From Analog to Digital: Project Life App Update--It's a GOOD ONE!

You guys! If you haven’t updated your PL app recently, GO. DO. IT.

Because besides there being a couple of new card kits available for purchase, you are now able to…….wait for it….

ADD TEXT TO PHOTOS!

(I’ll wait while you pick yourself up off the floor!)

It’s here people! One of the most requested features people for YEARS have wanted available in the PL app.

It IS an in-app purchase, though, but I promise you it's worth it. Skip getting a Diet Coke and a donut at the 7Eleven, or that morning trip to Starbucks, and spend that money to purchase Free Form Text in the Project Life app! It's only $2.99!

I’ve been playing with it for a week or so now and it is a total game changer!

I’ll explain below how to use it, and three things I’ve experimented with and tried out that may be helpful for you to know.

#1 – Adding text to photos!

In an empty PL app page pocket, pull in a photo like you normally do. Tap the pocket again, like you would to get the editing options, and you’ll notice a new journaling icon!

When you click that journaling symbol, you'll get a window asking if you want to purchase the feature. Do think about it, just DO IT! ;)

Once you've purchased the Free Form functionality, when you add a photo to a card slot and click that journaling icon you get a text box. Start typing your text in that box. The text box defaults to white text (when used on a photo) and pulls in your default font and font size from your PL app preferences!

You also still have the options to change the font, size, color, etc. like you do with normal journaling, and…..you can RESIZE and ROTATE the text box! If you want the text box to be tall and skinny, and/or slightly diagonal--you can do that! Just grab the little "dot" button on the lower right corner of the text box and go to town!

There are a couple of limitations that I've found, though:

Text does not “wrap”. If you type a lot of words, the text box just expands horizontally. You have to put in hard returns manually.
There isn’t an integrated spell-check/auto-correct feature, so watch what you are typing.

You can even move the text box around within the photo pocket. But I’ve found on my phone (and maybe it’s my fat fingers, too) that this is a little hard to do. Sometimes the box moves when I tap and drag, but sometimes it thinks I want to move the cursor within the text box.

There is also the option to delete the whole text box altogether using the little "x" in the corner.

You can also add more than one text box within the same photo pocket! On the toolbar where you can change the font, size, and color, there’s a plus sign. (I’ve noticed that depending on the color of the pocket you are working in -teal or orange- that the little plus sign button changes to match that.)

And you know what this means, right? YOU CAN MIX AND MATCH FONTS AND SIZES! (I’m not excited or anything.)

I switched templates in this screenshot here, because I wanted a little more real estate for my on-picture journaling!

But wait, there’s more!

#2 - Adding text to filler cards!

Wait, what? MIND BLOWN!

Add a filler card to a PL page card slot, and you have the same journaling options I mentioned above.

Here’s a filler card I added three separate text boxes to:

· “Pleasant Grove” in Amatic font, size 20, white

· “VS” in Amatic font, size 40, black

· “Skyridge” in Amatic font, size 20, white

#3 - Adding additional text boxes to journaling cards and title cards!

Basically every type of card within PL now has the option of adding text to it. You can use the title cards in card sets to type a title in the provided space, but then, if needed, you can add more text! I think this can come in handy when you really have a lot of journaling and want to use some of the space on that title card that is just sitting there.

When you add an additional text box to title card, the font defaults to black, like it does for journaling cards normally.

I can’t even tell you the possibilities this opens up. I’ll probably use this new feature on 70+ percent of the pages I make in the future.

Here’s a few that I’ve made while experimenting with this BEYOND AWESOME new feature:

The far left and far right middle cards are filler cards from the Wander Edition that I've added text to. The "family" card is an overlay in the new Project 12 April Overlays set.

The top left white card was just a plain "january" card from the Project 52 RAD Edition, but I added the rest of the text and fortune cookie emoji.

Same thing here with this white "march" card. Added text and emoji to it, too. I'm gonna keep doing this for my monthly dinner group pages (that's what these last two pages are from!)

The white arrow cards are filler cards from the Everyday Adventure Edition set. The one on the right I just rotated 180 degrees. Then I added the text to them.