Intro to the Editor: Photo Books

Overview

When you start a new project, you will begin by seeing the full editor view. You'll see a screen that looks something like this Layflat Photo Album example:

The left-hand side panel contains the project options for your current project and product type. Here you can adjust project size, color, foil color, paper options, and others depending on the product type. You can find more details on changing project options here: Changing Project Options in the Editor.

In the middle of the screen is the page view, where you can edit the cover and pages of your project. Here you can adjust the images, text, and page order.

Along the top of the screen is a menu bar that displays 3 horizontal lines to open a menu on the right-hand side of the editor screen, alert notifications, undo or redo, the option to manage all pages, enter preview mode, see the saved status of your project, and add the project to your cart.

In the side menu via the three lines, you can name your project, email yourself a PDF proof of the project, return to the A|U website, ask for help, see in-editor tutorials, and see the saved status of your project (auto-save is always enabled as long as there is a secure internet connection).

The right-hand side panel is where you can access the photos and layout options for your project. Here you can change the name of the select gallery, add new photos, choose a different gallery, select the auto-fill option, delete images from a gallery, filter & sort images via the 3 descending horizontal lines, change page layouts, add text to layouts, and filter layouts via the 3 descending horizontal lines from the layout section. 

You can find more detailed information on these topics in the following articles:

Uploading Images

Changing Page Layouts in the Editor

Edit, Rotate, & Crop Images in the Editor

Add, Edit, & Delete Text

Pro-Tip: You can collapse the left-hand and/or right-hand side panels by clicking the arrow icons on each side of the editor screen. If you collapse both, this will enter you in preview mode. 

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Page Views

There are a few different page view options when building a book in the editor, the single-page view, the full-page view (by collapsing the right side panel), the all-page view (a zoomed-out view of all the pages by clicking 'Manage Pages' from the top panel), and the preview mode (see a preview of your project by clicking this button from the top panel).

The default view is the single-page view, shown below. Here you can edit each individual page/spread, and add as well as edit images and text. You can also add, delete, and rearrange pages. Additional information on adding and removing images can be found here: Adding & Removing Images from Layouts in the Editor. 

 

Clicking the blue "Manage Pages" button at the top of the screen will change to the full-page view, shown below.

Here you can view all of the pages/spreads in your project. You can also add, delete, and rearrange pages. As well as add images, add text, and change page layouts in this view. You must return to the single-page view to remove or make edits to a photo on a page.

To return to the page view, click the 'Exit All Pages' option at the top of the screen.

Details on adding, removing, and rearranging pages can be found here: Add, Delete, & Rearrange Pages in a Project.

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Preview Mode

If you would like to preview your project while still working on it within the Editor, you can utilize the Project Preview mode. 

This option can be found on the toolbar at the top middle of the Editor, the button labeled 'Preview' with an eye symbol. By selecting this you can look through your book without the sidebars and see a more accurate representation of how your book will print. 

Please note: we still recommend utilizing the emailed PDF proof to truly preview your project as this is the most accurate representation to use prior to ordering your book of how your project will print. For more info on this, please visit our Understanding PDF Print Proofs help page.

 

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Uploading & Adding Photos

To upload images, click the 'Photos' tab at the bottom right of the editor and click the blue plus sign 'Add Photos' icon. Here you can upload from your device. You can also access your existing galleries here via the 'Change Gallery' option. 

There are two ways to add the image to the layout. You can either click and drag the image into the grey image area in the layout, or you can click the image within the gallery on the right-hand side to add it to the highlighted layout (there will be a small blue border around the highlighted page). An image will appear greyed out in the gallery with a check mark over it if it has already been added to the project. 

More information on this topic can be found here: Uploading Images and Adding & Removing Images from Layouts in the Editor.

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Undo / Redo

To undo or redo when working on a photo book project in the Editor, select the reverse arrow (undo) or forward error (redo) button at the top middle of the Editor. 

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Resizing / Moving an Image on a Layout

After selecting a layout, you can further customize your project page by resizing and moving an image well. 

With both of these actions, red lines will appear vertically and horizontally to help align an image. 

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Edit Photo View

Once an image is added to a layout, hover over the image within the layout, and click the small pencil icon in the middle of the image. This will open the edit image view, shown below.

Use the percentage slider bar at the bottom of the editing screen to adjust different settings. You can adjust the cropping, rotation, brightness, contrast, saturation, exposure, temperature, and more.

Click 'Done" in the top right corner to save any edits.

More details can be found here: Edit, Rotate, & Crop Images in the Editor.

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Along with the information in this article, there are some helpful blog posts on project creation, including this one here: Tips And Tricks For Creating Your Project.

 

Have additional questions? Contact us, and we can give you a hand!