What really is the difference?
I'm seeing a lot of posts about issues with "frames" and also how to "mask" (even if the poster didn't use that exact word to describe what they wanted to do) and am confused over the different options Zazzle offers and what the end result to the customer trying to personalize the design might be.
In the Design Tool, when you click to add Elements, there are some basic "Configurable Shapes" at top then "Shapes" then "Frames".
* If from the 'Configurable Shapes' section you choose the one that looks like a square it is labeled as "Rectangle" in the Layers list.
* If from the 'Shapes' section you choose the one that looks like a square it is labeled as "Square" in the Layers list.
* If from the 'Frames' section you choose the one that looks like a square it is labeled as "Frame" in the Layers list.
All three choices let you adjust the size of the shape, in or out of proportion.
All three choices let you use the resulting shape as a mask for a template image.
 elements added |  after making them image templates |
The only difference I am seeing is one of convenience? If you use choose the 'Frame' option, the image you add is automatically sized to fit the frame and you don't have to manually select the image and shape layer together and click to Mask.
Outside of that small convenience, what is the advantage to using a Frame selection instead of a 'configurable shape' or 'shape' or your own .svg to make a mask?
Also wondering if with all the changes to the interface that I can't keep track of, are there going to be tech issues going forward with manually created masks? Is Z pushing using their Frames instead because it will have consequences down the road if you don't?
@ColsCreations This very same issue drives me nuts - for a number of days now and it seems to be getting worse for me, not better. I work hard on my designs until they work (I test them out in a different browser after listing). Then I transfer one to an other product and it's all out of wack again. And I don't mind that I will have to resize (sometimes) but some layers are locked and often out of order. It eats so much time to get it right and I tried all three ways. And why is there no round frame with clean edges?
I take my last question back. I swear it wasn't there when I looked for it some time ago but now it is. Sorry about that.
That's a good question. Here is a screenshot from @Heather from the creator news section about frames and masks. https://community.zazzle.com/t5/creator-news/update-to-image-templates-and-masks-for-easier-customiz... The whole thread is worth a read, but still leaves many questions.
So, I just published this product to test the various options for masking.
Elements - Frames, Shapes, SVG Masking Test
The front side has 3 masked image templates made with the Zazzle-provided options of Configurable Shape, Shape, and Frame. The back side has 4 masked image templates made with my own .svgs. I did not have Connie's experience of my manually created masks being converted to Frames in the Design Tool, not even when I copied & pasted one from one side to the other of the card after reading her comment. Going to try to remember to check this product daily to see if the algorithm picks up the manually created masks and converts them to Frames.
As the Designer, I get the regular template panel when I click the Personalize button from the product page.
When I view as a customer, clicking the Personalize button in both Chrome and Opera, I get the same new interface:
The "Change Image" button on the left Edit panel worked fine for replacing the masked template images regardless of type.
However, the difference comes when selecting the image from the design area itself.
If you select a Frame you get the full range of options for editing the image, including changing the image. But if you select a manually masked image, you don't. If you want all the editing options for those, after selecting the image in the design area, you then have to click the "Change Image" button from the left panel and X out the window to choose a new image. That leaves the image selected/active and with the full range of editing options showing.
 selecting a Frame |  selecting a manually masked image |
Another difference in behavior is that if you have a manually masked image selected and use the Trash can icon or right-click/Delete the element, it deletes both the template image and the shape you were using as a mask. But if you delete a Frame, it only deletes the template image, you still have the generic frame image and "Change Image" button with it to add an image back.
In either case (manual mask or Frame), if you select it and move it, it moves the image & mask as one, so that's good. A customer can't drag the image off/away from its mask.
Have to note here the problematic glitchy behavior I had in Opera. :
You can see on the left Edit panel and little previews on the right that I changed the images but the main center design area is not showing it. Clicking "Review" or "Preview", those, too, show the changed images. But the main center design view panel doesn't show the changed images. I played around with this test product a LOT in Opera and this problem persisted for the whole session. Sometimes the main center design view will suddenly show the changed image(s) after some delay, sometimes it's just stuck on showing the old image no matter how much/long you continue to edit things.
I don't do much masking. As a matter of fact, I don't think I have any real products at all published that incorporate a mask. But from playing around today, my feelings are that as the Designer during the creation process, the only benefit to using a Frame instead of manually creating a mask is that it automatically fits the image to the mask, and of course you don't have to create the mask shape/svg yourself. So it's more convenient. On the customer's end though with this new interface they get, Frames end up more user-friendly.
The caveat for me though is that while Z provides many really cool Frames that would be difficult to create yourself, if we're all using them because it's the preferred way, doesn't that cut down on the originality & uniqueness of designs in the MP? Also concerns me that the provided Frames are a Zazzle asset which means they are subject to any new rules or policy changes Z might implement. When Secondary Content came out most of us were horrified that it would be free to the customer but our royalties would get dinged if they use any. And then the Ambassador program that introduced extreme changes to the "fees" applied that noone saw coming or is happy with. What guarantee do we have that if we use a Zazzle asset (a Frame) in our design that it won't be subject to some new fee in the future? Like another 5% deduction or something for using their asset in a design?
*Sorry, this ended up longer than intended and went off on a tangent.
