The Slideshow Module

How to Create Your Slideshow

The first part of this process is identifying the page on which you want your new slideshow to appear. After you have logged into the system and navigated to the proper page, please follow these steps to create your slideshow:

1. In the upper left corner of the page, find the triangle with the Plus in it and hover your mouse over it. In the drop list that appears, click on Add Body Content.
2. Scroll down the list of Modules and find the Slideshow module (not v. 2.0). Click the Add button.
3. You will see a blank version of the image below. Here is the opening screen of your slideshow:
   
   
4. You have the option of setting the Slideshow Transition to either Slide or Fade. The Slide option will bring the new image in from one side, sliding the old one out. The Fade option will smoothly fade from the current image to the next one.
5. If you have images with text, as in the example above, you will want to set a Slideshow Speed that gives your viewers enough time to read. If you are featuring images with very little or no text, faster speeds are good. It is likely that a site visitor will not spend more than ten to fifteen seconds at most watching your slideshow, so plan accordingly on the total amount of time to go through your images.
6. For the Slideshow Images themselves, the Slideshow module will be able to feature as many as you like, but as a practical matter, most visitors won't sit through more than four to six images, especially if they are text-heavy. PLEASE NOTE: For best results with your images, make sure all images you use are exactly the same dimensions in pixels. This will ensure smooth transitions. If your images are different heights, the content on the page that is beneath the slideshow will be jumping up and down as the height of the slideshow image changes. Here are the different ways you can add images:
1. To add an image from the Server, click Select from Server. You will see all of the images you have uploaded to the server and can choose the one you want. After you choose your image by clicking on it, you will see a thumbnail of the image.
2. To add an image from your computer, click Select from Computer.  You can search your computer and find the image you want. When you select the image, you will see text in the field for the image file. You will NOT see a thumbnail before the image is uploaded. You will see part of the image file name in the URL field. After you have saved the Slideshow, if you click to Edit it again, you will see the thumbnail.
7. You have the option of adding a Caption to each image, if you like. We recommend doing your text in Bold, and setting a larger than normal size. In the Text Size drop-list, 1.8em or larger should do nicely for heading-size text. For longer captions, 1.4 is probably as small as you can go and still be legible. 
8. You can also click to Link the image to a page or a file. When you click the Link option, you can paste a URL to whatever page or file you like. 
9. Once you have your Slideshow set up the way you want, scroll to the bottom of the screen and click the Save button. If you are uploading several images, it may take a while for the upload to complete, so do not go anywhere else in the system while it is working. Wait for it to finish uploading, and then you will see your slideshow appear on the page.

For more details on how to work with the Slideshow, please click here.