Carousels, slides and templates for series

How do I build a carousel in the Visual Designer?

1. Design the first slide. Do it like a single image: choose type, format and style, then generate or upload an image. The basics are in the Visual Designer.
2. Open the slide bar. At the bottom is the Slides bar with a counter, for example “Slides (3)”. You can collapse and expand it.
3. Add slides. New creates an empty frame, Library pulls images from your files, and Upload takes new files. Matching slide uses the current image as a style reference, and core generates the next slide in the same look.
4. Arrange the order. Each frame has Duplicate frame, Delete frame, Move earlier and Move later.
5. Save or schedule. To library puts all slides into Files as a set. Schedule now opens the calendar with the images.

A composition holds at most 20 slides. With more, the app says “A composition can hold at most 20 slides.” All settings, meaning format, style and logo, apply to all slides at once.

Matching slide needs an image (“Add an image first — core builds the next slide from it”) and counts as an image generation. Copying a slide exactly and changing only the texts, on the other hand, is free. core does that on request.

How do I group images from Files into a carousel?

If you already have the images, you don’t need the Visual Designer. You group them directly in Files.

1. Select images. With ⌘/Ctrl + click, you add single images; with Shift + click, you select a range.
2. Click Group as carousel. The app explains: the images are grouped into an ordered carousel and stay usable individually.
3. Confirm with Create carousel.
4. Set the order. The drag-and-drop order is the slide order.

With Dissolve carousel, you undo the group. You find all carousels on the left in Files under Carousels, and they carry the Carousel badge. Open as slides in the Visual Designer lets you keep editing them.

How many images does each platform take?

A carousel reaches the calendar in two ways: via Schedule now in the Visual Designer (up to 10 images) or in the calendar via the “Pick from your files” window. There, a click on a carousel takes over all slides in slide order. The limits per platform apply to the calendar (as of October 2026):

In its own app, Instagram allows up to 20 media per carousel. Through the API that tools like companycore publish with, it is 10. On LinkedIn, carousel posts via the API exist only as paid ads; organically, PDF documents work (see sources). So plan carousels for Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook with at most 10 slides, even though the Visual Designer allows up to 20. Details per format are in Formats and limits.

Templates: how series in the same look are made

Save a template

1. Finish the look. An empty draft can’t be saved: “The draft is still empty — design first, then save as a template.”
2. Click Save as template. The template takes over all layers of the draft.
3. Give it a name and tags. Tags such as job ad, quote or offer help you find it again.
4. Set it per layer. Replaceable content turns the layer into a field that you fill anew for each post (with a Field name, such as “Headline”). Everything else stays fixed.
5. Click Save template. You can create up to 120 templates per brand. After that, the app reports in German: „Höchstens 120 Vorlagen je Marke — bitte erst eine löschen.“ (At most 120 templates per brand, please delete one first.)

Apply and fill a template

Open Templates at the top of the bar. A click on the template starts a new draft. The arrow applies it to the current draft. The app then asks for confirmation, because the template replaces the draft’s layers; undo is possible. If the format changes in the process, the app points it out. With Move my texts into the template’s fields, your texts are kept; with Rather as a new draft, the old draft stays untouched.

Afterwards, Fill in content appears on the left with one field per replaceable layer, for example Headline, Subline, Call to action or Image. Or you tell core: “fill the template with …”. It then writes the fields from your topic or post. With Detach template, you separate the draft from the template again.

You manage templates in the same menu: rename, update or delete. Drafts that were created from a deleted template are kept. A counter shows how often you have used a template.

Brand elements: shapes, frames, icons

You store shapes, bars, frames, icons and stickers with transparency as PNG, SVG or WebP in Backstage: Backstage › CI Overview, Brand elements card, up to 60 of them. In the Visual Designer, a click inserts the element, and dragging drops it where you let go. More in the CI Overview.

What makes a good carousel?

• A cover with a hook. The first slide is the only one people see in the feed before they swipe. Example, hairdresser: a concrete question such as “What does balayage really cost?” instead of “Our price list”.
• One idea per slide. Better more short slides than a few full ones.
• A call to action on the last slide. Something like “Book an appointment at …” or “Request a quote”.
• All slides in the same format. The calendar doesn’t block mixed aspect ratios, it only points them out.

Whether a carousel, a reel or a single image suits your topic better is covered in Reels, carousel or image?.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

• Instagram Help: “Einen Beitrag mit mehreren Bildern oder Videos teilen” (sharing a post with multiple images or videos; as of October 2026), help.instagram.com (German title)
• Meta for Developers: Instagram Graph API, IG User Media Reference (as of October 2026), developers.facebook.com
• Microsoft Learn: LinkedIn Posts API (updated May 13, 2026), learn.microsoft.com