Moving Houses 'How To'.

Help Page Menu:

Creating an Account - goto

• Password Convention - goto
• Check List Page - goto
• Account Creation Page - goto

Creating a Moving Houses Property Tour - goto

• Login Page - goto
• Property List Page - goto
• Image Upload Page - goto
• Image Details page - goto
• Property Details Page - goto
• Create Walk-thro Page - goto
• Preview Page - goto
• Property Submission Page - goto
• Accounts Page - goto

Creating An Account

"Note that you will possibly only ever need to create one account and you do this on your first visit."

With Moving Houses Property Tours you are able to create and maintain web pages from any Internet ready PC.

In order for you to do this securely, the first time that you visit our web site, will need to create an account. This is so that the pages that you are creating and maintaining are safe from any interference.

There are two type of account:

Professional accounts: For Estate Agent and Property Managers etc., who have a business identity and may require to advertise a number of properties online.

For professional accounts invoices will be raised on the final day of each month. These are to be settled within 30 days. Professional accounts can publish properties immediately but will initially need to have their business status confirmed either by phone or e-mail.

Because professional accounts may have more than one property online a record is kept of the amount owing for each property. The accounts page can be viewed once you have logged in.

Private accounts: Are for private home owners who generally intend to only advertise a single property.

For private accounts payment is due upon completion of the Moving Houses Property Tour. Properties will not appear on the Internet until after a payment has been received. Once a payment has been received a private user is welcome to user their account to create another property.

  

Password Convention

Because you are able to use your Moving Houses account to create pages which are published directly on the web, your account has to be password protected. This is a safeguard so that you can be sure that only the information which you want displayed is associated with your property.

Because passwords are hard to remember we recommend using the following convention which should allow you to quickly recall your password on subsequent visits to this site.

• Your password must be eight lowercase characters - four alpha and four numeric.
• Please use the first four letters of your mothers maiden name eg. if your mother was formerly a Smith this becomes "smit".
• Follow this with four numbers, the day and month of your birthday eg. if you were born on the 1st of July this becomes "0107".
• Your password would then be smit0107.

Easy for you to remember but hard for others to guess.

"Please note that the security of the Moving Houses account password is the responsibility of the account holder."

  

Checklist Page

Checklist.jsp

As discussed above this page uses a simple check box to establish whether you require a private or professional account.

  

Account Creation Page

CreateAccount.jsp

This page is used to create your new account. The information recorded is not of an intrusive nature and is only required to make your account secure. This information will not be passed to a third party or used for any purpose other than securing access to your account.

All fields must be completed on the form.

Please enter your full name and e-mail address in the first two fields. This will allow us to contact you easily if there is a problem with any of your web pages.

The "Log In Name" field contains the name of the account and this must be a unique name. If another person is already using the account name you will be prompted to enter your details again. Use any account name which you can easily remember.

Your password must be entered in the remaining two fields. Please follow our convention for choosing your passwords.

  

Creating A Moving Houses Property Tour

Once you have created your account you can go ahead and create a property tour.

These briefly are the steps:

• Log in using your previous created account information.
• Select 'create new property' or 'edit' existing property.
• Upload images from your PC onto the server.
• Input textural information (the description) about your property.
• Optionally, create a navigation display if you would like one.
• Preview and select your favourite tour from a number of display formats.
• Review the cost and submit the tour for publishing online.
• If you are a professional user you may also check your accounts.

Before creating a property tour please read our terms and conditions.

Be aware that the information which you intend to publish will be made publicly available on the Internet. Please check the information/content which shown is in your photographic images and detailed in your textural descriptions. Remember that you must only publish this information with the full consent of the property owner.

Before you create a Moving Houses Property Tour you will need to have:

• The full consent of the property owner.
• A minimum of at least five photographic images.
• These photographs must be digitised into JPEG images files.
• The dimensions of the digitised JPEG images files must be 420 pixels wide by 280 pixels high.
• The digitised JPEG images files must be less than 10k in size.
• The filenames of the images must not be great than eight characters.

Restrictions on the size, format and dimensions of images are required because large graphics take much longer to download than say simple text. In effect the smaller you make your graphics the faster they download.

These images can be created using either a digital camera or by scanning conventional photographs. We recommend that prior to logging in you have saved these images in a single directory and that the images are appropriately named eg. a.jpg, b.jpg or room1.jpg, room2.jgp.

Please be aware of your own security considerations when publishing pictures of your property on the Internet. Hide or cover any expensive items which do not pertain to the sale of your property.

  

Login Page

Login.jsp

"Note that you will not be able to log in to the system unless you have first created an account."

