Making Framed Stationery has endless possibilities and it's very easy to do. Put on your creative hat and see how much fun you can have with this great feature of the Stationery Creator. Below are some basic instructions to help you get started. . These were written rather quickly, but I believe I've covered the most important steps.
1. In the Message Area, there is a button named "Extra Properties", click on that. (See Below)
2. A new window will open. The first thing to do is to enable "Use the extra properties" (See below).
3. Width and Height
This section can be a little tricky...but not difficult, once you understand it. WikMail, more specifically Fern, explained it to me this way:
You can use the settings you want for the width and height.
* Percent for the Width with a Fixed Height
* Fixed Width and a Fixed Height
* Percent Width and a Percent Height
* Fixed Width and a Percent Height, and so on.
While using percent for the width will center your frame, using percent for height will align it at the top.
In addition, if the person receiving your framed stationery has his message window set to a small viewing window, your framed stationery will not be displayed properly.
My suggestion would be to always use a fixed height. If you look at the screen shot above, you will notice a Test button, located at the very bottom, on the left. This is a GREAT feature which allows you to view how your frame will look, as you enter the necessary information.
If you have a graphics program, like Paint Shop Pro, PhotoShop, etc., you will have more possibilities in creating your framed stationery. Below is an example of what I made in PSP. Then in the screen above, I simply added
the dimensions (width & height) of my image. In the section, Background Image, is where I browsed to find where I had saved my graphic.
4. Message Area
The "Message Area" is not to be confused with the area where you type. This is the area outside the text area.
(See Below - in my example, the text will be typed in the light green section, within the dotted lines)
Since I am using a single image, created with PSP, the left margin is from the far left to the beginning of the text area. This is where the Test button comes in handy. Fill in the Left margin with a number you believe will move everything over, from the far left of your entire stationery, to the beginning of your frame. (In my example, it is the outside of the light green area) Then click on the Test button to see how it looks. If it is not displayed the way you want, simply incease or decrease the number....click Test again until you get the right left margin. The same is true for the Bottom, Top, and Right.
5. Aligning your Text
Here is an easy way to assure your text is properly aligned within your frame. In the Message Area, add a temporary border around the text area by selecting 3 for the size, black for the color, and solid for the type of border. (See below)
Now, click on Extra Properties again, and adjust the margins so that your text is displayed properly. Don't forget to use the Test button! Once you are happy with the way things look, click Accept. You can now remove the temporary border in the Message Area.
6. Scrollbars
This is an easy one! Scrollbar Visibility ~ Choose to Always Show, or Auto-When Required (meaning the scrollbars will only appear when the typing exceeds the viewable area). Scrollbar Colors ~ Select your color. Flat Scrollbars ~ Check for how you want your scrollbars to appear. (See Below)
Make sure you click Accept when you are finished entering all your information. That's all there is to it! The screen shot above shows all the settings for the stationery I created, "Bird House Basket". Here is another tip, in case you want to add a link at the bottom, i.e., Diana's Designs. The graphic I created in PSP, measured 608 x 408. Which is what I originally entered as the width and height in the Extra Properties. You will notice that the height in the above screenshot is 457. The reason I increased this was because the height of the bottom of my stationery must be added to my framed image graphic.
Once again, while you have the Extra Properties window open, increase and/or decrease the numbers, and use the TEST button until everything is displayed properly.
There is also another "Extra Property" option for the main TOP area of your stationery. If chosen, the top will be removed from the frame and positioned to the main top of your stationery. The best thing to do with all these new features is to TRY THEM! If you have any of my stationeries, never hesitate to open them in the Stationery Creator, then scroll thru the various sections to see how they were done. And, if you should have any questions, please let me know, I'll be happy to help.
