but it can help to keep your connection running smoothly.
4. Check your computer
If your computer doesn’t meet the required specifications for using Cricut Design space, then you may experience freezing.
The recommendations for a Windows machine are:
- Windows 8 or later
- Intel Core series or AMD processor
- 4GB of Ram but 8GB will help
- At least 50MB of free disk space
- A spare USB port or Bluetooth connection
If you use Windows, then always use the most up to date version of your chosen browser. Cricut Design space will work in Chrome, Firefox and Edge, but if you notice lag, check to see if there’s an update to your browser.
100% free download: 5 premium T-shirt designs from Tee.design
The recommendations for Apple machines are:
- Mac OS X 10.12 or later
- CPU of 1.83 GHz
- Minimum 4GB Ram
- 50MB free disk space
- A spare USB port or Bluetooth connection
If you do not have the required specification, you may need to look at upgrading your computer.
5. Clear your cache
Over time your cache can get very cluttered, and if you don’t turn your PC off every night, you might find things slowing down. Clearing your cache can improve your speed.
6. Shockwave issues
Like a lot of software, Cricut Design Space uses Flash. This can cause problems of its own. If you start working on a project and leave it open while you have a break, then you may come back to a message telling you that Flash is not working.
This is because it has an automatic time limit and if you do not complete what you are doing within that time, it closes down.
There is no easy way around this one but make sure you save your work regularly so you still have it if you encounter a Shockwave error.
7. Reinstall
Sometimes when you encounter problems, all you have to do is close the program and re-open it. If all else fails, then you may need to uninstall the software and reinstall it.
This can be done using the same method that you use for uninstalling other programs, but you may need to restart your pc before you reinstall it.
Here’s an excellent video for beginners if you’re having difficulties.
Learn all about the costs of cricut design space here.
Free Gift: 5 Premium T-shirt designs from Tee.design
Design Space Problems
When you’re working with images and design software there are many problems you can encounter. Some may require technical help but the three most common are these:
1. The program won’t open
As Cricut Design Space uses Flash you will need to install Adobe Flash before you use it. This is free software which you can download from the Adobe website.
Some browsers such as Chrome will ask you every time you open Design Space if you want to allow Flash to run. You must click to allow this or you won’t be able to use the software.
2. Cannot locate the image files
- The preloaded files are in a ZIP folder so you will need to unzip them before you can use them. There are free unzip programs available or you may already have one installed.
- When you import your files, you should get an editing window appear. If it does not, find the files in Design Space and click on the button which says ‘insert images’. If you’re not sure which ones they are, they should have a green tick next to them.
3. Imported images do not look right
If you find that your image has gaps or is all one color after you’ve uploaded it then this is most likely to be a problem with the layers. Click ‘Ctrl+A’ to select all of the elements of your design, and then change the fill color so that it is transparent.
You may find that you have a hidden layer which was causing the problems. Now that you can see it, you can continue your editing.
As with all programs, you may experience problem when you first start to use Design Space. As you get more experienced and try more features you will soon be able to trouble shoot when you have any problems.
