posted on March 7, 2003 01:02:02 AM new
I would appreciate your help...I wish to have a blank template with my pics to the left. When I try and put this together, the pics go down at the bottom. All I'm trying to do is have a solid color background and the pics at the left. Can someone please direct me how to do this?
Also, before when I downloaded pics...they all got sized to the same size. Now they are loading in at different sizes so they line up zig zag. Help on this too please!
posted on March 7, 2003 12:29:24 PM new
Hello Mallary,
Unfortunately, the blank template has no image layout options other than the images appearing at the bottom, at this time.
You can enable the image resizing again via the My Account tab, under the Global Preferences link. Check the box to automatically resize your images for cleaner presentation.
posted on March 10, 2003 11:14:03 AM new
Hi. "Blank Template" in AW essentially means 'no pics allowed'. You can get great customization and background color with html, but the pics will never ever be up with your description and text--they will always bump down to the very bottom, as you already discovered. AW does not yet offer the ability/option to have solid background color that always covers either their entire background, or the ebay page, or both together.
The templates layer on top of one another like stacked chunks. Ebay has precedence and AW does not offer an option to change it. Then the AW template rolls in carrying whatever layout you selected--you can choose among, but not alter, the structure of their layout-template combinations. Then your description rolls into your chosen AW template/layout combination. You can alter that, but only in the parts of it you control, which is most of the description field except the strips of color at the initial top and the bottom which are in the junctions between AW stuff and your stuff and are controlled by AW. You do not necessarily have the ability to control your entire description field if you want to alter the AW color choices in the background.
For pics to appear, you must pick a layout but happily AW has more than one of those for pics on the left you could choose. Then the attach image feature works and the rest works well also (including getting your thumbnail in inventory and the AW gallery if you have a store). There is no need for you to struggle with embedded layouts if all you need is pics all on the left (or right or top or bottom).
If you pick the "No Theme" template + one of the AW left pic layout choices, you get a basic white page with your pics on the left. If you also go to your preferences and turn off all the defaults for extra text at the end, logos at the top and bottom, payment options, counter etc., it will be empty of AW graphics except for your pics (wherever the layout you chose put them), and the AW credit and checkout logo (if you chose to use checkout) at the bottom.
To get color, go to the ebay discussion board on photos/html and scroll down the replies til you find one with the icon of a Steer's Head + words "Bob's Tips" If you click on it it will take you right to the page (check out replies on 3/9/03). His site is 2bulls.com if you can't find the logo.
I found it easiest to use the table method because it is just a few lines of easy html that brackets my description top and bottom and doesn't require a separately hosted image to tile into the background.
You can get your entire portion w/ color that way, but there will be a strip of white (or whatever the AW template color is) both at the top of your description and also underlying the AW advertisement logo + whatever options you didn't disable, below your description that you won't be able to get rid of.
You can go to ebay after launch if it is worth it to you, auction by auction, and mess around with their html to some degree to get a total page background color for the underlying ebay part, but remember it won't affect the AW part-- so the entire page cannot be made uniform in color unless you pick the color of the AW template programmed for your description by AW (which is usually white, but not always).
The good news is that the table method also works with all the AW specialty templates. If you have an eye for color and overall graphics it is possible to get the unavoidable strips/areas of white (or whatever) to coordinate well enough with the overall look that it is serviceable without being too distracting. If you want to see an example of what the table method produces and omits, I have done it within the AW specialty Store Template for my auctions, and chosen store custom colors specifically to get it to work the way it does. Type in my title marker p2tp in the ebay search field and the current 4 should come up for another day or so.
Hope this helps someone out there. Not perfect and changing all the time, but maybe better than nothing.
If anyone can do this better---please, post!!!!
If anyone routinely uses embedded AW layouts, or tiled backgrounds for their ebay pages and are listing thru AW--please, please post any tips you have!!!
[ edited by passedtothepresent on Mar 10, 2003 11:18 AM ]
