The Product Designer in Appify Custom Product Options has one setting that decides how much a shopper can change: Customer experience.
Pick Full editing and shoppers use every tool you turned on. Pick Limited editing and the canvas follows your options, with only the tools you allow. Pick Display only and their choices decide the whole design.
You choose it once per calculator. A sticker shop, a wallpaper shop and a proof-only product can each get the level that suits them.
What can customers do in each profile?
| Profile | What the shopper can do |
|---|---|
| Full editing | Use every feature you enabled: text, uploads, crop, layers and the rest |
| Limited editing | Work on a canvas that follows your options and bindings, with only the tools you allow |
| Display only | See a read-only canvas. Their calculator choices decide the design |
Full editing is the default for most printable products.
Where do you set it?
Open the Calculator Editor and go to Step 5 (Designer). Click the gear icon, then Storefront editor settings, then Customer experience.
The setting lives separately for Designer mode and Image Edit mode. A calculator can give shoppers a free canvas in one and a tighter one in the other. The help guide shows Limited editing under the name Product preview. The customer access and layout guide lists every option on that screen.
How do the three profiles work on real products?
Full editing for products customers design themselves
A die-cut sticker shop wants shoppers to arrange text and clipart and size the artboard themselves. Choose Full editing with the Crop outside image layout mode. Artboard and design elements stay independent, so the layout is free.
The features you enabled are what shoppers get. Text, Clipart, Image Upload, Shapes, Frames, Draw, Layers, Crop, Finetune and Filter are all switches in the Designer features list. This profile shows no capability checkboxes, since every enabled tool is available. To put your own logos and brand fonts in those tools, see how to add your own clipart and fonts to the Product Designer.
The step-by-step for this kind of shop is in how to sell custom stickers with a design studio.
Limited editing for products where the options set the size
Made-to-measure wallpaper is the classic case. The wall size comes from the calculator, so the canvas should follow it. Choose Limited editing with the Drag image layout mode, and the shopper only pans the pattern across a fixed wall.
Under Customer capabilities you tick the left-rail features shoppers may still use. Tick only what the product needs. The separate Preview button stays hidden, because this screen is already the live result.
Panning a product image is not one of the capability checkboxes. It comes from the Default placement setting on the Product image binding, with an optional Placement override. Set it to Free and shoppers can move the pattern. Set it to Locked and they can't.
The Image drag axis setting narrows the direction the pattern moves. Wallpaper setups usually pick Auto or Horizontal only, which matches how people place a roll. The binding side is covered in the wallpaper and product image bindings guide.
For the full shop setup, see how to sell custom wallpaper by wall size, and how to set up wallpaper pattern repeats for the binding settings.
Display only for a design the options already decide
Some products need no editing at all. The shopper picks a size, a color and a finish, and the picture follows. Display only gives them a read-only canvas, with no left-rail tools and no way to select layers.
Think of it as a locked proof. The calculator choices fully determine the design, and the shopper looks at it and confirms.
What does layout mode change?
Layout mode sets how the design relates to the artboard. In Designer mode the setting is called Layout mode. In Image Edit mode it is called Image framing.
| Mode | In the Designer | In Image Edit |
|---|---|---|
| Crop outside image | Artboard and design elements are independent, a free layout | – |
| Drag image | Pan a bound product image inside a fixed artboard, wallpaper-style | Pan the upload inside a fixed frame |
| Drag selection | – | Move a crop window over a fixed photo |
Photo prints suit Drag selection. The crop window moves over a fixed photo, which fits photo prints and passport photos. Fit artboard to image on upload sizes the artboard to the upload once, right after the shopper adds it.
The poster version of this setup is in how to sell custom-size posters and photo prints, and Image Edit mode has the rest.
If shoppers can resize the artboard, Write manual artboard size back to calculator updates the bound size options to match.
Which profile fits which product?
| Product | Mode and setting | The shopper |
|---|---|---|
| Die-cut stickers | Full editing, Crop outside image | Arranges text and clipart and resizes the artboard |
| Made-to-measure wallpaper | Limited editing, Drag image | Pans the pattern on a wall sized by the options |
| Photo prints | Image Edit, Drag selection | Moves a crop window over their photo |
| A locked proof | Display only | Looks at the result of their choices and confirms |
It helps to keep the editing question apart from the personalization question. How to let customers design their own products explains where the Product Designer ends and Personalization begins.
Check it before you go live
- Open the product as a shopper. Confirm the tools on screen match the profile you picked.
- Change the size options. On a Limited editing setup, the canvas should follow them.
- Try to pan the pattern. If it won't move, check that Default placement (and the override, if you use one) is set to Free.
- Click around on a Display only product. No tool should open and no layer should select.
- Test Image Edit. Upload a photo and confirm the crop window or the frame behaves the way you chose.
- Run it on a phone. Go through the whole flow on a small screen.
FAQ
Can I stop customers from changing the design in the Product Designer?
Yes. Choose Display only and the canvas is read-only. The calculator choices decide the design.
Can customers move a wallpaper pattern without adding text or clipart?
Yes. Use Limited editing with Drag image. The wall size follows the options and the shopper only pans the pattern.
What is the difference between Full editing and Limited editing?
Full editing gives shoppers every feature you enabled. Limited editing keeps the canvas tied to your options and offers only the tools you tick under Customer capabilities.
Can I set different levels for the Designer and for Image Edit?
Yes. Customer experience is set separately for Designer mode and Image Edit mode.
Which setting controls dragging a product image?
The Default placement on the Product image binding, with an optional Placement override. The capability checkboxes do not control it.
Let customers design inside your lines.
Whatever you sell, however you price it · The last options app you'll shop for