Selecting Objects

The selection area is the left-hand area of the program window with the design objects. The design objects are the editable components that make up a photo product, i.e. photos, page layouts, backgrounds, clipart, masks & frames and designs. Before you can edit an element in the editor, you first need to select it in the selection area and add it to the workspace. Here, you can specify everything that should be included in your photo project (photobook, calendar, greeting card, etc.) or everything that belongs to it (picture frames or brackets for wall arts). At the bottom of the selection area, you can specify the element type, i.e. "Photos & Videos", "Page Layouts/Designs", "Clipart" or "Image masks," etc.

The top of the selection area contains selection options that you can use to filter the objects so you only see a specific selection of objects. For example, you can display the photos from a specific directory, or only the page layouts for a specific number of photos per page, or only the backgrounds from the category "Nature". Below this is the "Preview display", which contains small thumbnails of the objects that you can drag into the workspace using the mouse, in order to add the object there. Below that is a toolbar that can be used to enlarge and reduce the thumbnails and to insert and manage the objects.

Favourites and Trash

Not available for all design objects.

Favourites

Design objects (designs, layouts, backgrounds, etc.) that you like and you want to use again and again can be collected in the "Favourites" category. Simply highlight the object you want to add and click on the preview display "Mark as Favourite". Your item is then marked with the Favourites icon; these are always listed first. Only objects marked as favourites are shown in the "Favourites" category. You can remove a Favourite with the "Remove from Favourites" icon.

Trash

Design objects (designs, layouts, backgrounds, etc.) that you do not think you will ever use can be placed in "Trash". Simply select the object(s) you want to remove, and in the preview display select "Place object in Trash." It is then no longer displayed in the preview. For safety reasons, the design element is not immediately deleted, but simply filed in "Trash". You can choose to restore an object at any time, or delete it forever.

The width of the selection area is variable. Move the mouse over the right edge of the selection; the cursor changes and you can move the edge within certain limits to the right or left.
The workspace of the photo product decreases or increases accordingly.

Individual Object Types:

Photos

The directory displays the name of the currently selected directory. Directly above it on the left, there is a button with the name of the immediate parent directory. If you want to go there, then please click on it. The "Select directory" button next to it on the right opens a new dialogue with a directory tree, through which you can navigate to the desired directory and select your photos. Double-clicking on a directory in the preview opens this.

Caution:

A directory is now displayed as a strip including a preview of the photos it contains.
The directory name and the number of photos and sub-directories are in the directory heading.

Double-clicking on a thumbnail opens it for editing in the CEWE PHOTOSHOW. The "Back" button in the top left will bring you back into the appropriate directory view.

Caution:
If you have added a photo to your photo product from a removable medium (CD/DVD, USB stick, memory card), please save the photo product (CEWE PHOTOBOOK, calendar, etc.) before removing the removable medium. Otherwise the software will show an error message when you come to order, stating that the photo file can no longer be found. When you save, a copy of the photo is stored on the hard drive, which the program then accesses.

The photos in the selected directory are then displayed as thumbnail previews in the preview display. Photos already used in the photo product are marked with a tick. You can use one photo several times in the same photo product, it is displayed as often as it has been added. Directories are also displayed with previews of the photos they contain, but with the directory name above it. If you drag a directory into your photo product, all photo placeholders in it will be filled with the photos from this directory (but not, however, from any available sub-directories) as long as there are enough placeholders.

Photos with GPS Co-ordinates

Some digital cameras and smartphones are able to locate your position (geotagging) and save it when you take a photo. Some photo processing and image viewing programs allow you to update this information at a later date. If a photo contains geo-coordinates, this is indicated by a GPS icon in the thumbnail. This doesn't work in the "Experience view". If you add this type of photo to a CEWE PHOTOBOOK, the software will ask in a dialogue whether it should add an appropriate map. You can turn off this question, either in the dialogue itself or in "Settings".

Caution:
In some circumstances (reception problems when the photo was taken or positioning turned off), the coordinates 0° North and 0° East may be entered. In this case, the map will show open sea off the coast of Africa. If this happens, please stop adding the map section and delete the placeholder in the layout. Or you can choose a map section manually.

Videos and Freeze Frames from Videos

You can select up to six individual images from a video on the hard drive to be displayed next to each other in a film strip (or not, if preferred) on the photobook page. You can also choose to add a QR code to the page and have the video uploaded to the gallery when you place the order. You can then scan the QR code printed in the CEWE PHOTOBOOK with a smartphone or tablet and play the video. You can find out exactly how this works in the chapter "Working with videos".

