• Digital postcards
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  • Photo info
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  • Entering a message
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  • Addressing the card
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  • Settings
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  • Your own photo
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  • Adding stickers
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  • Mailing lists & mail merge
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  • Card front & toolbar
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  • Photo editing tools
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  • Positioning stickers
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  • Sending via email
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  • Photo library
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  • Card back & toolbar
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  • Adding voice notes
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  • Sending via postal mail
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  • Choosing a photo
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  • Text font & size
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  • Adding a stamp
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  • Starting a new card
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    Note: The screenshots in this User Guide are currently from Bill Atkinson PhotoCard 4.0 running on an iPhone or on an iPad.[1] The features are the same on all devices, but the screens differ slightly. Please note that all the new PhotoCard 5.0 features are not yet described here. (This webpage will be updated shortly.)

    Using PhotoCard on an iPad, iPhone or iPod touch, you can create real or digital postcards to send to your family and friends. Each card can have one of your photos or a Bill Atkinson original nature photo on the front, and your message and other decorations on the back. You may send an unlimited number of PhotoCards, and you can send them to anyone who can receive email or postal mail.

    To customize the application, tap on the button. Please go to Settings and select your name and email when you first begin to use the app. That information is needed for sending cards.


    When you first launch PhotoCard, after the intro screen fades, you will see a default photo for the card front and a toolbar across the bottom of the screen. At any time you can tap the screen to hide or show the toolbar, and you can tap near the top if you wish to show the status bar. (Hint: On the card back, you can also press and hold in the upper right corner to toggle the toolbar.)

    In the toolbar, you can tap thebutton to show the PhotoCard User Guide. Read it from top to bottom or use the Topics listing to jump to the item you're interested in.


    You can tap the button to bring up a scrolling library of nature photos. The full version of PhotoCard includes 200 original nature photographs by Bill Atkinson, and the lite version includes 10.[2]

    Tapping on a thumbnail will select that particular photo for your card. Or you can browse the library of photos, in their full-size versions, by swiping left or right from the current photo to make your selection.

    You can tap the button (which, as of PhotoCard 5.0, floats above the photo rather than being in the toolbar) to view information about the photo, then tap again to hide the photo information.

    You can also tap the button to use one of your own photos instead of one from the PhotoCard library. This can be a photo you've previously taken or a new one that PhotoCard allows you to take using the iPhone camera.

    PhotoCard will assist you in resizing, cropping, rotating, and adjusting exposure. Drag the photo to adjust the cropping, pinch to zoom, or use the buttons to lighten, darken, rotate or resize. Tap the caption button to add a line of text. (Hint: Any time after you've accepted your edits, you can press and hold on the photo to bring up a menu with options to copy or make further edits.)


    Once you've chosen a photo, tap the button to flip the card over to show the back side. (There's a button on the back that lets you flip to the front side to review or change the photo.)

    The card back toolbar has buttons that allow you to choose a font, to choose any number of stickers and/or voice notes, and to perform actions such as sending the card or clearing it to start a new one.


    To enter a text message, tap the button to choose a text font and size. Tapping the font chooser's Done button will accept your font choice, bring up the keyboard, and place the cursor in the message field.

    After using the keyboard to enter your message, tap the Done button to dismiss it. If, at any point, you wish to add more text, tap after the existing text and the keyboard will return. To make corrections or copy and paste, you can press and hold within the text to bring up the iPhone text magnifier. (Hint: If you hear a 'pop' noise while typing, PhotoCard is stopping you from typing off the bottom of the card. Choose a smaller text size to continue.

    You can tap the button to display a library of decorative stickers. Tap sticker thumbnails to select or deselect them. (Hint: Tap quickly to select multiple copies of the same sticker.) When you are finished tap the Done button. It is useful to enter your text message before placing stickers so you can see how they will look together.

    The stickers you have chosen will land on the left side of the card. Drag the stickers to place them wherever you wish, but PhotoCard will reposition any item if it would have overlapped the recipient's address or the stamp. To delete a sticker, drag it off the edge of the card. (Hint: When stickers overlap each other, the one most recently touched will be on top.)

    You can add sound with the button.
    If your device has a microphone, this will bring you to the voice recording studio, where you first can choose a talk bubble and then record a voice note. (When your card is received by email, downloading and/or tapping on the sound enclosure will play your recorded message.)




    Tapping in the upper right corner of the card will bring up the stamp library. Tap a stamp in the library to choose it for your card. (In case you forget, PhotoCard will prompt you to choose a stamp before you send the card.)


    To address a card, tap on its right side to display the recipient chooser. Then tap the Contacts button on the right and search for, or scroll to, an existing contact. Once you are viewing that contact's information, tap one of the email or postal addresses to choose it. (To send to someone not already in your iPhone Contacts, tap the "+" button to add a new contact.)

    Important: Once you have chosen a recipient, you must then choose one of their email or postal addresses for your card. A shortcut: PhotoCard's addressing screen also displays 10 buttons that will let you quickly locate recent recipients.

    You can use the button on the "Choose a Recipient" screen to make a new mailing list or to access one previously created. (On the "Mailing Lists" screen, the "+" button will prompt you for a list name. You can then add email or a postal addresses to the list.) When you tap "Done", your cards will be addressed to the members of that reusable list.

    You can also customize the greeting on a series of cards by entering "(first name)", "(last name)", or "(full name)", and PhotoCard will substitute the corresponding part of your recipient's name as it generates the cards.

    You can send PhotoCards to anyone who can receive email or postal mail. The recipient does not need to have PhotoCard or an iPhone. A card received as email will look like a larger, higher resolution version of the card front and back that you see on your iPhone screen. To the left is an example.
    If you have chosen a postal address rather
    than an email address for your recipient, your custom 8.25 by 5.5 inch PhotoCard will be professionally printed on heavy card stock using an HP Indigo digital press. Then it will be coated on both sides and sent by US First Class mail.



    		To post a card to an email address, tap the button and choose "Send this card by email". An emailed PhotoCard is sent using your device's email app. If you send cards when you are not connected to the internet by Wi-Fi or cellular, they will automatically be sent the next time your device does connect.


    To post a card to a postal address, choose "Send this card by mail". If you post cards when you are not connected to the internet, they will be saved and uploaded when you next run PhotoCard while connected.

    Important: for print-and-mail cards to upload, you must be running PhotoCard. This differs from email.

    To view cards you've already sent, tap the button and choose "View sent cards". This will show a list of your cards with date, type of mail, and recipient. Tap on an item in the list to view it. Tap "Choose" to replace the current card and use that saved card as a template for your next card. Swipe horizontally on any item to bring up a button that will let you delete it from the list.

    To start a fresh PhotoCard, tap the button and choose 'Start a new PhotoCard.' This will discard any existing message, the address and stamp, stickers and voice notes and will let you choose another photo to start a new PhotoCard.


    We hope you enjoy using Bill Atkinson PhotoCard. If you find a bug or awkwardness, wish to suggest a feature or give feedback about features you liked and disliked, please send an email or a PhotoCard to bill@billatkinson.com

    [1] iPhone, iPad and iPod touch are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the USA and other countries.

    [2] Please note that Bill Atkinson nature photographs are all copyrighted works of art. Included in your purchase of the PhotoCard application is a limited license to print and send any of the included photographs in PhotoCards for non-commercial purposes.