How to Make a Free Valentine's Day E-Card

Yes, it’s that time again, Valentine’s Day. If you are like me you forget about this holiday until the very last minute and then scramble to find the right “belated” card. Fortunately, there is FreeCard, an easy to use software utility from PCWW Software. This nifty little application, allows you to make your own e-cards that you can quickly email to cover up your lateness. It can be downloaded at pcww.com.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• FreeCard Software Installed on a PC Computer
• BMP Image
• Midi Music File
• WAV Voice file or Microphone

1. Add The Image After installing FreeCard, double click on the icon to start the program. First select the image you want to use for the card. It needs to be a Bitmap Image (BMP or BMX). If the picture you want to use is not in the correct format, simply open it in an image editor like GIMP or Photoshop and save it to the correct format. Notice the transition drop down menu next to the picture name. This is the opening transition for the e-card. There are a number of transition choices.
2. Add Text The next step is to add text to the white block. You can paste text or enter text in the white block. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of text options. You can download other free card packages from the manufacturer that will give you more choices.
3. Change Colors To edit the color background, click on the color editor button on the bottom center of the card. This opens up a color picker allowing you to choose any background for the card. Click the basic color block and then use the sliders to get the hue you want. When you are finished, click OK.
4. Add Music and Voice Next we can add some music to our card. The program comes with a few samples and will only accept MIDI files. Click on the music symbol to browse for and select the MIDI file. You can also find free software that will convert WAV and Mp3 music files to MIDI. To add a voice track, click on the speaker to select a file. You can also record your own by clicking on the microphone symbol. This opens up Windows recording options and control panels to record your own message.
5. Adding a Voice Track Once you have recorded your voice track, click on the speaker to open the folder where you saved your recording. Select your new recording as the voice track. Now is the time to run your file by clicking on the RUN button. Make any changes before saving the card.
6. Sending the Card When you are finished composing your card, click send and select the top choice to make your e-card into and .exe file and not send. This will save a copy of the card to your CARDS sub-directory where FreeCard is stored on your computer. Once you have a copy, click send again to send the card to your valentine.

Tips & Warnings

• For more template choices, visit the software manufacturer’s website and download the “Romance” package for Valentine's Day.
• If it is your real Valentine, this in no way cuts it. Spring for some flowers or dinner but avoid candy at any cost.