These templates are simple, fun, and so easy to use!  First, let's take a look at what came in your first download folder.  We've split the download into two folders, to make downloading a bit easier.  "Part 1" contains all of the following, except the PSD files for pages 14-30 and the cover, which are contained in "Part 2". Once you download both folder, we suggest taking the PSD files from the second download folder and adding them to the first folder.  

ALBUM - Within this folder you will find the templates for the album.  It will contain two subfolders ->JPEG_PREVIEWS (which contains a preview of each of the spreads) and PSD_FILES (which contains the templates you will be using in Photoshop).

BONUS PORTFOLIO BOX - This folder contains a bonus image portfolio box made with Finao templates (finaoonline.com) in four sizes (8x10, 10x10, 11x14, 13x13).  It will contain a subfolder called PSD_FILES, which contains the templates you will be using in Photoshop, and a small jpeg preview file called PREVIEW.jpg.

INSERT IMAGES.atn - This is the action file that you can use to automatically insert your images into the album templates and the image portfolio box.

read_me_pretty_please_template_copyright.txt - This text file contains a quick word on copyright.

tutorial - What you are reading now.

You will also notice that the PSD's appear to be blank.  Don't worry, they're not!  We've simply filled the top layer with white to help shrink the size for download.  Simply open each psd file, delete the top white layer, and resave.

GETTING STARTED

When you downloaded your Organic Paradise Album from the Design Aglow website you should have saved it in an easy-to-find location somewhere on your hard drive.  Take a moment to locate the folder.  Ready?  Great!  Let's move on.

First thing's first - you must unzip the folder before using any of the templates.  This is very important as Photoshop will not be able to work with the files in zipped format.  Use your favorite extraction program for this, such as WinZip (www.winzip.com) or StuffIt (www.stuffit.com).

After you have successfully unzipped your folder you should strongly consider backing up everything just in case you ever accidentally over-write one of the original templates.  This is always a good idea as re-downloading these huge files can be quite a bummer.  Use a blank DVD or portable thumb drive to save a copy, and put it in a safe place. 

These templates are designed for Adobe Photoshop CS3 or newer. This is not to say that they don't work with previous versions - they very well may. 

In order to take full advantage of these templates, you should be relatively proficient in Photoshop. Not an expert, mind you. But you should have a general knowledge of layers, shapes, text and image manipulation such as using the transform tool, layer masks, etc.

If you are less familiar with Photoshop, don't fear. We will try to be as thorough as possible with the tutorial - and hey, you might just learn something new!

We are all Photoshop people here, so it is hard to say which products are compatible with Photoshop Elements. We have heard from many customers that the PSD templates work just fine, but a few have had problems with the actions, depending on which version of PSE they are running. However, we don't see any reason why the templates would not work as long as your version of PSE has the following capabilities:

2. It has the ability to display adjustment layers including solid color fills.

3. It can display clipping masks.

4. It can run actions.

If you think that this all applies to your version of PSE, go ahead and give the templates a try.

If you would like to maintain the look of the font on the portfolio boxes you will need to download the fonst: ParmaInitialenMK and Bradley Hand ITC.

TO USE THE AUTOMATIC ACTION TO PLACE YOUR IMAGES INTO THE TEMPLATES:

1 )) Open the PSD album page that you would like to work on into Photoshop (such as 0203.psd).

2 )) Load the action “INSERT IMAGES.atn” into your Actions palette in Photoshop.  (If you need help with loading actions we have a wonderful tutorial that explains everything at designaglow.com/how.

3 )) Press “Play” on the “ORGANIC PARADISE - INSERT IMAGES” action in your Actions Palette.  

4 )) Follow any instructions that pop up along the way.

5)) Once you’ve added your images, customized color and text and have your album page the way you want, you can flatten and save your file.  BE SURE TO ALWAYS DO A “SAVE AS” SO THAT YOU DO NOT OVERWRITE THE ORIGINAL TEMPLATE!!

INSERTING IMAGES BY HAND: (If you choose not to use the image inserting action that is included):

1)) Select the image layer you would like to populate in your LAYERS palette.

2)) Open your image and drag it onto the template using your MOVE tool (Keyboard shortcut "V")

3))  Click on the tiny black triangle in your LAYERS palette to pull up the drop-down menu and choose "Create Clipping Mask".

4))  Use the FREE TRANSFORM tool (Keyboard shortcut Control+T) and drag in the corners of your image to position it correctly within the frame.

