Quick Start Guide

Graphic Authority

The Edge Library

Quick Start Guide
PhotoPlus Edition
Welcome to The Edge Library PhotoPlus Edition! The resources youll find on The Edge Library PhotoPlus Edition DVD have been specifically designed to add impact and creative flair to your PhotoPlus projects. The Edge Library has been developed with ease of use in mind, and youll be surprised by how simple it is to produce superb results. To get started quickly, follow the steps outlined in this Quick Start Guide.

The Edge Library PhotoPlus Edition

This document, and the software described in it, is furnished under an end user License Agreement, which is included with the product. The agreement specifies the permitted and prohibited uses. Digital Images 2008 Hemera Technologies Inc. All Rights Reserved. Digital Images 2008 Jupiterimages Corporation, All Rights Reserved. Digital Images 2008 Jupiterimages France SAS, All Rights Reserved. Copyright 2010. Graphic Authority LLC PhotoPlus is a registered trademark of Serif (Europe) Ltd. Microsoft, Windows, and the Windows logo are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. All other trademarks acknowledged. 2010 Serif (Europe) Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced in any form without the express written permission of Serif (Europe) Ltd.

Quick Start Guide

Introducing The Edge Library

The Edge Library PhotoPlus Edition DVD includes a wealth of creative resources that are sure to enhance any of your PhotoPlus projects. Backgrounds & Textures: Build interest and intensity in your projects with these creative backgrounds and textures. You can add the textures as layers, or use them to create custom PhotoPlus brushesgreat for aging and corroding your photos. Categories include paper, metal, urban, grunge, and more. Extreme Edges: Add impact with a creative edge. Choose from a wide range of hand-painted artistic, distressed, traditional film strip, and darkroom edge effects. With so many to choose from, youre sure to find something to suit your project! Photographic Frames: Enhance your masterpiece in seconds with a stylish photo frame! Browse the extensive selection of layered frames in print- and web-ready sizes, all available in landscape and portrait orientation.

The Edge Library PhotoPlus Edition

Browsing The Edge Library

You can browse The Edge Library resources from Windows Explorer or from PhotoPlus.

To browse from Windows Explorer:

1 Insert The Edge Library DVD into your DVD drive. 2 If AutoPlay is enabled on the drive, a dialog opens automatically.
From here, you can choose to browse the contents of the DVD. - or If AutoPlay is not enabled (or the dialog doesn't open automatically), in Windows Explorer, navigate to the drive in which The Edge Library DVD is located and double-click the drive.

3 Double-click on a folder to browse its contents.

To browse from PhotoPlus:

1 On the Standard toolbar, click
Open.

2 Browse to the drive containing The Edge Library DVD. 3 Double-click on a folder to browse its contents.

Quick Start Guide

Adding backgrounds
1 Click
Open, browse to and select the photo you want to work with and click Open. + C) to copy the photo to the Clipboard.

2 On the Edit menu, click Copy (or press Ctrl 3 Click

Open, browse to the drive containing The Edge Library DVD and double-click the Backgrounds & Textures folder. and click Open.

4 Browse to and select a background 5 OptionalTo resize the background

image for printing, click Image > Image Size and adjust the Print Size dimensions. (See Changing image and canvas size in the PhotoPlus Help.)

6 On the Edit menu, click Paste >

As New Layer.

7 To see your photo on top of the

background, you need to move it to the top of the layers stack. On the Layers tab, click on the layer containing your photo and drag it up to the top of the layers stack.

The new layer is named Layer 1 by default, but you can rename it. Simply double-click it to open the Layer Properties dialog, type a new name and click OK.

The Edge Library PhotoPlus Edition

8 Click the

Deform Tool. A bounding box and handles display around the edge of the photo.

To move the photo, click and drag directly on it.

To resize the photo, drag a corner Resize handle.

To rotate the photo, hover the cursor just outside a corner handle. When the cursor changes to the Rotate cursor, click and drag to rotate the photo.

