# Set the Sign area for each background image

Place a Sign area on a background image so the customer customiser shows the sign in that box.

- Source URL: https://www.signcustomiser.com/help/customise/17575792-set-the-sign-area-for-each-background-image/
- Markdown URL: https://www.signcustomiser.com/help/customise/17575792-set-the-sign-area-for-each-background-image.md
- Category: Customise
- Last updated: 2026-10-13

## Article

The Sign area is a box that you place on a background image. In the customer customiser, the sign shows inside this box. Use it when the photo has a good place for a sign, for example the wall above a bed.

The Sign area changes where the sign shows in the Design view and on the Review screen. When the product image uses the background, it also changes the product image. For details, see "What the customer sees" below. The Sign area does not change the size that the customer orders, the price, or the SVG, EPS, AI and DXF files.

## Before you start

-   Add a background image and save it. For the steps, see [Scene Editor](../../customise/scene-editor/).

-   Select **Enable Preview Images**, **Enable Review Screen Images**, or both. If both are off, the **Manage Images** section does not show.

-   Turn off **Enable Dragging**, **Enable Scaling** and **Enable Rotation**. These options are on the **Drag, Scale, Rotate** page, in the **Features** menu. The Sign area is not available when one of them is on.

-   Use a customiser that is not a lightbox. The Sign area is not available for lightbox signs.

## Set the Sign area

1.  In the admin, click **Customisers**.

2.  Click the customiser that you want to edit.

3.  In the left-hand menu, click **Features → Scene Editor - Background Images**.

    ![The Images page of a customiser with Scene Editor - Background Images selected in the menu, the Background Images options and the Manage Images upload area](/help/intercom-docs/help-centre-images/5a39d8cb1d8af58482561507c1098881e77242f27feb726734072f0f9799b14f.png)

4.  In **Manage Images**, find the image. Under **Sign area**, click **Set Sign area**. If the image has a Sign area, the button is **Edit**.

    If the form has changes that you did not save, the button is off. The page says "Save your changes first." Click **Save** on the Images page, then try again.

5.  On the **Sign area** page, move the box and change its size:

    -   Drag the box to move it.

    -   Drag a handle to change the size.

    -   Press an arrow key to move the box by 1%. Hold **Shift** to move it by 10%.

    -   Press **Tab** to select a handle. Then press an arrow key to change the size.

    The first time, the box is 60% wide and 40% high. The box must stay inside the image. Each side must be at least 5% of the image.

    ![The Sign area page with a dashed box on a bedroom photo, the Area, Fit, How it works and Controls panels, and the Cancel, Clear and Save buttons](/help/intercom-docs/help-centre-images/72727d1b96c681bbdec37dca193c2778b6a701bb36affbc64ed78b78f187c482.png)

6.  Click **Save**. The page shows "Successfully Updated!".

To remove a Sign area, open the page again and click **Clear**. **Clear** shows only when the image has a saved Sign area. To close the page and not save your change, click **Cancel**.

## Add a Sign area for mobile

Each background image can have a mobile version. The mobile version has its own Sign area. The Sign area of the desktop image does not apply to it.

1.  In **Manage Images**, find the image. In the **Mobile version (optional)** group, click **Add mobile image** and choose the file. Then click **Save** on the Images page. This group is not available for lightbox signs, and it shows only when **Enable Preview Images** is on.

2.  After the save, a **Sign area** line shows in the **Mobile version (optional)** group. Click **Set Sign area**.

3.  On the **Sign area** page, the **Desktop image** and **Mobile image** buttons show which image you edit. Move and resize the box for the mobile image. Then click **Save**.

The mobile Sign area is for screens narrower than 1025 px. These screens show the mobile image in the live preview. The product image and the Review screen use the desktop image and its Sign area.

## Check that your largest sign fits

The **Area** panel shows the position and the size of the box as percentages. When **Scale visualisation with size** is on, the panel also shows **In the scene**. This is the size of the box in the scene, from the width of the image. If the image has no width, the panel shows "Enter a background width."

To give the image a real width, select **Scale visualisation with size** in the **Visualiser Scaling** section of the Images page. Then, in **Manage Images**, find the **Scene size** line for the image. Enter the real width of the scene in the first box. Click **Save**.

![The Visualiser Scaling card with the Scale visualisation with size and Use the selected background in the product image check boxes](/help/intercom-docs/help-centre-images/e1ae411d84629003fb2ef124c966a72d77486e5d479f6e394ac17231c290259a.png)

When **Scale visualisation with size** is on, the image has a width, and a size sets the sign width, the **Fit** panel compares your largest sign with the width of the box. If the sign is wider, a warning shows. The sign shows smaller in the preview. When the product image uses the box, it also shows smaller in the product image. To fix this, make the box wider.

The **Fit** panel uses only the sizes that set the width of the sign. These sizes are in customisers with the Frame Fit pricing model. They are also in customisers with the Simple Letter pricing model, unless the **Size Strategy** of the size is **Fixed Height - Width scales dynamically**.

## What the customer sees

-   **Design view.** The sign is at the centre of the box. If **Scale visualisation with size** is off, the sign fits in the box. If it is on and the image has a width, the sign keeps its real size. The sign gets smaller only when it does not fit in the box. If it is on and the image has no width, the largest size fits in the box and smaller sizes show smaller.

-   **Photo position.** The preview frame can have a different shape from the photo. Then the customiser moves the photo in the frame, so that the box stays in view.

-   **Review screen.** The Review screen shows the sign in the same box when **Enable Review Screen Images** is on.

-   **Product image.** The product image for the cart and the order uses the box when **Use the selected background in the product image** and **Scale visualisation with size** are on. The product image in the order email also uses the box. For more detail, see [Set a real size for the built-in background and use scenes in product images](../../customise/17575794-set-a-real-size-for-the-built-in-background-and-use-scenes-in-product-images/).

An image without a Sign area works as before.

## Limits

-   The Sign area does not apply to a background that the customer uploads.

-   The Sign area does not apply to a colour-only background.

-   The Sign area does not apply to the **Real size** view.

-   A large sign gets smaller in the preview. When the product image uses the box, it also gets smaller in the product image. The ordered size does not change.

## Related articles

-   [Scene Editor](../../customise/scene-editor/)

-   [Visually scale signs for size dimensions](../../customise/visually-scale-signs-for-size-dimensions/)

-   [Real size view](../../customise/17211342-real-size-view/)

-   [Show a different background for each size](../../customise/17575795-show-a-different-background-for-each-size/)

-   [Set a real size for the built-in background and use scenes in product images](../../customise/17575794-set-a-real-size-for-the-built-in-background-and-use-scenes-in-product-images/)