My goal is create user friendly templates, but PSD template buyers will need Photoshop software, a working knowledge of Photoshop and know how to install fonts.
1. INSTALL FONTS
BEFORE OPENING YOUR TEMPLATE, INSTALL FONTS. The list of fonts required for your specific template has been provided for you within your download files. The name of the file with the font links includes the wording FONTLIST within the file name.
HOW DO I INSTALL FONTS? VISIT FAQ PAGE
2. OPEN PHOTOSHOP, THEN OPEN YOUR FILE
PSD files can only be opened in PHOTOSHOP CS2+ or PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS 6+ (PS Elements). Please be 100% sure that you are opening them in the right program. To be sure, open Photoshop FIRST and then use the FILE < OPEN. Open the file directly from the program.
3. HOW TO CHANGE EDITABLE TEXT
Using your layers palette, the text layers will be labeled with a “T” on them. To edit the text, you simply double click the “T” on the layer you want to edit and from there you can edit both wording and also the color.
DON’T SEE EDITABLE TEXT LAYERS VIA YOUR LAYERS PALETTE?
THEY MIGHT BE IN A FOLDER!!!
If a template has a lot of text, then that text will be placed within a folder layer, that is labeled “TEXT” or “EDITABLE TEXT” for easier layer navigation. When you see a folder, you will need to click the tiny arrow to the far left of layer to DROP DOWN the individual text layers.
See our VISUAL TUTORIALS HERE and HERE.
4. PLACING YOUR PHOTOS
PHOTO CLIPPING MASKS ARE SET UP AS GREY LAYERS/BOXES
(photos do not auto-resize)
Photo’s are to be inserted wherever you come across a grey box within the design. These layers are located in your layers palette and are labeled PHOTO CLIPPING MASK or PHOTO ABOVE.
To use clipping masks, you MUST place your photo layer DIRECTLY ABOVE the clipping mask layer. Then RIGHT CLICK the photo layer and select CREATE CLIPPING MASK from the dropdown menu. Some buyers have to select the layer and then use CTRL + G to make the mask OR go to main menu LAYER < CREATE CLIPPING MASK.
Once the photo has been CLIPPED, you will need to re-size the image to fit within the box to your liking. To do this, you will select the photo layer, by having it highlighted. Then click CTRL + T or use the menu EDIT < FREE TRANSFORM and a bounding box will appear. Use your RIGHT CLICK to move the photo around within the box.
To scale the photo, you will need to hover over corner box, hold your SHIFT KEY down and pull in or out. This may take some practice if you have not done this before.
NOTE: THIS PROCESS MAY BE a little DIFFERENT IN YOUR VERSION OF PHOTOSHOP OR ELEMENTS. My instructions are for MY version of Photoshop. If your program does not follow along with my tutorial exactly, YOU will need to do a google search for something similar to “How to use a Clipping Mask in (insert your version of photoshop here)” and there will likely be someone who has posted specific instructions for your version of software.
See our VISUAL TUTORIAL HERE.
5. HOW TO CHANGE COLOR LAYERS
Design element layers are the layers with a colored square on them. Each element is on it’s own layer for easy color changing. Using your layers palette, simply double click the colored square , on the element layer you are wanting to change, and a color picker menu will appear. You can choose your colors from the picker or enter the RGB or HTML color numbers to specify as specific color.
See our VISUAL TUTORIAL HERE.
6. SAVING YOUR FILE FOR PRINT
See our VISUAL TUTORIAL HERE. Use Steps #1-4 or #5.
7. TRY BEFORE YOU BUY
Our tutorials were created in Photoshop, just like our templates. If you are using another program, you will need to check your program info to see if PSD files are compatible. Don’t own photoshop? Here are 2 free photoshop options below.
PHOTOSHOP CC (free for 30 day trial)
PHOTOSHOP ELEMENTS (free download)
Some computers block this kind of file download, so I am providing two download locations for you. One is a local download hosted here on my website. The other is hosted via my personal Dropbox account.