Adding a new banner

In the Add new banner page you should first choose the type of banner (image, HTML or text) you are linking to your campaign, and how it will be served. OpenX supports the following file types:

and allows them to be served in the following ways:

• sql: directly from the OpenX database
• web: via a web server stored on the same machine
• url: via a pre-existing website
• html: code can be entered for creatives such as plain text ads, forms, or banners with multiple images. You can also use HTML code from external ad networks such as Google AdSense.
• text: text ads are similar in style to Google's 'Sponsored Links'.

Having selected the banner type, the following information must be supplied:

• Basic information: the banner's name.
• Upload a local banner to the webserver/database/etc.: this is where your banner code or banner creative should be inserted. The way in which you do this depends on the banner type:
  • Local SQL and Webserver banners: click the Browse button and navigate to the banner file you want to upload to the server.
  • URL (external) banners: enter a full (i.e. 'http://') URL in the Image URL field.
  • HTML banners: either enter HTML directly into the text box, or use HTML from an external ad server by selecting it from the list in the HTML banner drop-down menu:

When you enter HTML code use the 'return' or 'enter' key to start a new line of code. Do not enter HTML or BODY tags because these are provided by the target HTML page.
Tick the Alter HTML to enable tracking of Clicks checkbox to add click-tracking code to the banner.

Note: OpenX inserts the HTML into the page that hosts the ad tag. If you omit a character, e.g. a closing bracket, it can adversely effect the display of the web page.

• Text banners: enter text in the banner text box. Hit 'return' to start a new line of text if required
• Banner link:
  • Destination URL: here you should enter the URL that a visitor will be taken to by clicking the banner. Don't forget to include the http:// prefix.
  • Target: For all banner types you can set the frame for the destination URL in the Target field. The default target, is -blank, opens the URL in a new window.
• Banner display:
  • Alt text: this option applies only to image banners. The text entered here will display as a 'tooltip' when a user's cursor passes over the banner. The tip provides the location of the image if the image file has not yet downloaded. If this field is left blank then no text is displayed. ad image has not downloaded.
  • Status text: this option applies only to text and image banners. Text entered here will appear in the browser status bar when the mouse passes over a banner. In JavaScript-enabled browsers the default status is the destination URL, but this can be changed to whatever you enter in the status text field.
  • Text below image: for image banners only. Text entered here appears below the banner and links to the destination URL. This text can be formatted by using basic HTML tags. If you leave the field blank no text will appear beneath the banner.
  • Width & Height: for external and HTML banners only. Width and Height size attributes must be entered, as OpenX has no other way of determining these banners dimensions.
• Additional data:
  • Keywords: here you can enter keywords for a banner, using a space to separate multiple keywords. OpenX uses the keywords to determine which banner to display when using direct selection.
  • Weight: enter a value in this field to influence the likelihood of a banner being displayed. A banner with a weight of 3 is likely to be displayed three times as often as a banner with a weight of 1 (the default value).
  • Comments: this field is provided for you to enter any notes relevant to the banner and its display.

Once these details have been entered, your banner will display in the Banners page: