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How to Customize Your Family History Project with the Line and Rectangle Elements
How to Customize Your Family History Project with the Line and Rectangle Elements

Adding Elements to Family History Books, Posters, & Calendars

Janelle avatar
Written by Janelle
Updated over a week ago

Are you looking to add something special to your Family History project? The line element is the perfect way to display historical events on the Individual Timeline pages. It also comes in handy when adding more pedigree lines to your project. The rectangle element is excellent for placing behind your photos for that perfect layered background look. Here's a step-by-step guide on customizing your project with the line and rectangle elements.

Open the project you'd like to edit. If you're working on a book or calendar, click on the page you wish to edit to enter edit mode.

The "Edit" tab below the book pages will also take you to the editor.

Click here to learn more about the book editor tabs.

You'll have edit access immediately if you're working on a poster.

ADDING THE LINE ELEMENT TO YOUR PROJECT

  • Click the "Elements" tab in the editor.

  • Select the "Line" element. It will automatically populate onto your project. The line will settle at a larger size, but you can easily crop, resize, and move the line element around.

HOW TO RESIZE OR ROTATE THE LINE ELEMENT

  • Click on the line you want to resize.

  • Position your cursor over one of the white boxes until it becomes a plus sign.

  • Hold the left-click button on your mouse and drag it around the page to resize or rotate the line.

HOW TO REPOSITION THE LINE ELEMENT

  • To reposition or move the line, click on the line you want to move.

  • While holding the left-click button on your mouse, drag the line to move and reposition it. Blue dotted lines appear to help you align with other elements placed on your project. You can use these as a guide to making sure everything lines up.

If you'd prefer, you can also move the line around by selecting it and then using the arrow keys on your keyboard. This is great for smaller movements.

HOW TO CHANGE STROKE THICKNESS OF THE LINE ELEMENT

  • Click on the line you want to change the stroke thickness.

  • Use your mouse to click the arrow keys to the right of the number box to increase or decrease the stroke thickness of the line.

HOW TO CHANGE THE COLOR OF THE LINE ELEMENT

  • Click the highlighter icon.

  • Select a color from the pre-determined choices or use your mouse to click and move the color faders to customize a color from the color menu.

If you'd like to match the color to the existing lines of your Family Tree Poster, the Hex codes are as follows:

Classic - 7E6A2A
Modern - 2C2C2C
Vintage - 5F564A

ADDING THE RECTANGLE ELEMENT TO YOUR PROJECT

  • Click the "Elements" tab in the editor.

  • Select the "Rectangle" element. It will automatically populate onto your project. The rectangle will settle at a larger size, but you can easily crop, resize, and move the rectangle element around.

HOW TO RESIZE THE RECTANGLE ELEMENT

  • Click on the rectangle you want to resize. You'll see a blue box with white squares around the rectangle.

  • Position your cursor over the top of one of the white boxes until it becomes a double-sided arrow.

  • Hold the left-click button on your mouse and drag in or out to increase or decrease the rectangle size.

HOW TO ROTATE THE RECTANGLE ELEMENT

  • Click on the rectangle you want to rotate. You'll see a blue box with white squares around the rectangle.

  • Position your cursor over the top of the square above the rectangle until it becomes a plus sign.

  • Hold the left-click button on your mouse and drag counterclockwise or clockwise to rotate.

HOW TO REPOSITION THE RECTANGLE ELEMENT

  • To reposition or move the rectangle, click on the rectangle you want to move. You'll see a blue box around the rectangle.

  • While holding the left-click button on your mouse, drag the rectangle to move and reposition it. Blue dotted lines appear to help you align with other elements placed on your project. You can use these as a guide to making sure everything lines up.

If you'd prefer, you can also move the rectangle around by selecting it and then using the arrow keys on your keyboard. This is great for smaller movements.

HOW TO CHANGE THE COLOR OF THE RECTANGLE ELEMENT

  • Select the rectangle you'd like to edit. You'll see a blue box around the rectangle.

  • Click the Fill Color icon in the top white toolbar.

  • Choose a color from the pre-determined choices, or use your mouse to click and move the color faders to customize a color from the color menu.

You may use the Position tool in the top white toolbar to change the layering and position of the line and rectangle elements. Just highlight the element you want to apply those options to.

HOW TO DELETE THE LINE AND RECTANGLE ELEMENT

  • Click on the element you want to remove. You'll see a blue box around the element you'll be deleting.

  • Click the trash can icon in the top white toolbar or hit the delete button on your keyboard.

Please note that the default pedigree lines on the Family History Books and Posters cannot be edited or removed.

If you accidentally delete something, you may use the 'Undo' button in the top white toolbar immediately after deleting it. It will bring the element back to your project. Please be sure to undo it instantly, as once you've moved on to something else, you won't be able to undo it anymore.

When editing your Family History Book, you'll see a pink border around each page. If you hover your mouse over the border, you'll see the message, "Items in the shaded area may be cut off."

You can add text, photos, and embellishments to the edges of the page, but please note that anything in the shaded area may get cut off in production or fall into the bookbinding. We print ordered projects as you've created them, so please check for typos, correctness, and layout.

Here's more information on the bleed zone.

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