Design and Layout

Cloud Designer Tricks for MakeMyNewspaper

Designer Tricks

Like any program, our Online Cloud Designer has tools that will aid you in easily and more efficiently do the task you set out to do. These tools, if used properly, will save you time and frustration. Here are some of the tricks of the trade:

Nudging

The nudging feature works with your keyboard. If you select an object, you can use your keyboard arrow keys to nudge it in any direction. For textboxes, simply click on the dotted blue bounding line that surrounds the textbox. This removes the cursor from within the textbox while keeping the box selected. Use the arrow keys to move the textbox in any direction. This helps when you are trying to align objects exactly true to each other.

Zooming

300% zoom is true 300 DPI (dots per inch). This is the quality that our PDFs are created in. If you like it at 300 DPI, you'll like it in print. 300% zoom will also allow you to see exactly where everything is so that you can align things even better. When evaluating your project, remember to evaluate it at 300% zoom.

Rotate

On each object or textbox, a green circle appears at the top center when you select the object with your mouse. This is your rotate icon. If you click it with the mouse and hold it down, you can rotate the object or textbox to the desired angle.

Cropping

Cropping is a way to adjust your images to a particular size without losing aspect ratio. If you only need to shrink the image horizontally or vertically, consider cropping it instead of shrinking it. Cropping it will help you avoid making images fat or skinny. Click on the image or object and the cropping tools will appear at the top of the Designer.

Reordering of Objects

Look for 4 icons of green and white squares. These 4 icons represent the ordering tools. All objects on your canvas have a particular order in which they show when placed on top of each other. Use these icons to move objects backwards or forwards on the canvas. The result is the ability to place objects on top or behind other objects.

The Alignment Tool

When active, the alignment tool will show you relative position to other objects. It will help you determine if an object is aligned with another object. To use it, simply move an object with your mouse on the canvas. When you are aligned with the edge of another object, a line will appear to indicate this and the object will snap to the aligned vector for you.

Grouping

This feature allows you to select more than one object at the same time and move, copy or delete all the selected objects at once. Simply click on an object, hold the "SHIFT" key down and then click on another object. Continue to do so until you've selected all the objects you wish to affect as a group. You can also right click on the canvas and click the "Select All" option.

Free Cloud Designer Templates

Our templates are 100% customizable, super user-friendly, and designed specifically to help you create outstanding newspapers with our free Cloud Designer. Below are a few of the 100s of templates available to you.