You can merge multiple layers into a single layer. For example, you might want to merge all the layers contained in the background image file into a single Background layer. To merge layers: 1 On the Layers tab, select the layers you want to merge (hold down the Shift key and then click each layer). 2 Right-click and choose Merge Selected Layers.

Quick Start Guide

Applying edges
1 Click
Open, browse to the drive containing The Edge Library DVD and double-click the Extreme Edges folder.

2 Browse to and select an edge and click Open. (For Vol. 4

Darkroom Effects, see page 8.) Select the orientation (Landscape or Portrait) and size most suited to your photo.

3 On the Select menu, click Select All (or

press Ctrl + A).

4 Press Ctrl + C to copy the edge to

the Clipboard.

5 Click

Open, browse to and select the photo you want to work with and click Open. your chosen edge: Click the Crop Tool, and then click and drag on the photo to define the crop area. On the Crop context toolbar, click OK.

6 Optional: If the shape of your photo doesnt quite match that of

7 On the Layers tab, right-click the Background layer and click

Promote to Layer. (The layer is promoted and renamed Layer 1.)

8 On the Layers tab, click

Add Layer Mask to create a mask layer. Thumbnail and press Ctrl + A to select everything.

9 On the Layers tab, click the Mask

10 On the Edit menu, click

Paste > Into Selection. The edge is applied to your photo.

The Edge Library PhotoPlus Edition

Applying Vol. 4 Darkroom Effects

1 Click
Open, browse to The Edge Library DVD and double-click the Extreme Edges folder.

2 Double-click on the Vol. 4 Darkroom

Effects folder to open it, and then double-click the subfolders to browse their contents.

3 Select the edge you prefer. and click Open.

(The example shown here is the 35mm_01.spp edge, located in the 35mm overlay folder.)

4 Click

Open, browse to and select the photo you want to work with and click Open. doesnt match that of your chosen edge, as in our example: Click the Crop Tool, and then click and drag on the photo to define the crop area. On the Crop context toolbar, click OK.

5 Optional: If the shape of your photo

For more on cropping, and other image resizing methods, see Changing image and canvas size in the PhotoPlus Help.

6 Press Ctrl + C to copy the photo to

the Clipboard.

7 Return to your darkroom effect file.

To do this, click it on the Documents tab located at the bottom of the workspace (or select it from the Window menu).

Quick Start Guide

8 On the Layers, tab, on the YOUR

IMAGE HERE layer, select the Layer Thumbnail.

9 Press Ctrl + A to select everything

on the layer. (Youll see an animated dashed line around the edge of the canvas.)

10 On the Edit menu, click Paste >

Into Selection.

11 Optional: Use the

Deform Tool to resize and reposition the photo inside its edge: To move the photo, click and drag on it. To resize the photo, hold down the Shift key, and then click and drag a corner resize handle.

Holding down the Shift key while resizing ensures that the aspect ratio of the photo is maintained.

12 Optional: If the edge you have chosen

contains multiple YOUR IMAGE HERE layers, repeat steps 4 to 11 for each layer, using a different photo for each.

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The Edge Library PhotoPlus Edition

Adding photo frames

1 Click
Open, browse to The Edge Library DVD and double-click the Photographic Frames folder.

2 Select the orientation (Landscape

or Portrait) and size that matches your intended printed output. Choose a frame and click Open.

3 Click

Open, browse to and select your photo and click Open.

4 With the photo open in the

workspace, on the Image menu, click Image Size. In the Image Size dialog, check the Print Size dimensions. If they do not match those of your chosen photo frame (ours do not): Click the Crop Tool.

On the context toolbar, select an aspect ratio from the drop-down list. Click and drag on the photo to define the crop area, then release the mouse button (drag to reposition the area if necessary). Click OK.

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5 Press Ctrl + C to copy the photo to

the Clipboard.

6 Return to your photo frame file

(click it on the Documents tab or select it from the Window menu).

These instructions focus on creating a framed photo ready to print out in a standard size 5x7, 8x10, 7x5, or 10x8. However, you can easily frame non-standard-sized photos too: 1 Open the photo frame file and click Image > Image Size dialog. 2 Change the Print Size dimensions to match the dimensions of your photo. (See Changing image and canvas size in the PhotoPlus Help.)

