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Newsletters are viewed with the Adobe PDF Viewer.
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Frequently Asked Questions
Creating a Newsletter
Printing a Newsletter
All About Photos
Using My Newsletter
Technical Mumbo Jumbo
Creating a Newsletter
How do I make a newsletter?
This website will guide you through a series of pages where you describe your child, upload his or her
photograph (optional), personalize the "stories", and get the look just right. At each step, you
will see your work-in-progress newsletter on our Preview page.
What if I'm not very creative?
Once the system knows a little about your child, it will choose stories for you.
From there, you can personalize the stories using simple menus or you can type
what you want directly.
What are the main steps?
It may help to break the process into three steps:
- Enter Biographical Information: The form on the right side of the home page collects enough
information about each child in order to make his or her newsletters personal. How you answer
these questions determines which stories and story fill-ins will be included.
- Personalize the Newsletter: Using the Personalization and the Layout pages, you can change the content
and layout of your newsletter. Individual story pages allow you to change story titles, text and fill-ins.
Other pages allow you to upload a photo and change the headline or its font. Use these pages until
your newsletter is personalized to your liking.
- Checkout: When your newsletter is ready, follow the Purchase link to checkout. The
process is different for credit cards and PayPal, but in either case you will transact on a
secure page. Upon completion, we will immediately e-mail you the final newsletter as a PDF
attachment.
How long does it take to build a newsletter?
A typical newsletter takes 15-20 minutes to complete, depending on how much
personalization you want. Users without broadband connections will require longer.
What if I can’t finish in one sitting?
No problem. You can resume
your newsletter at any time. Once 30 days
has elapsed since your last modification, the system will consider it abandoned, and all
work-in-progress will be discarded.
Can I resume building on a different computer?
Currently, no. The system uses a cookie, which by definition is local to your
computer. This cookie cannot be used on another computer or on another account (login)
on the same computer.
Can I build more than one at a time?
No. If you would like more than one newsletter, please finish the first before starting
the second.
Can I build a single newsletter for more than one child?
Yes. The engine is designed for single megastars, but you can edit the headline
and stories to accomodate a group, and you can write your own stories as well.
How many stories can I include?
Usually, nine to twelve stories can fit on a newsletter, but some stories are longer
than others, and you are free to personalize each one, so your mileage may vary. The
system will estimate the size of each story and warn you when you may have too much
content. You will have plenty of opportunities to review the fit and layout before
you purchase.
What are Story Fill-Ins?
Story Fill-Ins are variables that change a story. Stories may have zero, one or multiple fill-ins. They come in two
flavors:
- Selectable fill-ins are chosen from a menu. For example, "scaling Everest" and
"surfing the Bonzai Pipeline" are two of the fill-ins you can pick on the "Prodigy States Goals" story.
Selectable fill-ins are chosen for you randomly the first time you create a newsletter or when you
press the Show New Story Fill-Ins button on the Preview page.
- Writeable fill-ins, like "BuddyName" from the Sleep-Over story must be typed in manually since the
system cannot predict these types of variables.
How do I personalize the stories?
On the Layout page, each story has a link to a page where you can change its text, fill-ins,
and headline. When you select a fill-in from a dropdown menu, the page will insert your
selection into the story text. If you want to say something that is not in a
menu, simply type it in the story text.
What if I don't have enough content in a column?
Try one or more of the following:
- Assign more stories to the newsletter on the Story Library page
- Check the Layout page for stories you have selected but not placed on the page
- Select longer story fill-ins. For example, on the Emeril story, you can choose "grilled free range chicken nuggets with a ketchup reduction sauce" instead of "pizza shots".
- Edit the text to use more than one story fill-in. For example, the story could be edited to read "Her pizza shots, pork a la peanut butter and popsicle stew recipes can be found on www.bethany.com.
- Lengthen stories with final lines that only need one or two more words to cause the text to wrap. You can usually insert a descriptive adjective or two to make a story a little longer.
- Add a dateline for the child's home town at the beginning of the story. For example, "ASHLAND - The true identity..."
What if I have too much content in a column?
Try one or more of the following:
- Select shorter story fill-ins. For example on the Goals story, choose to have your child return to "her legos" instead of "her debate, making a very astute point on robustness in biological systems."
- Shorten stories with only one or two words on the final line. You can usually find some non-essential text, such as datelines, adjectives or descriptive clauses to delete.
- Replace one or more stories with shorter ones
- Remove one or more stories
- Re-arrange stories
- "Letters" can get very long. Try removing one or more of the individual letters
- Select a different picture or vertically crop the one you have
Why does it say "Preview" on my newsletter?
All newsletters contain a "Preview" watermark before they are purchased.
Why don't all the stories I selected appear on my newsletter?
