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Creating Elements

Users can create their own design elements and add them to PhotoFrame. A good example would be converting your logo to a design element so you can easily add it to an image. Follow the steps below for creating your own basic element from a logo or signature file. This technique will create single colored element and you can control the color from the background palette.

   Open your logo in Photoshop
   Convert your logo to grayscale by selecting File > Mode > Grayscale
   Make sure your logo is black on a white or transparent background. You may need to increase the contrast to achieve this.
   Save your logo as a JPG file with a .frm extension

Now add the logo file using the instructions on the Adding Elements page. You can also create your own basic frames using this same technique. Just make sure the inner area of the frame, where the image should go remains white and the outer edge is black.

Creating RGB Elements

Creating RGB elements, also known as realistic frames is a bit more complicated. Each RGB element consists of three files:
  • The frame image, the regular RGB pixels
  • Inner mask , a grayscale mask that masks the inner area of the frame
  • Outer mask, a grayscale mask that masks the outer area of the frame

  Frame image
the regular RGB pixels. The area inside and outside the frame should be white or transparent. Save this file as an RGB JPG with a .frr extension. It is important that the main file name is the same for all three elements, for example myframe.frr
  Inner mask 
A grayscale mask that masks the inner area of the frame. The area inside the frame, the hole where the image should go, should be white. The rest of the image should be black. Save this file as a grayscale JPG with a .fri extension. It is important that the main file name is the same for all three elements, for example myframe.fri
   
Outer mask
A grayscale mask that masks the outer area of the frame. The area outside of the frame, think of it as the background, should be white. The rest of the image should be black. Save this file as a grayscale JPG with a .fro extension. It is important that the main file name is the same for all three elements, for example myframe.fro

When you add RGB frames only one entry will be added to the PhotoFrame database, not three, but you need to add all three files at the same time. If you which to add your own RGB background elements follow the steps above but make the inner and outer mask files completely black. If you which to create RGB adornments set the fri file to completly black and the from to black with white masks for the adornment.


See also

Adding Elements
Finding Elements Online
Deleting Elements