Not updated yet for Photo Editor 2008, but most functionality is applicable.

Starting a Layout:

Add papers, elements & photos before you begin your project. Open the folder where they are located. Click and drag the items you want to use into the image basket here.

1. Go to File | New

   • Background Select Transparent
   • Size: Custom
   • Width: 12 inches
   • Height; 12 inches
   • Resolution 300 pixels per inch
2. Click OK

This is a good time to do an initial Save.

1. Go to File |Save

2. Type in the name and select APD file (This is your working layout file.)

3. Click Save
   

Select the paper you want to work and click & drag the paper to where you'd like it. The mouse should look this: The little left angle bracket will be where the upper left corner of your element or paper goes. (See How To: Placing an Image, Step 2)

After you finish your layout.

1. Do a File | Save.
   

2. If you are done and want a finished file to print/upload/etc,

   1. Do a File | Save As.

   2. In the box: Save as Type choose JPG.

   3. The next screen gives lets you change how the JPG is going to be saved. I choose Best Quality and leave all the rest of the settings the same.

To work on layouts:

NOTE: From now an object can be any of these things: Paper, Elements or Photos

In selecting an object, if you have difficultly selecting an object, sometimes it's much easier to look for it in the Object Palette. Go to View -> Object Palette. You can scroll through your objects and find what you want and click on it. 

• Moving Object:
  1. Click on the selection tool (arrow)
  2. Click on the object and it will move it around.
• Resizing Object:
  1. Click on the selection tool (arrow)
  2. Click on the object
  3. Click on the CORNER of the object (white box handle) and it will resize.
  4. If you click on the middle box and resize it will narrow or stretch your object.
• Rotating Object:
• (See How To: Rotating Objects, Photos, or the Work Area)
  1. Click on the selection tool (arrow)
  2. Click on the object

  3. Click Rotate/Skew in your toolbar or Object | Rotate/Flip/Resize | Rotate/Skew The corners will now turn to white circle handles. If you click on the corner it will rotate. If you want a specific rotation, the number can be typed in the box. (ie. 45 or 90) 

• Cropping Objects:
• (See How To: Cropping Photos, except remember to read bold print in Step 2 below if you don't want entire layout to be cropped)
  1. Click on the crop button, click on your object.

  2. If you don't want your whole layout cropped, which is probably not what you want, click on the "Crop Selected Image" in the toolbar.

  3. Click on one corner and hold mouse, drag diagonally to other corner to define region. Release the mouse button when you are happy with cropped selection.
  4. The area outside of the crop turns grey and will be discarded. You can drag any of the 8 handles around the crop area to adjust the rectangle to the exact size you want.

  5. Now click on Apply Crop.

  6. Click Cancel or press Esc if you do not want to crop.

Text:

• Straight Text:
  • Follow the How to: Adding Text to Photo

A hint in Step 3, when selecting color, its much easier to go outside the colors box and on to your layout. The cursor changes to a eye dropper and you can click on any color in your layout to coordinate your text colors. If you can't see all your layout, move the Colors box.

• Text on a curve:
  1. Follow the steps to do Straight Text.
  2. Click on selection tool (arrow) and click on your text.

  3. In the toolbar, click on Path... Select your basic path.

  4. If you don't want to see the path, make sure pen size is set 0.

  5. Once your path is created, you can click and drag the corners to resize, middles to skew it, center to move it. You can also rotate/skew it. So even though the paths are limited in selection. Once a general path is created, you can make some very interesting modifications to it.
• Journaling:
  1. The easiest way to journal is doing a Text in a shape.
  2. Follow the steps to make Straight Text and type in your first word of your journaling.
  3. Click on selection tool (arrow) and click on your text.

  4. In the toolbar, click on wrap to Shape. Don't worry about the bubble looking shapes, if you click on pen size 0, these shapes won't appear.

  5. Click on the general shape of text you want (rectangle, oval or circle bubbles.)

  6. Make sure pen size is 0 and click OK.

  7. Now, resize the box to the size you want.
  8. Click in the box and add the rest of your journaling.
  9. Resize box or journaling to get the effect you want.

Working with Alphabet Elements:

• Alphas that are individual .png files:
  1. Drag and drop the letters you want onto your layout.
  2. You can do some moving around but don't resize yet.
  3. Select all the letters in the object palette by holding down the Ctrl key and selecting each letter. (If they are all together in the object palette, you can hold down the shift key and select the top and bottom one.) 

  4. Go to Object | Group or Ctrl-G and create a group of letters.

  5. Now you can resize, skew or move around as a group.
  6. If you wish to move an individual letter around:
     1. Expand the group by clicking on the arrow next to the group.
     2. Now click on object in the group and you can edit that object individually (move, resize, skew, etc.)
• Alphas that are in one .png files:
  1. Open up the .png file containing your alphabet.
  2. Using the marquee select tool, draw a box around the first letter you want.

  3. Edit | Copy or a Ctrl-C to copy it.

  4. Switch back to your working layout file : Window | Your Layout Name.apd

  5. Edit | Paste or a Ctrl-V to paste it.

  6. Switch back to your alphabet .png file : Window | Your Alphabet.png

  7. Repeat steps 2 through 5 until you have all the letters you need.

  8. Now continue as you did with Step 2 of A) Alphas that are individual .png files.

Working with Groups:

Some tips and trick with working with groups.

• As you are working sometimes you get a few objects that go together, such as a frame and picture, or a group of letters, or a tag and text, etc. This is a good time to do a group and work with them like one object.

• Select each object while holding down the shift key and then Object | Group (Ctrl -G.)

• You can now work with them as a group resizing, moving, skewing, etc.
• You can also expand the group out by clicking on the arrow next to the group.
• Click on any object in the group to work on it individually.

• To ungroup, Object | Ungroup (Ctrl - U)

• If it makes things easier to work with, you can name your groups by clicking on the group in the object palette, left clicking and choosing Rename. You can also ungroup in this menu.

• To expand all groups or contract all groups. Look for the little gray box in the right corner at the bottom of the object palette. (This is the same box as described below in: Expanding your thumbnails in the object palette:) Click on that and select Expand or Collapse all groups.

Selecting your Opacity and doing interesting things with Modes:

• You can select the opacity of any object.
• Selecting the object, and right at the bottom of the object palette is the Opacity box.
• Adjust the opacity as you wish. This is great to soften overlays or anything that is too bright.
• You can also select Mode of any object and play with those setting to create some interesting effects. 

Other helpful hints:

Zooming, panning, moving around in your image:

Button descriptions from left to right:

Expanding your thumbnails in the object palette:

Look for the little gray box in the right corner at the bottom of the object palette. Click on that and select Thumbnail Size -> Large.

Arranging objects:

In the Object Palette you will see all of the objects and photos that you have added to the work area. The order of the objects in the Object Palette is important. The object or photo at the top of the Object Palette is displayed on top of all objects or photos below it in the work area.

You can move objects and photos above or below each other in the work area by clicking and dragging them up and down the Object Palette.

To add a drop shadow to an object:

1. Click the Selection Tool and click the object.

2. Click Object | Drop Shadow.

3. Click the color picker and select the shadow color.

4. Drag the Angle slider until the drop shadow is the desired angle.

5. Drag the Offset slider to the left to reduce the distance the drop shadow is offset from the object. Drag the slider to the right to increase the offset distance.

6. Drag the Blur slider to the left increase sharpness of the drop shadow edges and to the right to increase the blurriness of the drop shadow edges.

7. Click OK. 

Photo Editor creates the shadow as a second object directly underneath your object. If you want to work with them later as one object, select both, and make a group (Ctrl-G)