Adding Content to Layouts

Place media, playlists, text, shapes and widgets, then position and style them.

Everything on a layout is an element. Each element has a type that decides what it shows. You can change an element’s type later in the Content tab.

Adding elements

Use the buttons in the designer’s top bar. For each one, click it, then click the canvas to place it, or press Enter to drop it in the centre. Esc cancels placement.

Button	Adds
Text	A Text widget. Double-click it on the canvas to edit the words.
Shape	A Shape widget: rectangle, ellipse or line, with solid or gradient fills.
Media	An image, video or document from your Media Library.
Playlist	A playlist that cycles through its items.
Widgets	Live content such as clocks, weather and menu boards. See Widgets.

A layout can hold up to 50 elements.

Content types

The Content tab’s Shows switch picks the type:

Media: one image, video or document. Images and documents fill the element; videos loop.
Playlist: cycles through a playlist’s items inside the element. Great for rotating promotions next to fixed content.
Widget: live content. Change swaps to another widget.

Moving, sizing and arranging

Drag to move. Use ← ↑ → ↓ to nudge 1 px (⇧ for 10 px).
Drag handles to resize. Hold ⇧ to keep the aspect ratio, or use the lock in Arrange.
Type exact X, Y, W, H and rotation in Arrange.
Select two or more elements to align (left, centre, right, top, middle, bottom) and, with three or more, distribute horizontally or vertically.
Bring forward / Send backward / To front / To back change stacking order.
Lock an element so it can’t be moved by accident. Hide in editor keeps it playing on screens but out of your way while you work.
Copy, cut, paste, paste in place, duplicate and delete work as you’d expect. See Designer shortcuts.

Style

The Style tab controls how an element looks.

Setting	Notes
Fill (background colour)	Shows behind the content and around letterboxed media.
Opacity	See-through elements.
Corner radius	Rounded corners.
Border	Width and colour.
Padding	Space between the element’s edge and its content.
Shadow	None, soft, medium, strong or glow, with a colour.
Background blur	Blurs whatever is behind the element. Pair it with a semi-transparent fill.
Media fit and Anchor	How images and video fill the element. See below.
Between items	The transition when a playlist moves to the next item.

Reset style returns an element to defaults.

Media fit

Fit	Behaviour	Use when
Fit (default)	Shows the whole image or video. Empty space shows the fill colour.	Nothing may be cropped, such as a logo or a menu image.
Fill	Covers the element and crops the edges. Anchor picks which part stays visible.	Photography and backgrounds.
Stretch	Stretches to the exact size, which may distort.	Rarely. Only when the shapes already match.

Transitions

For playlist elements, choose how one item gives way to the next: Default (a quick fade when the playlist starts, then straight cuts), None (always cut), Fade, Slide left, Slide up or Zoom (the next item settles in with a soft zoom).

Layout background

With nothing selected, set the layout’s Background: a Color, and optionally an Image with a Fit (Contain, Cover, Stretch, Original size or Shrink only) and Position.

Designing well

Match the canvas to your screens. A 1080p layout on a 4K screen is scaled up, which is fine; the wrong aspect ratio leaves bars.
Keep text large and high-contrast. Screens are read from across a room.
Leave margins. Some displays crop edges (overscan).
Use a playlist element for rotation, and fixed elements for everything that stays put.
Name your elements so the Layers panel is easy to scan.
Use your Brand Kit colours and fonts for consistency.