Help Topics and Tutorials – Greeting Card Studio Software

Greeting Card Studio helps you create and design your greeting cards. It gives you freedom to design completely new greeting cards. Greeting Card Studio comes packed with a slew of design elements that help you to create fascinating greeting cards that match your requirements and occasion.

Opening Window

The opening window is called the Welcome Window that displays three options to the user.

Use a Card Template- Greeting Card Studio comes with a number of professionally created Greeting Card Templates. This option is used when user does not want to start from scratch nor even wants to use the saved project and wishes to design a greeting card by using the templates provided in the product.

On clicking the option named Use a Card Template the screen shows a window named Select a Template- Greeting Card. Here, on the left side, you will find the categories option from which you can choose the occasion for which you want to design your greeting card. On the right side, you will see a variety of pre-designed templates to let you choose for your greeting card. On choosing the template, it will show the Paper Size and Card Fold type in the left side of the window. On clicking OK, you will see that your selected card template will get loaded in the workspace. Then you must follow the guidelines provided for creating a Card From Existing Layouts to design a greeting card of your choice.

Create Your Own Card- On clicking Create Your Own Card you will find the window with two options Select Paper Size and Select a Paper Fold for Your Card. This window has a dropdown in the left section that shows three kinds of measurement options available for Paper Size. The right section of the window shows Paper fold options of four kinds for you to choose any one of them. The Paper Fold options are as:
a) Half Fold Tall,
b) Half Fold Wide,
c) Quarter Fold Wide Side,
d) Quarter Fold Tall Side.

Click OK, after choosing the type of paper fold of your choice. A new window will open and you will see your selected Paper Fold Card in the workspace with various menu bars. Then, follow the guidelines provided for Creating a Card from Scratch.

Open saved project- With this option you can open your previously saved greeting card in Greeting Card Studio (GCDP) format. On clicking Open Saved Project, a new window will open named Open Greeting Card Studio. Here you will find your previously saved greeting cards, just select your card and click Open.

User Interface

Menu Bar: The Menu Bar contains different menu options File, Edit, View, Insert and Help.
a) File: You can create a new greeting card; open an existing greeting card, save a new greeting card, save as to save greeting card by any name of your choice, print or publish options, it also provides you with options to upload to Facebook, Picasa and Flickr and exit from the application or Greeting Card Studio.
b) View: You can view or hide the grid lines in the grid option. In addition you can bring Forward, Move Backward different objects in the greeting card as per your wish.
c) Edit: You can Cut objects, Copy them, paste and delete the unwanted objects in your greeting card.
d) Insert: You can add text, add sentiments, add graphic from library, add custom image, add shape and add background to your greeting card.
e) Help: You can access reference, Online Help & Tutorial support, Technical support, Greeting Card Studio Website, buy greeting card studio and know about Greeting card studio from here.

Tool Bar: The tool bar lets you access to the short Cuts to various processes i.e. Starting a new greeting card, open an existing greeting card, saving a new greeting card, Bring Forward, Send Backward, Cut Object, Copy Object, Paste and deleting objects in your greeting cards to make your greeting cards more appealing to you and finally Publish or print your greeting card.

3.	Left Menu: The left menu has icons for different design elements that let you enhance the beauty of your Greeting card. You can select a card template here, add symbols, add image, add shapes and give a background to your greeting Card according the requirement of your personal design in your mind.

Page Navigation Bar: The Page Navigation bar has four options that are basically, the four sides of a greeting card. The front option lets you take a view of the front side of your greeting card, inside 1 shows you the inside left side of the greeting card, inside 2 shows you the inside right side of the greeting card and the option named back shows the back side of the card.

Property Panel: The property panel will let you make changes according to the selected design element. The property panel refreshes with the selection of the design element. You can change the object properties by selecting it from the workspace. The design elements available are Text, Image, Symbol, Shape, Background and Graphic. Text design element helps you carry out different effects of the text in your greeting cards. These effects include the font, size, color, style (bold, italics or underlined), alignment, adding transparency & rotation to any degree, add shadows with different color choices, the option to Lock Text enables you to stop the movement of text; all options are available here.

Workspace: This is the area where you see your greeting card displayed and you work on it to make changes according to your choice. It is the area where you create your greeting card and see the changes happening according to your preferences and actions. Here, you can add different design elements and apply the tools available to your greeting card. You can select any of the design elements and change its properties through the Property Panel. You are even able to move around the design elements by selecting the object with the help of mouse and dragging it to the desired location. You can change the size of the image, shape, symbol by selecting the boundary of the object and dragging it accordingly.

Create Greeting Card from Existing Card Layouts

1.	Select a card template from the option named Use a Card Template. After selecting the template from the list of various occasion’s categories available for your greeting cards, Click OK. The greeting card template that you have selected will then get displayed in the workspace.

2.	Now, you can use various design elements which help to change the effects of the greeting card that are Text, Image, Shape, Graphic, and Background from Left menu and further design your greeting card according to your choice.

