Custom Self-Launch Guide: Frequently Asked Questions & Troubleshooting

If you have any questions when uploading your files, check to see if they can be answered in any of the FAQs below.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can I self-launch a suite of products and have them be connected on the product page?

A: We now offer this for custom A7 stationery products! To launch an accessory, click "add accessory" inside the A7 project flow. Our system only allows flat A2 cards to be added as accessories. We hope to expand to more accessory product kinds in the future!

Q: Why is the Self-Launch tool not recognizing my font?

A: For non-Challenge-winning designs, all fonts used must be Minted fonts. Refer to our Minted Font List for a complete list of fonts that can be used in customizable designs + minimum font size and stroke requirements. It's possible that we may have a different version of a font you are using, which is why it may appear as a non-Minted font when you upload your files. For example, your design may be using Futura Bold, and we only have Futura Std Bold. Scroll through the dropdown box and select the font that matches what is used in your design.

Q: Why has my photo been replaced with a grey box on the preview page?

That means you have set up your photo correctly! The preview page simulates the customizer experience, where the grey box indicates where customers can insert their photo. The stock photo used in your design will still be visible on the product details page. If you see your stock photo on the preview page, this means the photo is set up incorrectly in your template. Refer to the photo section of this guide for proper file setup.

Q: Why have my glyphs disappeared / why do they appear incorrectly?

A: We cannot render alternate characters or "glyphs", such as swashes in script fonts, ligatures, alternate ornamental letters, etc., in customizable text. Please refer to the Glyphs section for proper file setup in these situations.

Q: Why did some of my text formatting change?

A: Our customizer doesn't support text areas with more than one font, color, size, or style. Text areas will use the style found for the first character in that text area, so if there is a text box using more than one style, it will be applied to all characters in the box. Separate these to different text boxes if you would like to maintain formatting, and refer to the Text section for best practices.

Q: Why is my text not customizable?

A: There may be a few reasons as to why your text isn't showing up as customizable:

• Were any effects applied to the text? Certain effects in Illustrator are not compatible with our customizer. Some examples are envelope distorts/wraps or text used as a clipping mask.
• Was text outlined in the art file? Please ensure that any text meant to be edited by customers is placed in a text box. 
• Was the text locked or in a locked layer? Our system will not process locked objects, so please ensure all layers (except guides) are unlocked before uploading files.

Error Message Troubleshooting

During the upload process, the Custom Self-Launch tool will check your files for specific issues related to your file setup. If you receive any of the following error messages when uploading your files, use the guides below to revise them and attempt to upload them again.

Missing linked image

Error message you'll see: "Your file is missing an externally linked image. Please embed the image and re-upload your files."

We require any images in your files to be embedded rather than linked. If you aren’t familiar with the “Links” panel in Illustrator, you can find it by clicking on “Window” in the menu bar, then selecting “Links". Here you can find information about other files or images that were not created in illustrator but are included in your files (i.e., textures or stock photos). An icon next to the name of the file indicates whether it has been embedded or not. You can embed a file by selecting it in the “Links” panel, clicking the menu icon in the top right of the panel, and choosing “Embed Image(s)”. You should see an icon appear next to the file to show you that it has been embedded.

Incompatible Illustrator version

Error message you'll see: "Your design was created by a different version of Illustrator. Currently our system uses Adobe Illustrator CS6. If you see anything that looks out of the ordinary in your design, please use the 'Save as...' command to create a version that is compatible with CS6."

Our system requires that you upload files using Illustrator CS6 or earlier. If you are using a newer version of Illustrator, you can “save down” a version that's compatible with earlier systems by using the “Save as...” command from the file menu. Choose Adobe Illustrator as the file type and select “Illustrator CS6” from the version menu. This will create a version that is compatible with our system. Files from versions of Illustrator earlier than CS2 are not supported.

Incorrect file dimensions

Error message you'll see: "Your file was uploaded with incorrect dimensions. Please check that they were created with the correct template."

Please check to make sure that you have used the correct templates for your project’s orientation (portrait, landscape, or square). The selected dimensions will be listed next to each file upload area.

Missing customer editable text

Error message you'll see: "We did not find any live text for a customer to edit in your file. Please check your file and make sure that text that should be editable by a customer has not been converted to outlines."

We require that your design contains at least one text area for a customer to edit. Please check your files and make sure that text areas that should be editable by a customer have not been converted to outlines. Also make sure that effects have not been applied to customizable text (i.e., distortions, filters, etc.).