The layout designer section of PPS controls how your invoices, statement of accounts, letters, labels and estimates appear. This guide will take you through making changes to the various elements of these layouts.
In this guide we will be using the Invoice layout designer as an example, however each of the other layout designers work in the exact same way. Use this guide when looking to make changes to any of the layouts mentioned above.
Section 1 - Making changes to a layout
a. To gain access to and begin amending your PPS layout you will need to navigate to Tools > Layout Designers. Here, choose the relevant layout you'd like to make changes to in order to proceed.
b. For the majority of the layout designers you will be presented with a Change Layout button. Press this to proceed and begin modifying your layout. With label layouts you have multiple layouts available and will first need to select the relevant layout to continue.
The Invoice layouts are slightly different in that you will have two standard layouts that cannot be altered. To make modifications to these you will need to select one of the standard invoice layouts from the dropdown and then choose Copy. Give your new template a name and choose Modify to begin making changes. Alternatively, if you already have a customised layout that you want to modify then select this and choose Modify.
Section 2 - Letterheads, Headers and Footers
a. The header and footer sections located at the top and very bottom of the layout are ideal areas to modify. Other sections within the invoice layout can be more sensitive as they contain fields with values that may only work within that particular section.
Though it's possible to resize the elements of the layout it's important not to alter the overall size of the template as it will not be able to be properly produced and will cause errors.
b. When first opening up your invoice layout you will notice five lines of text in the header section each entitled “letterhd”. These five lines populate the letterhead address entered via Tools > System Setup > Setup Letterhead.
If you wish to enter a custom header or an image in place of this header then these lines can be deleted. To do so, ensure that the pointer cursor is selected in your Report Control box. This box gives you quick access to the most common features for editing layout designers and will be used throughout the guide.
Click and drag across the five lines of the header so each is selected and hit Delete on your keyboard. The lines should be removed and the letterhead text will no longer populate. You can now use this space to add text or images, details of which can be found in the below sections.
Section 3 - Inserting, Editing and Styling Text
a. If you'd like to add text into your layout you can do so by pressing the "A" Label button on the Report Control box.
You will then have a text cursor, use this to click anywhere on the template that you'd like to add text to. You'll now be able to type as normal into that space, using the Return(Enter) key to move to a new line.
Should you wish to modify that text later do so by selecting "A" again and clicking on the text.
b. To style the text you'll need to return to the Report Control box and ensure the arrow pointer cursor is selected and select the text you want to modify. Once this is done you'll have access to the Font Properties icon at the top of the screen. Press this to access the Font window where you can make changes to the text display.
c. If you then want to then surround your text with a black border you can do so by selecting the Rectangle or Rounded Rectangle buttons and then clicking and holding on the layout, dragging to the desired size, then releasing the mouse button. An example of this is shown below.
Section 4 - Inserting and Editing Images
a. If you have an image (typically .JPEG, .BMP, .GIF, .TIFF, .PNG formats) you'd like to include on your layout you will first need to attach the image to your PPS system via the Logo button. This is found via Tools > Layout Designers. Choose one of the layout options and press the Logo button on the next screen.
Once this is done you'll reach a Browse window which you can use to locate the image file you want to attach to your template. Once you've found the image select it and choose OK.
Having trouble locating your image file? It you're using a PPS Hosted system you need to ensure you're accessing your local drives. Details of this can be found here.
Once the file is successfully attached to your system go in to modify the template as per the method in Section 1.
b. Select the OLE option in the Report Control box.
Your cursor will now be a cross which your can use to click, drag, and release over an area that you'd like to place the image.
c. In the Report Picture screen press the ellipsis button beside the File field.
Locate your image file and choose OK.
d. Once selected you will then need to select how the image will be laid out from the 3 options it provides. “Scale picture, retain shape” is the most commonly used setting and often produces the best result. Once this has been selected, click the OK button on the top right of the Report Picture screen.
e. Your logo will now appear on the layout. Use the pointer cursor to move or resize at any point.
