Rotating banner ad

The rotating banner ad field can be used where you have a selection of images that you would like to use on a rotational basis, within a template. To achieve this, you place required images in a given folder and then set properties for the rotating banner ad field so that it checks this folder and rotates any images found at your required frequency. You can choose to rotate items randomly, sequentially and (using more advanced options) specify a more precise frequency of rotation (for example, daily, weekly, monthly, etc.).

As well as standard image files, you can also rotate HTML web banners - see Multi-link HTML ads for further information.

The following process explains how to use this field for rotating images with an associated hyperlink (i.e. when a user clicks the image displayed in their email message, they are directed to a given URL):

1. Ensure that required image files are in a single folder on the computer where the Exclaimer Template Editor is installed.

2. Use the fields panel to insert a rotating banner ad field.

3. Select the newly inserted field and check the properties pane - properties for the image are shown:

   

4. Select the drop-down list to the right of the banner chooser field. Here, you specify the frequency and order in which banner ads in the selected folder are displayed.

5. Choose the required sequence:

   

6. Set remaining properties as follows:

   Action	Summary
   Folder Location	Click the browse - - button to open the folder location window, then click browse to navigate drives and folders to specify a folder location. Alternatively, click insert to navigate available fields and select an Active Directory field to insert as the location.
   Filter	If required, you can use wildcards so that only certain images are used (for example, you might wish to use a series of images which start with '14'  and would therefore specify '14*.*' or you might only wish to use JPEG images and therefore specify '*.JPG'.
   Address	Use this option to apply a hyperlink to banner images. Click the browse - - button to open the address window, then type the required URL into the address field (i.e. the web address that should be displayed when a user clicks the image in the message). Alternatively, click insert to navigate available fields and select an Active Directory field as the link target (for example, you might wish to use the user's web page).
   Hover Text	Enter text to be displayed when a user hovers the cursor over a rotating banner ad image
   Alt Text	Enter text to be displayed if images cannot be displayed.

 

Remember that you can switch to preview mode (from the template editor toolbar) to see the effect of any dynamic fields you have inserted.

Multi-link HTML ads

If required, you can use a third party HTML editor to create sophisticated HTML web banners to be rotated. These might incorporate multiple images and hyperlinks - for example:

Simply save your web banners as .htm files and add them to the required folder location for your rotating banner ad.

It is recommended that Universal Naming Convention (UNC) referenced images are used where possible. However, if necessary you can use URL referenced images (on a computer that can be viewed publicly), or images which have been copied locally to the machine upon which the Exclaimer Template Editor is installed.