My Memories templates are the best thing since sliced bread, right? A quickpage where you can move stuff around. What could be better? You even get to download the elements and papers as regular files. I wish Memory Mixer would let us to that too. Apart from that bit everything I say here can be done in Memory Mixer.
Unfortunately having lots of templates installed slows the program down, basically because every time you add an embellie the program is thinking "I wonder what embellies I have in my templates?". I had over 100 installed and had Memory Mixer templates (quickmixes) installed in MMS and vice versa. It was dead slow and stop!
Here's how you use the MMS templates WITHOUT having them in the program. Instructions are written for MMS v3 so you might need to adapt them if you have a different version.
1) Install your template if it isn't already installed. What? Didn't she say we didn't need it in the program??? You're only putting it in the program temporarily!
2) Create an album with the template BUT don't add any photos or move anything or tinker around with it in any way.
3) Go into Windows Explorer (or Mac equivalent) and look at where you save your albums. Create a new folder called MMS Template Albums. (If you're flummoxed by Windows Explorer I'll have more on that on the main site. For now ask someone to help you set this up)
3) SAVE the album and call it Nameoftemplate Template. See the box for album location right under where you choose the name? Choose your new folder, MMS Template Albums.
IF YOU HAVE LOTS OF TEMPLATE INSTALLED GO THROUGH STAGES 1 - 3 WITH ABOUT 6 TEMPLATES AT A TIME.
4) Close MMS.
5) Uninstall the template. Not as difficult as it sounds because the program is already set up to allow you to do this.
In Windows Explorer you need to find where your MMS program lives. It will probably be in C Drive - Program Files. When you find it click on the little arrow to the left and it will show you what's in it. Don't worry, you can't do any damage this way!
Now click on the little arrow to the left of Digital Templates Uninstallers. It will show you all the templates you have installed. As you can see I only have one in there and I installed that to create this tutorial!
Click on the name of the template (follow blue arrow). You will now see the Uninstall option in the window to the right (red arrow). Double click on this to uninstall the template.
Arrows are from The Ettes' Fabulous 4th.
Brilliant. You've got rid of the template, so now how do you use it? This is so simple you will kick yourself and think "I should have thought of that".
6) Open MMS and start a new "from scratch" album.
7) Go to "Insert" in the top toolbar and "Import from my projects". Find where you stored your Template Albums and choose the one you want (this is why you named it NameofTemplate Template and not "Easter Bunny"). Import the first page.
8) Repeat for as many pages as you want - or import them all at once. Delete the first page of your album as it will be a blank page.
Et voila.... there's your template. But, you are thinking, this is an ordinary album. Add some photos, move some embellishments ... it works the same as when you open a template! When you're finished with this new album make sure you save it in your regular album folder. When I started doing this I occasionally edited the template album by mistake instead of importing it into the new album. If you completely mess it up you can always install the template again. Keep and back up all your template files.
Have fun with your fast running program! Next time I'm going to look at how you can use a simple "outside" template in MMS.
(c) 2012 Sharon Horswill All Rights Reserved.
