Configuring Product Views & Assigning Decoration Areas for Products

Product views are images showing your product from various angles (such as front, back, left, and right) to provide a complete visual representation. Decoration areas are the specific regions where designs like printing or embroidery can be applied.

When products are added automatically through SmartSelect catalogs, decoration areas are pre-configured based on the product type, but you can edit them as needed. For supplier or custom products you add manually, you may need to configure or adjust these areas to suit your decoration methods and business needs.

This article explains how to set up product views and assign decoration areas for each view in DecoNetwork. Follow the guide below to configure, validate, and maintain accurate print or embroidery regions.

In this article

• Prerequisites
• Why Configure Views & Areas
• Step 1: Access the product’s Views & Decoration Areas
• Step 2: Choose decoration processes (Smart Select or manual)
• Step 3: Add and configure product views
• Step 4: Enable advanced custom decoration areas
• Step 5: Add, set decoration processes, size, and position decoration areas
• Step 6: Save and test in Designer
• Best-Practice Tips
• Troubleshooting
• FAQs
• Additional-Resources

Prerequisites

Why Configure Views & Areas

Accurate views and decoration areas ensure shoppers see where designs can be applied and staff know how to produce them. Done well, this setup:

• Reduces production errors by reflecting true printable/embroiderable regions.
• Speeds up quoting in Business Hub with pre-validated placement rules.
• Improves conversion by giving customers a clear, trustworthy preview in the Designer.
• Standardizes workflow across product lines and decoration methods.

Step 1: Access the product’s Views & Decoration Areas

1. Log into your DecoNetwork Website.

2. Browse to Admin → Products.

   

   

3. Select a product to configure by either:

   • Clicking on the product code.
   • Clicking on the product name.

   • Clicking on the Manage button beside the product you want to configure, then selecting Edit Product.

     

   The product properties will be shown in the main work area with a menu at the left to select property categories. General will be selected by default.

4. Select Views & Decoration Areas from the product properties menu.

   

   The main work area contains configuration options for views and decoration areas. Existing views and decoration areas already defined for the product are listed. You can edit or add views and edit or add decoration areas for each view.

   

   Click the image to enlarge.

Step 2: Choose decoration processes (Smart Select or manual)

The Supported Decoration Processes section allows you to configure how decoration processes are set for this product and to override the decoration process description at the product level.

1. Choose an option:
   • Use Smart select rules to determine processes available: Let the system select compatible processes based on product/fabric configured in the Smart Select rules.

   • Set processes available for this product: Explicitly enable processes (e.g., Embroidery only) available processes for the product.

     

2. Optional: Click Edit Decoration Process Description to override the system decoration description to specify a custom decoration description for the product. Clicking on the button will display the Edit Decoration Process Description popup.

   

   The system description (set via Decoration Processes > [Decoration Process Name] > General) will be used by default. Unticking the Use System checkbox will enable the Description textbox, allowing you to modify the description. Click OK when you are done.

Step 3: Add and configure product views

Product Views are the images for different perspectives of your products and Decoration Areas are where decorations will be placed. A view can have multiple decoration areas. Decoration Areas are displayed on product images as grey areas.

The View Options let you choose how the views are defined.

1. Choose and option:
   • Use Supplier Views will use the different views of the product as set by the DecoNetwork catalog team, and no more configuration will be required. However, the views provided may not be satisfactory for your requirements and you can set them up however you like.
   • Define my own Views lets you change views or add new views.

2. Add a view by clicking the Add View button.

   

   Make sure Define my own Views is selected, otherwise, the Add View button will be disabled.

3. Select what sort of system of images will be used to display the view:

   
   
   • DecoNetwork dynamically colorizing template - use an existing template image. Images for each color added to the product will be automatically created.
   • Upload a single image to display for all product colors - upload an image that will represent all product colors and cannot change to reflect the user's selection.
   • Upload a different image for each product color - if you cannot make a PSD template, or would prefer extreme color accuracy, consider this option which is to upload a separate image for each available color.
   • Upload a dynamically colorizing template - upload your own custom PSD template which will be used to automatically generate images for each color added to the product.
   • Do not use a product image - choose this option to not display an image if an image is not available or cannot be sourced.
4. Click Next.
   • Depending on your choice, you will have to either select a product image or upload an image or images.
   • If you have uploaded or used a template file or image series, you will also have to choose a default color (or colors) for the product.

