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Virtual Samples

Akhil S
  • Updated

This tutorial goes over using the “Virtual Samples” feature in Bright Sites. This feature allows for the creation of customizable fields where a shopper can enter information and instantly see what their information would look like on the product. This could be helpful if you need to show your shopper what a name or other piece of information would look like when it appears on a product - for example, this could be used to show how information could appear on a business card:

 NOTE: If your store was created before 6/3/2018, a new theme or updates to the existing theme to support this functionality is required. If you need assistance with this, please reach out to us here.

Article Sections

Activate the Virtual Samples Feature

  1. Access the Features section.
  2. Click into the Add-Ons page.
  3. For the Virtual Samples option, toggle the Active button to on.

Set Up Product Personalization Fields

With virtual sampling activated, the shopper has the ability to see the personalization appear on the product image on the storefront. We recommend setting up the personalizations that you require prior to configuring the Virtual Samples.

If you need further guidance on building store level product personalizations that are available for the entire store, please click here.

 

Virtualize Product Personalization Fields

Enable and configure Virtual Samples on each product.

  1. Access the Products & Categories page.
  2. Click into the Products page.
  3. Click the edit (pencil) icon for the product to set up (not pictured here).
  4. Click into the Virtual Samples section.
  5. Enable Virtual Samples - Activate this option to allow for virtual samples on this product.
  6. Require Proof Approval - Activate this option to require the user click the proof approval on the store front.
  7. Save - Click to save changes.
  8. Open Virtual Samples Designer - Click here to start configure the virtualization.

Select the Image to Hotspot

  1. Click the Images tab.
  2. Select the image to hotspot.

Hotspot the Images

Select and format the logos and personalization fields that will appear on this product.

  1. Click into the Objects tab.
  2. Drag and drop the logo and/or product personalization that will appear on the product.
  3. General Tool Bar - Use these tools to make setup easier.
    • 100% - Click here to adjust the zoom to make the image appear larger or smaller while working on it.
    • Ruler - When on, a ruler will appear on both the horizontal and vertical axis.
    • Snap - When on, the object will automatically align with the grid if enabled.
    • Grid - When on, a blue grid will appear over the image, to assist with alignment. Can be used with the above-mentioned Grid feature.
  4. Text Box Specific Tool Bar - Use these tools to align objects based on the other objects on the image. To use, select more than one box.
  5. Personalization Options - Use these tools to format the text within the personalization object.
  6. Apply - Click to save object changes. Note, you will still need to save the product once you exit the Virtual Samples Designer page.

 

Moving/Removing an Object

Objects can be rotated, resized or deleted.

 

  1. Use the topmost bounding box to rotate the object.
  2. Use the the remaining bounding boxes to resize the object.
  3. Click the red x  to delete the object from the image.

 

Virtual Samples Example

In this example, the shopper on the storefront can select a logo and input their name and address on the business card, and select update preview to see how that looks on the product image on the storefront.

  1. Logo Selection - In this example, the user is able to select a logo, which will appear virtually on the business card.
  2. Product Personalization - In this example, the user is required to enter their personalization options, which will appear virtually on the business card.
  3. Update Preview - The user can click this button to preview their customizations.
  4. Proof Approval - If configured as an option, the user must click this box to approve the proof and continue with the order. 

If you have many personalization fields which needs to be auto-filled by default information, you can use the Personalization Quick Fill feature. For steps on how to configure personalization quick fill please refer to this guide. 

This functionality also allows you to create multiple hotspots so users can select more than 1 logo for their purchase. This is good for co-branded items or other items where shoppers get a choice of more than 1 logo in different locations. If you need guidance on setting up multiple logo locations to appear on one product image, please refer to this guide. 

 

Download Virtual Sample File

When using the Virtual Samples feature, once the shopper places an order, the Admin as the ability to download a PDF proof of the final output with the shopper's text inputs. 

  1. Access the Orders page and click the pencil (edit) icon.
  2. Click into the Products section.
  3. Direct directly on the name of the product with the personalization, which will open a window to download the PDF.
  4. Click the download link that appears under the Virtual Sample section.

 

Once you've downloaded it, the PDF will show you a proof of the shopper's text input on the item image.

 

Tips and Tricks

  • We recommend using a “template” to create hotspots of product personalizations. For example, if your client has a mock-up of a business card already created, you can upload that as a product image, then use that to create the hotspots to ensure the locations are close to accurate.
  • When hotspotting multiple product images, we recommend using the button to “apply hotspots to all images” which allows you to duplicate hotspots onto similar product images.
  • Keep in mind that the text is justified relative to the product personalization box and not the actual product image.
  • You will need to work with your printer to determine if the output generated meets their requirements. And if there are settings within our system, such as DPI, that need to be adjusted.
  • The PDF files that are produced use RGB for the colors.
  • If you are not seeing a preview appear for the virtual sample, you may need to ensure the hotspot box is large enough, or that the font size (for text) isn't too large.

 

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