1.- Create an empty sheet of the desired size in Photoshop, you may use Album DS New sheet for this.

2.- Draw a shape layer in this sheet, to do this please select the Rectangle tool in Photoshop with the settings shown in this picture. The settings panel is available below of the Photoshop menu, if you can’t see it please select Window – Options in Photoshop. Remember that the rectangle too also allows for drawing rounded corner shapes, ellipses or even custom shapes.

3.- Now that you have a shape you need to resize it, let’s say you want a 5×7 proportional shape. Please select the move tool in Photoshop and activate “Show transform controls” in the options.
Click at any of the shown corners in the shape and the options of the Move tool will appear in Photoshop.
Input your desired proportion in the fields 3 and 4, you have to write the units like 7in or 10cm. Don’t worry if the shape is too large or too small for now, the only important thing is the proportion.
4.- Press Shift and while keeping this key pressed resize the shape layer with Photoshop’s Move tool by dragging on one of the corners. You should have a perfectly proportioned shape layer in the whished size now, but you only have one …
5.- Copy this shape layer. You may dragg it in the layers palette to the “Create new layer” icon or simply press Alt and drag it to between 2 other layers. This will create copies of your original shape layer.
6.- But all layers are one over the other now, just take the Move tool ( remember to activate “Show transform controls”) and move them. You may Auto select the layers but I recommend to select them in the layers palette for a better control.
7.- Align the layers using the Move tool options: Select 2 or more layers in the layers palette ( click at the first, then press Shift and click at the other layers), once the layers are selected you may use Photoshop’s Move tool options to align them. This option are at the right of the options panel:

- Align top edges
- Align vertical centers
- Align bottom edges
- Align left edges
- Align horizontal centers
- Align right edges

- Distribute top edges
- Distribute vertical centers
- Distribute bottom edges
- Distribute left edges
- Distribute horizontal centers
- Distribute right edges
8.- Using this tools your shape layers will be perfectly distributed and aligned.
9.- Of course you may resize your shape layers again and reposition if needed. Please select the multiple layers you want to resize / move and use the Move tool as before ( remember to press Shift while resizing to keep proportions).
10.- Creating more layers is very easy, select the ones you want to copy ( multiple layers) and copy them by dragging to the New layer icon or pressing Alt and draggin between 2 layers in the layers palette. Select Move tool and position the new layers in the sheet.
11.- Remember that Photoshop will allways help you automatically to position the layers, you will notice a slight stop in the move process when a layer is aligned with another.
12.- You may also rotate one your proportional layers in 7×5 to create a 5×7 one using the Move tool, resize it and align with the rest.
13.- Very important: Don’t rename the first part of the shape layers name, the first 5 letters should be “Shape” ( or the appropiate translation in your Photoshop’s language like “Forma” for spanish) allways or Album DS will not work correctly.

Bon’t be overhelmed with the instructions, actually it’s very easy and once you have the first sheet you will not believe how easy it is to create your templates, your style, your creativity.

This is a very easy process and SHOULD be made just after installing the application and having downloaded all complements.

First of all you have downloaded the installer file, this file is called AlbumDS_setup.exe for Pc and AlbumDS.dmg for Mac.

Setup file for Album DS Pc

Depending on where you save downloaded files it may be in the Downloads folder, in your desktop or any other place. Please locate this file.

Now take a look at the Album DS folder, you will find a subfolder called Downloads. This folder contains all complement ( Backgrounds, templates, etc) files in compressed ( zip) format.

Album DS Downloads folder

This are the 2 files / folders you have to burn into a DVD.

Start your preferred burning software ( Nero, Deepburn, Imgburn, the OS DVD burning tools, etc) and select this 2 files / folders to be included in the DVD. Usually you may be able to drag them into the software.

For the Pc version you may also include the license file, or you may save it elsewhere. Remember that it’s attached to an email and you can get it also from there if needed.

