Adding borders

PagePlus borders textframe Adding borders

A border is a repeating, decorative element that can be set to enclose objects, such as text frames, pictures, and tables.

PagePlus comes with an impressive range of categorized picture-based border styles for you to use. However, if you’d like to create your own custom borders you can import a border design as a picture, and save it for future use.

Edge selection lets you apply the border effect to all sides, top, bottom, left, right, or both top and bottom (opposite).

To add a border to an object:

  1. Click PagePlus tbr attributes lineborder Adding borders Line/Border on the Tools toolbar’s Fill flyout.
    – or -
    Right-click on the object and choose     Format>Line and Border… (or choose the item from the Format menu).

  2. To define the border, select the Border tab, then select a border preset from the Style drop-down list. You can preview each border in the window at the right as you scroll down the open list with your keyboard up/down arrows.

    PagePlus dlg lineborder select Adding borders

    To remove a border, select None from the top of the list.

  3. Select a border Weight (width) for your border. You may need to experiment to find a width that complements the size of your object.

  4. To apply the border to specific edges of the object, use the Edge drop-down menu.

    PagePlus dlg lineborder edgeselection Adding borders
    You can switch edges on and off to make multiple combinations.

  1. Set other options as needed:

  • Select a border Type. Tile repeats the edge design, Stretch simply stretches the design; Single scales the original picture to fit the object. Each preset’s Type is already set so you may only need to adjust this for your own custom borders.

  • Select an Alignment setting to fit the border to the Outside, Inside, or Middle of the object’s bounding box.

  1. If Behind contents is checked, the inner half of the border extends behind the object. If unchecked, the whole border appears in front (the wider the border, the more it encroaches on the filled region).

  2. If Scale with object is checked, both border and object change together when you resize the object. If unchecked, the border weight remains constant during resizing.

  3. If Draw center is unchecked (the default), the inside areas of a framed picture (used to create your new border) will be left empty, so you won’t need to manually remove unwanted image centers. When checked, the area inside a populated custom frame is repeated.

  1. Click OK when you’re done.

Creating custom borders

It’s possible to create your own border by importing your own border design (as a picture). Quite how you source your picture is up to you, but you’ll need to bear the following in mind for great results.

  • You can import any picture, but metafile import is not supported.

  • Always use a picture that has been previously cropped down to its outer border edge.

Once imported, the following is worth noting.

  • Each picture may have to be set to tile, stretch, or show singly according to its design. Designs with repeating patterns tile well, whereas linear designs (e.g., wood grain) can be stretched.

  • You may need to fine-tune your design (via dialog) to explicitly define the border area to be used as a new border. Guides that make up a 3X3 grid can be repositioned to the inner border edge. This prevents gaps appearing between the object’s contents and the inside of the border.

To import a picture as your border:

  1. From the Line and Border dialog (Border tab), click Import….

  2. In the Import Picture dialog, navigate to the folder and file, select the file, then click Open. The preview window updates to show your new design.

  3. Adjust the border area if needed by clicking Adjust Widths…. (See below.)

  4. Adjust settings for Style, Type, Alignment, and Edge Selection as described in the first procedure above. Review and alter the Type setting if your custom deign works best tiled, stretched or left as is.

To adjust the border areas:

PagePlus dlg lineborder custom1s Adding borders

 

  1. From the tab, click Adjust Widths…. The Border width selection dialog displays your logo. You may notice the guides and blue regions encroaching on the inner non-border area.

PagePlus dlg lineborder custom2s Adding borders

 

  1. Drag the top, bottom, left and right (shown) guides outwards to touch each inner border edge.

    Alternatively, enter Edge width pixel values or zoom tools for greater accuracy.

    Click Center to set the picture to the middle of the workspace.

PagePlus dlg lineborder custom3s Adding borders

 

  1. The picture is optimized for border use. Click OK.

Once you’ve optimized the design of your new border, you might like to save it for future use. The border is stored globally so you can make use of it in other publications.

To save your custom border:

  1. Click Save as….

  2. From the dialog, select a subcategory (e.g. Fun, Fabric, etc.) from the drop-down list; alternatively, enter a new custom subcategory name in the box. Click OK.

  3. From the dialog, enter your custom border name and click OK. The new border appears in the Line and Border dialog’s Style drop-down list (and also as a categorized bordered picture frame in the Gallery tab).

Adding borders