Template Creation
CREATING TEMPLATE CATEGORIES AND SUB-CATEGORIES
The RealTimeDesigner has a powerfull tool that allows you to create a template from any design made within it. By offering your users templates, they can complete thier own unique design in seconds - as easy as typing their name and phone number. To begin using templates, first start by defining TEMPLATE CATEGORIES. You have the ability to define CATEGORIES and SUB-CATEGORIES for templates. You can get an idea of the flexibility of templates at this site:
http://designer.realtimedesigner.com/stickerz/catalog/index.php&p=cGM9MTQmcHI9NzUmc2M9MTQw&scw=22&sch=12
CREATING TEMPLATES
In the RealTimeDesinger, a template is little more than a design created in the designer window. A template can be something you create or something your users create. Once you have the artwork elements (clipart) in the RealTimeDesigner system, creating an entire library of templates can be relatively fast. Given a reference picture of the template design, anyone with minimal RealTimeDesigner experience should be able to replicate the artwork into templates in 2 or 3 minutes each. If you desire to create a large library of templates, contact us. We can outsource this work for you very inexpensively.
CONTROLLING TEMPLATE EDITABILITY
As administrator, you can control what users can and can't do within templates. By clicking on the SHOW ADMIN OPTIONS BUTTON you can lock any or all of the properties of each element within the template. Be careful not to be too restrictive - your templates may not allow end users the flexibility they need.
SAVING TEMPLATES
Once you have created some template categories you can begin saving templates into those categories. While logged into the administration panel, open the designer in another tab or window of your internet browser. You should notice that when logged in to the admin panel, you have additional controls available in the designer. The GENERAL TEMPLATES button in the ADMIN commands gives you access to the ability to save templates. To save a template, simply give it a name and select the category to store it under. Remember, site visitors will not see these admin controls and thus will not have the ability to create templates or perform other admin actions.
TEMPLATE ASPECT RATIO
The ratio of height to width is also called the aspect ratio. When you save a template, you will see the current Aspect Ratio of the design displayed. There are also 2 text entry boxes asking for minimum and maximum aspect ratios. Use of the aspect ration feature is optional. If you enter values in these boxes, this template will be displayed only when the user selected size is within that range. This prevents users from trying to force a nearly square design into a long, skinny area. You can build a very powerful template system if you can offer similar designs in a few different aspect ratios to cover the range from short-wide designs to tall-skinny designs.
USING CUSTOMER DESIGNS FOR TEMPLATES
Turning User Designs into Templates is quite easy. From within the admin panel -> manage orders -> view order screen, click on RE-IMPORT IN DESIGNER button to open the user's design into the designer. Once opened in the designer, you will have all the template tools mentioned earlier. You may chose to edit the text slightly to protect your users privacy. Do not create templates from designs which include customer uploaded artwork. You may chose later to clean up your old file storage and this could render templates using that artwork to become unusable.
MANAGING TEMPLATES
From the Admin panel, click MANAGE GENERAL TEMPLATES, then select the template category to display all of the templates within that category. From there you can rename templates, move them to other categories and change their allowable aspect ratio. You must SAVE CHANGES for one template before editing another.
SETTING UP LINKS TO TEMPLATES
The RealTimeDesigner is set up so that you can set links from your existing website to direct users into the system with the Product, Size and Template predetermined. This is useful if you want to preset options for the user. For instance, if you service a national account, you may wish to build a page on your site highlighting products for that client. You would then put links on your site to pre-load the RealTimeDesigner with that product/design combination.
To do this, from Admin Panel, click on the CATALOG link near the top left of the page. This will launch the RealTimeDesigner catalog for your company. To get a direct link, navigate through the catalog to the level which you wish to send your customers. As you select each option, you will notice the URL in your browser grows in length. Copy this URL info to your clipboard and paste it into your own website as a link. Then when your users click on that link in your website, they will be directed directly to that entry point for the RealTimeDesigner. Your users will avoid having to find the way themselves to the products you have set up for them. Remember, you can copy the URL link for a particular product, a particular size, and even a particular template. The hardest part is organizing your existing site to logically direct your users into the RealTimeDesigner at the appropriate point.
TEMPLATE MASS LINK BUILDER
While logged into the admin panel, when you click on CATALOG, you will see a button at the top of the screen labeled TEMPLATE MASS LINK BUILDER. Navigate through the catalog to the point where you are displaying the templates for a particular category. Click on the TEMPLATE MASS LINK BUILDER button. A new screen will apprear with all of the templates displayed in a simple HTML table format. From your browser, Right Click -> VIEW SOURCE, then copy the HTML source for that page. You will then capture the raw HTML code for the template links and images for that template category. You can paste that code into your own web page as an easy way to avoid typing all of the image names and links. You will likely need to reformat the table to suit your needs, but it will be much easier than building this page from scratch.
Those companies that are using templates find them invaluable. If your product and clientele lends themselves to template use, you should give it a try. If you need additional assistance understanding the priciples of templates or would like us to build your entire template catalog, please drop us a line.
