Creating and editing layout designs in Assets 10

Creating and editing layout designs and exporting them to PDF format can be quickly and easily done with the Design editor in Assets.

It can be used to quickly design a layout for use in a marketing campaign, promotion, product catalog, custom print materials, or any other project in which a design in PDF format is needed. All of this from within Assets.

Designs can be saved as a project for later use and can at any time be exported as a PDF file.

This article describes how to use the Design editor.

Layout designs versus PDF files

Layouts designs are initially created from scratch and subsequently saved in or exported to one of the following formats:

• As a file in PDF format.
• As a layout project file with a .scene extension for later use. This file can at any time be exported to PDF format.

Quick Start

The use of the Design editor is straight forward and the tools and options are for the most part self explanatory. Use the following steps if you want to get started quickly. More detailed information is given in the rest of the article.

Step 1. (Optional, but recommended) Create a folder somewhere in Assets that acts as the project folder in which all files that you are going to use are going to be stored. Add those files to the folder.

Tip: This step is recommended because the Assets 10 panel in the Design editor will be the main panel to use files from. It shows all files that are in the same location in which the project is stored. By first creating a new folder, you will only see the files in that folder that are related to the project. Additional files can be added to that panel at any time.

Step 2. Do one of the following:

• Create a new project from scratch by clicking the Create button in the top right corner and choosing Design.

• Open an existing project (a file with a .scene extension) by right-clicking it and from the context menu that appears, choose Edit in Design editor.

Note: The Video editor also saves projects as files with a .scene extension. When right-clicking a .scene file that was created in the Video editor therefore, you might see a reference to opening the file in the Video editor instead of in the Design editor.

The Design editor appears, showing a toolbar on the left and a preview on the right. Depending on what is selected in the editor, additional toolbars and menus appear.

Step 3. Add content to the layout by using the options in the toolbar on the left.

Note: Avoid using the Uploads and Images options in the toolbar on the left. These upload files that are stored locally on your system. It is recommended to only use files that are stored in Assets so that the whole team has access to all files. This can be done by using the Assets 10 icon in the toolbar, see step 4.

Step 4. Click the Assets 10 icon in the toolbar on the left to access files that are stored in the same location as the project. Add files from other locations in Assets to the panel by clicking the Add files from Assets 10 button in the top right corner.

Step 5. Edit the layout as needed by using the many options available from the toolbars and menus in the preview, depending on the object that is selected.

Step 6. When done, click Save in the top right hand corner and choose one of the following options:

• Save project. This saves the changes as a new project as a file with a .scene extension, or when editing an existing project, saves the changes to that project.
• Save as new. This saves the project as a new PDF file.
• Save as PDF. This saves the project as a PDF file. If it was already saved as a PDF file and the file names of the project and the PDF match, the changes will be saved to that file.

Accessing the Design editor

The Design editor can be accessed in the following ways:

• To edit an existing layout project, right-click a file with a .scene extension and from the context menu that appears, choose Edit in Design editor.

Note: The Video editor also saves projects as files with a .scene extension. When right-clicking a .scene file therefore, you might see a reference to opening the file in the Video editor instead of in the Design editor.

• To create a new Design project, click Create in the top right corner of Assets and from the menu that appears, choose Design.

The Design editor components

The Design editor consists of various toolbars and menus (some dependent on selected objects). Most tools, options, and features should be easily findable and self-explanatory and are therefore not discussed here.

The sections below highlight the working of some specific components.

The toolbar on the left

The toolbar on the left side of the screen is used for adding objects and text to the layout. Each is described below:

Tool	Notes
	Templates. Choose from a default set of templates to begin your project with.
	Elements. Choose from various elements such as images, text, shapes, or stickers.
	Uploads. Upload local files that are stored on your system. Note: These files are only available to you and are not added to Assets. It is recommended to not use this feature but instead add any files to Assets 10 first and to then add them to the project using the Assets 10 button in the toolbar (see below).
	Images. Upload local images that are stored on your system. Note: These files are only available to you and are not added to Assets. It is recommended to not use this feature but add any files to Assets 10 first and to then add them to the project using the Assets 10 button in the toolbar (see below).
	Text. Add a title, header, or paragraph to the video.
	Shapes. Add a shape from a default set of basic and abstract shapes.
	Stickers. Add a sticker such as an emoji from a default set of stickers.
	Assets 10. Add a file that is stored in Assets 10. Note: Files are shown that are stored in the same location as the project. Files from other locations in Assets can be added by using the Add files from Assets 10 button in the top right corner (see below for more details).

The toolbar at the top

The toolbar in the top right corner of the screen contains the following options:

• Cancel. This closes the Design editor. When any changes have been made, a message appears asking if these changes need to be saved or discarded. When deciding to save the changes, the same options appear as when clicking Save (see below).

• Save. This saves the project. The following options are shown:
• Save project. This saves the changes as a new project as a file with a .scene extension, or when editing an existing project, saves the changes to that project.
• Save as new. This saves the project as a new PDF file.
• Save as PDF. This saves the project as a PDF file. If it was already saved as a PDF file and the file names of the project and the PDF match, the changes will be saved to that file.

• Add files from Assets 10. This opens a dialog from which files from any location in Assets 10 can be added to the Assets 10 panel in the toolbar on the left (see above). Browse to the location in which the file is located, select one or more files and click Add files from Assets 10.

Searching for .scene files

When using the Filter to search for .scene files, note that these are part of the 'generic' group.