LumaPix :: FotoFusion
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The canvas size defines the dimensions of the work in progress, together with guides for the bleed and safe guides.
It can be adjusted in the following ways:
It is also important to understand the default DPI for the canvas.
Sizing the canvas at the time of its creation
When you create a new collage, you can specify any canvas size (within the limits of your license, of course; Essentials = 12x12"; Enhanced =13x19")).
Setyour canvas size through the Canvas Settings editor. Click on the Start Zone icon 
on the Create screen
or select New Project from FILE menu item to launch the editor for a new project.
You can choose a canvas size in inches, centimeters or pixels, by changing the specified units of measure.
Some preset sizes are included: click on the arrow button next to the current canvas size to access these common paper sizes, and on Album Manufacturers to see a list of presets related to certain pro-album companies specs. (Album manufactures: click here to learn more.)
You can also create your own presets -- select "Save settings as preset" under the list of common sizes.
Clicking on the "x" between the width and height values will reverse the values, allowing you to create landscape or portrait orientation from the presets very easily.
If you check the "Printer Page Size" checkbox, FotoFusion will check the currently selected printer's page size (taking the printer margins into account) and set these values automatically.
The largest canvas size you can create is determined by your license type. Click here to learn more.
The default canvas DPI
The default canvas DPI field allows you to decide how big pictures should be when they are dropped onto the canvas.
The simplest setting is to use a percentage of canvas width; if you drop an image into a canvas in this mode, the width of the image is predictable.
If you choose to work with a DPI conversion, image sizes will be a function of the resolution of the image and the default DPI for the canvas; it's important to pick a sensible DPI for your purposes. For example,
| • | if you are creating a 24" x 36" poster and working with high-resolution images from a digital camera, then 300 DPI would be an appropriate choice. |
| • | If you are creating a 400x100 pixel web banner from other existing web graphics, then 96 DPI would be an appropriate choice. |
For example, suppose that you create a canvas that is 10" x 10" with a DPI of 300. You have a graphic from a digital camera that is 1200 pixels x 900 pixels. When you bring the picture into the canvas, it will have a width of 1200/300=4 inches, and a height of 900/300 = 3 inches.
It's important to note that the 300 DPI attribute only affects one thing: how large images dropped in the canvas will be.
You can choose to export the canvas at any resolution or DPI that you like at the time of export.
Please note that each of the three versions of FotoFusion have different permission levels as regards to DPI:
FotoFusion::SCRAPBOOK ESSENTIALS has a maximum of 200 dpi, which is sufficient for the average home printer
FotoFusion::ENHANCED has a maximum of 300 dpi.
FotoFusion::EXTREME has no limits.
You can change the DPI of a canvas (and the dimensions and the bleed and safe region sizes, etc. at any time. Simply open the canvas properties dialog and make the change.
Resizing interactively (with or without resizing frames)
After your canvas is created, you can resize the canvas interactively by dragging the blue handles on the top and left ruler edge:
This will increase or decrease the size of the canvas as you drag up/down or side-to-side, with all images on the canvas being interactively resized to match the new canvas dimensions.
If you would prefer to simply add or remove space from the canvas without resizing all existing frames, hold down the Shift key while dragging.
Resizing using an editor
To resize the canvas using the Canvas Settings
| • | Select 'Canvas' from the Tool menu, and select the Canvas Settings menu item or, |
| • | Right-mouse-down outside of the canvas and select "Canvas Settings" from the menu, or |
| • | Click on the blue bar over the ruler edge (shown above), or |
| • | Click on the Canvas Tools button  on the toolbar, then select  to open the Canvas Settings editor. |
Type in the new dimensions required for your project. It is usually advisable to allow FotoFusion to resize your composition, unless you wish to maintain the current dimensions on a larger background.
Be careful to check your project after resizing your project. FotoFusion does a very good job of resizing your composition, but if you change the aspect ratio of your canvas (meaning, the length & width are not proportionally resized), ensure that your images and text are positioned as you would like them to appear in your final output. (eg: resizing an 8x8 to 10x10 will not affect your composition whatsoever; resizing from 8x8 to 8x10 will change the shape of your frames on the canvas.)
Multi-page Options (Extreme Users)
Extreme users have the ability to specify the type of page. This option, which is located next to the canvas width and height options, allows a choice among the following options:
| • | Single page: no binding edge is included. |
| • | Album side: alternating pages in a multi-page project will automatically be assigned a left or right binding edge. The direction of the page can be changed after its creation from the Pages hover, by right-mouse-down on the page thumbnail and specifying "right side" or "left side." |
| • | Album Two-Page Spread: automatically assigns a center guideline to the page. Two page spreads allow you add images across the two adjoining pages. Safe zone guidelines will be applied to this center guideline. At the time of export, you can choose whether to export the doubles as separate files. |
| • | Cover Sheet: will allow you to specify a spine width and the dimensions of flaps (for a dust-jacket type cover). |
At the bottom of the Canvas Settings editor, there is a checkbox option to APPLY TO ALL PAGES, useful for resizing entire projects.
Adding a check mark to this item will alter ALL pages in a multi-page project when changes are effected in the Canvas Settings editor. This includes covers and first/last pages, which may be different sizes from the interior pages, so be cautious when applying this feature.
If you are resizing an album project, be it a template from the Marketplace or your own project, you will most likely have an album side (cover) page and a final single final page, which flank your double-page spreads. To resize this type of project:
First, from the first double-page spread, resize ALL pages: double-page spreads, with the new dimensions. Allow FotoFusion to resize your composition.
Second, go to the cover page. Resize it (uncheck the "apply to all pages" box!!) as an album side/cover, to the appropriate dimensions. Again allow FotoFusion to resize your composition.
Third, repeat step two on the final page of your project.
Resizing the canvas to fit the collage
To quickly resize a canvas to exactly fit the images that it contains, click on TOOLS in the menu, selecting CANVAS then and choose 'Resize Canvas to Fit Collage', or right-mouse-down outside of the canvas area to select this same menu item from among the list of items.
This will crop or expand the canvas to hold all frames currently on the canvas without rearranging them.
* LumaPix welcomes the addition of new album manufacturer presets to this list. Manufacturers of albums are invited to visit our website to learn how to submit specs for inclusion in FotoFusion's presets at no charge. Inclusion of manufacturer presets does not constitute explicit endorsement or a stated preference on the part of LumaPix to its user base.
