Studio Seven User Manual

Your purchase and first activation

A Studio Seven core license is a one-time purchase with included core updates. The normal allowance is two computers. Save your license key and the separate recovery code somewhere you can find them if your computer is replaced. Your recovery code works without relying on an email inbox.

The current offer is a preorder. Public Windows, macOS, and Linux installers are in preparation. A license receipt confirms your ownership; it does not mean all desktop downloads have shipped. Use the download options in the official ownership portal when your platform's verified installer becomes available.

1. Open the private license receipt provided with your purchase. The link expires seven days after issuance, so save the recovery kit promptly. Keep the receipt link private.

2. Open https://www.gaines.studio/license when you need your ownership portal. Use your license key, or select the recovery option with your separate recovery code.

3. Install the official Studio Seven build for your operating system and processor when available. Follow its platform-specific installation instructions.

4. Open Studio Seven and copy the computer code from the activation screen. Enter it with your license key in the ownership portal and create an activation certificate.

5. Paste the complete certificate into Studio Seven, or import the saved certificate. The activated creative core works offline. You may use a browser on another computer to obtain the certificate.

Do not buy again if you cannot find an email or if an activation fails. Check your saved recovery kit and contact GAINES with your order reference. Never send a wallet seed phrase or private spending key as proof of purchase.

Make a first project

Choose a large dashboard shortcut for Video, Spreadsheet, Document, Social graphics, Book, or Presentation. Create Something opens the full chooser, including flyers, website compositions, whiteboards, covers, and custom dimensions. Browse Templates opens editable local examples; Recent Projects reopens saved work.

Choose the project type, size, orientation, and background. For print work, set the intended units, DPI, margins, and bleed before arranging content. Save a short practice project, close it, reopen it from Recent Projects, then export a copy. Your editable project and an exported delivery file serve different purposes.

Design graphics and pages

Start with a flyer or social graphic. Press T, click the artboard, and type a heading. Double-click existing text to edit it. Use the inspector for type size, alignment, color, spacing, position, and dimensions. Watch for an overflow indicator when the text cannot fit its frame.

Use R for a rectangle, E for an ellipse, and L for a line or arrow. Press I to import an image or SVG, or drag a supported image onto the workspace. Imports normally remove EXIF and GPS metadata by re-encoding locally. Check the Privacy Center preference if you deliberately need to preserve metadata.

Select an object with V and drag it into place. Shift-click adds or removes an object from a selection. Use alignment controls to line up multiple objects. The Layers panel lets you rename, reorder, lock, hide, and select objects; the Pages panel manages multipage work. Q creates a QR code.

Image controls adjust fit, crop, zoom, color, opacity, and effects. Transparent cutout works best on simple flat backgrounds. It removes matching edge-connected color, not arbitrary subjects through an online AI service. Restore original background reverses the cutout.

Move around and correct mistakes

H pans the canvas. FIT brings the whole artboard back into view. The zoom field accepts 2% to 6400%; Command or Control plus the mouse wheel zooms continuously. SNAP helps align objects with other objects, page boundaries, and guides.

Undo is Command-Z on macOS or Control-Z on Windows and Linux. Redo uses Shift with the same shortcut. Copy, paste, and duplicate use the usual Command or Control shortcuts. Delete removes the selection; Undo restores an accidental deletion. Avoid typing shortcuts while a text field is actively being edited.

Finish a graphic

1. Save the editable project and create a Snapshot before a major change.

2. Run Preflight. Review overflow, margins, missing images, print resolution, and bleed warnings.

3. Choose PNG for a crisp image, Transparent PNG for an alpha background, JPEG for a flattened image, WebP for compact image delivery, or SVG for portable artwork.

4. Choose PDF for all pages at their intended size. Open the exported file in another viewer and inspect the actual result before sharing or printing.

A website project is a local visual composition. Static website ZIP publishing is not currently an export option. Preflight is useful, but it is not a printer's proof or a guarantee of PDF/X, CMYK, or press certification.

Write books and covers

Choose Book and select a trim size and style. The reader view shows facing pages. Choose a chapter in the writing controls and enter its title and body. The structured book editor reflows text into pages as you work. Foreword and Preface have their own writing destinations; other sections can be named chapters.

