Designing the start screen
The settings under "Adjust the start screen" arrange the start screen along a fixed pattern: logo at the top, title and subtitle below, then the buttons. For most events that is enough.
To place individual elements freely, open the editor — the button "Arrange the start screen freely" sits at the very top of "Adjust the start screen".
The layout#
| Part | What for |
|---|---|
| Stage | The real start screen, in the screen size of the photo booth |
| Screen | Which format currently applies, and a warning if it does not match the connected screen |
| Tools | Align, distribute, grid, undo |
| Own elements | Add text, image and area |
| Elements | All elements of the start screen; the selected one can be set on the right |
| Not visible right now | What does not appear, why, and a way to the responsible setting |
Moving elements#
A click selects an element, dragging moves it. Holding the Ctrl key selects several at once — they then travel together.
The selected element carries four handles in its corners and a round handle below it:
| Handle | Effect |
|---|---|
| Corners | Drag larger and smaller. The proportions are kept; holding shift changes width and height separately |
| Round handle | Rotate. Holding shift snaps to steps of 15 degrees |
The arrow keys move by one pixel, with shift by ten. Position, size and rotation are also available as numbers in the properties.
Arranging things straight#
| Tool | Effect |
|---|---|
| Align | Six directions. With several elements selected they align to each other, with a single one to the whole stage |
| Distribute | Equal gaps between three or more elements. What is meant is the gap between them, not between their centres — with elements of different width only that looks even |
| To the centre of the stage | Puts the element exactly in the middle |
| Grid | A grid with adjustable spacing and colour. Both are purely a working aid and never appear on the start screen |
While dragging, an element snaps to the edges and centres of the others; a guide shows which one. The Alt key suspends snapping when a place lies exactly between two snap points.
The anchor point#
Every element has an anchor point: the point of the element that is placed on the stored position.
That sounds like a detail, but it decides whether an arrangement holds in every language. A title with the anchor "top centre" stays centred even when the Polish text turns out considerably wider. With the anchor "top left" the left edge would stay put and the text would push out of the centre to the right.
Colouring texts#
Title and subtitle can have their own text colour. Without the tick "Own", the general text colour from Appearance applies — and a later change there then still reaches the element.
Over a background image, legibility usually matters more than the colour. White stays hard to read on a bright sky, however white it is; a shadow or outline solves that regardless of what happens to lie behind it.
| Setting | What for |
|---|---|
| Soft shadow | Calm backgrounds, discreet |
| Strong shadow | Busy photos |
| Dark outline | When light and dark lie directly next to each other behind the text |
| Bright glow | Dark text on a dark ground |
Own elements#
Besides the existing elements, own ones can be added. They depend on no setting and therefore carry their own switch "Show on the start screen".
| Kind | What for |
|---|---|
| Text | Additional lines: a hashtag, a date, a note |
| Image | JPEG or PNG. Sponsor logo, decoration, a second motif |
| Area | Rectangle with fill colour, opacity and corner radius. A radius of 50 turns it into a circle |
Own texts and the languages#
An own text first appears the same in every language. That is usually right: names, dates and hashtags are not translated.
If the text is a sentence that should be translated, a version can be added under "Versions per language". An empty field means "take the base text" — so it only needs filling where something different really belongs.
Own images#
Images are reduced to 1600 pixels on their longest edge when uploaded. That is enough for any screen and keeps the setup and the event export small.
Elements that do not appear right now#
Not every element is always visible: the gallery button only appears with the gallery switched on, the language selection only with more than one guest language, the buzzer hint only with a buzzer set up.
The area "Not visible right now" lists these elements, names the reason and leads with one click to the setting that switches them on.
Resetting#
| Way | Effect |
|---|---|
| Undo / Redo | The last fifty steps, also with Ctrl+Z |
| Reset element | This one element stands at its calculated place again |
| Reset everything | The whole arrangement, including own elements |
After resetting, the settings under "Adjust the start screen" decide again where everything sits.
The arrangement belongs to the event#
It travels along with copies and exports, like branding and layouts. A different event has its own arrangement — or none, and therefore the familiar one.