3.	Next select the File >Save option in the Menu bar in file button and save your greeting card in GCDP format.

4.	To print your Greeting card, click Print icon in Toolbar and you can print your greeting card. Alternatively, you can print your greeting cards by clicking File >Print in the Menu bar> File option.

5.	To publish your greeting card, click Publish in the Toolbar. Alternatively, you can publish your greeting cards by clicking File >Publish in the Menu bar> File option.

Create a Greeting Card from Scratch

1.	Select a card template from the option named Create Your Own Card. After selecting the card fold and paper size of the greeting card. Click OK

2.	A blank greeting card of your selected card fold will then get displayed in the workspace.

3.	Now you can use design elements Text, Image, Shape, Graphic, and Background from the Left Menu to add effects and further design your greeting card.

4.	Next select the File >Save option in the Menu bar in file button and save your greeting card in GCDP format.

5.	To print your Greeting card, click Print icon in Toolbar and you can print your greeting card. Alternatively, you can print your greeting cards by clicking File >Print in the Menu bar> File option.

6.	To publish your greeting card, click Publish in the Toolbar. Alternatively, you can publish your greeting cards by clicking File >Publish in the Menu bar> File option.

Design Elements of Greeting Card Studio

Greeting Card Studio offers several tools. By using these tools you can design your Greeting cards for yourself and come up in comparison to the professionally designed greeting cards. Add designs and colors of your choice and give personal touch to your greeting cards. Below mentioned are the tools that would assist you in designing your greeting cards:

Greeting Card Size: You can select the Paper size of the greeting card when you are designing from scratch. These are three options available:
a) A4 8.27x11.69
b) Letter 8.5x11
c) Executive 7.25 x10.5

Next, you can even select a Fold of your card from the available four options:

a) Half Fold Tall,
b) Half Fold Wide,
c) Quarter Fold Wide Side,
d) Quarter Fold Tall Side

The ready made templates are created for a particular card fold type and paper size which cannot be changed.

Selecting a Template: You can select a Template of your choice by clicking on the icon named Template. Click on any one occasion from the list of occasion categories in the left section. The templates of that particular occasion will appear on the right section. Choose any particular template of your choice and click OK. Your selected template will appear on the worksheet for further designing of your greeting card.

Selecting a Graphic(s): You can enhance your greeting card’s beauty by adding Graphic(s). Click on the design element named Graphics. After clicking Graphics a new window named Graphic Library will open. This window lets you choose from two kinds of graphics:

a) Symbols- Symbols are black and white. You can change the color of symbols after adding them in workspace. The left side has the names of categories of symbols and on the other side you can see a variety of symbols for each symbol category. You can select any symbol category and then any symbol for your card and click on option Add to Card.
b) Clipart- These are colorful pictures. The left side of the window has the categories of the clip arts and the right side has the pictures or clip arts for you to choose for your greeting card. You can select any clip or picture and click the option Add to Card.

Adding text: For adding text in your greeting card, you can opt for two ways:
a) By clicking the icon for Text design element and add Text in the text box that will immediately appear on the workspace.
b) By selecting Add text from Insert option from menu bar.

# Text Property Panel- When you select the Add Text design element, Text Property Panel will open in the extreme right hand side of the workspace. This Text Property Panel has various text properties:
a) Font: It gives you option to select the Font face from the available Font options.
b) Font size: It gives you option to select the Font size according to your wish.
c) Text color: It gives you option to choose Color of the text according to your choice.
d) Style: It gives you option to choose Style of text (Bold, Italics or Underline).
e) Alignment: It gives you option to choose Alignment of the text.
f) Transparency: It gives you choice to Add Transparency according to your choice.
g) Rotate: It gives you option to Rotate text to any degree you want to.
h) Lock: It gives you option to lock the text movement and make it fixed. If you enable the option lock text then the text you have added to your workspace will get locked and will not move otherwise you can move the text according to your wish.

Adding Background: You can Add Background to your greeting card by clicking on Background icon from left menu. After clicking Background icon a new window named Backgrounds will open. In this window you will see that the left side has names of the background that are basically two types Pattern and Images and on the other side you can see a variety of backgrounds for each type of option. You can select any type and then any background for your card and click the option Add to Card. In addition to background, you can also add Border to your selected background. To add border, you have to click on Background icon and select any kind of border designs available in the Background window. After selecting your border click Add to Card.

# Background Property Panel- When you select the background design element, Background property panel will open in the extreme right hand side of the workspace. This panel has various background properties:
a) Solid color: It gives you option to Change color according to your wish.
b) Gradient color: It gives you option to choose two colors one start color and one ending color. You can then decide whether you want Gradient type in linear or radiant. In linear you can select the direction too.
c) Background from own Image: It gives you option to choose the Background of your own from the images saved in your computer.
d) Background from Library: It gives you option to choose a background from the library of the Greeting Card Studio. On clicking this option you will again get the window of Background Selection.
e) Delete background: It gives you option to Delete the background of your greeting card.
f) Delete Border: It gives you option to Delete the border of your greeting card.

