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Zone tags

Note: This article is for an old version of OpenX.

The latest OpenX documentation can be found at the following URLs:

After setting up a zone, in the Zone properties > Invocation code tab, you can generate an ad tag to paste into HTML pages which invokes (calls) OpenX to deliver ads. The types of tags available depend on the type of zone you set. The tag types (listed in the order of popularity) are:

  • The JavaScript Tag is the most popular and versatile tag type, and includes a noscript option for the very small number of users that are not JavaScript-enabled.
  • The Local Mode Tag enables server-side processing for banners that are stored locally, for example to change the site template when a user clicks on an ad. This tag works only when Openads and your banners are stored on the same machine with the same top level domain. The website must be written in PHP or be able to parse PHP.
  • The XML-RPC Tag is similar to a local-mode tag but can be used for ads stored on a remote server.
  • The iFrame Tag uses the HTML iFrame tag to embed an advert in an iFrame on a web page.
  • The Image Tag is useful if you want to display banners to an audience that does not support JavaScript. Width and height attributes are not defined in this tag. If you want to allocate space for an ad before it shows, you must add this information directly into the tag.
  • The No Cookie Image Tag is an image tag which does not use cookies and is used by email zone types, because most email servers do not support the use of cookies.

See also: Zone types

When you select the tag type, you can set various optional parameters which change the Bannercode for your zone. These parameters vary depending on the type of zone and the type of zone tag you use. The following table describes these parameters and which tags use them. Popup and Insterstitial type zones have a number of additional parameters which are desribed on the Popup zones and Interstitial or Floating DHMTL zones pages. If a tag is not available in the drop-down menu that you think should be available, it is possible that the system administrator has disabled this tag type for the server. Contact your administrator for more information.

Parameter Description Used by which tag types?
Target frame This value sets the HTML TARGET attribute in the bannercode. The Default option opens the target page in a new browser tab, or you can change it to open in a new window or in the same window. All
Source Enter a source value if you want to limit banner delivery based on source, such as sports or news. See also: Banner delivery limitations. All
Support 3rd party server clicktracking Use this setting to track clicks in OpenX for ads served on an external ad server. See also: The 3rd Party Click Tracking White Paper on the OpenX developer zone. All
Insert cache-busting code JavaScript tags automatically insert a random number into the invocation code to ensure that an earlier banner is not delivered from the browser cache. With all other tags, to avoid ad caching, you must enter this manually into the tag and tick Yes. All
Include comments Removing comments from the bannercode reduces the amount of code in your web pages. However, before you remove comments, review them carefully because they contain impoortant information about the code. After you have set and reviewed the comments for all optional parameters, you can then tick No to remove them. All
Show text below banner Tick Yes if you want to display text below a banner. Enter this text in the Banner properties page. JavaScript, Local mode, XML-RPC
Don't show the banner again on the same page. Tick Yes if you do not want to show the banner again on this page view. JavaScript, Local mode, XML-RPC
Don't show a banner from the same campaign again on the same page. Tick Yes if you do not want to show any other banner from this campaign on this page view. JavaScript, Local mode, XML-RPC
Store the banner inside a variable so it can be used in a template This option enables you to use local mode to display banners in site templates. If you tick No and use a site template, the banner will display before the rest of the page loads. Local mode
Host language PHP must be running on the remote host. XML-RPC
Use HTTPS to contact XML-RPC Server Tick Yes if you want to connect to a secure server using HTTPS. XML-RPC
XML-RPC timeout (seconds) Set the number of seconds to wait for a response from the server. XML-RPC
Refresh after To automatically refresh a banner, specify the number of seconds between each reload. After each refresh, a new banner from your zone is displayed. iFrame
Resize iframe to banner dimensions This option is only available if your website and OpenX are on the same top level domain. In this case, it is possible to show banners of different sizes in a zone and the iFrame will resize to fit. iFrame
Make the iframe transparent This option works only with Internet Explorer 5.5 or higher. iFrame
Include Netscape 4 compatible ilayer Because the Netscape 4 ilayer does not work well with tables, do not place the banner in a table cell if you are using this option. iFrame
Include code to track Google AdSense clicks Tick No if you do not want to track these clicks. iFrame