5)) Press Enter to apply the transformation.

Repeat this step with any subsequent images.

TO CHANGE THE COLOR OF A DESIGN ELEMENT IN YOUR TEMPLATE:

Using a color fill - PHOTOSHOP CS AND NEWER

1.  Select the layer of the element you would like to change in the LAYERS palette

2. At the bottom of your LAYERS palette you will see several little icons.  Choose the "Make adjustment layer" icon (it is a tiny circle filled with half black and half white)

3.  Click this icon and choose "SOLID COLOR".

4.  Choose the color you would like to make the element when the dialog box appears.

5.  Now, from the top menu in Photoshop, choose LAYER->MAKE CLIPPING MASK. This will fill your design element with the selected color while leaving the rest of the template alone.

6.  Change the blending mode to "Color" at the top left of the layers palette.  (It will currently be set to "Normal")

7.  To change the color again, simply double click the colored box next to the words "Color Fill "x"" and choose a new color.

Repeat these steps for any subsequent design elements.

You can also change the color using a Hue/Saturation layer.

1. Select the layer you would like to change in the LAYERS palette. 

2. At the bottom of your LAYERS palette you will see several little icons.  Choose the "Make adjustment layer" icon (it is a tiny circle filled with half black and half white) 

3.  Click this icon and choose "Hue/Saturation". 

4. Slide the "Hue" slider until you find a shade you like.

SIMPLE LUXURIES ALBUM.atn - This is the action file that you can use to automatically insert your images into the templates.
JPEG_PREVIEWS - This folder contains a preview of each of the spreads.
PSD_FILES - This folder contains the templates you will be using in Photoshop (pages 1-15).
read_me_pretty_please_template_copyright.txt - This text file contains a quick word on copyright.
tutorial - What you are reading now.

The second download folder will contain the PSD files of pages 16-30 and the cover spread.  We've split this in two to make it a bit easier to download.  Once you download the second folder, simply add pages 16-30 and the cover to the first PSD folder you downloaded.

You will also notice that the PSD's appear to be blank.  Don't worry, they're not!  We've simply filled the top layer with white to help shrink the size for download.  Simply open each psd file, delete the top white layer, and resave.

GETTING STARTED

When you downloaded your Simply Luxuries Album from the Design Aglow website you should have saved it in an easy-to-find location somewhere on your hard drive.  Take a moment to locate the folder.  Ready?  Great!  Let's move on.

First thing's first - you must unzip the folder before using any of the templates.  This is very important as Photoshop will not be able to work with the files in zipped format.  Use your favorite extraction program for this, such as WinZip (www.winzip.com) or StuffIt (www.stuffit.com).

After you have successfully unzipped your folder you should strongly consider backing up everything just in case you ever accidentally over-write one of the original templates.  This is always a good idea as re-downloading these huge files can be quite a bummer.  Use a blank DVD or portable thumb drive to save a copy, and put it in a safe place. 

These templates are designed for Adobe Photoshop CS3 or newer. This is not to say that they don't work with previous versions - they very well may. The files are un-flattened, fully editable PSDs that offer literally limitless opportunity for customization and creativity.

In order to take full advantage of these templates, you should be relatively proficient in Photoshop. Not an expert, mind you. But you should have a general knowledge of layers, shapes, text and image manipulation such as using the transform tool, layer masks, etc.

If you are less familiar with Photoshop, don't fear. We will try to be as thorough as possible with the tutorial - and hey, you might just learn something new!

We are all Photoshop people here, so it is hard to say which products are compatible with Photoshop Elements. We have heard from many customers that the PSD templates work just fine, but a few have had problems with the actions, depending on which version of PSE they are running. However, we don't see any reason why the templates would not work as long as your version of PSE has the following capabilities:

1. It can see "groups" within the layers palette.

2. It has the ability to display adjustment layers including solid color fills.

3. It can display clipping masks.

4. It can run actions.

If you think that this all applies to your version of PSE, go ahead and give the templates a try.

If you would like to maintain the look of the font on the cover, you will need to download the font: "JB Calli".

TO USE THE AUTOMATIC ACTION TO PLACE YOUR IMAGES INTO THE TEMPLATES:

1 )) Open the PSD album page that you would like to work on into Photoshop (such as 0203.psd).

2 )) Load the action “SIMPLE LUXURIES ALBUM.atn” into your Actions palette in Photoshop.  (If you need help with loading actions we have a wonderful tutorial that explains everything at designaglow.com/how.

