Understanding Frames
What is a Frame?
All objects on your canvas exist inside a frame. There are three types of frames:
Image: Containers holding photos, decorative backgrounds or clipart.
Shapes: Color block elements
Text: Containers to hold any quantity of words, all styled with the same font attributes.
Selecting Frames
To select a single frame, simply click on it. The frame will highlight, and handles will appear around its edges.
Multiple frames may be selected simultaneously.
A multi-selection may be resized together in their current placement. If the frames are like-type, you may apply new attributes to them all at the same time (eg; add a border and shape to a set of image frames).
To select multiple frames individually, hold the Ctrl-key (Windows) or Cmd key (Mac), then click on each frame with your mouse.
To select all frames in an area of your canvas, click down on your left mouse button. then drag down across the area. All selected frames will highlight.
Grouping Frames
Groups enable multiple items to be resized and repositioned proportionately.
Create a multi-selection as described above, then click on the Group option on the top menu.
Click Group frames.
The selected frames will now display a single set of handles, which may be used to resize all frames within it proportionately.
To ungroup, select the group on the canvas, click on Group on the top menu, then choose Ungroup Frames. The frames will display their individual handle controls once again.
Moving Frames
Once one or more frames are selected, they may be moved by dragging them to a new position.
Purple guidelines will appear as you drag an frame – these are snap lines to help align frames relative to other objects on your page.
Magnetic Snap Lines
Guidelines are magnetic to help you snap their edges together. They also snap to the green safe margins, and the page edge.
To turn off magnetic alignment, hold the Shift key on your keyboard while dragging the image – you will be able to freely position it on the canvas.
Nudging with Arrow Keys
To move a selection in small increments, tap your keyboard arrow keys in the direction you want to move the frame.
The amount of nudge distance is adjustable in the left-side menu’s Settings options.
A larger distance increases the amount the selected frame moves when the arrow key is tapped.
Resizing Frames
Frames are resized by dragging on the handles that surround them when selected.
Image and shape frames display eight handles (four corner, four midpoint). Text frames display only two handles.
Pull on a corner handle of an image or shape frame to resize it on both length and width simulataneously.
To lock the image’s proportions while resizing, hold the Shift key on the keyboard while resizing – this technique is ideal for clipart, to avoid clipped edges.
Pull on a midpoint handle to reshape the frame width-wise or height-wise.
Note that the image is not being cropped itself, the frame is only changing its shape around the image.
Text frames may only be resized width-wise; the frame will automatically resize height-wise to accommodate the text within the frame.
Rotating Frames
Select a frame to access its rotation handle.
Drag on the handle to pivot the frame.
Hold down the Alt-Key to snap the rotation to 15 degree increments.
Double-click the rotation handle to reset the frame to the default position.
Aligning Frames
Reposition items on your canvas as a group relative to each other and the canvas.
Create a multi-selection (as described above) to access the alignment menu.
Use horizontal alignment to reposition frames relative to the canvas edge.
Use vertical alignment to reposition the frames relative to each other within the group.
Changing Frame Order
Every frame on your page is placed in a stack order as it is added to the canvas. The last added frame is at the top of the stack.
To move a frame up or down the stack order, select it, click on Order on the top menu, then choose an option.
Either move the frame to the top or bottom the stack, or move it up/down incrementally.
Note that smaller frames, such as the text frame that was on top of the postcard, may be hidden under larger items if they are move to the top of the stack.
