Jolly Lights™ FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

(Click on a question to reveal the answer.)

• Where do I find help with enhanced features in Jolly Lights Professional?

Jolly Lights Pro is derived from our original Jolly Lights app. For questions about advanced features such as garlands, wreaths, bows, and custom image overlays, refer to the Jolly Lights Pro FAQ.

• How do I restore my In-App Purchases in Jolly Lights?

Events such as switching to a new device, upgrading iPadOS, or re-installing Jolly Lights may cause the app to lose track of your prior In-App Purchases including Content Packs and Text Mode.

Apple’s App Store remembers which purchases you've made via your Apple ID. Jolly Lights won't realize you already made a purchase until you allow Jolly Lights to contact Apple's App Store via the Restore process.

To restore your prior In-App Purchases:

1. Ensure you are connected to the internet (e.g., wifi access).

2. Launch Jolly Lights.

3. In the Main Menu of Jolly Lights, tap the Options menu item.

4. Tap Restore Prior Purchases on the righthand side of the screen, and enter your Apple ID and password if needed. Restoring your purchases is always free.

Note: You’ll need to enter the Apple ID you previously used to pay for the item; otherwise, Apple’s servers won’t find your purchase in their database.

• How do I record, save, and share a photo of a Jolly Lights scene?

1. Tap Change Mode in the scene editor, then select Video to enter Video Mode.

2. Tap Record GIF/Photo to prepare to record your photo.

3. Pick Hi-Res Photo as your type of image.

4. Tap Record Now.

5. The app will ask, “Allow screen recording in Jolly Lights?”. Tap Record Screen. (You’ll get this message just once, but you can change your answer later via the Settings app).

6. Tap Save Image to save your photo to the Photos Library for access via the Photos app.

7. The app will state, “Jolly Lights Would Like to Add to your Photos”. Tap OK to grant permission. (You’ll get this message just once, but you can change your answer later via the Settings app)

8. Launch the Photos app.

9. In the Photos app, view the contents of its Library, then tap the thumbnail image of the photo you just recorded.

10. Your photo will expand to fill the screen. Tap the Share icon (i.e., a box containing an upward arrow) to attach your saved photo to an email.

• How do I record, save, and share a video of a Jolly Lights scene?

1. Tap Change Mode in the scene editor, then select Video to enter Video Mode.

2. Tap Record Video to prepare to record your animated light show in a 10-second video.

3. Choose the Sparkle or Chase animation timers for your lights.

4. Tap Record Now.

5. The app will ask, “Allow screen recording in Jolly Lights?”. Tap Record Screen. (You’ll get this message just once, but you can change your answer later via the Settings app).

6. Wait for the app to record the screen as a video (this takes 10 seconds).

7. Tap Save to save your video to the Photos Library for access via the Photos app.

8. Launch the Photos app.

9. In the Photos app, view the contents of its Library, then tap the thumbnail image of the video you just recorded.

10. Your video will expand to fill the screen. Tap the Share icon (i.e., a box containing an upward arrow) to attach your saved video to an email.

• How do I create a new Jolly Lights scene? (short answer)

1. Save the photo you'd like to use as your scene background in the Photos Library on your iPad. For example, you might sync the photo to your iPad via iTunes, access the photo via your iCloud account, or snap the photo directly with your iPad's camera. Regardless of the method, you need to be able to view your desired photo in the Photos app on your iPad.

2. Launch Jolly Lights and perform the following steps.

3. In the Main Menu of Jolly Lights, tap the New Scene / Saved Scenes menu item.

4. Tap the '+' button in the upper-right corner of the screen to add a new scene.

5. Pick your desired background photo from the Photo picker.

• How do I create a new Jolly Lights scene? (long answer)

1. Perform the steps described above in the short answer to pick your desired background photo.

2. Tap the Rotate buttons if you need to change the orientation of your photo.

3. Enable the Expand photo with border switch if your photo needs extra space along the edges to fit a picture frame.

4. Tap Done to create your scene's backdrop.

5. Tap on your desired picture frame. If you don't want a frame, tap the first image in the frame picker, which contains a red rectangle with a red diagonal line to indicate "no frame".

6. Crop the photo to your area of interest by dragging the corner markers and/or center marker. The picture frame will automatically adjust to fit your cropping rectangle.

7. Adjust the Photo Sunlight and Photo Highlights sliders if your original photo is too bright or too dark.

8. You can always return to Photo mode if you need to adjust the cropping, change the picture frame, or fine-tune the photo's brightness.

• How do I create a new Jolly Lights scene with a dark gray backdrop (instead of a photo)?

1. In the Main Menu of Jolly Lights, tap the New Scene / Saved Scenes menu item.

2. Tap the '+' button in the upper-right corner of the screen to add a new scene.

3. Tap Cancel in the Photo picker. This will create a scene with a dark gray backdrop without a photo.

4. Tap on your desired picture frame. If you don't want a frame, tap the first image in the frame picker, which contains a red rectangle with a red diagonal line to indicate "no frame".

5. Adjust the Photo Sunlight slider to darken or lighten the backdrop.

6. You can always return to Photo mode if you need to change the picture frame or fine-tune the brightness of the backdrop.

