🚀User Experience Improvements

News & Information Creator News
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Hi Creators,

We’re excited to share some updates that make interacting with key features in the Design Tool easier and more intuitive! :tada: These enhancements focus on improving the management of Backgrounds , Collaboration, ** Orientation and Layering **to streamline not only your creative workflow, but our customers’ too! Let’s explore what’s new:

Just Added!

:triangular_ruler: Key Updates for Layers/ Design Areas 

We’ve noticed that customers had difficulties understanding how to switch to different sides or pages of a product, so we’ve moved them out of the layers panel into a new thumbnail display. This will also help customers visually see if areas are blank and need attention.

  • Switching design areas:

    • Up to 6 design areas are shown as thumbnails on the left side of the canvas.
    • A scrollbar appears if more than 6 areas are available.
    • Each thumbnail is labeled with the design area name.
    • Clicking a thumbnail selects the corresponding area.

  • Layers panel updates:

    • When a design area is selected, only that area’s layers are visible in the layers tab.
    • Right-clicking on a layer now gives you action options (copy, paste, send to back, etc.)

layers.gif

:counterclockwise_arrows_button: Quicker Access to Orientation 

  • We’ve moved the orientation setting to the top of the design tool, so you can adjust it effortlessly while designing!

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:sunrise_over_mountains: Key Updates for Backgrounds

  • Right-Click Context Menu:

    • Remove background: Clears both the background image and area fill at once.
    • Add background: Opens the background tab if no background is present.
    • Edit background: Opens the background tab if a background image or fill exists.

  • Layers Panel: The background layer is now positioned near the bottom of the layers list, just above the “Design Placement” layer. Please note it cannot be reordered as it’s the background. 

    • Text Labels:

      • “None” : No background
      • Hex code (e.g., “#XXXXXX”): Fill color only.
      • Image file name: Image only.
      • “Image + #XXXXXX” : Image and fill color combined.

    • Visual Thumbnails:

      • Clickable background layer thumbnail opens the background tab.

      • The thumbnail displays:

        • No background: checkerboard pattern
        • Background: Fill color, Image, or both (Image over the fill color if image has transparency) 

    • Quick Remove:

      • Hovering over the background layer reveals a floating trash can icon.
      • Click to remove both the background image and fill instantly.

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:speech_balloon: Design Collaboration features

We’ve found that there’s been some confusion around the share button as customers do not expect sharing to mean collaboration. 

  • Key changes:

    • Share Button: No longer associated with collaboration, but opens the standard sharing function, similar to the product page.

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  • Collaboration Button:

    • Clicking on the circle + button will open the collaboration invitation so you can invite someone to collaborate.

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  • Group Call Button:

    • When in a collaboration, the “Chat” button is now labeled as “Group Call”.

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These updates are designed to help you and customers work faster and collaborate more efficiently, ensuring a smoother design experience. We hope you enjoy these improvements—happy designing!

24 Likes
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Thank God I chose to check the Creator News forum. Spent a while finding out how to get a vertical mousepad after the old orientation settings disappeared and ended up rotating the design. I like the change, btw, and works well (checked mousepad and fleece blanket for now). You’re getting better and better. Have a great weekend!

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I LOVE that the background layer shows the hex code without having to go into it to check it!

Does the “group call” actually mean a phone call? That’s what it looks like with that icon.

3 Likes
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Excellent improvements. Left me wondering if I’d had too much on St. Pattys day when I couldn’t find the hor / vert orientation editor :slightly_smiling_face:

1 Like
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Great updates! Appreciate the constant improvements being made (and the background returning to the layers!). My fingers are crossed that a ruler is next on the updates list. It would be so helpful!

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Way to go James…Thanks

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Awesome improvements!!! Thank you!!

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Can you consider adding an option so that when we right-click the box of the background color, it has the option to copy the hex code please? That would be really helpful. Thanks!

1 Like
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Thanks for the new tips!

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sorry if I missed it above but my main concern with design tool now is… can we no longer click and drag elements in our design? 
starting roughly a week ago (sorry did not note exact date), I can ONLY edit a design by clicking the layer in the left hand panel, it no longer allows me to click and drag with the design area?  is this a known glitch? 

I am using Brave browser and everything is fully up to date. 

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James, do you realize that your posts are not fully visible on phones? Will I have to read only on a desk top? 

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Hi, could someone  please explain me in which cases we use these buttons? How this helps designers? I  am just beginner and I don`t know what I don’t know. 

collaboration button

group call button