Direct Options – Core Setup

Core Setup is where you define the choices customers must make before or while they design: dimensions, price rules, materials, colors, mounting, and shape. Each item below matches one screen in the sidebar. Read the text under each screenshot to understand what to configure and how it affects the buyer’s journey.

Sizes

The Sizes screen defines which dimensions customers can order. Each row is one predefined size (for example 300 x 200 mm) with its own label, width and height, optional character limits for text, base price, and per-character surcharge. Toggle the Default switch on the size you want pre-selected when the customizer opens.

Use Add new size to build your catalog. In the edit form you can also enable custom size so buyers enter their own width and height within min/max bounds, set thickness options with separate pricing, and exclude certain sizes when a specific material is chosen. Drag rows to change the order customers see them in.

Pricing

Pricing profiles apply when customers choose a custom size or when a material uses a shared pricing rule instead of a fixed size price. Each profile has a label (for example “Standard panel pricing”) and a shipping calculation method. Regular predefined sizes keep their own prices on the Sizes screen – this list is specifically for custom-dimension rules.

When you add or edit a profile, you configure how price scales with area or dimensions, volumetric shipping divisors, and any modifiers. Link the right profile to each material on the Materials screen so the calculator uses the correct rule at checkout.

Fonts

Fonts available in the editor come from your shop-wide Manage fonts library. On this screen you pick which of those fonts appear in this configuration and in what order. The preview column shows how each font renders; set one font as default so new text starts with it.

Click Add fonts to pull in more faces from the global library, or Manage fonts to upload custom files or add Google Fonts. Removing a font here only affects this configuration – it stays in the global library for other configs.

Colors

Colors are the swatches customers pick for faces, backgrounds, or accents depending on your material setup. Each entry has a name, hex value, optional pattern or preview image, and an optional price surcharge. Mark one color as default so the customizer starts with it selected.

You can allow custom colors (customer-supplied values) and set visibility rules so certain colors only appear when a given material is active. Use Add new color to extend the palette beyond your global defaults.

Lighting

Lighting options cover glow, shadow, and LED effects for illuminated or backlit signs. If you have not added any lighting entries yet, the list appears empty – click Add new lighting to create options from your global glow-color library. Each entry can include a label, preview image, extra price, and default state.

Direct Options configurations use this screen to expose lighting as a customer-facing step. If lighting is not relevant to your products, you can leave the list empty and hide the step in Settings -> Customizer Setup -> Config Options.

Fixing Methods

Fixing methods describe how the sign is mounted: wall screws, hanging kit, standoffs, adhesive pads, and so on. Enable methods from your global library (managed under Global Settings -> Fixing Methods), then set the customer-facing label, surcharge, and default for each row. One method should usually be marked default at zero cost.

You can exclude specific fixing methods for certain sizes or shapes when a combination is not physically possible. Customers only see methods that pass those rules.

Shapes

Shapes define the outer contour of the sign: rectangle, square, rounded rectangle, oval, etc. Pull shapes from the global library or add config-specific ones. Each shape has a preview icon, optional price add-on, and a default toggle – typically the standard rectangle is free and default.

Shape choice often interacts with borders and materials; configure exclusions in the edit form if a decorative edge or material only works with certain outlines.

Materials

Materials are usually the first major choice the customer makes. Each card shows a label, description, thumbnail, base price, linked pricing profile, and whether it is the default selection. Materials drive which sizes, colors, and fixing methods are available through exclusion rules you set in each material’s edit screen.

Use Add material to create entries for acrylic, stainless steel, PVC, or any substrate you offer. For Advanced material configurations, materials tie into component trees rather than a flat list of size and shape menus.

Borders

Borders are optional edge treatments: standard border, rounded corners, premium scalloped edge, double line, and similar styles. Enable borders from the global library, set price and default per row, and configure which sizes or shapes each border supports.

Some borders include sub-settings for border color. Customers who do not need a decorative edge can choose a “none” or zero-cost standard option if you provide one.

Using Preset Components?

Advanced configurations use a different workflow built around design collections and internal design options. Continue with Advanced Mode – Preset Components instead of following the remaining Direct Options screens.