Intro to AutoMate

Welcome to the introductory guide for AutoMate! This guide will help you learn how to install, subscribe to, and utilize AutoMate to expand your print-on-demand business efficiently. Our aim is to simplify this process, enabling you to quickly start creating and listing your new products.

Requirements & Limitations

AutoMate enhances your design process by integrating with two popular online design tools: Canva and Photopea. It connects with these platforms to automate the creation of design variations using variable templates.

• Device Compatibility: AutoMate is designed for use on desktop or laptop computers. As it's a Chrome Extension and effective usage requires a larger screen, it's not suitable for phones.

• Browser Compatibility: AutoMate functions optimally with the web version of Canva. It's a Chromium Extension, meaning it operates within Chromium-based browsers. However, the mobile app version of Canva is not compatible.

• Supported Browsers: We provide support exclusively for Google Chrome users. While AutoMate may work with other Chromium-based browsers like Vivaldi, we've observed more stability and fewer bugs with Chrome. Due to the wide variety of Chromium browsers and the challenges in ensuring consistent performance across all, our focus is on Chrome, the most widely used browser globally.

• Automation Process: When running the automation sequence, the browser tab with AutoMate must remain active. Switching tabs might pause the automation, but occasionally it continues in the background, which can lead to crashes. This is a known issue we're working to resolve.

• Download Limits on Canva: Be aware that Canva imposes a daily limit of 500 design downloads. This limitation is from Canva's end. If you exceed this limit, you'll need to wait a day for it to reset or use Photopea as an alternative.

• Canva & Photopea language must be English: AutoMate does not support languages outside of English at this time. You will need to set your language in these programs to English in order to use our tool.

Installing AutoMate & Creating Your Account

The first step to using our automation tool is to install it. This can be done simply by downloading the Chrome extension from the Chrome Web Store.

Once installed, create your account and start your subscription by:

• Using our Signup page

  • You can use either a Google account or create a traditional account

• Select “Subscribe” in the pricing table (Powered by Stripe)

• Choose either Card, Bank, or Cash App Pay

• Entering the appropriate payment info

• Entering any promo codes you have

• Selecting Subscribe

Making a Custom CSV

While we provide a variety of template CSV files for your projects, crafting your own custom CSV files empowers you to tailor lists of words to specific target audiences. This section guides you through the process of formatting a custom CSV file for seamless integration with AutoMate.

Creating a custom CSV is flexible and can be achieved with almost any text editor, but using tools like Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, or similar cell-based editors enhances the process. This guide employs Google Sheets as an example, given its accessibility as a free cell-based editor. However, you can easily adapt the steps for another editor.

To Create a Single Variable CSV List:

• Open Google Sheets

• Click Start New Spreadsheet

• In Column A, Row 1, Insert the text VAR1 (no spaces, all caps)

• In Column B, Row 1, Insert the text File Name (Case Sensitive)

• Fill Column A below Row 1 with the text you wish to appear on your products.

  • Ensure row 1 remains as VAR1

• Fill Column B below Row 1 with the name of the file you wish to use for product organization

  • Please avoid the use of restricted characters

• Click “File” > “Download” > “Comma Separated Values(.csv)”

It should look something like this when it is formatted properly:

The CSV can consist of as few as two rows. We recommend limiting it to 501 rows due to Canva's 500 daily file download limit for users. The first row, identifying the content, is ignored by AutoMate during downloads.

To Create Multi-Variable CSV Lists:

AutoMate supports multi-variable replacement as well. To create a multi-variable sheet, do the following:

1. Open Google Sheets

2. Click Start New Spreadsheet

3. In Column A, Row 1, Insert the text VAR1 (no spaces, all caps)

4. In Column B, Row 1, Insert the text VAR2 (no spaces, all caps)

   • Repeat for as many variables as you like, incrementing the column by a letter, and the VAR Identifier by 1

5. In Column C, Row 1, Insert the text File Name (Case Sensitive)

   • This file name column must be present at the end of the variables list

6. Fill Column A below Row 1 with the first bit of text you wish to appear on your products.

7. Fill Column B below Row 1 with the second bit of text you wish to appear on your products

8. Fill Column C below Row 1 with the name of the file you wish to use for product organization

   • Please avoid the use of restricted characters

   • In the example below, you can see how a multi-variable CSV should look when properly formatted

   • We’ve also included a helpful formula for the file name to save you some time when creating your own files. Simply copy it and paste it into the fx of the cell, and click/drag the blue dot at the bottom right for every cell that it needs to apply to.

