EZLeaves Tutorial

This brief tutorial should get you up and running with EZLeaves.

Installing EZLeaves
First thing you need to do is install the application.  Download and run the installer.  This will create an EZLeaves shortcut on your desktop, and also one in the Start>Program Files\EZLeaves\ folder. 

Running EZLeaves.exe
Double-Click on the shortcut for EZLeaves and you will be greeted with the main screen:

EZLeaves Main Screen
The main screen contain 4 different areas, which are explained below:

Laurel Leaves Area
The Laurel Leaves area shows the laurel leave image.  You can change the style of this area by selecting a different style using the drop-down box labeled Laurel Leave Style in the General Options section on the right.  The grey lines you see in the image represent the borders of each line of text.  Hovering the mouse over these lines and clicking on them allows you to resize each line of text on the image.  Clicking on each area within the image will focus the associated edit field in the Number of Lines area.


 

Number of Lines Area
The Number of Lines area allows you to define how many lines of text you want on your laurel image.  You can specify anywhere between 3 and 10 lines using the drop-down field labeled Number of Lines.  As more lines are selected, their associated fields will be enabled and you can type text in them.  As you type in these fields, the text will appear on the laurel image.


 

General Options Area
The General Options Area contains several settings:




Master Font
When this field is checked, selecting a system-defined Font from the drop-down list below it will change all the fonts on the image.  Un-checking this option allows you to define a different font for each line of text on the image.  Selecting the font drop-down box and using your mouse scroll wheel to iterate through all of your fonts is a quick and easy way to see which font looks the best.

Master Color
Similar to the Master Font field, when this field is checked, selecting a color from the drop-down list below it will change the color of all the fonts on the image.  Un-checking this option allows you to define a different font color for each line of text on the image.

Laurel Leaves Style
This option allows you to select from the 4 basic styles and colors of laurel leaves.

Main Menu
The Main Menu area gives you access to several functions:

File Menu
The following options are available on the File Menu:

Open - Allows you to open an existing EZLeaves template file (*.ezl).

Save - Allows you to save the current EZLeaves image to a template file (*.ezl).

Save As - Allows you to save the current EZLeaves image to another filename

Exit - Exits the application..
 

View Menu
The following option is available on the View Menu:

Preview - Allows you to toggle viewing the current image with or without the grey lines in the Laurel Leaves area.

Tools Menu
The following options are available on the Tools Menu:

Export
This option allows you to export the current EZLeaves image to an image file.  Selecting this option will display the following screen:

Image Size - Allows you to define the height and width of the resulting image file.  If the Maintain Aspect Ratio is checked, any numbers typed into the fields will automatically adjust the other based on the original aspect ratio.

Image Type - You can select to export to JPG, BMP or GIF.  For exporting to JPG, you can specify the Quality percentage (1-100%) in the Image options area.  If you export to BMP, you can specify the bitmap format (24 Bit, 256 color, 16 color, Black and White).  If you export to GIF, you can specify whether or not the image is transparent.

NOTE: Changing the options for each image will affect the image's size and quality.

Options
Selecting this item will display the EZLeaves options screen:

Show last opened image on startup - With this option enabled, the last image template file (*.ezl) that is opened will automatically be opened the next time EZLeaves starts.

Default Path - Allows you to select a folder that acts as the default folder for all save/open/export dialogs.
 

Help
The following options are available on the Help menu:
 

Online Help - Displays the help page you're currently reading.

About EZLeaves - Shows the About box for EZleaves.

Individual Folder Options Area
Each line of text on the image has its own individual font settings.  Clicking on each line of text will display the font settings for each line in this area. 
 

Font
With the Master Font option disabled, you can define a different font for each line of text.

Font Size
This is where you define the size of the font for each line of text.  You can use the up and down arrows to increase or decrease the size, or just type a size into the field.  Alternatively (and possibly easier) you can change the size of the line of text by hovering your mouse over each line in the Laurel Leaves area and spinning the wheel on your mouse (if you have one) up and down.

Color
With the Master Color option disabled, you can define a different color for each line of text.

Style
This option allows you to set the text to Regular, Bold, Italic or Bold Italic.

Underline
This option will underline the text in the Laurel Leaves area.

EZLeaves Tips and Tricks

• To easily change the size of the font on each line, simply hover the mouse over the line in the Laurel Leaves area and use your mouse scroll wheel.
   
• To easily and quickly see how all of your system defined fonts look on the image, enter your text in the lines area, then select the Master Font drop-down list.  Use the mouse wheel to scroll through all of your defined fonts and see how they look applied to your image.
   
• If the font you're using is spaced oddly, use extra lines as spacers.  Just set the number of lines to 1 or 2 lines extra, then size those extra lines by hovering your mouse over the grey line to size them to the desired height.  This should in turn move the lines above or below it, hopefully providing the correct spacing.
   
• Clicking on each line in the laurel leave image area will focus its associated edit field.

Feature Request and Bug Reports
Do you have a great idea for a feature to include in EZLeaves, or maybe you found a bug that is preventing you from using it?  Send an e-mail to ezleaves@moviesbymartin.com with your feature request or bug report.