Downloadable software:

To reframe a photo, double-click on it and select the "Reframing form" button. The option "Save initial framing proportions" is ticked by default; you may then untick it if necessary. The roll-down "Reframing'" menu offers 5 possibilities: Rectangles (default), Rounded Corners, Round, Oval and Free Crop. The "Mirror" button allows you to present your photo as if you had placed it in front of a mirror. The "Vertical Reflection" button allows you to change the orientation of your photo.

An indicator is displayed in the bottom of the Reframing window to allow you to judge image quality: Green = good / Yellow = average / Red = unacceptable. It is urgently recommended that you import only photos with the GREEN indicator for best possible print quality.

On-line software:

If no frame is placed around the photo, it can still be reframed. To do this, just click on the logo "Free Cropping" in the toolbar beside the photo in question. Then click on the edges of the image zone and adjust it.

Downloadable software:

First go to "Expert Mode”. Then click on an image zone. Blue squares will appear on the corners of the image. To resize it, just click on one of the squares and adjust the image zone.

On-line software:

Just click on the bottom right of the image zone (on the double arrow) and adjust it.

Downloadable software:

Pages may not be directly inserted in the Photobook. You can attach them in annex, in batches of 2.

You may however move the creation pages. You may then attach these pages to the end of your creation and move them wherever you wish.

To move the pages you must first preview your page (bottom of software) to make use of the required chronology. You do not have to click on the middle of the page, but you must click on the part of the text marked "Page X".

Online software:

You can add pages to the end of your Photobook. Click on the button "Photobook", select the number of pages, and then click on "OK".

Pages may not be directly inserted in the Photobook. You may however move the creation pages by clicking on the Photobook logo using the double arrow in the lower horizontal toolbar.

This explanation is valid for downloadable software only. The software and file of your photo book (extension ".abm ") do not contain your photos. The abm file sets the link where your photos are placed. If the images are (not) on your hard drive, your photos have been relocated, renamed or deleted. If the images are stored on a CD-ROM, please insert the CD in a CD reader and restart your creation in the software. If the images are stored on a USB stick, an external hard drive or network disk, reconnect and restart your creation in the software.

To avoid this problem do not move or rename the photos or the document.

Downloadable software:

To open a new project, just click on the logo of the page setting editor of your Windows desktop. The software will open on the homepage screen where you can make your choice between Photobook, Diaries, Maps, Canvases.

There are two ways to open an existing project:
- Click on your file with the extension .ABM.
- Click on the logo of page setting editor of your Windows desktop, then click on "Open an existing project" and select the file with the .ABM extension that matches your existing project. 

On-line software:

To open a new project with on-line software just visit our homepage and click on "Start". Then click on "I use on-line software" and select your product.

To open an existing project with on-line software just connect to "My Account", click on "My projects", and then on "Edit".

This concerns downloadable software:

Our software is designed so that it may be used simply but also professionally.

Two ways of creation are therefore possible:

"Normal mode": standard functions.
"Expert mode": advanced functions. This way gives access to more options and greater freedom of creation.

You can move from one mode to the other via their respective icons. In "Normal" the "Expert" buttons are faded and therefore cannot be used. In "Expert mode" the buttons are not greyed out and therefore available for use.

The buttons on this vertical toolbar are thus:

Expert mode: to go to "Expert mode".

Normal mode: to go to "Normal mode".
Add an image zone: allow generation of fields (image zones) into which you can import your photos. These fields can be shrunk or expanded by clicking on the bottom left corner of the image and shifting it.
Add a text zone: a text zone is generated so that you can insert text.
Move to background: allows you to move an image zone to the background.

Move to foreground: allows you to move an image zone to the foreground.
Hide grille: a grille is displayed by default (display of references allowing better geographic visualization of your current creation). This option allows removal of this grille.

"Expert Mode" allows in particular the use of photos as background. To do this you must shift to advanced mode by clicking on the scissors logo in the left side toolbar. New buttons then appear. Then click on "Add image zone". A blue square appears. Enlarge this square to fit the page. In the software button "My Photos" click on a photo and drag it to the blue square. For foreground photos, generate smaller blue squares in which you can insert smaller photos.

To crop a photo, double-click a photo and choose the “Crop Shape” tab. “Keep current frame proportions” is the default option, but you can of course untick this option if you want. The “Crop Shape" drop-down menu contains 5 options: Rectangle (by default), Rounded Corners, Round picture, Oval and Custom Cropping. The “Mirror” button enables you to present your photo as if you placed it in front of a mirror. The “Rotate left” button enables you to turn over a photo.

Downloadable software:

Double-click on a photo and select the "Retouch image" button.

The roll-down menu "Retouch image" offers 3 possibilities in "Normal Mode": Photo effects, Edges, Print Quality. With "Expert Mode" there are also: Luminosity and contrast, Colour correction, Focus (Blur) correction.

Please note that we cannot guarantee photos in black and white when they are amalgamated with colour photos. The contrasts of half tones and Black/White may alter a Black/White print.

On-line software:

Double-click on a photo. You can modify the luminosity, contrast or saturation, rotate the photo, create a mirror effect, change the tone to black & white and correct red eyes.

Downloadable software:

The option "Automatic refill" allows you to place all your photos in predefined page settings with a single click. Be careful that automatic refill does not follow the sorting of your file, the photos are added at random.

How to proceed:

1.         Before opening the software, select the photos in your book and place them in the same file.

2.         In the software, at the start of creation of your Photobook, click on "Automatic refill".

3.         Select the pages in which you wish to apply the automatic refill and page setting that you prefer for your photos and confirm your choice by clicking on "Next"».

4.         Click on "Search" to find the file in which you have preselected your photos and select the photos in the order in which you wish they should appear. You can use the icon « > »to do this photo by photo or the icon « >> » to select all the photos.

5.         Click on "Automatic refill" and your Photobook is done!

For on-line software:

The option "Automatic refill" allows you to place all your photos in predefined page settings with a single click. Automatic refill follows the sorting of your file, so be careful to sort your photos as refill will follow that order.

1.         First of all choose the required page setting, the photos will be incorporated in the Photobook according to it.

2.         Create a new file in the photo directory and insert the selected photos.

3.         Click on the "My Photos" button and on the "Automatic refill" logo.

4.         Your Photobook is done!

Photobook, calendars and cards are printed at 600 DPI.

Photo files are compressed using the JPEG compression standard. This is a format with losses or irreversible compression. The JPEG format makes it possible to achieve very high compression rates of around 60% to 80%, while maintaining good image quality.

In normal mode, photo files are compressed to 85 DPI with a JPEG quality of 89. In professional mode, photo files are compressed to 150 DPI with a JPEG quality of 95.

The minimum resolution for a photo depends on the size of the frame in which you want to place it. A very small photo can go in a very small frame. One of the causes of confusion regarding resolution is that the editor does not depend on the resolution at which we print the photos.