A tool for building Panelmatic announcements that look the same every time. You supply the words and the photo. The logo, the colours, the typefaces and the layout are already set and cannot be edited, so an announcement made here is on brand without anyone having to check it.
It runs in a browser. There is nothing to install, no account, and no password. Your work is saved on your own computer as you type, not on a server.
Two halves. You type on the left and the announcement redraws on the right as you go. Whatever you see on the right is exactly what comes out when you export.
The four words above the fields (Type, Content, Export, History) jump you to that part of the panel. You can also click any line of text on the announcement itself and the matching field will be selected for you, which saves hunting.
The announcement you are working on is saved automatically as you type. Close the tab, reopen it later, and it will still be there. Every export is also kept in History.
| Format | Use it for | Voice |
|---|---|---|
| Executive letter | Senior appointments and anything that needs a signed message from leadership. It carries a full letter, an About section and a named signature. | An individual, named and attributed. |
| Card | New hires, promotions, service anniversaries and returns. Short, one screen, no letter. | The company, unsigned. |
The Eyebrow label is the small line above the name that says what kind of announcement this is. Start typing in it and it will suggest the usual ones. On a card, filling in Years of service adds the anniversary figure as its own element.
You can also drag an image file straight onto the window from a Finder folder. You do not have to aim at the photo well; anywhere on the window works.
Large photos are resized as they come in. A photo straight off a phone or camera is far bigger than any of the exports need, and holding it at full size stopped the announcement being remembered on your device. If yours is resized you will see a message saying so, with the sizes, for example "resized 6000×8000 to 1500×2000 for export". Nothing is lost from the picture; it is the same image with fewer pixels than the print export can use, so it makes no visible difference to anything you send.
If an amber notice appears under the photo controls, the photo has too few pixels for the printable export and will look soft on paper. It tells you the size of the photo you gave it and the size it wants.
This is about print only. The photo can be fine for email and still show this notice. If you are only sending the announcement by email, you can carry on.
Five exports, grouped by where the file is going. Pick by destination, not by file type.
| Button | What you get | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| Image for Outlook | One PNG image, 900 pixels wide | Sending the announcement by email. This is the main one. |
| Copy to clipboard | The same image, on your clipboard instead of in a file | You are about to paste it straight into a message. Saves the trip through Downloads. |
| Best quality | A PDF with real text you can select and search | Someone needs a proper document or a clean print. |
| Exact copy | A PDF that is a high resolution picture of the page | You want the file to be certain to look identical everywhere. |
| Post image | A PNG at 1080 by 1350 | LinkedIn or another social post. |
That button hands over to your browser's own print window, and two settings there have to be right or the page will come out wrong. In the print dialog set Margins to None and turn Background graphics on. Then save as PDF.
The tool cannot set those for you, which is why Exact copy exists as the one click version that cannot be got wrong.
Two ways in. The first is shorter and never touches your Downloads folder.
The quick way
If you would rather have the file
Either way, put the image in the message itself rather than attaching it, so people see the announcement when they open the mail instead of having to open a file. Leave it at the size Outlook drops it in at. Resizing it in the message can make the text look soft.
Both routes produce the identical image. Use the file route when you also want to keep a copy, or send it to somebody else.
Every time you export, that announcement is saved to History as a small picture of itself. Click one to load it back into the editor, which is the quickest way to make a second announcement that looks like an earlier one. The cross on a card removes it. Clear empties the list.
History lives on your computer, in this browser. It is not shared with anyone and it will not appear for a colleague opening the tool on their own machine.
| Keys | Does |
|---|---|
| ⌘ 1 | Switch to Executive letter |
| ⌘ 2 | Switch to Card |
| ⌘ E | Export the Outlook image |
| ⌘ 9 | Fit the whole announcement on screen |
| ⌘ Z | Undo |
| Esc | Close the help panel |
To make everything bigger, use your browser's own zoom. The tool leaves those keys alone on purpose.
Open See what is locked in the panel and the tool will show you the exact specification it is holding to: the two brand colours with their codes, the typeface, and the fixed format. It is there so you can see the rules rather than take them on trust.
The reason the layout cannot be edited is that it removes the step where someone has to review an announcement for consistency. If it was made here, it is right.