7 On the Layers, tab, on the YOUR

PHOTO HERE layer, select the Layer Thumbnail.

8 Press Ctrl + A to select everything

on the layer.

9 On the Edit menu, click Paste >

Into Selection.

Your photo is pasted into the frame.

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The Edge Library PhotoPlus Edition

Creating brushes
1 Click
Open, browse to the drive containing The Edge Library DVD and double-click the Backgrounds & Textures folder.

2 Browse the folder contents and select the texture upon which your
brush is to be based.

3 Click Open. 4 Press Ctrl+A to select everything. 5 Click the

Paintbrush Tool.

6 On the Brush Tip tab, right-click

on the lower gallery section of the tab and click Add Category.

7 In the Category dialog, type a name

for your new category and click OK.

8 On the Brush Tip tab, select your

new category from the drop-down list then right-click on the lower gallery section and click Define Brush.

9 In the New Brush dialog, type a

name for the brush and click OK.

10 Your brush is displayed in the Brush

Tip tab gallery, in the category you created. (Hover your cursor over the brush to display its name.)

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Painting
1 Select the
Paintbrush Tool.

2 On the Brush Tip tab, select your brush tip. 3 At the top of the
workspace, on the Brush context toolbar, adjust brush propertiesSize, Opacity, etc.

4 Set your brush stroke colour using one of the following methods:
On the Colour tab, click in the spectrum, or drag the sliders.

- or -

Click the Colour Pickup Tool, and then click on your photo to pick up a colour.

5 Click and drag to paint.

For more on painting and working with colour, see the topics included in the Painting and Drawing Help book.

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The Edge Library PhotoPlus Edition

Customizing brushes
The default attributes of a brush are applied whenever you select the brush from the Brush Tip tab. You can customize these default attributes of your brush tipsize, spacing, opacity, and so on, in the Brush Options dialog.

To customize your brush:

1 On the Brush Tip tab, right-click on
your brush tip and click Brush Options.

2 In the Brush Options dialog, select

a brush attribute from the list on the left, and then adjust the properties that display on the right.

3 Click OK.

For more on brush attributes and customizing brush tips, see Painting in the PhotoPlus Help.

You can adjust some of the brush tip attributes temporarily, as you paint, by changing the values on the Brush context toolbar (displayed at the top of the toolbar whenever the Paintbrush Tool is active).

When you next select the same brush tip, the default attributes are reapplied.

Quick Start Guide In this guide, weve shown you how to work with backgrounds, edges, frames, and brush textures individually. If youre feeling really creative, why not try creating a composite image by combining multiple resources in the same PhotoPlus project. Start with a background, add your photo, apply a frame or an edge, and then apply your custom brush strokes... Have fun!

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For previews of the complete collection of resources included on The Edge Library PhotoPlus Edition DVD, refer to The Edge Library Preview Guide. Youll find the Preview Guide in the root directory of your DVD.

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The Edge Library PhotoPlus Edition

Contacting Serif
Contacting Serif technical support
Technical support is provided from our web support page, and useful information can be obtained via our web-based forums (see below).

UK/International/US Technical Support

http://www.support.serif.com

Additional Serif contact information

Website: Forums: http://www.serif.com http://www.serif.com/forums.asp

Main office (UK, Europe):

The Software Centre, PO Box 2000, Nottingham, NG11 7GW, UK Main: Registration (UK only): Sales (UK only): Customer Service (UK/International): General Fax: (0115) 914 2000 (0800) 376 1989 (0800) 376 7070 http://www.serif.com/support (0115) 914 2020

North American office (US, Canada):

Serif Inc, The Software Center, 17 Hampshire Drive, Suites 1 & 2, Hudson, NH 03051, USA Main: Registration: Sales: Customer Service: General Fax: (603) 889-8650 (800) 794-6876 (800) 489 6703 http://www.serif.com/support (603) 889-1127

International enquiries
Please contact our main office.