Getting Started with Easel

The best way to get started with Easel depends on your preferences for learning new software. Some people like to jump in and start using it, consulting the documentation only when absolutely necessary.  Others like to study the docs at length and get a full sense of what the software can do before getting started. Many fall somewhere in between, willing to do some reading but also anxious to get going.

For those of you who like to jump in, go right ahead. If you are comfortable with the Windows interface (e.g. menus and mouse), all you need to know to get started is how to

1. click File/New to set up the page;

2. click Add to add images, captions, and/or frames;

3. use the mouse and its left button to move and resize things;

4. use the mouse and its right button to get the image menu, caption menu, or frame menu, for editing the properties of things; and

5. Press the F1 key at any time for context sensitive help.

For those of you who like to read docs first, the place to start is the documentation guide.

And for those of you who'd like to scan only the most useful and important stuff, I suggest the following topics:

• What you can do with Easel

• A little bit about how Easel works

• Easel 101

• Working with Images

• Working with Captions

• Working with Frames

• Working with Selections

• Sizing and Tiling

• Precision Alignment

• Auto Arrange