• How do I add strands of lights to my new scene?

1. Tap Change Mode in the scene editor, then select Strand to enter Strand Mode.

2. Tap Add Strand to start a new strand.

3. Tap on the photo where you'd like to start the strand.

4. Tap at a new location to extend the new strand.

5. Continue tapping at new locations until your strand is complete.

6. Tap Add Strand again whenever you want to begin another strand.

7. Or, tap Move Vertex if you want to adjust the position of a strand or change its attributes.

• How do I change the size, color, and spacing of light bulbs in a strand?

1. Tap Change Mode in the scene editor, then select Strand to enter Strand Mode.

2. Tap Move Vertex.

3. Tap on the strand you want to edit. A bounding box will appear around your selected strand.

4. Perform one or more of the following actions:

- Tap the Bulbs property to change the size of the bulbs. Micro is the smallest. Huge is the largest.

- Tap the Colors property to change the color(s) of the bulbs.

- Drag the Spacing slider to change the distance between bulbs.

- Drag the Scatter slider to move the bulbs closer or farther from the strand's wire.

- Drag the Icicle slider to create shorter or taller icicles on the strand.

• How do I create a strand with multiple light colors, such as red, white, and pink?

1. Tap Change Mode in the scene editor, then select Strand to enter Strand Mode.

2. Tap Move Vertex.

3. Tap on the strand you want to edit. A bounding box will appear around your selected strand.

4. Tap the Colors property.

5. Tap all the color boxes in the area entitled Bulbs colors in strand to remove the existing colors.

6. Tap the red, white, and pink color boxes (in that order) in the area entitled Available bulb colors.

7. Choose a color order:

- Tap Random to randomly place the red, white, and pink bulbs along your strand. Roughly 33% of the bulbs will be red, 33% white, and 33% pink.

- Tap Cycle to alternate adjacent bulbs between the 3 colors. Here the bulbs in your strand will be color sequenced red, white, pink, red, white, pink, red, white, pink, etc.

- Tap Icicle to vertically sequence the bulbs in an icicle strand. Here, rows of bulbs in your icicles will be colored red, white, pink, red, white, pink, etc.

• How do I change the geometry of a strand of lights?

1. Tap Change Mode in the scene editor, then select Strand to enter Strand Mode.

2. Tap Move Vertex.

3. Tap on the strand you want to edit. A bounding box will appear around your selected strand.

4. Perform one or more of the following actions:

- Drag a diamond marker to move the vertex of the selected strand.

- Drag a triangle marker to add a new vertex to the selected strand.

- Drag the upper-left of the strand's bounding box to move the entire strand.

- Drag the lower-right of the strand's bounding box to scale the entire strand.

5. Use these gestures to zoom in and out:

- Pinch to zoom in or out of your scene.

- Double tap to zoom in.

- Two-finger tap to zoom out.

- Drag to pan your scene (i.e., scroll left/right, up/down) when zoomed in.

• How do I extend a strand of lights?

1. Tap Change Mode in the scene editor, then select Strand to enter Strand Mode.

2. Tap Move Vertex.

3. Tap on the strand you want to edit. A bounding box will appear around your selected strand.

4. Drag the diamond marker of the last vertex in the strand to your desired ending location for the strand.

5. Drag the triangle marker of the second-to-last vertex in the strand to the previous location of the last vertex. This effectively adds a new vertex beyond the strand's prior ending location.

• How can I increase my accuracy when repositioning strands of lights?

1. Tap Change Mode in the scene editor, then select Strand to enter Strand Mode.

2. Tap Move Vertex.

3. Tap on the strand you want to edit. A bounding box will appear around your selected strand.

4. Use the pinch gesture at the vertex you'd like to reposition. Pinch outward to zoom into the scene at this vertex.

5. Drag the vertex diamond marker to the desired location when zoomed in, which effectively increases your positioning accuracy.

6. Pinch inward to zoom back out of the scene.

• How do I shorten a strand of lights?

1. Tap Change Mode in the scene editor, then select Strand to enter Strand Mode.

2. Tap Remove Vertex.

3. Tap on the strand you want to edit. A bounding box will appear around your selected strand.

4. Tap on the circle-X marker of a vertex to remove the vertex from the strand.

• How do I remove a strand of lights?

1. Tap Change Mode in the scene editor, then select Strand to enter Strand Mode.

2. Tap Remove Vertex.

3. Tap on the strand you want to edit. A bounding box will appear around your selected strand.

4. Tap the upper-left of the strand's bounding box to remove the entire strand.

• How does Curve At Vertex work?

1. Tap Change Mode in the scene editor, then select Strand to enter Strand Mode.

2. Tap Curve At Vertex.

3. Tap on the strand you want to edit. A bounding box will appear around your selected strand.

4. Tap the upper-left of the strand's bounding box to toggle the entire strand between creased and curved. This method results in a strand that consists of either a series of linear segments (i.e., creased) or a single smooth curve (i.e., curved).

5. Alternatively, tap a vertex marker to toggle the portion of the strand near the vertex between creased and curved. You can use this technique to produce a strand composed of both linear segments and smooth curves.

 

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