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Design Tool Tutorial - Quickly learn all you need to know!
Learn how to use our design tool! You can add photos or icons, insert text of any color and edit it later, save a design to finish later, draw boxes and other shapes to help create your own look, choose from many font designs, make two sided designs, and much more. Learn all you need to know quickly, right here.

Main Design Areas

Expand Design Area
Switch Between Layout Area and Background Selections

	Click this to expand the editor workspace to full screen view.
	Click this tab to see your template in layout (normal edit) view.
	Click this tab to open the submenu that allows you to change your background.

Top Toolbar Features

Flip Card Over, Save, Purchase, Preview Proof, Cut, Copy, Paste, Zoom

	Front View Button - Click to view and edit the front side of your card.
	Back View Button - Click to view and edit the back view of your card (if applicable.)
	Open Card Log Button - Click to open the log of card designs that you have previously saved. (You must be logged in to use this feature.)
	Save Button - Click to save the card design you are currently editing into your "My Personal Designs" file. (You must be logged in to use this feature.)
	Order Button - Click to put your card design into your shopping cart and continue with purchase.
	Preview Project Button - Click to open a pdf. file preview of your card design.
	Cut Button - works just like "cut" in other programs. You can use it to remove an object from the design area and copy it to your clipboard at the same time.
	Copy Button - works just like "copy" in other programs. You can use it to copy an object from the design area to your clipboard and later use the paste button to put a duplicate of the same item on the design area in a different place.
	Paste Button - works just like "paste" in other programs. If you have copied an object to your clipboard, you can click this button to paste that item somewhere else on your template. Note: When you paste an object onto your template, it will place your newly copied and pasted item right on top of the original, so it may appear that nothing changed. Just use the move tool to move the object where you want it.
	Undo and Redo Buttons - Click to undo or redo any action you just took.
	Fill Color Menu Button - Click to open a color picker. Click the color with which you would like to fill the ENTIRE card or your selected area.
	Card Zoom Size Menu - Click the downward arrow to open a drop down menu that lets you choose to view and work on your card in larger sizes. Click on the size you wish to use.

Primary Design Toolbar Features

Select an Item, Draw Solid Shapes, Draw Lines, Make Borders,
Add Text, Add Images, Delete Items, Constrain Proportions, Show Margins

	Item Select and Move Tool - use to select or move any item such as text boxes, pictures, etc.
	Rectangle Draw Tool - select this tool, then click and drag to draw a solid rectangle. You can fill the rectangle with color and/or put a frame around it using the tools from the shape tool submenu. (Submenu appears after you have drawn a shape.)
	Rounded Corner Rectangle Draw Tool - select this tool, then click and drag to draw a solid rectangle with rounded corners. You can fill the rectangle with color and/or put a frame around it using the tools from the shape tool submenu. (Submenu appears after you have drawn a shape.)
	Ellipse Draw Tool - select this tool, then click and drag to draw a solid ellipse (circle, oval, etc.). You can fill the ellipse with color and/or put a frame around it using the tools from the shape tool submenu. (Submenu appears after you have drawn a shape.)
	Freeform Line Tool - select this tool, then click and drag to draw to draw a freeform shape. You can fill the freeform shape with color and/or put a frame around it using the tools from the shape tool submenu. (Submenu appears after you have drawn a shape.)
	Straight Line Tool - select this tool, then click and drag to draw a straight line.
	Text Box Draw Tool - select this tool, then click and drag to draw a box to type text in. (The text box will appear as a border of tiny squares. You can make more than one text box, and the textboxes can be sized individually. To move a textbox, make sure the select tool is selected. Hover over the textbox until a 4-directional arrow appears. Click and drag to move. To resize a textbox, hover over one of the squares until an arrow appears. Click and drag to resize. To rotate a textbox, hover your icon over any corner of the text box until a circular arrow appears. Click and drag to rotate.
	Picture from Gallery Tool - click to open up your gallery of saved images, click the image you want, and the image will appear on your template. (You must be logged in to use this.)
	Delete Item Tool - select an item, then click this tool to delete that item.
	Constrain Proportions Tool - Click this before you resize your picture so that the height and width will change proportionally to each other. Grab a corner of the picture's frame and drag in or out to resize.
	Show Margins Tool - click this tool to show or hide the borders, frames, or margins of your text boxes and borders.

Text & Positioning Tools

Choose Typeface (font), Text Effects, Text Color, & Arrange Placement of Text Within Text Boxes.