Stories must be placed on the page before they will appear on a newsletter. When a story
is selected or personalized, the system tries to find a location for it on the page, but that
is not always possible due to size constraints. If this happens, go to the
Layout page and place your stories manually. If they will not all
fit, you can decide which ones to place and which to leave off the newsletter.
When customizing stories, I occasionally get the message "The system cannot
currently inject the Fill-In into this story because it been edited out of the text. You can resume
using the Fill-In by editing it back into the story or by pressing Reset to undo all changes." Why?
This happens when the system tries to inject a story fill-in into story text, but it cannot
figure out where to put it. When you edit a story in such a way that the previously selected fill-in
can't be found, the system cannot determine where to inject any newly selected fill-ins. This is just a warning,
but it's not a problem if you don't need to use the drop down menu for that story any more. You
can continue editing your story manually, or, if you want to start over, press the Reset link.
Am I limited to writing only one of my own stories?
No. Write as many as you like. The system will provide you with a 'Write Another Story' on the
Story Library and Layout pages.
I cannot see my preview newsletter. Can I continue to build?
Yes. The system allows you to elect to receive previews via e-mail. On the Preview
page, locate and click the "Help! I don't see my newsletter" link at the bottom.
You will be taken to a page where you can enter an e-mail address for receiving your previews.
Thereafter, you will see an "E-mail my Preview" button. When you press that button,
the system will immediately send the preview as an e-mail attachment, but you could experience
a delay depending on your ISP's mail server and your e-mail software. If you are running a
Spam filter, please ensure that you allow e-mails from newsletters@megastarnewletters.com to get through.
Why can't I see my preview newsletter?
Any number of circumstances might prevent your newsletter from rendering in your browser.
The following are prime suspects:
- The Adobe Reader is prompting you to proceed with a software update.
This frequently occurs in a window behind all other open windows that you won't see until all others are closed or minimized.
- The Internet Explorer Information Bar has blocked the download and is asking for permission to override (yellow bar).
- Some internet security or parental control software has prevented the download.
- Your browser has been configured to not permit file downloads.
- Your newsletter has already downloaded and is showing in another browser window.
- Your computer does not have the Adobe Reader installed (rare).
- Your browser does not support the HTML <IFrame> tag. (rare).
If you cannot resolve the issue quickly, we recommend that you opt
to receive previews via e-mail on the Preview page..
When previewing my newsletter the first time, why does my browser appear to freeze?
Sometimes the Adobe Acrobat Reader will pause the download, waiting to see if you want to update
your version. Usually, this happens in the background, so you can't always see it.
How will I receive my finished newsletter?
You will receive an e-mail from newsletters@megastarnewsletters.com with your newsletter attached
as a PDF file.
To share it (or invite friends to your child's party), simply forward the e-mail. Upon
purchase, a second e-mail will also be sent as a receipt of your transaction. Depending on
your system, you may need to set your spam filter to allow e-mail from megastarnewsletters.com.
What if I need to edit my newsletter after I purchase?
You are responsible for the content of your newsletter. The system will
give you unlimited opportunities to tailor and review your document before you purchase,
but it cannot catch typos or other issues. Any changes desired after
purchase will require you to construct and purchase another newsletter.
Printing a Newsletter
I don’t have a high-quality printer. How can I get professional printouts?
You could simply copy the file to a floppy disk and take it to a printer, such as FedEx Kinko’s,
Staples or The UPS Store. An even easier solution is to submit an
online job to a professional printer. These high quality printing services are secure, reliable, fast and
extremely convenient. You have the flexibility to pick up your newsletters or have them sent to your home or
business.
All About Photos
Do I need to include a picture?
A photograph is not required, but a picture of the child enhances the look and customization
of the newsletter, and gives documents more of a newsletter look.
I don't have a digital photo. What are my options?
Several actually.
- Your newsletter will show a white photo placeholder in the top center. The placeholder is
the same size as a traditional wallet-sized
photograph. You simply paste a real photograph. This can be made
seamless on paper copies and looks great in framed newsletters.
- You can scan a traditional photograph and upload the resutling digital image. If
you do not have a scanner, most Kinkos, UPS Stores, Mailboxes Etc., and other print/mail/fax
businesses offer scanning services.
- Most film processors now offer digital images on CD, so you could choose that option on
your next roll of film.
The picture I want is on an online photo-sharing web site like Shutterfly, SnapFish or the like. How can I use it?
You must first download the picture to your computer, then upload it to our site.
What photos look best?
Simple close-up photos of the child generally work best. Both color and black and white look
great, and we've seen some treated with sepia tones that also work well.
What dimensions can my photograph be?
Any dimensions will work. The system will automatically scale your image to fit the column width,
which is approximately 2 1/2 inches wide. The aspect (height-to-width) ratio will be preserved.
Portrait orientation looks much better than landscape.
How large can my image file be?
You can upload a photograph up to
2 megabytes.