3 )) Press “Play” on the “SIMPLE LUXURIES ALBUM - INSERT IMAGES” action in your Actions Palette.  

4 )) Follow any instructions that pop up along the way.

5)) Once you’ve added your images, customized color and text and have your album page the way you want, you can flatten and save your file.  BE SURE TO ALWAYS DO A “SAVE AS” SO THAT YOU DO NOT OVERWRITE THE ORIGINAL TEMPLATE!!

INSERTING IMAGES BY HAND: (If you choose not to use the image inserting action that is included):

1)) Select the image layer you would like to populate in your LAYERS palette.

2)) Open your image and drag it onto the template using your MOVE tool (Keyboard shortcut "V")

3))  Click on the tiny black triangle in your LAYERS palette to pull up the drop-down menu and choose "Create Clipping Mask".

4))  Use the FREE TRANSFORM tool (Keyboard shortcut Control+T) and drag in the corners of your image to position it correctly within the frame.

5)) Press Enter to apply the transformation.

Repeat this step with any subsequent images.

TO CHANGE THE COLOR OF A DESIGN ELEMENT IN YOUR TEMPLATE:

Using a color fill - PHOTOSHOP CS AND NEWER

1.  Select the layer of the element you would like to change in the LAYERS palette

2. At the bottom of your LAYERS palette you will see several little icons.  Choose the "Make adjustment layer" icon (it is a tiny circle filled with half black and half white)

3.  Click this icon and choose "SOLID COLOR".

4.  Choose the color you would like to make the element when the dialog box appears.

5.  Now, from the top menu in Photoshop, choose LAYER->MAKE CLIPPING MASK. This will fill your design element with the selected color while leaving the rest of the template alone.

6.  Change the blending mode to "Color" at the top left of the layers palette.  (It will currently be set to "Normal")

7.  To change the color again, simply double click the colored box next to the words "Color Fill "x"" and choose a new color.

Repeat these steps for any subsequent design elements.

You can also change the color using a Hue/Saturation layer.

1. Select the layer you would like to change in the LAYERS palette. 

2. At the bottom of your LAYERS palette you will see several little icons.  Choose the "Make adjustment layer" icon (it is a tiny circle filled with half black and half white) 

3.  Click this icon and choose "Hue/Saturation". 

4. Slide the "Hue" slider until you find a shade you like.

In order to take full advantage of these templates, you should be relatively proficient in Photoshop.  Not an expert, mind you.  But you should have a general knowledge of layers, shapes, text and image manipulation such as using the transform tool, layer masks, etc.

If you are less familiar with Photoshop, don't fear.  We will try to be as thorough as possible with the tutorial - and hey, you might just learn something new!

INSERTING IMAGES:
Inserting your own images into the templates is very easy.  Perform the following steps once you have opened the PSD file in Photoshop:
1)) Select the image layer you would like to populate in your LAYERS palette.
2)) Open your image and drag it onto the template using your MOVE tool (Keyboard shortcut "V")
3))  Click on the tiny black triangle in your LAYERS palette to pull up the drop-down menu and choose "Create Clipping Mask".
4))  Use the FREE TRANSFORM tool (Keyboard shortcut Control+T) and drag in the corners of your image to position it correctly within the frame.
5)) Press Enter to apply the transformation.
Repeat this step with any subsequent images.

FONTS:
In order to maintain the look of the templates you will need to have the same fonts installed on your system as the ones we used in the design.  For this design, we used Helvetica Neue. The fonts we use in our designs are usually freeware or shareware fonts available for free on the internet.  We cannot include the fonts in your download because they are protected under copyright.  However you can download them directly from their creators.   We find that if you type in the name of the font into your favorite search engine you will come up with several download sources.   

CHANGING TEXT AND COLORS:

Changing your templates could not be easier.  Here are a few tips on how to change the text, graphic and background colors:

Text - Select the text tool, click and highlight.
1.  Double click on the top color box in your tools menu.
2.  Choose the color for your text.
3.  Click "OK"

To change the color of the graphics:
1.  Choose the graphic that you would like to change in the Layers palette.  If you cannot see the Layers palette, click the "Window" dropdown menu at the top of your screen and choose "Layers".
2.  Now, double-click the small box of color next to the name of the layer, or clipped above the layer.
3.  Choose the new color when the dialog box appears.
4.  Click "OK".

