---
title: "Elements for Creating Designs in Customer's Canvas"
canonical: https://customerscanvas.com/docs/cc6/elements-for-creating-designs.htm
archived: true
applies_to:
  - product: "Customer's Canvas On-Premises"
  - product: "Design Editor"
    versions: ["6.15.0", "6.x (may differ)"]
---

**You’re viewing outdated documentation.** [View the latest Customer’s Canvas On-Premises documentation](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/on-premises/).

# Elements for Creating Designs in Customer's Canvas

**Applies to:** Customer's Canvas On-Premises; Design Editor 6.15.0, 6.x (may differ) · **Archived documentation**
 
When creating designs in the Design Editor, your users work with predefined objects. This topic contains an overview of these object types.
 
You can add them to product designs in two ways: at runtime through the **Toolbox** and **Asset Manager**, or when templates created in Adobe Photoshop or Adobe InDesign are loaded. In the latter case, objects from these templates are converted to Customer's Canvas objects. The [Photoshop Templates](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/cc6/creating-templates-in-adobe-photoshop.htm.md) and [InDesign Templates](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/cc6/creating-templates-in-adobe-indesign.htm.md) sections describe how you can create PSD and IDML templates so that they can be successfully imported into Customer's Canvas.
 
You can use the following types of design elements:
 
- Plain and rich formatted text
- Text placeholders
- In-string placeholders and masked text
- Raster and vector images
- Shapes
- Image placeholders
- Multi-value items
- Barcodes
- Barcode Placeholders

## Text Elements
  
You can use point and bounded text, plain text in one style and rich formatted text.
 
If a user changes [point text](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/cc6/text-elements-in-cc.htm.md), then it causes the element size to change.
 
![Point text in the editor.](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/cc6/images/CCElementsPointText.png)
 
[Bounded text](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/cc6/text-elements-in-cc.htm.md), unlike point text, has a bounding rectangle. When text in such an element reaches the right edge of the rectangle, it automatically moves to the next line. This text type allows you to lock the width and height of the text box.
 
![Bounded text in the editor.](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/cc6/images/CCElementsBoundedText.png)
 
Bounded text can also have a [rich format](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/cc6/text-elements-in-cc.htm.md) with multiple font and paragraph styles in a single element.
 
![Rich text in the editor.](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/cc6/images/CCElementsRichText.png)
 
You can add text elements to your designs through the [Toolbox](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/cc6/customizing-user-interface.htm.md) and product templates. The [Point and Paragraph Text](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/cc6/point-paragraph-rich-text.htm.md) topic describes how to create these elements in Photoshop.
 
## Text Placeholders
  
A [text placeholder](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/cc6/text-elements-in-cc.htm.md) is a hint that motivates users to fill in a text box. Text placeholders can only be loaded from product templates.
 
![A text placeholder.](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/cc6/images/CCElementsTPH.png)
 
In this example, **Add a title** is the hint. Unless a user enters text, this placeholder will not appear in the high-resolution output.
 
## In-string Placeholders
  
An [in-string placeholder](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/cc6/in-string-placeholders-and-text-validation.htm.md) is a substring in a text element that is formatted in a special way. In-string placeholders allow you to share the content between a number of text fields in a product, specify text masks, and select a value from predefined options. These placeholders can only be loaded from product templates.
 
In the **Object Inspector**, in-string placeholders look as follows:
 
![In-string placeholders.](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/cc6/images/CCElementsInString.png)
 
## Images
  
You can add both raster and vector graphics to your designs through the [Asset Manager](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/cc6/asset-manager.htm.md) and product templates. You can move, resize, and rotate images on the canvas.
 
Since resizing raster images may result in a quality loss, Customer's Canvas provides a [preflight check](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/cc6/preflight-check.htm.md) and shows notifications if they have a poor DPI resolution for printing.
 
Vector images loaded from PDF files, SVG files, or Photoshop smart objects maintain their image quality when resizing. Customer's Canvas passes them to hi-res outputs in a vector format.
 
## Shapes
  
Customer's Canvas allows you to draw rectangles, ellipses, and lines on the canvas. You can also upload arbitrary paths from SVG files and Photoshop shape objects as single-color shapes or multi-color cliparts. You can specify the stroke and fill color for shapes.
 
![Vector shapes in the editor.](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/cc6/images/CCElementsShapes.png)
 
## Image Placeholders
  
An [image placeholder](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/cc6/image-placeholder.htm.md) represents a container for an image. Your users can resize the image as well as change the bounding area of this container in the editor. There are three types of image placeholders:
 
- An empty placeholder without the content 
    ![An empty placeholder.](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/cc6/images/CCElementsEmptyPH.png)
- A stub placeholder with a hint 
    ![A stub placeholder.](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/cc6/images/CCElementsStubPH.png)
- An image placeholder with the content 
    ![An image placeholder.](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/cc6/images/CCElementsPH.png)

Unless a user selects an image, neither stub nor empty placeholders appear in the high-resolution output.
 
You can load image placeholders from PSD and IDML templates. To allow your users to add images to the canvas as image placeholders, set the [addImageAsPlaceholder](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/cc6/customerscanvas.iframeapi.configuration.defaultconfig.iimageitemdefaultconfig.htm.md) configuration parameter to `true`. Another way to add a placeholder at runtime is to upload a PSD file that has a placeholder from the gallery. For example, to make designing products from scratch easier, you can prepare a set of stub placeholders with hints.
 
## Multi-value Items
  
You can predefine multiple images and texts from which your users must select one. Your users can switch the content of these items in the context menu on the canvas or in the **Object Inspector**.
 
To enable multi-value text and image elements, you need to specify them in product templates. Customer's Canvas provides two ways to implement multi-value text elements: by using [in-string placeholders](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/cc6/in-string-placeholders-and-text-validation.htm.md) and [markers in PSD templates](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/cc6/setting-up-fields-with-predefined-values.htm.md).
 
![Multi-value texts.](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/cc6/images/CCElementsMVItext.png)
 
For multi-value image elements, you need [markers in PSD templates](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/cc6/setting-up-fields-with-predefined-values.htm.md).
 
![Multi-value images.](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/cc6/images/CCElementsMVI.png)
 
## Barcodes
  
The editor supports QR codes and linear barcodes. You can allow your users to generate them through the **Toolbox**. Also, you can enable [custom buttons](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/cc6/customerscanvas.iframeapi.configuration.defaultconfig.ibarcodedefaultconfig.htm.md) in the **Toolbox** to add predefined barcodes to the canvas.
 
![In-string placeholders.](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/cc6/images/CCElementsQRcode.png)
 
## Barcode Placeholders
  
Barcode placeholders allow you to specify areas in product templates where your users should insert linear barcodes and QR codes. Customer's Canvas supports [stub barcode placeholders](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/cc6/barcode-placeholders.htm.md). Unless a user defines the barcode on the canvas, such placeholders do not appear in hi-res outputs. To enter and edit the barcode content, click a placeholder.
 
![Barcode placeholders.](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/cc6/images/CCElementsBPH.png)
 
You can add barcode placeholders to your designs through product templates.
 
## See Also
  
### Manual
 
- [Photoshop Templates](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/cc6/creating-templates-in-adobe-photoshop.htm.md)
- [InDesign Templates](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/cc6/creating-templates-in-adobe-indesign.htm.md)
- [Sample PSD Files](https://customerscanvas.com/docs/cc6/psd-samples.htm.md)