Managing Styles

Figure21 - Manage Styles Menu

PhotoFramer provides a set functions designed to help you create and manage your own styles.  The Style menu item Manage Styles > provides a sub menu of these functions.  Each of the options is discussed below.

New Style…, Duplicate Style and Edit Style… are discussed below in the section entitled Editing Styles (page 29).

Rename Style…allows you to enter a new name for an existing style.  If you rename the style the list of styles will be resorted into alphabetical order, so the location of the style in the Style menu may change.

Delete Style…causes a style to be removed from the list.  If there is any chance that you will want to use the style again, it is wise to save it first.

Export Style…allows you to create a file containing the currently selected style.  This file can be reloaded at a later date, or shared with another PhotoFramer or Digital Photo Utilities user.

Import Style…will load a style into the list of available styles.

Save All Styles… will save all the styles to a .pfsf (PhotoFramer's Setup File) file for later loading.

Load All Styles… will load a .pfsf file.

Any changes that you make to the styles are automatically saved within PhotoFramer, so importing/exporting and saving/loading are only required for backup or sharing of styles.

If for any reason you would like to return to the factory default settings, there is a file named Factory Defaults.pfsf in the application directory which can be loaded via Load All Styles… that will load the default styles.

Editing Styles

PhotoFramer creates the appearance of a matted frame around your image.  It does this by rendering styles that contain up to two mats, a frame and the wall behind it with highlights and shading to create a photo realistic view of your image in a frame.  It can also be used to create other effects such as a printed picture that "floats" in front of the screen.  PhotoFramer allows you to edit and create your own styles via the New Style… Style… and Edit Style… menu items in the Manage Styles menu.  New Style… is used to create a style starting with the current style and currently selected colors.   Duplicate Style… creates a copy of an existing style including the style's color scheme.  When either New Style… or Edit Style… are selected, the Style Editor window appears.

Figure 22 - Style Editor Window

There are four components to PhotoFramer frames: Two mats, the frame and the wall (as shown in Figure 10 - Components of a Framed Image on Page 15).  Each of these components and a catch-all category, "Other," have a tab and corresponding page in the top portion of the window.   Each of these components may be omitted by unchecking the Active box in the appropriate page.  If any settings are changed, the effects are immediately reflected in the picture displayed in the window, so it is quite easy to experiment with different settings.

Color

The color of each item may be set by clicking the Color button.  It will present a large list of named colors.  If none of these suit you, you may choose "Other" at the top of the list to define your own color with the color editor.  Note that the bottom 16 colors suggested in the color editor are colors automatically chosen to match your particular image.

Width and Height

The Width and Height are represented as a percentage of the width or height of the component that is being surrounded.  In other words, a width value of 10 for Mat 1 will add ~10 pixels of matting to each side of a 100 pixel wide image and ~20 pixels of matting to a 200 pixel wide image.  Using a percentage value allows the frame to scale properly with large and small images alike.  When the "Width = height" box is checked, both the width and height values will be set to the maximum of the width and height.  This allows you to create a mat or frame with equal width and height.

Bevel

The mat Bevel setting simulates the angled cut common in mats.  These are usually 45 degree cuts that expose a little bit of the inner material of the mat.  The setting here simulates the angle of the cut and the thickness of the mat.  Choosing "None" means no bevel is visible.

Texture

The mats, frame and wall that you render may have a texture mapped on to them to make them look more photorealistic. 

You may choose a texture from the list presented.  The standard textures include wood grain, marble, canvas, stone etc.  See the tutorials for information about how to use your own textures.

The relief slider tells how deeply the texture should be etched.  Slide to the right for more and to the left for less.

The Size parameter controls the size of the texture.  A smaller number means more repeats of the texture pattern and smaller texture patterns. 

It should be noted that frames with no texture tend to compress well and thus save to smaller files than frames with textures.  In applications where files size is critically important, textures should be used sparingly.

Frame Settings

Figure23 - Frame Settings

The Frame Style may be one of Flat, Sharp, Smooth or Round depending on what type of frame you would like.

The Frame Shine can be controlled via a slider.  From left to right the slider can help you to approximate Matte, Wood, Plastic or Metal. 

The Frame Depth value controls the distance from the front of the frame to the wall.  This affects the length of the shadow on the wall.

Other Settings

Figure24 - Other Settings

The Shadow Darkness value models the amount of ambient light in the room where your imaginary framed image is displayed.  If there is just a single light source, shadows are darker and more defined.  If the room has other light sources or has a lot of reflection, the shadows will appear less dark.

By clicking on Glass Reflection, you can simulate a reflection in the glass of your frame.  The image you choose will be reversed left-to-right to simulate a reflection and then alpha blended over the whole image.  With this feature you can simulate your image on display in a famous museum (by reflecting the museum in the glass) or being viewed by a famous personality.

The Print Texture setting allows you to simulate various types of paper textures for your image print.  It should be noted that this will degrade the quality of your image somewhat, but it can be used to achieve an artistic effect.