Parts of the Text Editor
Name: The Name of the Layer - this will appear as a linked button on the left side of the page, under the buttons to add text and images. You can click this button to edit the layer as well.
Note: The layer name is End User facing (unless the layer is content locked).
Position Lock: Turning this on will lock both the position of the text layer and its width and height.
Sizing Rules: Used for dynamically sized templates and defines how template elements move and resize as the document resizes.
X and Y: Used to place the text layer. The upper left corner of the template is 0|0.
Angle: The angle, in degrees, of the text box. Any number may be inserted here.
W and H: Width and height of the layer (in the measurement type specified in "Document Settings").
Overprint: Needed when an Overprint specification is required by the printer.
Content & Format Details: Clicking on the “More Options” link opens an additional menu for advanced settings:
Text Layer Settings Box: Used to indicate where a text layer is a Normal-style Layer, a Section Style Layer or a Section Spacing Layer. "Allow User to Edit Content" allows End Users to edit content where section styles are applied.
Color | Font | Content Size | Tween: Defines the default styling for a text layer if not defined in the textbox itself.
Visible on Print: “Yes” is turned on by default. Selecting “No” will make the text visible to the End User when customizing the template, but it will not appear in the final document. This is often used for template instructional text to provide guidance on template completion for End Users. Note: When "Visible on Print" is turned off, Content Lock is automatically switched on. In order to edit the layer you must first turn "Visible on Print" back on in order to remove the content lock and edit the content.
Content Lock: Used to prevent an End User from interacting with the layer. Content lock removes the layer link from the left-hand menu on the front end. However, unless Position Lock is also used, the layer can still be moved on the back end, so it is advised that Position Lock is used with Content Lock to prevent the layer from getting moved accidentally during editing.
Expandable Content: When End Users are adding large amounts of text content to templates, Expandable Content can be used to auto-generate the required amount of pages. The layout where Expandable Content is used will act like a template and will be duplicated on all created pages. Note: Expandable Content must also be turned on in the Document Settings area to indicate that the template has Expandable Content and then the System will expand content based on the page where the configuation is specified.
Text Follows From: This feature allows for text-threading-like behavior. If a Template Composer has two or more text boxes, they can set overflow content from the first text box to flow to the second text box, third text box, etc. All text boxes that are receiving overflow content must have the original text box as the source.
Align: Aligns all of the text within the text box horizontally. Choices are left, center or right.
Vertical: Aligns all of the text within the text box vertically. Choices are top, middle or bottom.
Note - vertical alignment ONLY works on text of more than one line. In addition, since the height of the text layer is an approximation, text may not appear visually correct within the text box.
BG/Background Color: Can specify a background color for the entire text layer. Note: A text layer requires text to be applied before background color will appear.
WYSIWYG Text Editor: The text editor is where you will add and style text. You can start from scratch or cut and paste text from another program. To apply styling to text, highlight the text you wish to style and then click the appropriate selection from the available options.
Source: Clicking this link will take you to the actual source code that will be generated for this text. You can edit this code, but this is an advanced technique, so use with caution. This is the source code for the text shown in the editor above:
ABC: Basic spell check
Bullets: Create simple bullet text.
Note - The default bullet color will always be black. Coloring bullets requires using option-8 bullet icons (•) and applying colors to the symbol separately.
Font: List of all available fonts installed AND applied on your system. Any font here can be applied to text.
Font Size: Select from the list or enter a custom value.
Line Spacing: Specify a custom line spacing for text. Select from the list or enter a custom value. This is also known as "leading."
Space Before: Specify additional spacing before a paragraph of text.
Space After: Specify additional spacing after a paragraph of text.
Scalable: Used in conjunction with other content management to scale text (usually headlines). You will set the smallest and largest allowed font size and the text will scale between those sizes to fit the content within the text box.
Add/Edit Tag: Used to add content management/programming to text. Admins can select the below types of tags:
- Text: This tag creates a simple text field on the front end for End Users to type in text. Default content can be applied, and Admins can require content in the field as well as requiring the End User to change the content before finishing their document.
- Select: This tag creates a simple list of options on the front end for End Users to choose from.
- User: This tag creates a simple field on the front end, and autopopulates content from the user's profile. Admins can lock this content down, or leave the field open to editing.
- Location: This tag creates a simple field on the front end, and autopopulates content from the user's location. Admins can lock this content down, or leave the field open to editing.
- Content/Item Tag: This tag creates an advanced/dynamic experience on the front end where End Users can select text, images or a combination of both from the Content Database. Note that Content/Item tags cannot be applied to the same textbox as other types of tags.