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Create Design Templates in Adobe InDesign with the PrintUI Integration

Updated

Overview

Getting started 

How to set up an InDesign template 

Frame Options 

Make your template available for use 

How to manage your templates 

Overview

PhotoShelter’s integration with PrintUI allows Invited Users to create their own print and digital collateral from templates made by your organization’s graphic design team. Designers create templates in Adobe InDesign, select which elements of the design are editable (and which are locked), and upload them. Invited Users log into your Portal where they can browse available templates and customize them to create the collateral they need. This integration will increase your organization’s speed to market while also maintaining brand consistency, and scaling the impact of your design team. 

If you would like to upgrade your subscription to include the PrintUI Integration, please contact Customer Success.

Getting started

To create Design Templates in InDesign your designers will need to install the PrintUI extension for InDesign:

  1. Download and install the extension for Mac OSX or Windows. The extension will be provided by Technical Support during the provisioning process.
  2. Open InDesign
  3. Click on Window > Extensions and open the PrintUI Management extension
  4. Click the menu icon on the top right corner of the PrintUI Management extension and select Enter Login Credentials
  5. Enter the PrintUI email and password you received from your customer success manager.

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How to set up an InDesign template

Once you have an InDesign file open, you’ll need to set up the file to be used as a PhotoShelter Design Template:

  1. Open the PrintUI Management extension
  2. Click the Setup menu and select Initialize Template

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When the template is initialized, a Background layer is created. This layer allows your designers to determine which objects are locked and which objects are editable by others:

Background Layer

Objects on the Background layer are not editable at all. Objects on other layers are editable unless otherwise specified.

Locked Layers

Objects on locked layers can be edited (e.g. replaced or rotated) inside the frame but the frame itself cannot be moved or resized. 

Frame Options

To control the behavior of an individual object in your design:

  1. Select it
  2. Open the PrintUI Frame Options panel

Keywords

This option is not used in the PrintUI integration with PhotoShelter for Brands and can be ignored.

Non-selectable elements

Use this option when you want to prevent any editing of an individual element on a layer above the Background.

No Preflight (use with care)

This option is used in special cases where a frame should not be checked during the preflight process. Since preflight checks for errors that could prevent this integration from working correctly, this option should be used very rarely.

Fill Text Frame

Use this option if you would like text to shrink as a user enters more text than will fit into a text frame. The Min Text Size and Max Text Size values indicate the minimum and maximum font size, in points. All text in the frame will have the same size.

Content Validation

Use this option when a text object contains content that must be formatted in a very specific way. For example, your template may be for business cards where the phone number must be formatted to meet your company’s branding guidelines. If Strict Validation is not selected, an alert will appear in the editor if the content does not validate correctly and the user will be allowed to keep the non-validated content. Strict validation will revert the content if validation fails.

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Make your template available for use

Once you’re ready to make your template available for use by others, you’ll need to preflight the document, fix any errors and upload it to your PrintUI account. Only templates uploaded to PrintUI will be available on your PhotoShelter Portal. Templates stored on your Portal do not impact the available storage in the Library.

Preflight

Preflight will help identify any technical issues with your template such as missing fonts or images and overset text. Your document must pass the preflight check.

  1. Open the PrintUI Management panel
  2. Click Preflight
  3. Fix any errors
  4. Repeat this process until all of the errors have been resolved

Note: Some fonts have licenses that are restricted to a single user. These fonts cannot be packaged and are not compatible with PrintUI. Fonts with free or multi-user licenses should be used instead. Adobe Creative Cloud fonts specifically restrict packaging but Google fonts can be used for free. 

Package and Upload

After you’ve fixed any errors identified in the preflight process, you’ll then upload the design to PrintUI to make it available for on your PhotoShelter Portal:

  1. Save your design
  2. Open the PrintUI Management panel
  3. Click Upload

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How to manage your templates

Downloading and replacing templates

In the event that you need to edit a template created by another designer on your team, you can download it, make changes and replace it: 

  1. Open the PrintUI Management panel and click Templates
  2. Select the template you want to download
  3. Click Download Template
  4. Save the file
  5. Open the file in InDesign
  6. Make the necessary changes
  7. Save the file
  8. Package and upload it again. By default, templates with the same file name will replace the previously uploaded version.

Removing templates

Occasionally, you may need to remove a template to stop Invited Users from using that design:

  1. Open the PrintUI Management panel
  2. Click Templates
  3. Select the template you want to remove
  4. Click Remove Template

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Creating a Draft

  • To create a draft, navigate to the Templates page on the Portal and select the desired template you wish to use by clicking Create Draft. 
  • Name the draft and enter a description (optional), then click Create. When the Template opens, you will see a toolbar at the top of the screen and can take a number of actions from there. 
  • Click the Format icon on the right side of the top toolbar to open the editor.  
  • You can then change the text, image, or anything that is editable on the template.
  • When you have completed your edits, click Next from the top toolbar
  • A confirmation message will be displayed.  Click Yes to save your draft or No and return to the editing screen. 
  • If you click Yes, a preview of the draft will appear, along with options to Download, Share, or return to the Templates page
  • The URL in the “Share preview” field will update as the draft is updated so anyone with the link can view the most current version of the draft.
  • From the Preview you can navigate back to the Templates page.

Editing an Existing Draft

Users can navigate to the “Drafts” tab to find any draft they have already saved and can re-open to edit further. The drafts will be listed in chronological order, with the last created or edited displayed first. (Note: at this time, a user can only view their own drafts).  

You can open a saved draft by clicking Open on the thumbnail preview of the draft.  You will be brought to the Editor page as shown above.  

On the Drafts tab, you will see the title and description (as applicable) of each draft, along with an action menu (...)

From the action menu, you can: Edit details of the draft (rename, edit description), View Preview or Delete draft without having to open the Draft in the Edit screen.   

 

 

 

 

 

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