5. Click Next.

   Once you have uploaded an image or selected a system one, the Manage Product View popup will be displayed, allowing you to configure the view.

   

For each product view, you can now set up decoration areas. Again, a default series of areas are already configured in most cases, with decoration processes applicable to those areas already set. Naturally, this can be changed.

Step 4: Enable advanced custom decoration areas

Clicking on the cog icon of a product view and selecting, Allow Custom Decoration Areas (Advanced), will enable decoration area customization options for the product view.

With the Allow Custom Decoration Areas (Advanced) selected you will be able to delete decoration areas, add decoration areas, and enable customization options for each decoration area.

Clicking on the cog icon of a decoration area and selecting, Use custom decoration area (Advanced), will show input boxes for the, Area Name, Width and Height fields, allowing you to edit the decoration area name and size and show checkboxes for the decoration processes, allowing you to set processes available for the decoration area.

BH Only, when ticked, will make the decoration area only available in Business Hub. The decoration area will not be visible to customers using the Designer if this option is ticked.

If an area does not support any decoration processes, the area will not be visible on the product image and its area definition row will be grayed out.

View Options

To modify the decoration areas:

1. First, click the blue configuration wheel next to the area to configure, then make sure the Allow Custom Decoration Areas (Advanced) option is selected.

   

   This will unlock the configuration of each decoration area contained within that view, let you add extra decoration areas to that view, or delete a decoration area altogether. Clicking Delete next to a decoration area removes it.

   

2. Click the blue configuration wheel next to any decoration area and select Use custom decoration area (Advanced) to allow the properties of that area to be modified.

   

   This includes the name of the area, the size of the area, and the decoration processes that are applicable to that area.

Step 5: Add, set decoration processes, size, and position decoration areas

1. Add a decoration area:

   1. Click Add Area to define a new decoration area within the product view.

      

      This will launch the Add New Area to [area name] popup. If the area you wish to add closely matches a decoration area on an existing similar product, you can select the area here.

      

   2. If the existing decoration areas are not suitable, scroll down to the bottom of the popup and select "or, define new area", name the area, and click OK.

      

      The Manage Product View popup is displayed.

      

      • Alt tag: lets you specify a name for the image that will be displayed in place of the image if for some reason the image fails to load.

        The alt tag is useful for providing a description of the image to search engine crawlers. The alt text can contribute to how the page is indexed and where it ranks if you follow SEO best practices.

        The alt tag is also important for accessibility. Including alt text with your image allows visually impaired people using screen readers to better understand the content.

      • If DTG is configured as an applicable decoration process for any of the areas for the view and Kornit has been specified as the output production option in the DTG production settings, the machine type will be indicated below the product view image. A Table dropdown list will also be available, allowing you to select the pallet size that will be used to print on the decoration area. To learn more about DTG production options, read the DTG Printing Production Settings help article.
      • Ticking the Use System Definition checkbox will change the Area name text field to a drop-down box of all existing defined decoration areas. Your new area will inherit the selected area's properties such as available decoration processes and dimensions (which can no longer be edited). Do not use this if you wish to define a new area with properties not matching an existing decoration area.
      • Area Alignment: lets you set the alignment of the decoration area within the product image container.
        • Center (Vertical): centers the decoration area vertically within the product image container.
        • Center (Horizontal): centers the decoration area horizontally within the product image container.

      Settings only visible on decoration areas not using a system definition:

      
      • Set dimensions:
        • Lock scale to first area (visible only for 2nd and consecutive decoration areas) will keep the dimensions of the selected decoration area in proportion to the first decoration area applied to the current view. If this is set to off, resizing the decoration area either by using the sizing handles or by specifying values using the width and height fields will allow its dimensions to be out of proportion with the first decoration area.

