Crop area

Define a region a layer cannot leave — the setting that makes customer freedom safe.

A crop area is a rectangle you define on the image. Any part of the layer outside it is not drawn.

Use it to give customers control of a layer without allowing them to place personalization where you cannot produce it.

Applies to: all twelve option types that support the Personalizer, both text and image.

The settings

Setting	Default	What it does
Crop area	Off	Turns it on and reveals the rest
X position	50%	Horizontal position of the region
Y position	50%	Vertical position of the region
Width	50%	How wide the region is
Height	50%	How tall the region is
Rotation	0°	Rotates the region, from -180 to 180
Hide the outline	Off	Hides the dashed outline for the customer. The crop area still applies

All values are percentages of the image, as with layer positions.

The crop area is visible while you position it, and can be hidden from customers.

When to use it

Situation	Why a crop area helps
You let customers drag a layer	They cannot drag it off the printable area
You let customers resize a layer	An oversized layer is cropped instead of covering the whole product
An uploaded photo goes into a fixed window	The photo fills the window and nothing spills outside it
Your printable area is not the whole product	The preview shows the real boundary
Text must stay inside an engraved panel	Long entries are cut at the panel edge rather than running over the product

If you enable any customer control, such as move, resize, or rotate, set a crop area as well. Without one, a customer can place their design anywhere on the image, including areas you cannot print.

How to set one up

1

Turn on Crop area

The region is displayed in the preview with a visible outline.

2

Size it to your real printable area

Set Width and Height to match the area you can produce on.

3

Move it into place

Use X position and Y position to align the outline with the printable area in your photo.

4

Rotate it if the surface is not square

Use Rotation to match the region to an angled surface.

5

Position the layer inside it

The layer's position is a separate setting. Set it where you want the design to start.

6

Test the boundary

Enter a long value, or drag the layer if you allowed that, and check that it is cut at the edge of the region.

7

Decide whether customers see the outline

Hide the outline removes the outline from the customer's view. See below.

Hide the outline

Setting	Effect on the customer	Use when
Off	They see the region's outline	You want them to understand where they can place things — useful when they can drag
On	The outline is invisible; the cropping still happens	The boundary is obvious from the product itself, and an outline would look like a flaw

If customers can move a layer, leave the outline visible. It shows them the limits of the printable area.

Crop area or auto-fit?

Both settings prevent text from extending outside the area, but they work differently.

	Crop area	Auto-fit max width
What it does	Cuts off whatever is outside the region	Shrinks the text so it fits
Applies to	Text and image layers	Text and Number only
Result with a long entry	Truncated in the preview	Smaller but complete
Best for	Enforcing a boundary, especially with customer controls	Keeping the whole entry visible

For engraving text, use auto-fit first, as reducing the font size is usually better than cutting off the text. Add a Crop area when customers can move the layer or when the printable area is limited by your production process.

Notes

• You can add one Crop area per layer. Each layer can have its own crop area.

• The Crop area does not move with the layer. It remains fixed while the layer moves within it.

• The Crop area affects the preview only. Set it to match your actual printable area.

• Rotating the crop area and rotating the layer are separate settings.