Matte options

What is a Matte?

A matte is a "hole" which can display an image, a color or a texture. (Note: Version 4 allows you to use a matte and a border at the same time.) Mattes can also be applied to text.

The default matte for a new image frame is a straight-edged rectangular shape.
The default matte can be replaced many different types of mattes:

Image by Stephen Eastwood

Mattes are useful for giving your images a unique look, and also to create decorative elements on your page when you apply background textures to them.

Adding a matte to your image

Select one or more images on your canvas, and open the Frame editor from the Toolbox. Matte options are available in the second section of the Frame editor.

Toolbox - Border

editor mattes

Click on the Enable checkbox to turn the matte on or off.

Click on the Browse option to launch a predefined Search hover displaying all available mattes, including those on on your local system and those on the LumaPix server.

You can also use the drop-box option directly below the Browse button to select among the mattes available on your local system (in C:\Program Files\LumaPix\FotoFusion V4\Mattes). Note: the dotScrap marketplace offers a much larger selection of mattes, so clicking on the Browse button will give you many more options. You can use the generic hover to locate Type = Parts > Mattes, and drop the mattes directly onto the images.

Alpha Only/RBG
This drop-box option allows you to select how mattes will work based on the presence of transparency channels in the matte image file.
Mattes saved as jpg only hold RGB channels; mattes saved as png will hold RGBA channels (A= transparency).
Alpha only will use the alpha channel in a png mat; Average RGB will act on jpg format mattes, where black = transparent and white = opaque (or reversed). Alpha plus RGB is refers to the way that FotoFusion used to handle mattes in Version 3, and has been retained to allow Version 3 mattes to continue to function as expected.

Soften
The edges of the matte can be progressively softened inward with this control.
To soften the edges of a rectangular shaped frame in this manner, select the Rectangle matte.

Invert
This toggle allows you to invert the matte, making positive space negative and vice versa.

Fit/Lock/Crop
Fit allows the matte to show the maximum amount of the images within the frame.
Lock aspect ratio crops the image to the matte's default shape.
Crop controls whether the matte extends beyond the perimeter of the frame, or is contained solely within the frame.

Photo by David Ziser

Mattes versus Smart Frames
A matte is a "dumb" graphic, meaning it is a simple jpg, png or emf file consisting of a black-on-white shape. When FotoFusion identifies an object as a matte, it knows that it can hold an image, essentially using it as a cut-out hole to display the image.

A smart frame is a "smart" graphic consisting of multiple layers and usually has a dynamically resizable border. A matte is contained within the smart frame, along with a shadow and a border graphic. It has been coded to behave in a particular way with multiple layers interacting together. Only LumaPix can create these special types of graphics.

Enhanced & Extreme can create custom mattes using external graphics tools and saving them in the C:\Program Files\LumaPix\FotoFusion V4\Mattes folder. You will need to use the Organizer to categorize them as mattes, so FotoFusion will recognize them properly and apply them onto images and text.

Categorizing Mattes