Add or reorder chapters using the chapter controls. For an existing manuscript, Add Manuscript accepts pasted text or supported local text and Markdown files. Review whether you are replacing or appending before committing. Keep a snapshot before importing a long manuscript or changing its structure.

Use Format to select an appropriate trim such as Trade 6 by 9, A5, Letter, or a square layout. Check chapter openings, body alignment, page numbering, and overflow after changing format. Hand-placed artwork needs an additional visual review when the text reflows.

To make a full cover, enter the printer's actual trim size, page count, binding, bleed, and spine width. The artboard includes back, spine, front, and bleed. Do not assume every printer uses the same spine formula. Keep critical words and artwork inside safe areas.

Before printing, run Preflight and export a PDF. Check the first and last paragraphs of every chapter, all page breaks, cover geometry, and intended physical page dimensions in the exported file. EPUB, automatic tables of contents, footnotes, and linked multi-column publishing are not current export promises.

Use dictation

The microphone dock works in supported destinations such as chapter body, Foreword, Preface, video Script, and dashboard or Gallery search. Focus the intended field and check the destination shown in the dock before recording.

1. On first use, explicitly download the approximately 148 MB English speech model when prompted. The app checks the download before installing it.

2. Allow microphone access when the operating system asks. Click the microphone and speak. A temporary draft appears while you record.

3. Click again to stop. The final transcription is inserted once after local processing. Review names, punctuation, and wording.

4. Press Escape to cancel without inserting a result. One Undo reverses a completed insertion.

After the model is installed, transcription runs locally. It is English-first and accuracy depends on speech and recording quality. Sessions stop at five minutes. Changing destinations or locking the app can cancel an active session. If access was denied, use the operating system's microphone settings and try again.

Dictating into the video Script writes text. It does not synthesize a voice or create a recorded voiceover track.

Make a video in Motion Forge

Choose Video or Local Motion Forge. Pick resolution, aspect ratio, and frame rate. Import video, stills, and audio. In the native app, selected media is copied into the managed project; the browser preview keeps sources only for its current session.

1. Add visual sources to V1 in story order. Select a clip and trim its in and out points, change speed, volume, Fill or Fit, transform, opacity, and local look.

2. Click the timeline ruler to move the playhead. Space starts or stops playback; left and right arrows step one frame. Split cuts a selected clip at the playhead. Reorder, duplicate, and Undo remain available.

3. Add transitions between adjacent clips. Dissolve, dip-black, wipe, slide, and zoom overlap clips, so review their timing and audio together.

4. Add titles to T1. Set text, start, duration, font, color, position, backdrop, and motion. Add music or sound to A1 and adjust its start, volume, mute, and fades.

5. Watch the complete sequence and listen through headphones before exporting. Check the first and last frames, text edges, transitions, and audio balance.

Add and review captions

Open Captions and choose Auto Captions after the local speech model is installed. The app analyzes audible project audio, including clip timing, trims, speed, and audio tracks. Generated captions appear in C1 and the Captions panel.

Edit words, start times, durations, and visibility. Regeneration presents a replacement decision so you can keep earlier edits. Save and preview the complete video after changing audio timing. Captions are burned into exported frames; a separate SRT subtitle export is not currently available.

Export and keep the editable work

PNG Frame exports the current frame at full sequence dimensions. Video export offers the MP4 or WebM codecs supported by the installed runtime. Encoding occurs locally in real time, so a ten-minute video takes roughly ten minutes to record. Keep the app running and review the resulting video in an external player.

Keep the native project folder with its media for future editing. A .studio7 JSON export records timeline structure but is not yet a self-contained bundle of all video and audio sources. A finished MP4 is useful for delivery, but it does not replace your editable project and media backup.

Online stock, translation, identity tracking, and generative video are not installed features. The captions engine does not identify speakers or guarantee accurate transcription. Always review its output.

Use Ledger spreadsheets

Choose Spreadsheet to open Ledger. Click a cell and type, double-click to edit, or use the formula bar. Enter, Tab, and arrow keys move through the sheet. Pasting tabular text fills adjacent cells. Add, rename, and switch worksheets using the tabs.