JPEG, GIF, PNG or BMP.
Why does it take so long to upload photos?
Upload speed depends mostly on image file size and the speed of your internet connection.
Because image files can be very large, uploading can take a few minutes. Many DSL connections
are actually ADSL, which means that uploads will go much slower than downloads.
How can I crop a photo?
Most digital cameras come with software for editing images, which is the best place to start.
Windows users who don't have an image editor can crop photos using the Paintbrush program as
follows:
- Find the photo you want to crop in Windows Explorer, then right-click your mouse and select "Edit" to open Paintbrush.
- Click on the "Select" tool (the dotted rectangle) in the toolbar.
- Select the portion of the photo you want to keep. Click on the upper left corner, then, while holding the mouse button down, move the cursor to the lower right corner. When you have the shape you want, release the mouse button.
- Select "Copy To..." from the Edit menu.
- Type a new filename using the .bmp extension. For example Taylor Closeup.bmp.
- In the "Save as type" select 24-bit Bitmap (*.bmp, *.dib)
- Back on MegastarNewsletters, click on the "Personalize" link and select the link that says "A Picture of" and your child's name.
- Use the "Browse" button to navigate to the directory and file you just saved.
If this technique does not work or if you are running on another platform, a google search on
"crop picture" will yield numerous results.
How can I make my picture files smaller?
Most digital cameras come with software for editing images, so try there first.
Windows users who don't have an image editor can try one of the following techniques:
Compress Using Your e-mail Software
- Find the photo you want to compress in Windows Explorer, then right-click your mouse on it.
- From the "Send To..." menu choose "Mail Recipient." If this is not available, try the Microsoft Photo Editor technique below.
- Select "Make all my pictures smaller" from the ensuing dialog, then press OK.
- Your e-mail client will have opened a new mail message with the compressed file already attached. It will also say the size of the file, which should be greatly compressed from the original.
- Right-click the attachment, then choose "Save As..."
- Select a directory where you will be able to find it and then press "Save." To avoid overwriting the original, higher resolution image file, give the new file a different name and/or save it in a different directory.
- Press the corner X to exit from the e-mail. Now that you've saved the compessed file, you won't need to send the e-mail.
- Back on MegastarNewsletters, click on the "Personalize" link and select the link that says "A Picture of" and your child's name.
- Use the "Browse" button to navigate to the directory and file you just saved.
Compress Using Microsoft Photo Editor
- Find the photo you want to compress in Windows Explorer, then while pressing the Shift key, right-click your mouse on it.
- Select "Open With" and then select "Microsoft Photo Editor."
- From Photo Editor's "File" menu, select "Properties."
- In the "Resolution" box, enter a number less than your current resolution. For the sake of picture quality, we do not recommend resolutions below 200 pixels per inch. Press OK.
- From the "File" menu, select "Save As..."
- Select the directory and file name where where you want to save the file. To avoid overwriting the original, higher resolution image file, give the new file a different name and/or save it in a different directory.
- Back on MegastarNewsletters, click on the "Personalize" link and select the link that says "A Picture of" and your child's name.
- Use the "Browse" button to navigate to the directory and file you just saved.
If these techniques do not work or if you are running on another platform, a google search on
"reduce picture size" will yield numerous results.
Using My Newsletter
What can I do with my Newsletter?
You can make unlimited digital and printed copies. Digital copies can be e-mailed,
placed on any media (floppy disks, CDs, DVDs, iPods, flash memory drives, etc.) or published to
websites, blogs or intranet sites. Printed copies look great framed. Some
people tell us they like to include them in scrapbooks.
I am using newsletter as a birthday party invitation. How
do I specify which child(ren) to invite?
When e-mailing invitations, we suggest you write the name(s) of the invitee(s) on the subject
line, and then forward them individually to their parents. For example:
Subject: To Alex: Invitation to Eric’s Birthday Party
Technical Mumbo Jumbo
What do I need to build a newsletter?
To work properly and to provide the desired customization and responsiveness...
- your browser must support HTML 4.0, CSS, cookies and JavaScript. These latter two
features must be enabled (the default setting). If you are not sure,
don't worry. Virtually all but the oldest browsers work just fine.
- the free Adobe PDF viewer must be installed on your computer, which is the case
on virtually all personal computers. If you can see
this example you don’t need to do anything else.
If not, please
download it from Adobe.com.
- If you run a spam filter you may need to permit e-mail traffic from MegaStarNewsletters.com.
- If you run parental control software such as NetNanny or Internet Explorer's Content Advisor you
may need to disable it temporarily.
What technologies were used to build this site?
The site was constructed using Microsoft .NET technologies using C#, CSS, Javascript and XML.
PDF rendering is accomplished via WebSuperGoo's ABCPdf component.
The site is secured by a GoDaddy 128-bit SSL certificate.
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