        • Re-scale area when changing dimensions: when ticked, will visually enlarge or shrink the decoration area based on the new physical dimensions. When unticked, the decoration area will be visually restrained to fit within the bounds of the previous dimensions when new dimensions are specified.

          Note that leaving this setting off may result in an inaccurate visual representation of the decoration area.

          This setting cannot be used in conjunction with the Lock scale to first area setting. Ticking this checkbox will untick the Lock scale to first area checkbox and vice versa.

        • Lock scale (Lock icon) when enabled, changing one dimension, either width or height, will automatically update the other to keep dimensions in the same proportion as already set. Having the lock enabled also ensures using the drag handles to resize the printable surface against your product image will not change the physical dimensions. You may want to set this to off when initially setting your decoration area dimensions and lock it thereafter.
      • Area shape sets the overall shape of the decoration area, which can be altered by uploading a custom shape. For details on how to create a custom decoration area shape, see the article, How Do I... Create custom decoration area shapes.
      • Allow customers to apply a background color to area allows consumers to set a background color to fill the entire decoration area. This color fill will be included as part of the final design.
      • Area available in Business Hub only will make the area only available in Business Hub.
      • Upload Custom Shape - Browse.../Choose file (button label depends on browser) lets you select a file to use as a custom decoration area shape, which is useful for unusually contoured or shaped products you wish to print on. The format of this file must be PNG, with the printable area colored black, and non-print areas transparent.
   3. Enter a new name for the area.
2. Set the decoration processes for the decoration area:
   1. Make sure the Use System Definition checkbox is un-ticked.
   2. Select the area you want to configure decoration processes for by clicking on its name in the decoration area table.

   3. Tick the checkboxes of decoration processes you want to apply to this area. Untick the checkboxes of the decoration process you do not want to be available for the area.

      
3. Resize and re-position the decoration area:
   1. Select the area you want to resize and reposition by clicking on its name in the decoration area table.

   2. Make sure the Use System Definition checkbox is un-ticked.

      
   3. Resize the decoration area by either:
      • Specifying the area's Width and Height dimensions.

      • Clicking the handlebars of the decoration area on the product image and dragging inwards to reduce the area or dragging outwards to enlarge the area.

        Click on the lock icon to control whether the area resizes proportionally or disproportionately. (Icon in the locked state indicates proportional resizing. An icon in the unlocked state indicates disproportional resizing).

   4. Reposition the decoration area by dragging and dropping it to the desired location on the product image.
   5. Click OK.

Step 6: Save and test in Designer

1. Click Save or Save and Continue when done.

2. Test a few color variants and sizes to ensure area scaling remains accurate.

   When viewed in the Designer, decoration areas are displayed with a visible outline:

   • Rectangular and rounded rectangle areas show a solid border (with rounded corners for rounded rectangles).
   • Circle and ellipse shapes display a circular border.

   • Custom shapes (based on uploaded masks) show a dotted outline around the decoration area’s boundary.

     Improvement implemented in V8.610.

Best-Practice Tips

• Consistent canvases: Use the same pixel dimensions for all view images to simplify scaling.
• Name clearly: Use customer-friendly names (e.g., “Front Chest”) not internal codes.
• Leverage BH-only areas: Add internal placements without confusing customers.
• Use masks for tricky contours: Hats/sleeves often need non-rectangular shapes.
• Lock proportions: Prevent accidental distortion when resizing areas.

Troubleshooting

FAQs

• What’s the difference between Smart Select and manual process selection?
  Smart Select automatically enables compatible processes based on product/fabric rules; manual lets you specify exactly which processes are allowed.
• Can I hide certain areas from customers but keep them for production?
  Yes—mark an area as Business Hub only.
• Do I need per-color images?
  Not always. Use a single image if the silhouette doesn’t change. Use per-color images when seams/panels differ or to improve realism.
• Which units do area dimensions use?
  Use the on-screen controls to set physical limits; ensure your base images share consistent pixel dimensions for predictable scaling.

Additional Resources

• Manage Decoration Areas
• Create Custom Decoration Area Shapes
• Enable a Decoration Process on Decoration Areas in Bulk