Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
Elements 13→Support Files→Presets→Layouts. That way, your new layout will show up in
the list of preset layouts.
If this method of customizing a picture package doesn't meet your needs, the box below ex-
plains another way to create a custom package.
WORKAROUND WORKSHOP: CREATING YOUR OWN PACKAGE
You may find that you want a picture-package layout that's different from any of the choices Ele-
ments offers. Fortunately, you can easily make your own picture package from scratch on either a
Mac or a PC:
1.
Save all the photos you want to use at the same resolution
. See
Picking a File Size
for
more about setting a file's resolution.
2.
In the Editor, create a new document (Ctrl+N/
⌘
-N or File
→
New)
. Make sure it's the
size you want the finished package to be and that it has the same resolution as your pho-
tos. You can save time by choosing the Letter preset size from the New dialog box's Size
menu; that size is already set to 300 ppi.
3.
Bring each photo into your new file
. Drag the photos from the Photo Bin, and then posi-
tion them as you wish, or just copy (Ctrl+C/
⌘
-C) and paste (Ctrl+V/
⌘
-V) them. Each
photo comes in on its own layer, so it's easy to position them individually. Once the pho-
tos are in the new document, you can use the Move tool or Scale command (
Skew, Dis-
tort, and Perspective
)
to resize them.
4.
When you have all the photos positioned and sized, save the combined file, and then
print it
. You can make the file smaller by flattening it first (Layer→Flatten Image), but
flatten it only if you don't think you'll want to tweak the layout later.
In Windows, you can also create new layouts in the Organizer for the Picture Package. Go to
C:\Program Files\Adobe\Elements 13 Organizer\Assets\layouts
, and then choose the layout that's
closest to what you want. (You might want to audition the different layouts in Elements first and
note the name of the one that's most like what you want, so you'll know which file to open.)
Open the file in a text editor (like Notepad), save it with a new name, and then make your
changes. When you're done, save the changes, and then put the new file into the same folder as
the original.