Burning Album DS DVD

Make sure the Downloads folder includes all subfolders like Backgrounds, Masks, etc. and just burn the DVD. Full size will be around 2Gb. We recommend using a slow speed to burn the DVD as this type of DVD last more time.

In case of having to reinstall the application you only need to insert the DVD, execute the installer in Windows  or mount the volumen and drag the files for Mac and finally use the internal update feature of Album DS to install the complements.

We will had more videos very soon !!

http://www.ppmag.com/web-exclusives/2010/03/review-albumds.html

The review has been written by Bettsy Finn, Betsy is a Michigan-based portrait photographer, and a contributing writer for Professional Photographer.

This effect can not be achieved directly by a premade template because it’s impossible to know which picture you will fit, and therefore must be made to fit the picture. Please follow this steps:

1.- Create a new document or open a template
2.- Create a shape layer or select one from the template
3.- Place a picture with Album DS

4.- Select the rectangle tool in Photoshop
5.- Draw a shape layer with this tool over the picture
6.- Change Fill property to 0% for this layer
7.- Apply a white stroke effect to this layer

8.- Copy this layer as many times as desired and place it over the picture
9.- Rotate them if desired with the Move tool

10- Press CTRL and click at the first layer of this “squares”
11.- While pressing CTRL, press Shift and click at the other squares, this will create a selection of the sum of all squares
12.- Use Album DS- Extras – Selection to Shape button in order to get a new Shape with this contour.

13.- Drag this shape layer just between the first shape layer and the picture

14.- Press CTRL + ALT + G , this will ungroup the shape
15.- Select the picture and press CTRL + ALT + G  , this will group the picture to the new layer
16.- Delete ( or turn invisible) the inital shape layer where the picture was groupped
17.- If needed add a background or a solid color fill layer

I hope you like it

Just download the file ( right click and select Save link As)  http://www.albumds.org/updates/Languages/italian.txt and copy it into your Languages folder of Album DS.

Molte grazie al nostro amico Maurizio Caringi da Italia;), ha fatto le correzioni al file di lingua italiana per Album DS e ora siamo lieti di poter offrire una versione migliore dell’Album DS.

Please close Album DS and start the AlbumDSInstaller application from inside the Installer folder of Album DS, then click at Check for updates, select the option Main – Version_620 and click at Install.

IMPORTANT: If you have still not installed version 6.2.0 you may directly install this version but please remember to install also the languages folder as requested in the 6.2.0 install, more info at http://albumds.org/blog/?p=77

This has an easy solution Just open any document or create a new one in Photoshop

And double click at the Quick Mask tool in the Tools bar ( where the red arrow points above).  You will get the Quick mask options window, make sure to select Color indicates = Masked areas and accept.

Now you can apply the mask correctly ( sometimes you will need to delete the incorrect mask first in the layers palette).

A common structure of an installed Album DS will look similar to this image:

As you can see there is one main Album DS folder which contains the application, help files and some preferences and setting files. Also you can see the subfolders Action, Backgrounds, Cliparts, Frames, Installer, Languages, Main, Masks, Predefined, Sample, Styles and Templates.

Many of this folders have subfolder for organizing the different add ons, this folders are the ones you can see at the folders controls in Album DS templates tab or backgrounds tab ( for sample), like in this image:

One of the most important folders in the Album DS structure is the Installer subfolder, this subfolder contains the application AlbumDSInstaller which is used to install and update the application. This tool MUST be located in this subfolder of Album DS because it needs to read the specific location of the other folders in order to know what is installed and what not.

The Temp folder you can see at the above image stores the files downloaded from our server in zip format, DO NOT DELETE this folder as it will be used for reinstalling the components without having to download all the files again.

Once you have the application installed it is VERY IMPORTANT to make a backup into a DVD from the following

- For PC, the executable setup file you have downloaded

- For PC and Mac, the whole Album DS folder. Regarding that this folder is larger than 1 DVD you may split it in 2 parts, one with all files except the Installer folder and another with only the Installer folder ( which includes the Temp subfolder with all zips).

If you have any questions please contact support.