Working with text boxes in Smart Media Creator

Once you’ve entered the Smart Media Template window, you’ll see all the options you normally see while editing slides—everything from adding styles and text boxes to backgrounds.

But there are a few options that may be unfamiliar.

Designing in different aspect ratios 

Each template you create in Proclaim has 4:3 and 16:9 versions. Because the spacing will vary by aspect ratio, you will probably want to change the text layout based on the aspect ratio, especially if you want other people to use your media.

If you only care about getting it “close enough,” make sure the sync text fields icon is selected in the upper right. It is enabled by default, but you may want to re-enable it if you click on a different aspect ratio.

In addition, Content items (like the one above) have a Bible view that can be used to show embedded Bible references. Even if you don’t intend to use your media with these references, don’t forget to style these so you can throw in a Bible reference quickly and easily in the future.

Quick tip: Styles from the Main Content view are available on the Bible view. Just go to Styles and apply them to whatever you want.

Setting Hint and Example Text

Each text box you add in Proclaim provides hint text and example text. Adding a Smart Caption will only allow you to edit the example text, while adding custom text boxes will let you edit both.

Enter Hint text to give others a guideline for the text box. You’ll be able to see hint text in the Edit view when media is added to a presentation. Hint text also becomes the name of the box in your template.

Example text will show in the Media Browser thumbnail, but will disappear when added to a presentation. If you don’t want the text to disappear when added to a presentation, check Auto-fill with this text. This is useful if you’re designing for a specific need but want to be able to repurpose the media later.

Your Template in Proclaim

Once the template has been submitted, it’s available in your Group Uploads or in the Community collection if you published to the community.

Here’s what the above template will look like when added to a presentation:

The text box I called “Series title” auto-filled with the text I entered. When I decide I want to change the text, I can delete or revise it. Here, I can see the hint text that I set while creating the template:

You’ll also notice the Church Name text box pulled in the name of my church. This is because I used a Smart Caption in my media. Smart Captions remember what you’ve entered in previous items.

Because I’ve previously entered my church’s name into a Church Name Smart Caption, Proclaim automatically filled it in for me.