This help page gives instructions about how to add an image into one of your communication templates, such as a letterhead image.
Step 1 - Make sure the image is in an acceptable format
First of all, the image must be in a standard image format, such as JPG, GIF, BMP, or PNG. Other formats like PDF, DOC, etc. cannot be displayed within a communication template. So if your file is not in one of the acceptable formats, you'll first need to convert it. There are online conversion utilities, just search for "free online conversion from xxx format to yyy format" (replacing xxx and yyy with the extension of the current file, and yyy being the format you want to convert to) and you'll find something. Once you have an image in a standard image format, you can proceed.
Step 2 - Edit the image (optional)
Sometimes you won't want to display the image as is, for various reasons. Maybe the image is the wrong size, or you only want to display part of the image, or you want to make some changes to the image. In all these situations, you'll want to edit your image using an image editor. There are online editors, and if you are using a Windows computer you can use Microsoft Paint.
As far as getting the sizing right, it'll depend on how you plan to use the image. If you want to include a squarish logo, 150 to 200 pixels wide should be fine. If you want to include a full-width letterhead, 800-1000 pixels should be OK.
Step 3 - Get a URL (web address) for the image
In order to get a URL for the image, the image needs to be put onto a web server. Any web server will do.
Option 3.1 - The image is already on another web server
To find out the URL, use your web browser to go to a page that displays the image. The instructions for getting the image URL differ depending on which browser you are using:
- Chrome. Right-click on the image and choose the "Copy address" menu pick
- Firefox. Right-click on the image and choose the "Copy image location" menu pick
- Internet Explorer. Right-click on the image and chose the "Copy" menu pick.
- Safari. Right-click on the image and choose the "Copy image address" menu pick.
In all cases, the URL will be in your clipboard, and you'll be able to paste it in Step 4 below.
Option 3.2 - The image is not currently on any web server
In this case, you can upload the image file to the Online Mooring server as follows;
- Go to Configuration > Communications
- Click the Image button (bottom row, first button in the last section)
- On the Image Properties window, click on the Upload tab
- On the Upload tab, click the Choose a File button, then select the graphic file (it must available from your computer), then click the "Send it to the Server" button.
The URL assigned to the file will be http://my.onlinemooring.com/ClientData/
<HarborName>/update/fckeditor/<filename>
where <HarborName> will be replaced with your harbor name, and <filename> will be replaced with the name of the file you uploaded.
Step 4 - Insert the image into the communication template
To insert a graphic into a template:
- Go to the Configuration > Communication page
- Open the template that you want to add the image to
- Position your cursor at the location within the template where you want to add the image
- Click the Image button (bottom row, first button in the last section)
- Enter the URL of the graphics file into the URL field (if you used Option 1.1 above, you can paste the URL into this field by typing Ctrl-V). If the URL is valid, you will see the image appear in the preview window. If it looks good, click the OK button. If the URL you entered is incorrect, you'll see a red X in the preview window.
Helpful tip: In you want a graphic to appear as part of the letterhead of each message you send out, there is a way to set up the letterhead format once, and then use that letterhead on all your outgoing messages/letters. To do that, create a template called "Header" and set that up with the standard graphics and text that you want to appear. Then, at the top of each of your other templates, add the following text:
{template name="header"}
and we will replace that with the contents of your Header template before we send it out.