This guide is for beginners who are new to the portal experience. 
Please ignore my typos…
PORTAL DASHBOARD
Format Selection Upon Story Creation
Upon creating your story, you will be able to select a style: Limelight, Ink or Classic. Limelight is the newest style with the most animations and clothing items.
You will then have the option of Cinematic or Spotlight as your story format, if you select Cinematic, you will be able to switch between the two in your script, but if you choose Spotlight, you will only be able to write that particular story in Spotlight.
What are the Codes to Switch Formats?
Spotlight:
set format spotlight
Code examples to switch spotlight sides:
@CHAR stands screen left
@CHAR2 stands screen right
@CHAR3 stands screen center
Cinematic:
set format cinematic
Text Messaging:
set format phonetext
Codes to determine which side a character’s text messages appear on:
@CHAR left
@CHAR2 right
ACCOUNT/STORY SETTINGS
BACKGROUNDS AND OVERLAYS
Navigating your Background and Overlay Tabs
WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT BACKGROUNDS AND OVERLAYS:
There are numerous backgrounds and overlays on the internet, but not every one of them is available for use. You should always be careful about what you upload to your portal because you may not have legal permission to use certain images and by ticking the box below the upload option, you are liable.
Background and Overlays Resources
Make use of free image sites such as Pixabay, Pexels, Unsplash, PNGtree, CleanPNG and ClipArt because anyone and everyone is allowed to use the content on those sites without credit.
You can also find numerous backgrounds and overlays made by community content creators, however most require that you agree to their terms & conditions and provide them with credit in your story. You can find backgrounds creators here, on the forums, on Patreon and also on Instagram.
A few sites you can look at it:
Episode Life (FREE) | Crediting rules are located below the images upon selection:
http://www.episodelife.com/p/backgrounds.html?m=1
Amanda Michele’s Patreon:
Amanda Michele | Patreon
Jen Miley’s Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/JMiley
My Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/nikmercer
Wincy’s Website (FREE):
Products – Wincy Writes
Blanca’s Drive (FREE):
Blanca’s Free Drive - Google Drive
Amanda Michele’s Drive (FREE):
https://docs.google.com/file/d/14seGdefO6BevWSffBk6fUaDD3jr36GBL/edit?usp=docslist_api&filetype=msword
Sites and Apps I Recommend for Resizing and Compression
SITE I RECOMMEND FOR RESIZING:
https://resizeimage.net/
IOS APP I RECOMMEND FOR RESIZING:
SITE I RECOMMEND FOR COMPRESSION:
https://tinypng.com/
Note: All sites and apps listed are FREE.*
ANIMATIONS AND OUTFITS TABS (VIEW & SEARCH ONLY)
CHARACTERS TAB
Navigating your Characters Tab
NOTE: The DOG character can be adjusted after creation. You can choose from a small variety of different breeds and colors, including one Wolf variation.
OUTFITS TAB
HELP AND FAQs
What is a Support Ticket?
A support ticket is a ticket that you fill out and submit to the Episode Team. You receive correspondence via the email you add to your ticket. Tickets can be used to make an enquiry or report a bug/issue with your app and/or portal. You will also need to provide your support ID so that the team can better identify your problem.
Other Helpful Resources for Learning Donacode
Dara Amarie’s Guides & Templates:
https://www.dara-amarie.com/
Joseph Evans’ Tutorials:
https://youtu.be/1WgT7f_s3c4
CODING 101 by Tal Gordin:
Episode Writer Portal
Mary D Sava’s Guides:
Mary D Sava | creating Script Templates & Video Tutorials | Patreon
PAYMENTS
If I manage to get into the Payment Program, will I get Paid Much?
How much you receive will always depend on how well your stories are performing, but generally speaking, you’re unlikely to receive large amounts of money unless your stories are pulling in millions of reads and gems.
Can I tell others how much Episode Pays Me?
No, legally you’re not allowed to disclose how much you get paid by Episode.
PORTAL SCRIPT
STORIES IN-APP
How do I Find my Story in the App?
NOTE: Sometimes your story will not appear in the app unless you have 3 chapters and/or at least 400 lines in each episode.