3D Photos

Some digital cameras and smartphones are able to take stereo/3D photos in *.mpo and *.jps file formats. These stereo/3D photos are displayed in the selection area and converted to an anaglyph image when they are added to a photobook page. With the help of red/cyan glasses, these photos create a 3D effect in the printed or developed photobook.

Caution!

In the case of 3D photos in JPS format (JPEG stereo), there is no standard as to which photo is responsible for which eye. Therefore, you are given the opportunity to check the display options and select one that is suitable. Use corresponding 3D glasses for this purpose. Alternatively, you can also select just the right or left photo, but this will result in the 3D effect being lost.

You can change the view size of the thumbnails using the zoom buttons below or by making the selection area wider or narrower. There are other buttons next to the zoom buttons that you can use to control the use of the photo as a background and the display in the Photo Explorer (sort, filter, add/remove file names). You can also retrieve a highlighted photo in the photo product and filter the photos according to occasion (taken at the same time) or similarity (colour). The dropdown menu (right mouse click on the preview display) contains various viewing, ordering and pasting options:

"Refresh Directory"

If you have added or removed photo files to the current directory since you began working with the photo software, these new photos may not be displayed straight away. This command forces the software to re-import the directory, and thus to import the thumbnails.

"Copy"

Loads marked photos into the cache. They can then be reinserted using the "Add" command.

"Select or deselect all photos"

Marks all photos in the folder that is currently open or deselects them if they were already marked.

"CEWE PHOTOBOOK Assistant"

Launches the CEWE PHOTOBOOK Assistant. (see the chapter entitled "The CEWE PHOTOBOOK Assistant.")

"Start Photo Editor"

Starts the CEWE PHOTOSHOW. (see the chapter "CEWE PHOTOSHOW"). The CEWE PHOTOSHOW (a separate program with the ability to edit photos) can also be started by double-clicking on the thumbnail of an image.

"Sort by Colour"

Shows the photos in a separate window grouped by their colour mood. Photos that are directly beside or beneath each other also go well together on the same page in the photobook. Double-click on a photo to add it to the photo product. Tip: Choose a background in a matching colour too.

"Image as Background"

Use these commands to add your own photo as a page background on the right-hand or left-hand page or across both pages (whole double page). Unlike the backgrounds supplied with the software, you can edit photos added as a background by double-clicking on them and editing them in the workspace using the photoshow.

"Find Photo in Your Product"

If a photo has already been used in the photo product, this function will open up the page to which it has been added. If the image has been used several times, this function will show the next occurrence of the photo in the product each time you click on it.

"Find Similar..."

Not available when ordering photos! If you have highlighted a photo, this function will search within the same directory for photos that were either taken at the same event (by date and time) and/or look similar. You can use the slider to set the degree of similarity.

"Use Highlighted Photos as Collage...on the Left / Right / on Both Sides."

Only available if several photos are highlighted. Creates a collage from several highlighted photos. The size and position of the photos are adjusted automatically. You can run the command several times in a row until you are pleased with the result.

Note:
To ensure you achieve a satisfactory result with the collage, go to "Settings" and under "Photo Enhancements", set the "Behaviour when inserting photos" to "Maintain frame size, crop and centre the photo". This will ensure the collage is free of gaps. If you choose the setting "Change placeholders so that images fill the frames", gaps will remain between the photos, which can also look good.

Insert Photos

To add a photo to your photo product, drag it to the selection area of the workspace in the Editor or to the desired placeholder by holding down the left mouse button. It will then latch onto the placeholder.

There are two different options here:

The photo adjusts to the placeholder. The placeholder stays as it is and the photo is adjusted in terms of either height or width, depending on how the aspect ratios of the photo and the frame fit best.
Any parts of the photo protruding beyond the frame are no longer visible, but you can scale the height and width of the placeholder and specify the image detail within the frame using the "Reduce Image" / "Enlarge Image" tool icons.
The placeholder adjusts to the photo. The photo can be seen in its entirety, and the placeholder adjusts to the longest side of the photo. You can scale the placeholder here too. If you scale the placeholder with the corner handles, it will keep its aspect ratio and the photo will be automatically scaled. If you only enlarge the width or height of the placeholder, any parts of the photo protruding beyond the frame will no longer be visible. If you enlarge or reduce the placeholder, the photo is scaled too, but it is not scaled if you reduce it using the side handles; you then need to reduce it manually within the frame using the tool icon "Reduce Image". You can set this property of the placeholder for all photos to be added in the Settings on the menu bar. See the chapter "Settings".

