14 DAY TRIAL // Long ago, when you were sending a mail to your relatives, you knew it would take weeks before reaching its destination. Nowadays, with the help of a computer and of the Internet, sending an electronic mail is not only a piece of cake, but is fast as well, no matter if the receiver is the guy next door or from another continent. Since we are used to send traditional post cards on special events, not knowing their physical address put me into impossibility. From here, my search for a software to allow me to send electronic greeting cards began, to show my friends that I haven't forgotten a single moment about their existence.
The screenshots of Electronic Greeting Card from Alchemy Mindworks gave me the urge of downloading the program and so I begun the installation process. I must confess I was not impressed, as I had to press the Next button more than 4 times to reach the finish. However, there are other installers that can be more annoying, so this isn't a major stop.
When launching the software you will face an empty interface. Have a look in the File menu for the Card Wizard or just press the toolbar button. Designing a traditional postcard with its help is an easy process. This, of course, if you want to maintain the traditional format with a cover, an inside part and a backside. The wizard is helpful and gives you all the assistance you might require, not only in designing the card, but also in providing the necessary information about what you are doing.
By the time you finish with it, you will discover a nice postcard on the program's desktop divided in 3 parts (front cover, inside and back cover) which you can edit individually. If you are satisfied with the results, you can save it as an .exe file and send it via email to your friends, executables that will display on any Windows platform without the need of additional software. This demo version allows your fresh creations to run only on the computer they were designed on, but if you have a bit of HTML skills and you are using a server, just assign it as a reference and send the link.
Having a closer look at this Wizard, from the beginning you will realize you have a wide palette of background color schemes to choose from for your card. Also, you can determine from the spot the color of buttons, frames, etc., which will be added. At the opposite side of the wizard's ease of use, stands the manual approach that could drive you crazy at one point or another.
If you want to customize the front and back cover of your card, there is a choice of frames you can add: Simple, Recessed, Bevelle, Gradient or No frame and you can adjust the thickness and the gradient angle. Adding a front picture and greeting text is the next logical step, but do not forget to mark the "Resize picture to fit" checkbox, otherwise it can be too small or too wide for your card.
Inserting text and image for the inside part is done in the same way, and what is added in this wizard is the fact that it lets you choose the font, its size and style. What I couldn't manage to understand in the first place was the use of the other 2 sheets available on the screen since just 3 out of 5 of them are used. I thought maybe they are a sort of envelope for the card, but there are no printing options, save for taking a snapshot and importing it into a photo editing tool, but you would have to repeat the operation for each part of the card.
If you wish to redesign an existing e-card, you can load the executable file from the File menu, view a block of its content and start making changes. You can add sounds or animation, create Web links on your card, or insert new frames in different formats. I would lie if I said that I found this to be an easy task. Undo works just fine, but you cannot use it for more than one change. More than this, its shortcut does not respond to the command. It is not easy to modify your creation, as it does not show when the components of the card are selected.
You have to make sure when you modify a card, as the software does not alert you about any of the changes made when closing the viewing window. The best you can do is save it under a different name unless you are absolutely sure about it. The Save-As shortcut is missing and you will have to look under the File menu for the function, but you can safely try Ctrl+Shift+S for the job.
If you are uncertain about the features the program includes, you can have a look on the publisher's website. In there you can find a tutorial that is structured to help you use the software efficiently as you learn more about it. If you decide upon buying and registering it, you should benefit from phone support and notifications of upgrades.
Running this demo version can raise some question marks, especially when you try the Block menu. It has only one option -View- that is a bit useless since there aren't any other options available. In addition, when you are closing the application, a pretty large nag screen remains on your desktop for about 10 seconds before it can be deactivated.
Using Electronic Greeting Card Construction Set allows you to create look-alike traditional post cards which can be emailed to your friends (and not only) or uploaded to the Internet. The Card Wizard feature will have you creating professional electronic cards in a little more than a jiffy.
The Good
The program lets you create traditional look-alike postcards but in an electronic format. The executable files created can run on any Windows system. The Card Wizard feature is well developed and results can be achieved in a matter of minutes. You can add whatever pictures you have on your computer. There is also a choice of sounds, animations, graphic elements and Web page links, but don't forget that you have to maintain an aspect ratio and the good taste.
The Bad
The interface is not exactly what you may be looking for. The choice of menu options is limited (the block menu has only one option) and some of them are not working as they should (missing or non-functional shortcuts). Although with the proper effect, the tile and cascade view are not marked. The shortcuts for these two are not working, as well as the one for Undo, which is implemented to work only once. The e-cards cannot be printed from within the program.
The Truth
The software is in a bad need for an update as the interface and the overall functionality is not what you would expect. The card wizard is pretty good if you are in a rush and want to create and send an electronic greeting card, expressing your profound, sincere feelings. But when it comes to undoing the changes or editing the card manually, it proves to be a real pain in the neck.
It has some glitches that need to be looked after, not all the shortcuts are working and some are missing. Without the wizard, it is extremely hard to use, as the entire program's functionality needs redoing.
Here are some snapshots of the application in action:
