Feature Request: Import Printer Layout Templates?

[Koyaanis]

I realize that PhotoLine is an excellent tool to design your own default templates for projects, but it can take up quite a bit of time doing that. I spent a whole evening just designing a business-card print-layout template earlier this year, to maximize the number of cards I could print on one sheet. And even then it took some more minor tweaking the next day. Sometimes I'd just rather boot up my old PaintShopPro or ACDSee's FotoSlate program with their huge libraries of layout templates. FotoSlate has some excellent ones for saving paper when printing multiple small images, and PaintShopPro has a good library of ones for standard gummed-label sheets in industry-standard Avery Label numbers. All you have to do is look at the layout-design number on the pack of labels, and then select the exact predefined layout number for them in the program.

Would anyone else be interested in the possibility of being able to import all these templates from other programs and use them just as easily in PhotoLine? If so, and if there's enough interest, I could send the some zipped up templates from these two sources to one of the programmers for investigation if they'd be willing to consider adding this. FotoSlate's templates are in XML format, and PaintShopPro's are in PSPScript format. (I recall PSP uses simple Python scripts, I think.)

If this is possible, it might probably be nice if they could be imported in two ways too. Just as simple guide-line settings, to lay down your own layers using align-to-guides, OR imported as full layers that you could drop photos (and/or text) into as-is. But maybe that's not necessary?

PhotoLine's 9 default templates you get with the program are nice, but ... this way we'd have access to using about 1209 more.

If not this, is anyone aware of any PhotoLine-compatible layout templates at some large online library for people to download?

[bkh]

Sometimes I'd just rather boot up my old PaintShopPro or ACDSee's FotoSlate program with their huge libraries of layout templates. FotoSlate has some excellent ones for saving paper when printing multiple small images, and PaintShopPro has a good library of ones for standard gummed-label sheets in industry-standard Avery Label numbers. All you have to do is look at the layout-design number on the pack of labels, and then select the exact predefined layout number for them in the program.

I am wondering if these templates would be freely available to all PL users (tried to google for free FotoSlate templates, but didn't find any).
Supporting copyrighted templates shipped with commercial programs probably would only be useful for a small minority of PL users.

Anyway, I guess that your main point is using the design of the templates, not arranging multiple items on a page?

Cheers

Burkhard.

[Koyaanis]

Long ago when trying to find an Avery label layout that wasn't included in PaintShopPro, I vaguely recall that I could go to the Avery Company and get some layout measurements there, but I'm not all that clear on if I did that or ended up in a dead-end looking for them. (Too many years ago to recall.)

I suppose, that people could download the demos and install them to get the templates from programs like FotoSlate (if that program even exists today, I'm not sure, I didn't check, it's an OLD program), though I'm not sure that's very "proper". If someone wrote a small program to convert all these templates into PL compatible formats, and then those resulting layouts were shared would that be, as they say, "kosher"?

PhotoLine supports the import of color-pallets from other programs, as well as the ability to import PSP's "tube" files directly (in PhotoLine they are "Stamps"). So I was thinking this would be more in-line with reusing existing resources that many might already own, have available, or find their own ways to get access to some, from friends, etc.

Like the ability to import color-pallets from PhotoShop (I think that's one of them that PL supports), even though not everyone owns PhotoShop (or even wants to).

Then too, I also don't see how some universally used guide-lines on a piece of paper can actually be copyrighted. That would be like trying to copyright the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, .... For example, is the template for all printable CD labels and inserts a copyrighted measurement and design? I think not, it exists in nearly every printer-utility found.

[bkh]

I suppose, that people could download the demos and install them to get the templates from programs like FotoSlate (if that program even exists today, I'm not sure, I didn't check, it's an OLD program), though I'm not sure that's very "proper". If someone wrote a small program to convert all these templates into PL compatible formats, and then those resulting layouts were shared would that be, as they say, "kosher"?

I'm not a lawyer, but I doubt this. imo, this would be like converting a CD to mp3, so basically I suppose that the converted files have the same copyright restriction as the original ones (whatever they are). Even an import feature in PL might be legal, but supplying the actual layout files wouldn't.

PhotoLine supports the import of color-pallets from other programs, as well as the ability to import PSP's "tube" files directly (in PhotoLine they are "Stamps"). So I was thinking this would be more in-line with reusing existing resources that many might already own, have available, or find their own ways to get access to some, from friends, etc.

Like the ability to import color-pallets from PhotoShop (I think that's one of them that PL supports), even though not everyone owns PhotoShop (or even wants to).

Again, this probably makes sense because there are enough free tubes/palettes "out there", or because people actually use these formats to export and share their work.

Then too, I also don't see how some universally used guide-lines on a piece of paper can actually be copyrighted. That would be like trying to copyright the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, .... For example, is the template for all printable CD labels and inserts a copyrighted measurement and design? I think not, it exists in nearly every printer-utility found.

I agree that label measurements probably aren't copyright. But is this really all you want? A set of PL guides marking the borders of the labels? You could set this up in a few minutes. Certainly much less work than writing a conversion program, even if you have to do it for a lot of different label formats. But then a good template contains text formatting, reasonable printing margins within the labels, maybe background picturers, …

Cheers

Burkhard.

[greenmorpher]

Whether the layouts re copyright or not, I wouldn't know. But "Avery" certainly is. Avery makes developers pay for the privilege of offering users access to "Avery" label layouts. It would not make sense for the Hubers to buy this in.

I haven't tried to replicate these labels in PL, but I have in Canvas -- and nothing could be easier. We are talking graphics programs, after all. The templates are important if you are using a database or WP program which lacks good layout tools. Likewise, business card sheets are too easy.

Nobody uses many labels/card sizes, so setting up your own templates should be a once only affair.

It would be a waste of time for the developers to do it since most users would never use more than two or three templates so most of their effort would be wasted. Maybe they could provide a repository where people could place templates for free downloading by others.

Kind regards

Geoffrey Heard
Business & Environment Writer, Editor, Publisher
The Worsley Press

[bkh]

Maybe they could provide a repository where people could place templates for free downloading by others.

There's already a "Layout" section in the Forum apparently intended for that purpose - they could go there.

Burkhard.