   • =lower(CONCATENATE(A2,”_”,B2))

     

9. Click “File” > “Download” > “Comma Separated Values(.csv)”

The custom CSV files that you get from here can be used in the next section.

Using AutoMate with Canva

The first program we are going to cover is Canva, a popular web-based image manipulation program that provides a massive library of assets for you to use to make your designs.

Remember, only the browser edition of Canva will work with AutoMate.

To get started, go to Canva’s website, and log into your account, or create one if you don’t have one. From here select “Create a Design.” We will be creating a fairly simple example for you to follow along with so you can learn how to use AutoMate. You can use any size image you like, but for the example, create a 300x300 design:

• Select “Custom Size”

• Enter 300, 300 in pixels, as shown here

• Select “Create new Design”

• At this point, you should see the Automate Slider on the right side of the screen. If you don’t, please contact support, and we will help you get sorted out from here.

• Click on the Text tool

• Choose a Font that you like - We chose “Press Start”, but anything will do.

• Copy and paste a second “Press Start” text object in the canvas, positioned a little below the first one

• Now Resize the text of the second Press start text object to something smaller, say, 20, and replace the text with “#VAR1#” minus the quotes

• You should notice the AutoMate slider will detect the variable and you can begin the process of automating your “Press Start” design

• Now, you’ll want to direct your attention to the “Upload Form Data (.csv) section of AutoMate. This is where you upload a formatted .CSV file that the tool will extract the variable data from.

  • For this tutorial, we will be using the file “Names (Male)” Template that we have created to jumpstart your Automation. You can download this file directly from Automate, under the help tab.

• Once downloaded, Navigate back to the Automate tab, and select the .csv you just downloaded. It should look like this in the tool when it is correctly detected:

• Now, you can select a file type that you want your output images to be downloaded as. We are going to go with PNG with transparency, as that is the most flexible format to use for Print-on-Demand designs.

  • If you want transparency, you’ll need to have Canva Pro (Affiliate opportunity), as they restrict downloading transparent images to Pro users only.

• Now, all you need to do from here is choose a folder name (Optional) and click “Start” If everything is working as expected, you’ll see this Modal appear with a progress indicator:

• The files are downloaded into your downloads folder, in the autogenerated folder, or in the folder name you chose in the previous step.

Here is one of the resulting Images:

And just like that, you have 100 new product designs to add to your POD store! Just imagine what you can do with AutoMate in your toolbox now that you know how it works!

Important: You’ll need to wait until the automation process is 100% complete before you navigate away from the AutoMate browser tab to prevent a possible crash. (We’re working on fixing this!)

Using AutoMate with Photopea

The second program we are going to cover in this guide is Photopea. The process of using AutoMate is nearly identical to Canva, but there are some differences that we’ll guide you through.

• First, Navigate to the Photopea website

• Now, start a New Project

• Choose a template that you want to use for your initial design. Ensure that you choose a resolution that will be sufficient for printing (300PPI+)

  • We won’t be making anything fancy in this tutorial, just picking a random template and going with it.

• Now insert a Text Object (We’ll be replacing one from the template) with the text “#VAR1#” without the quotes

• Now mouse over the AutoMate tray to verify that the variable is detected. If it has a checkmark next to the variable, then it is detected and will properly be replaced

• Now you need to input a properly formatted .CSV. Navigate over to the help tab of the AutoMate tray and download one of our pre-made templates - In this case, Names (Male):

• Now, Upload the newly downloaded template to the CSV section of the AutoMate tab. When it is properly formatted, you’ll see something like this:

• Next, you’ll need to choose a filetype. We chose JPG for this one because there is no need for transparency for this design.

• The last step before you start the automation process to download your designs is to optionally name your folder. It can be whatever you like, but we recommend using a name that can easily distinguish the design you made.

• Click “Start”, and you should now see a new window modal appear with a download progress indicator that looks a bit like this:

Here is the final result:

And you’re set. Images are downloaded to your downloads folder, in the subfolder you designated.

Now you’re an Automator!

This concludes our Getting Started Guide for AutoMate, and you now know the basics necessary for using our tool. Now, all you need to do is create products in your POD service of choice. We recommend:

• Printify

• Teespring

• Redbubble

• Printful

We wish you luck in growing your print-on-demand business and encourage you to reach out if you have any questions. Happy Automating!