Bold Text Button - Click to make your text bold.

Italic Text Button - Click to put your text in italics.

Underline Text Button - Click to underline your text.

Shadow Text Button - Click to make your text shadowed.

Text Color Button - clicking this will open a palette of colors to choose from. Then click your color choice.

Text Size Drop Down Menu - click the down arrow, and choose a text size by clicking which size you want. The default is size 12.

Left Justify Button - click to move text to the left of your text box.

Center Justify Button - click to move text to the center of your text box.

Right Justify Button - click to move text to the right of your text box.

Top Justify Button - click to move text to the top of your text box.

Middle Justify Button - click to move text to the middle of your text box.

Bottom Justify Button - click to move text to the bottom of your text box.

Bring to Front Button - Every object you make will be placed on it's own transparent "layer". (Imagine that each object is on a thin glass sheet, and the sheets can be moved around and stacked in the order you wish.) If you have at least 2 objects on your template, select an object and click this button to move that object in front of your other object.

In the example below, there are 2 objects on the template- a filled shape and a text box. The text box was selected, and "bring to front" was clicked in order to place the text box on the topmost layer. Clicking the bring to front button will move a selected object to the very top layer, no matter how many layers exist.

Bring Forward Button - Clicking this will bring a selected object up one layer.

Send Backward Button - Clicking this will send a selected object back one layer.

Send to Back Button - Clicking this will move a selected object to the very bottom layer, no matter how many layers exist.

Shape Details Tools
(Appears when a shape has been drawn.)

Move Shapes Around, Change Size of Shapes, Make Frames Around Shapes,
Change Shape Frame Color & Size, Fill Shapes With Color.

Shape Position View Bar - Lets you assign a numerical value for exact placement of your shape. (x-axis, y-axis, width and height.)

Shape Border Toolbar (Left to right) - The checkbox turns a border on/off; the color picker button opens a palette of colors to assign to your border; click the downward menu to choose border thickness.

Shape Color Fill Toolbar (Left to right) - The checkbox turns the color fill on/off; the color picker button opens a palette of colors to fill your shape.

Gallery

Gallery & Icon Tutorial - You can use your very own images, logos, etc. on your business cards; we also provide a selection of icons that you might find useful in customizing your business card design. Quickly learn all you need to know about these features right here!

NOTE: To import images from your own computer to use on your custom business card designs, you will first need to create a free account with BusinessCardsThatWork.com, and be logged into that account. Go to the home page and click "Your Account". You will then be able to create your new account and use ALL of our great features!

After your account is set up, you are ready to bring photos, logos, or other images from your computer into your gallery. Then you can choose images from your gallery to add to your design.

Use images that are high quality jpeg or gif files for your gallery pictures..

To get a picture or logo from your computer to your gallery, go to "My Gallery" on the home page.

1) Click the "Add New Image" link to expand the upload menu.

2) Click the browse button that appears. This will allow you to look through the files on your own computer to find the image you would like to import into your gallery. Double-click the file of your choice, then click "Upload". The image will then appear in your gallery. You can put a caption under the image if you like.

3) Click "save" to save your image in the gallery. Now you can add this image to any card design you choose, and it will stay stored in the gallery for future use. You can also delete any image you have uploaded using the green "delete" link on the top right of your image. You can review all of the images in your gallery by clicking the "My Gallery" link from the main menu:

To begin adding your uploaded images to your cards, choose a business card template that you like and click "Design My Own". When your template loads into the card editor, you are ready to add text, pictures, etc. to your design. Use the tools described below to import, move, and resize pictures or icons.

Image from Gallery Tool - Click this button, then click and drag to create the area that your image will go in. When you release your mouse button, the images menu will pop up.

In the images menu you can choose images that you have uploaded into your gallery, or you may choose the premade "icons" (shapes, silhouettes, etc) that we have provided for you. Click the image you want to go on your card, and that image will automatically appear in the box you have drawn on your card template. From there you may resize the image or change its proportions.

Constrain Proportions Tool - Click this before you resize your picture so that the height and width will change proportionally to each other. Grab a corner of the picture's frame and drag in or out to resize.

Item Select / Move Tool - Make sure this button is selected to move a picture or other item around on the template.

Aspect Ratio Button - After resizing a picture, you may need to restore its size if it gets distorted. Select the image with the Item Select Tool and then click the Aspect Ratio Button to restore the original image proportions based on the current width of your resized image.