Formulas begin with an equals sign. For a first practice sheet, enter 10 in A1, 15 in A2, and =SUM(A1:A2) in A3. The result should be 25. Other supported functions include AVERAGE, MIN, MAX, COUNT, COUNTA, ROUND, IF, AND, and OR. Errors such as circular references and division by zero remain visible for you to fix.

Format cells as currency or percent, and use bold, alignment, Auto Sum, and column sorting when useful. Check a copy of important data before sorting, especially when neighboring columns must stay together.

Open File accepts .xlsx, CSV, and TSV. Export Excel or Google Sheets creates an .xlsx workbook; upload that file to Google Sheets yourself if desired. CSV and TSV export only the active sheet without workbook styling or multiple sheets. Macros, legacy .xls files, external-data refresh, and automatic Google sync are not supported.

Write in Scribe documents

Choose Document or WordPad. Type on the page and use paragraph styles, local fonts, lists, links, tables, and embedded local images. Set Letter, A4, or Legal paper, orientation, margins, and zoom before final layout.

Open File accepts DOCX, RTF, HTML, TXT, and Markdown. Export creates DOCX, RTF, self-contained HTML, or TXT. Complex Word layouts, comments, tracked changes, footnotes, and floating objects may simplify on import or export. Keep the original file and inspect an exported copy before replacing anything important.

Organize photos in Photo Vault

Choose Photo Vault and Add Photos. Studio Seven copies originals into its managed local library and skips identical duplicate bytes. Browse by month or search filenames, metadata, tags, and available labels. Add favorites, tags, and custom albums to organize the collection.

Analyze Locally is optional. It detects broad objects such as people, animals, and vehicles using a local model. Individual face matching is not installed. Removing a managed copy does not delete the original source file from its original folder.

Export Original preserves the original bytes, including metadata such as GPS where present. Use the creative editor's privacy-clean image workflow when you need to remove that metadata before sharing. Working Vault protection covers managed photos and associated metadata alongside projects.

Save and protect your work

Autosave runs after a short idle period unless you disable it. Save writes immediately. Snapshot keeps a named history document before a significant change. Reopen a saved project periodically to confirm your backup workflow, especially before deleting original media.

Use .studio7 for editable project exchange. Use a passphrase-sealed .studio7x archive for confidential project transfer or backup where supported. Its passphrase must have at least 12 characters and cannot be recovered by GAINES. Opening a sealed archive creates a normal working copy in your local vault. Video media still needs the separate backup described earlier.

Lock the native Working Vault

Open Privacy Center and Settings → Working Vault → Configure Vault Security. Choose a supported PIN, password or passphrase, or the generated Studio Seven recovery phrase. The PIN is convenient but weaker against offline guessing. The Studio Seven recovery phrase is not a cryptocurrency wallet seed.

Enabling protection encrypts managed project and history files. Use Lock Now, the inactivity lock, and your operating system's screen lock when leaving the computer. Save the chosen recovery method securely: there is no recovery server or bypass if you lose the only credential.

Turning protection off requires the credential and returns managed files to readable local storage. It does not change a separately sealed archive. Files exported elsewhere are outside the Working Vault and need their own protection.

Review Agent Patch lets you inspect a .studio7-patch before applying it. Review who proposed it and what it changes. Direct standalone agent access to managed projects is blocked while Working Vault protection is enabled; reviewed patch import remains the intended route.

Solve common problems

If the canvas seems empty, use FIT, check the active page, and inspect hidden layers. If text is missing from an export, check overflow and Preflight, then inspect the exported file in another viewer.

If dictation is unavailable, focus a supported destination and confirm the model is installed and microphone permission is allowed. If video export offers fewer formats than expected, use a codec the app actually lists. If captions fail, check that the source audio is supported and audible.

If activation says the computer allowance is full, use the ownership portal or ask support for a reviewed computer replacement. Keep your order reference, app version, operating system, and a concise description of the problem ready. Never post your license, recovery code, or private receipt link publicly.

Continue learning

Practice one small result at a time: a graphic, a short document, a simple spreadsheet, a book chapter, and a brief video. Save, reopen, export, and inspect each result. Those habits protect your work and make the larger projects easier.

The current online manual is https://www.gaines.studio/manual. Keep this edition for reference and check the online version when an update changes a workflow. This guide describes the current local feature set; availability of public platform installers is shown separately in the ownership portal.