Adding shape(s): You can Add Shape(s) of your choice to your greeting card by two ways:
a) Click on the icon named Shape. On clicking shape a new window named Select Shape will open that has various kinds of shapes, select the shape of your choice and click OK.
b) Select Add shape from Insert from menu bar.

#Shape Property Panel- When you select Shape design element, Shape property panel will open in the extreme right hand side of the workspace. This panel has various Shape properties:
a) Size: This option shows you the width and height of the shape that you have selected and added to your card.
b) Position: This option shows the position of the shape. The position is shown in two ways top and left direction in numeric format.
c) Object color: It gives you the option to change color of the object/shape that you have selected in the workspace.
d) Transparency: It gives you the option to add transparency to the shape or object that you have selected and added in your greeting card.
e) Rotate: It give you option to rotate the object or shape to any degree of your choice.
f) Lock Shape: It gives you option to lock the shape movement and make it fixed. If you enable the option lock shape then the shape you have added to your workspace will get locked and will not move otherwise you can move the shape according to your wish.

Adding Image(s): You can Add Image(s) of your choice to your greeting card by two ways:
a) Click on the icon named Image. After clicking Image a new window named Add Image will open. In this window you find Browse Image option that will allow you to browse any image of your choice from your computer. Now if you want a part of the image then you can use option Crop, enable crop and crop the image from wherever you want and select OK and incase you don’t want to crop the image then you can use image as it is and click OK.
b) Select Add Custom Image from the Insert from menu bar.

#Image Property Panel:
a) Size: This option shows you the width and height of the selected and added image to your card.
b) Position: This option shows the position of the image. The position is shown in two ways top and left direction in numeric format.
c) Transparency: It gives you the option to add transparency to the image you have selected and added in your greeting card.
d) Rotate: It give you option to rotate the image to any degree of your choice.
e) Edit Image: It gives you an option to edit your selected image and takes you back to the window where you selected your image. You can now edit your image and add to your card.
f) Lock Image: It gives you option to lock the shape movement and make it fixed. If you enable the option lock shape then the shape you have added to your workspace will get locked and will not move otherwise you can move the shape according to your wish.

Tools and other important operations

1.	Grid: The grid option lets you add grid lines if you enable it otherwise you will see the workspace as plain.

Save: To save your greeting card, select the File >Save option in the Menu bar. A browse window will appear where you can select a folder and give a file name and save your greeting cards in GCDP format. Alternatively, you can save your greeting cards in the same format GCDP using save available in the Tool bar. The purpose of saving the file is to be able to reopen your greeting card anytime to make changes or printing/publishing it later.

Print: To print your Greeting card, click the Print button in the Menu bar. When you will click on Print button a new window named Print Preview will open. Here, you will see the print preview of your Greeting Card. The printing process is different depending upon the fold of your card.
a) For Half Fold Tall and Half Fold Wide Cards: The Print Preview window is divided into two sections. The left section will show the preview of the front and back view of the card and the right section will show preview of inside1 and inside 2 of the card. It is important to understand here that for printing your card, you are required to select duplex printing option in the printers.
b) For Quarter Fold Tall and Quarter Fold Wide Cards: The Print Preview shows the full page preview of the card. It does not have any sections. In this case you are required to choose normal printer for printing your card. The output comes in a singe page that needs to be folded accordingly.

Alternatively, to print your Greeting card, click Print in the Menu bar. When you will click on Print a new window named Print Preview will open. Here, you will see the print preview of your Greeting Card depending upon your card fold. Choose the printer as per your card fold and click Print.

Publish: To publish your greeting card, click the Publish in the Menu bar. When you will click publish, a new window named Publish Greeting Card will open. You have two options for publishing the greeting card- in PDF file or a bmp file. Alternatively, you can publish your greeting cards by clicking File >Publish in the Menu bar> File option.

5.	Bring Forward/Backward: Greeting Card Studio offers tools to bring forward and send backward an object. For this select the object and click on the icon Bring Forward or Send Backward from either Toolbar icons or menu options.

6.	Cut: You can cut the desired objects from your greeting card. Click icon named Cut from the toolbar and the selected object will be cut. Alternatively, you can select Cut from menu bar> Edit

7.	Copy: You can copy the desired objects from your greeting card. Click icon named Copy from the toolbar and the selected object will be copied. Alternatively, you can select Copy from menu bar> Edit

8.	Paste: You can paste the cut or copied objects in your greeting card. Click icon named Paste from the toolbar and the selected object will be pasted. Alternatively, you can select Paste from menu bar> Edit

Change Size: You can change the size of the image, shape, symbol by selecting the boundary of the object and dragging it accordingly in the workspace.

After following these easy to understand steps, you can now design greeting cards for your family, friends, collogues and relatives and feel proud to wish them in your personal way. Greeting Card Studio helps you wish your dear ones with your personal effects and designs.