The template editor is where you design what your guests' photo actually looks like — the frame, the branding, the text around their capture.

### **How to open it**

1. Go to **Events** and open your event.

2. Click the **Flow** tab.

3. Open the **Choose Experience** stage.

4. Click **Add template**, or click an existing template to edit it.

![There is no menu for the editor. You reach it from Choose Experience.](https://app.chatwoot.com/rails/active_storage/blobs/redirect/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBCUDdSd1FZPSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--0a722482f78c459bcaf79cd6bc6d6ee0791bb2a0/82-open-template-editor.png?cw_image_width=auto)

*There is no menu for the editor. You reach it from Choose Experience.*

### **Pick a size first**

The canvas size sets your output's dimensions and shape, so choose it before you design anything.

*"Pick the size of your photobooth layout — the canvas everything else is arranged on."*

| **Common choice**  | **Use it for**                         |
| ------------------ | -------------------------------------- |
| **6x4** / **4x6**  | Standard prints, landscape or portrait |
| **2x6**            | The classic photo strip                |
| **1x1**            | Square, for social                     |
| **9x16**           | Stories and reels                      |
| **Insta Portrait** | Instagram's 4:5 portrait               |
| **Custom**         | Any size you type yourself             |

Others available: 8x6, 6x2, 3x4, 4x3, 7x5, 5x7, 16x9.

**ImportantCustom** requires a Premium licence on the event. If you can use a preset, use one.

![The canvas size decides the shape of everything your guests receive.](https://app.chatwoot.com/rails/active_storage/blobs/redirect/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBCUHZSd1FZPSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--c25b494bff9c8e24d0b13b46f8e98c33af86c186/47-template-canvas-size.png?cw_image_width=auto)

*The canvas size decides the shape of everything your guests receive.*

### **The workspace**

| **Area**                | **What it is**                                                                 |
| ----------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| **Editor tools** (left) | Layout · Move · Capture · Text · Images · Videos · Audio · Templates · Effects |
| **Canvas** (middle)     | Your design                                                                    |
| **Layers** (right)      | The stacking order of everything on the canvas                                 |

**Tip -** If something has vanished, it is usually behind something else. Open **Layers** and drag it up rather than rebuilding it.

![Tools on the left, canvas in the middle, layers on the right.](https://app.chatwoot.com/rails/active_storage/blobs/redirect/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBCUDNSd1FZPSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--f51467c0cf561236e974df08fd557a860f6a78a1/46-template-editor.png?cw_image_width=auto)

*Tools on the left, canvas in the middle, layers on the right.*

### **Add a capture**

The capture is where the guest's photo lands. **Every template needs one.**

| **Kind**  | **What it shows**             |
| --------- | ----------------------------- |
| **Image** | A single photo from the booth |
| **GIF**   | An animated GIF burst         |
| **Video** | A short looping video         |

### **Add text**

Click **Text**, then **Add a text**, or start from **Add a heading**, **add a subtitle** or **add a little bit of body text**.

You can set the font, weight (Regular, Italic, Bold, Bold Italic, Light, Medium, Semi Bold), size, colour, alignment and case (**Auto**, **Uppercase**, **Lowercase**).

**Note -** Start from **Add a heading**, **add a subtitle** or **add a little bit of body text** for a sensible starting style.

**Note  -** Using a saved text preset, or putting a **`{{token}}`** in your text, changes the licence your event needs — Pro for a preset, Premium for a token.

### **Add images**

**Browse library / Upload** for your own files, **Search Unsplash** for stock, or **Add from URL**.

**Tip**Use high-resolution PNGs for logos and frames. Anything low-resolution will look worse once printed.

### **Effects**

Select an element, then open its **Settings** and use **Effect** → **Add effect**.

**Note -** The **Effects** tool in the left rail is a different thing — it sets which filters *guests* can apply to their own photo. Do not go there to add an effect to your design.

| **Effect**                                   | **What it does**                            |
| -------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------- |
| **Filter**                                   | A colour treatment                          |
| **Cutout**                                   | Cuts the subject out of their background    |
| **Green Screen**                             | Replaces a green background                 |
| **Blend** / **Opacity**                      | How the element mixes with what is under it |
| **Border**                                   | Rounds the corners                          |
| **AI Filter** · **AI Video** · **AI Effect** | AI transformations of the capture           |

**Important -** Only one AI effect — AI Filter, AI Video or AI Effect — is allowed per element.

**Important - Cutout**, **Green Screen** and the AI effects only work on a still **Image** capture.

**Important -** The three AI effects are not on the same plan. **AI Filter** runs on **Basic**. **AI Effect** and **AI Video** both make the event **Premium**.

**Note - AI Filter** is called **AI Image** in Simple Mode. Same feature, two names depending on where you are.

**Important -** Filters and **Cutout** need a **Pro** licence. Audio and video elements need **Premium**.

![Effects apply to whichever element you have selected.](https://app.chatwoot.com/rails/active_storage/blobs/redirect/eyJfcmFpbHMiOnsibWVzc2FnZSI6IkJBaHBCQWJTd1FZPSIsImV4cCI6bnVsbCwicHVyIjoiYmxvYl9pZCJ9fQ==--69180a64b8fd2ddab8c958bb5e3c779e0a54ab05/52-template-element-effects.png?cw_image_width=auto)

*Effects apply to whichever element you have selected.*

### **Save**

1. Type a name in **Template Name**.

2. Click **Save Changes**, or **Save as** to keep the original and create a copy.

**Important -** Saving the template is not enough on its own. Save the event too, or your change will not reach the booth.

**Tip - Reset Canvas** clears everything. **Undo** and **Redo** are next to it.

### **Before the event**

Run a **Simulation test** from the **Launchpad** and look at a real output. A frame that looks right on the canvas can still crop awkwardly around a real person.

**Tip**Leave room around the edges if you are printing. Printers trim.

### **See also**

* **Using AI Effects** — the looks you can apply to a capture

* **Fonts in the template editor** — adding and choosing type

* **Creating GIFs and boomerangs** — the animated capture type