Note:
If you would like to use the page layout templates, I recommend that in "Settings", you set the "Photo Enhancements" so that the photo is adjusted to fit the placeholder. This is the "Maintain frame size, crop and centre the photo" setting. If the placeholders are adjusted to fit the photo, then the gaps and aspect ratios of the frames will no longer be correct. You can specify good image details at a later stage by panning and zooming images within the layout frame.

Frames

Only for some canvas and poster types that are delivered ready-framed. You can choose the frame type in the selection options and drag the frame in your desired colour from the object view to the poster or canvas.A double-click will also work.

Mounts

Only applicable for posters with a picture frame. For the selection of the mount colour.

Designs

Only for photo products that support such designs, e.g. posters and wall arts, calendars, greeting cards and some photo gifts. Designs are ready-made pages to which you can add photos and which generally do not need much, if any, editing. In the selection options, you will be able to choose from the various design categories or themes in a drop-down list. The standard setting is "Show all...".You can download additional designs later via the "More..." button in the selection area (as described in the chapter "Tips and Tricks").

Page Layouts

Page layout is the arrangement of placeholders (for photos and text boxes) on the product in the editor workspace.

Ready-made page layouts are provided and you can also save your own page layouts and allocate them to a page.

Only in the CEWE PHOTOBOOK!
In the selection options there is a drop-down list containing various pre-sorted page layout categories:
Show all...	Shows all the available page layouts.
Favourites	You can save a highlighted page layout as a favourite via the dropdown menu (right mouse click). You can then find it under the "Favourites" heading.
Trash	You can place a highlighted page layout in Trash via the dropdown menu (right mouse click). You can decide at a later stage whether you want to restore it or delete it once and for all.
Angled	Page layouts with at least one angled (slightly rotated) photo placeholder. Partially overlapping at times, often looks like photos that have been "thrown on".
High coverage	Only a small amount of page background visible. Usually with the same-sized gap to the margin and between the photos.
Irregular	Photos arranged loosely across the page, lots of background of the page visible.
Full coverage	Borderless and with no gap between the photos, no page background visible.
Overlapping	Photos in straight alignment that overlap partially or fully.
My layouts	Shows the page layouts that you have created and saved yourself. It will not appear if you have not yet saved any of your own page layouts for this photobook format.
Other	This contains page layouts that have not yet been allocated to any category.

The categories "Favourites" and "Trash" can also be used for other layout objects.By default, only those page layouts are shown that fit with the existing number of photos on the current page.
You can choose to display a different number of the photos to be used by means of the second dropdown list in the selection options. If you double-click on the thumbnail in the preview display, the page layout is applied to both pages shown (if available); for only one page, drag it to the appropriate page by holding down the left mouse button. Or you can use the paste icons "Add layout to the left page", "Add layout to the right page", "Add layout to current double page" or "Layout is applied to all interior pages".

Backgrounds

In the selection options, you can choose from a dropdown list containing the various background categories and themes. The standard setting is "Show all...".The "Multicolour" backgrounds are textured (patterned) backgrounds and are available in 12 different colours each with 3 saturation levels. They are not available for all photo products. You can download and install additional backgrounds from the internet via the "Download more..." button. To add a background to a double page, double-click on the background thumbnail in the preview display; to add a background to a single page, drag it to the desired place by holding down the left mouse button, or use the paste icons or the commands in the dropdown menu. You can also use your own photo as a page background.

Note:
For some products, e.g. posters and wall arts, only single-colour backgrounds are available due to the fact that the visual backgrounds would be strongly pixelated in many sizes.

Clipart

Clipart is graphics to brighten up your pages. In the selection options, you will be able to choose from the various clipart categories and themes in a dropdown list. The standard setting is "Show all...". In the object view, choose a clipart that you like and drag it into the workspace. You can position it anywhere and scale the size as you wish.

Masks & Frames

An image mask trims the photo into a specific shape like a stencil. Depending on the stencil chosen, the edges of the photo can be clearly defined or fade softly into the background.

Example masks:

A frame is a combination of an image mask and a clipart.

Example frames:

In the selection options, you can choose from a dropdown list containing the various mask and frame categories. You can drag a mask or frame from the selection area onto the desired photo or the corresponding placeholder in the workspace. The effect is immediately visible.