Styles, Templates, Backgrounds & Decorations

The Styles tab offers a selection of double-page spread templates decorated with backgrounds, clip art, and/or fonts.

The Templates tab offers simple single-page templates that contain image frames and text frames on white backgrounds.

To apply a theme or layout to a page:

1. Open the section in the page editor
2. Click the Styles or Templates tab
3. Choose a Collection from the Category menu
4. Drag & Drop the theme or layout of your choice

To remove a Style or Layout that was just applied:

Click the Undo button at the top of the page (or use Ctrl-Z on Windows / Cmd-Z on Mac)

To save a custom layout:

1. Create your design on your page with images, decorations & text frames
2. Click Save Template in the top menu
   Note: Candid mage and text will be removed when the layout is saved, only preserving the formatting, Pixami backgrounds and clip art.
3. Select or Create a new Category
4. Choose which page to save
5. Check the boxes to include the background and text, if desired
6. Click OK

The new layout will appear under the Saved Layouts tab. Change the Category at the top to navigate to the folder where the layout was saved.

To add a solid color as your background:

1. Click the Background menu in the main toolbar
2. Click Colorize
3. Select a color in the Color Picker
4. Click OK

Note: Check out the Color Picker section below to learn more about altering colors.

To fill a double-page spread:

1. Click the Backgrounds tab
2. Choose a Collection in the Category and Sub-category menus
3. Drag & Drop the background of your choice

To fill a single page (can ONLY be done after adding a double-page spread):

1. Choose a Collection in the Category and Sub-category menus
2. Add a background to cover the entire spread.
3. Choose a second background on the Background tab.
4. Drag the background over the selected side
5. Drop the background when the page highlights with a green border – it will only apply to the selected page.

To remove a Pixami background or clear background effects:

1. Click the Background menu in the main toolbar
2. Click Clear Background to remove a Pixami background, or Clear Color / Clear Brightness and Contrast to remove an effect on the background.

To use a candid image as a background on one page:

1. Click the Candids tab
2. Choose an image
3. Drag & Drop it on to either side of the spread
4. Select the image
5. Click More in the frame menu
6. Hover over Fill Page
7. Select Fill Page / Send to Back

To use a candid image as the entire double-page spread:

1. Follow steps 1-6 above
2. Select Fill Spread / Send to Back

To colorize a background image:

1. Click the Background menu in the main toolbar
2. Click Colorize
3. Select a color on the Color Picker
4. Click OK

Note: Click Clear Color in the Background menu to remove the color.

To adjust Brightness and Contrast in a background image:

1. Click the Background menu in the main toolbar
2. Click Brightness and Contrast
3. Adjust the Brightness and/or Contrast Slider
4. Click OK

Note: Click Clear Brightness and Contrast in the Background menu to remove the effects.

To flip the background image:

1. Click the Background menu on the main toolbar
2. Click Flip Vertically or Flip Horizontally

Decorative items for your yearbook can be found on the Art tab, organized into categories based on type and design style.

To add decorative art to your page:

1. Click the Art tab
2. Choose a Collection from the Folder menu
3. Drag & Drop the element of your choice to your page.

Note: For detailed instructions on how to manipulate frames, check out the Frame Basics and Shape, Text, & Image Frames articles.

To upload clip art from the Studio Source Content Catalog or custom clipart:

1. Go to the Photos Page
2. Click the Art Folder dropdown
3. Create (or select) a folder to upload your clip art into. Note that you may make up to four levels of subcategories.
4. Click the Upload button at the top of the menu
5. Click Add Files
6. Select the files you want to upload
7. Click Open to start the upload.
8. Your art will appear with the Pixami collection in the page editor.

To add a specialty layout page:

1. Checkout a section
2. Click the Saved Layouts tab
3. Choose a Category
4. Drag & Drop the image on the page

To add Year in Review pages:

1. Go to the Yearbook Ladder
2. Click + New Section
3. Type Year in Review as the Section Name
4. Click the Pages Dropdown Menu
5. Select Year in Review
6. Add the number of pages you want to dedicate to Year in Review
7. Select a Color
8. Click OK

9. Checkout the section
10. Add the images in one of two ways:
    • Auto Fill
      1. Click Auto Fill
      2. Click OK
    • Individually
      1. Drag & Drop image onto page
      2. Click More in the frame menu
      3. Hover over Fill Page
      4. Select Fill Page / Send to Back

To use the color picker:

1. Select Colors & Borders or Colorize on any frame menu
2. Click the Color Chip
3. Slide the Rainbow Slider to choose a color
4. Click the Gradient to the left of the rainbow slider to choose a shade
5. Click OK

To create a custom swatch:

1. Click & Hold the eyedropper tool
2. Move the cursor over the color you want to select
3. Release the mouse
4. Click the Paint Bucket tool
5. Click an Empty Swatch to fill with the selected color

To download from the library:

1. Use the Search feature to look for content by keyword, or use the Filters in the left menu
2. Locate one image or multiple images you want to download
3. Click Add to Cart under each image preview
4. Click Checkout

6. Login with your Studio Source Dashboard Account (If you do not have one, ask your advisor to assist.)
7. Check the Terms and Conditions checkbox
8. Click Place order (Don’t worry, no charges will be made to you personally or your yearbook account.)
9. Download Links for your ordered items will appear and an email will arrive in the inbox of the person associated with the Dashboard account used to checkout. The items will be bundled into one or more larger zip files, so you won’t need to download each item separately.
10. Unzip any .zip archives on your computer before uploading them to Pixami. Upload jpg format backgrounds to a Candid folder, and png format clipart to either a candid folder or the Clip art folder under Pixami’s Photo tab.

To use the word art generator:

1. Type your text (keep it short for best results)
2. Click Get Started
3. Select the Style you prefer
4. Click Edit Logo
5. On the Text Tab, change the Font Size to 200
6. On the Background Tab, select Transparent
7. On the Image Tab, select PNG File Type
8. Customize the font, color, & shadow options as you like
9. Click Next
10. Click Download
11. Upload to a Clip Art Folder

To generate a new file using the exact same settings, but different text:

1. Click Edit Text move back a step
2. Type the new text in the Logo Text field
3. Repeat Steps 8 & 9 above

To request a word search puzzle:

1. Click the button above
2. Fill Out the Form to specify your words, puzzle shape, colors, and fonts
3. Your puzzle will be emailed back to you as a PNG File
4. Upload to a Clip Art Folder

To use the QR-Code Generator:

1. Type in the website address you wish to link
2. Customize the Color Scheme
3. Customize the Style of Pixels and the Shape of Elements in the code
4. Leave the Quality Slider at 1000×1000
5. Click Create QR Code
6. Click Download PNG file
   • Do not click the Free Sign Up button – there’s no service to sign up for
7. Upload the PNG file to a Clip Art Folder