Below are detailed instructions on how to use the auction templates
Note. Throughout the instructions below I am going to assume you are working on
Template 1,
Template selection. Select the template you are going to use.
Copy the template. In your web browser, while viewing your chosen template, select
view - source
This will bring the HTML source for the template in Notepad. Save the source code
in 'my documents' as 'my template.html'.
View your template. Minimize Notepad and any other windows which you have open.
Open 'my documents', locate and double click on 'my template'. The saved template file should open
in your web browser. You will now be able to make changes to the template in Notepad, save them,
switch to your browser, refresh (shortcut key is F5) and preview your change. Save and preview
frequently as you make changes below.
Add your own text. In the source file you will see blocks of HTML code which is all enclosed
in < & > symbols, in between the blocks of code is the text which you need to change for the
Item Name, Description, Shipping, Payment and Terms & Conditions sections.
<tr><th><table bgcolor=white><tr><th><font color=black size=+4 face="poor richard"><b>
The Mask
</font></b></th></tr></table></th></tr>
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If you are having problems finding
a section in the code compare what you are seeing in your browser preview with the source code.
Within these text blocks you may see some HTML tags. <br>
gives you a new line, while <p>
gives a new paragraph
<center>
Centres the text
</center>Returns to normal, (left alignment).
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Change the background image. Choose a new background image from the
Background Image pages.
Note the name of your chosen background.
In the second line of the source file
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<table background="http://www.ukauctionhelp.co.uk/backs/b27.jpg" cellspacing=5 cellpadding=10>
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change the name, highlighted, to the name of your selected background.
In some of the templates the background name will need to be changed in more then one place.
Template 3 uses two different background images.
Save & preview
Change Colours. Throughout the source file there are points where the colours can
be changed, this is the third line of template 1
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<tr><th><table bgcolor=white><tr><th><font
color=black size=+4 face="poor richard"><b>
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This line of code sets the background & font colour in the item description box.
The words black and white can be changed for any of the 'colour words' you find
here (you may also see the
phrase bordercolor= in some of the templates, this is defining the colour of the border
around the box).
You will need to change the colours throughout the file. Save & preview
Change Fonts. Again throughout the file there are points where you can change the type
face (font), here is the third line again
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<tr><th><table bgcolor=white><tr><th><font
color=black size=+4 face="poor richard"><b>
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Select the alternative font
here and replace the name in the template file with the
name of your chosen font. You will need to change the font name throughout the file. Save & preview.
Your Items Picture. Towards the bottom of template 1 you will see a section like this
<!-- Image -->
<tr><th><table bgcolor=white><tr><td>
<img src="items/i01.jpg" border=0>
</td></tr></table></th></tr>
<!-- Image -->
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If you are not going to have an image the whole section can be deleted. Otherwise you will need
to change the highlighted section to the url of your image
i.e. http://www.myisp.co.uk/mywebspace/mypicture.jpg
Save & preview
Payment Logos. The payment logo's section of template 1 looks like this
<!-- PayLogos -->
<p>
<center>
<A href="http://pages.ebay.co.uk/help/buyerguide/bp-buyer.html" target="_blank"><img height=31 src="http://pics.ebay.com/aw/pics/uk/billpoint/BptIcon88x31.gif" width=88 alt="Billpoint" border=0></A>
<a href="http://www.nochex.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://www.nochex.com/web/images/logono.gif" border="0" width="88" height="31" alt="NoChex"></a>
<a href="http://www.paypal.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://images.paypal.com/images/lgo/logo3.gif" border="0" width="88" height="31" alt="PayPal"></a>
</center>
<!-- PayLogos -->
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If you do not want to include the logo's at all you can just delete the whole section.
I have highlighted the NoChex logo so you can see the whole of it. To delete any logo you need to
remove everything from the <a href to the next </a>.
To insert a different logo
choose one from
here or from the companies web site and paste it into the block in a new line.
Save & preview
Some templates have their logos in 2 separate places and are identified like this
<!-- PayLogos 1 Start -->
Logos
<!-- PayLogos 1 End -->
....code, descriptions etc..............................
<!-- PayLogos 2 Start -->
Logos
<!-- PayLogos 2 End -->
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Flags. Near the top of Template 1 is the flag section, which looks like this
<!--flag-->
<tr><th>
<img src="http://itsfree4u.co.uk/f/uk1.gif">
</th></tr>
<!--flag-->
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To remove the flag delete the whole section.
To change the flag visit the flag page
here and choose the flag you want to use and note its file name. Change the name, highlighted above.
Save & preview.
Like the payment logos some templates have 2 flags and are numbered in the same way.
Using the template. Once you have customized the template you are ready to use it
in your auctions.
To open the template for further editing in Notepad you can either drag the file from
my documents and drop it into Notepad or Use file open and select all file types
or double click on the file and select view source. Having reopened your template
file, input the details of the item you are going to sell and save the template with
the name of the item as a file name, for later reference.
To insert the finished template into the eBay selling form
choose the 'edit' menu and then 'select all' to highlight the whole file, then select copy,
then right click in the item description box
in eBay and select paste in the pop up menu.
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If you have tried to use these instructions and are still having problems
please contact me, you may want to attach your template file, and I will try
and help you.
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