PRINTING YOUR CARDS:

We have designed these templates to be used with White House Custom Color's ( www.whcc.com ) flat 5x5 card products.  If you currently use WHCC the templates are 100% ready to go.  Don't worry, however, if you use another lab as the cards will be printed easily with your favorite printer.  Remember that each lab is different, so be absolutely sure that you contact them for their specs and color profiles prior to submitting your files.  When you have your lab's sizing and submission guidelines, you will need to transfer the designs to their templates before printing them.

  Finishing Touch Border Collection Tutorial

This tutorial will familiarize you with how this product works and answer any questions you may have regarding its application. Proof Borders: Finishing Touch Collection consists of a set of five lovely photo borders designed especially for Photoshop. In order to use this product, you must have either Photoshop or another program that can open these, you are all set to go.

Before we begin the tutorial, let’s take a moment to go through what came in your download folder, as each of these things is important to the correct use of your product.

How the borders work

There are five styles of borders that came in your download.

The automatic borders work like this: the action file (.ATN) tells Photoshop which border file (.PAT) to add to your image based on the style and orientation you have seleted. Then, you run a separate action to automatically resize your image, making it ready for print. That’s it!

LET’S SAY YOU WOULD LIKE TO MAKE AN IMAGE THAT LOOKS LIKE THIS:

YOU WOULD USE THESE FILES TO DO SO:

FINISHING_TOUCH_BORDERS.pat

FINISHING TOUCH.atn

RESIZING ACTIONS.atn

Before we run the action, we must first “load” these files into Photoshop so that when the action runs, Photoshop will know where to find the border file. This only takes a few minutes to do, and we will only have to do it once.

Here are the steps:

1. Copy the files FINISHING TOUCH.atn and RESIZING ACTIONS (in your download folder) by highlighting it and then hold down Control (Apple) + C on your keyboard.

2. Navigate to Photoshop’s default actions folder on your hard drive. For example, on a Windows system it would be something like this: C:/Program Files/Adobe/Photoshop/Presets/Photoshop Actions

3. Paste the .atn file here by holding down Control (Apple) + V.

4. Now, we must “load” the actions into our Photoshop actions pallette so that we can play them on our images.

TO "LOAD" YOUR ACTIONS, DO THE FOLLOWING:

1. Open Photoshop, if it is not already and navigate to your ACTIONS tab. If you cannot see your ACTIONS tab, choose Window--> Actions from the top menu.

2. Click the little black triangle at the top right of your ACTIONS tab and choose “Load Actions...”

3. Find FINISHING TOUCH.atn, that we just loaded, and choose it. 

*Repeat steps 2 and 3 for the RESIZING ACTIONS.atn.

4. They will now appear in your actions tab, ready to use. However, we are not quite ready to apply a border just yet. We have to load our Border file (.PAT) in the exact same way as we just loaded the action file. Just as we have just done, highlight FINISHING_TOUCH_BORDERS.pat from your download folder and copy it into your Photoshop presets folder, but this time, instead of putting it in the “Photoshop actions” folder, you will copy it to the “Patterns” folder.

We must also “load” the pattern file before we can use it. This we will do from our PRESET MANAGER. Choose Edit--> Preset Manager from the top menu in Photoshop. When the window opens, choose “Patterns” from the drop down menu. Now, on the right you will see a button that says “Load”, click this and choose FINISHING_TOUCH_BORDERS.pat that we just copied into the presets folder. We are now ready to apply a border to a photograph! Let’s move on and do so...

Applying a border to an image

There are a few things to keep in mind when applying borders automatically. If any of these conditions are not met, it may cause the action to malfunction.

TIP: You may edit the action and add a “flattening” step to the beginning to make this step automatic as well.

To apply a border to an image, simply open your image and navigate to your ACTIONS tab. Remember, that you must select the vertical action if your image is vertical, and the horizontal action if your image is horizontal.

Now, press “Play” and watch the magic happen! When the border is added, be sure to save your image as a copy to avoid writing over the original.

Your bordered image is now 10x10, so you will need to run the RESIZING ACTION to resize to 4x6, 5x5, 5x7, 8x8 and 8x10.  Simply press "Play on the correspong size action.

Applying borders to an entire folder of images

To apply the borders to an entire folder of images we will run a "Batch" on the folder. Batch processing is one of the best features of Photoshop and is basically when Photoshop runs a single action on a whole folder of images. So, for example, if you want to apply the Style 1 border to a few hundred images, it would take forever to open each image, and play the action. This is where batch processing comes in very handy. To run a batch, you must first separate out the horizontal and vertical images so that the action with the correct orientation is run, as Photoshop cannot tell the difference between horizontal and vertical images. So, basically, we will run a batch on the horizontal images, and another on the vertical images. But, don’t worry, it’s very easy to do this once you get the hang of it.  To keep your actions palette a little cleaner, we made a separate resizing action set, so you will need to run two types of actions, one to apply the border, then a second to resize the final image.

There are a number of ways to separate out images according to their orientation. In fact, the techniques are so numerous, we recommend sticking with whatever you know, and go with that. We will list the simplest technique we know below:

First, let's open up Adobe Bridge. 

1. Open the folder of vertical and horizontal images that you'd like to add the Finishing Touch borders to in Adobe Bridge.

2. Choose "View--> Sort --> By Dimension" . This will separate out the vertical and horizontal images.

3. Highlight all of the horizontal images first.

4. Choose "Tools--> Photoshop --> Batch -->"

5. Choose Set "FINISHING TOUCH" and insert the appropriate border action into the drop down menu (remember to choose horizontal or vertical appropriately). (For a horizontal image and Border_1, you would choose "1-HORIZONTAL").

6. Choose the "Source Folder" of the images you would like to apply the borders to. In this case, the source is "Bridge" (because we are using the images we've selected in Bridge.)

7. Choose the Destination Folder. This is where photoshop will save your proofs after doing its magic. I like to send all my proofs to a central folder called "proofs holding - verticals (or horizontals)" and then move them after the entire batch of vertical and horizontal images is done.

8. WE DO NOT RECOMMEND RENAMING YOUR FILES IN THIS STEP SO JUST LEAVE THAT PART BLANK.

9. Double check everything and click "OK" and Photoshop will go to town. Remember to run the batch again on your vertical images to complete the job. Depending on how many images it has to process, the time it will take for the batch to run varies. If you have hundreds or even thousands of images, do this step at night before leaving so that its done in the morning.

10. Once you have run the batch border action on both your horizontal and vertical images and you have two folders (one vertical and one horizontal containing all the bordered images, you'll need to run the RESIZING ACTION to make them all a particular size. 

11. Open the folder of horizontal images in Bridge, highlight all of them, then choose "Tools--> Photoshop --> Batch -->"

12.  Choose Set "RESIZING ACTIONS" and insert the appropriate size action into the drop down menu (remember to choose horizontal or vertical appropriately). (For a 5x7 horizontal image, you would choose "5x7-HORIZONTAL").

13. Choose the "Source Folder" as Bridge, and the "Destination Folder" as Save and Close (to overwrite the files where they are.)  Then click "OK".

14. Repeat steps 11- 13 for the vertical images.

15. You can now combine your horizontal and vertical folders together to make one final folder.

That’s all there is to it...enjoy your new photo borders!

Editing your borders

At some time you may want to change something about the borders to customize them for a particular project. This is very easy to do thanks to the enclosed PSD files in your download folder. The PSD files are unflattened Photoshop files that can be edited to change their color, shape, etc. The most common edit to the borders is a color change, so let's briefly go over how to do that:

Let's say we want to make border 3 bright pink for use in a little girl's album. We can do this in under 10 seconds by:

1. Opening the file BORDER 3.psd.

2. Navigating to our LAYERS tab and choosing the layer BORDER.

3. Double click on the little box of color next to the layer's name.

4. When the color dialog box appears, choose the new color for your border.

That's it! Now you can apply your image by hand after saving your new border PSD under a new name.

Applying a border to your image by hand

Sometimes you may have to apply a border by hand, such as to a custom border you made or for an image that doesn't conform to the 2x3 format, and may need a little tweaking. Do do that:

1. Open the border file you would like to apply to your image.

2. Open your image.

3. Select the layer "BORDER" by highlighting it in your LAYERS palette.

4. Using your MOVE tool (Keyboard Shortcut "V") drag your image over onto the border file.

5. Now, to confine your image within the border, choose "Create Clipping Mask" from the top right side of your LAYERS palette.

Your image will now be within the layer. To move and resize your image, simply choose its layer and then Choose EDIT -> FREE TRANSFORM -> SCALE. Because we made a Clipping Mask, your image will stay within the boundaries of the border.