Once you have created an account you will be able to log in by entering an account name and password. Password protecting your account prevents unauthorised access. You will have to log into your account on subsequent visits to the Moving Houses web site if you wish to make alterations to your web pages.

The tool bar, across the top of each of your account pages, contains a link which allows you to log out of your account. Logging out takes place automatically after a period of inactivity but this feature can be used if more than on person has access to the PC which you are using to view your account.

If you have forgotten your password please refer to the convention used when creating your account - goto. If this hasn't been helpful then please contact the Administrator here.

  

Property List Page

PropertyList.jsp

This page shows the details of the properties for which Moving Houses property tours have been created for the currently logged in user. Use this page to begin the process of either entering a new property or editing, archiving, and deleting a previously entered property.

New Property:

A new property can not be created until previously unfinished property has been either put online or deleted. A warning will appear if there are properties which have not been completed.

If all previous properties are up to date then a 'Create New Property' button will appear on the page.

Pressing the 'Create New Property' button creates a new property and adds the property to the property list in the body of the page with empty fields. At this stage the property is associated with a tour number by which it will continue to be identified.

Edit Property:

To begin the process of entering or modifying information about the property press the radio button in the edit column adjacent to the required property. This will forward you to the Image Upload Page. The Image Upload Page allows you to upload your JPEG image files.

"Note it is important that properties do not remain online when they are no longer available for sale etc."

Deleting/Archiving Property:

Because the account holder has control over the creation of their web pages it is also their responsibility to remove their properties from the system at the appropriate time.

Pressing archive/delete removes a property from the system. If the property is online the property will be archived. If details have been entered, but the property was not put online it is deleted.

Archiving and restoring a property is particularly useful for properties which appear on the market periodically such as rental properties.

An archived property can be restored at a quarter of its original cost.

To restore an archived property please contact the Administrator - here.

  

Image Upload Page

Upload.jsp

This page is used to upload your JPEG image files from your local PC onto the web.

Your JPEG image files should be in the following format.

• The photographs must be digitised into JPEG images files.
• The dimensions of the digitised JPEG images files must be 420 pixels wide by 280 pixels high.
• The digitised JPEG images files must be less than 10k in size.
• The filenames of the images must not be great than eight characters.
• We recommend labeling them sequentially using a.jgp, b.jpg or room1.jpg, room2.jpg etc.

The first field on the Image Upload Page is labelled 'To select an image click on browse.' Clicking the 'browse' button will present you with a file selection box which will allow you to choose a file on your local machine. A file path will appear in the field once a file has been selected.

Clicking the 'upload' button will begin the process of uploading the file onto the server. If the upload is successful you will be forwarded to the Image Details Page. The Image Details Page allows you to enter a textural description of the image which you have just uploaded. The Image Details Page is described in the next section.

As each image is uploaded a list is created. The list contains a thumbnail of the image, the image number, the image name, and a description of the image. The list also contains an edit radio button which allows you to delete, reposition or change the description of the image by forwarding you to The Image Details Page which is described in the next section.

"Please note that the order of the images as they appear in the list on the Image Upload Page is significant."

Please note that the order of the images as they appear in the list on the Image Upload Page is significant as it reflects the order in which images are presented in the displays such as the slideshow. The first image in the list is 'start' of the navigation tour and is the image which is used when a single representation of the property is required. This would typically be an view of the front of the property.

A minimum of five JPEG image files are required to create a Moving Houses property tour. Once five images have been input an 'Accept' button will appear. Continue entering JPEG image files until you have uploaded all the images that are required for your property and you are finished. If you are satisfied with the JPEG image files which you have uploaded pressing the 'Accept' button will forward you to the Enter Property Details Page. The Enter Property Details Page allows you to enter a textual description of your property.

  

Image Details Page

Upload1.jsp

The Image Details Page is used to edit the information which is associated with individual images.

The image which you have just uploaded is displayed.

The textural description of the photograph is made upon of a single word title and then a full description. The single word title must be completed for every image if you wish to create a drop down menu display. A description field allows you to enter textural information to support the content of the image. If you would like some suggestions about what to include in your descriptions please click here.

A reposition field allows you to determine the order in which the images are viewed. This is particularly important for a Slideshow Display where the slides appear in the order in which the images appear on the list on the Image Upload Page. The first image is considered as 'the most representative' and will appear on a page where a single image is required. The first image is also important in the Navigation Display because it is always the first slide to which all the others are subsequently linked.

Putting a value of "1" in the reposition field moves the image to head of the list. Putting a value of "3" in the reposition field moves the image to the third position in the list. Putting a value greater than or equal to the total number of images moves the image to the end of the list.

A radio button Delete allows the image to be deleted. However if an image is already linked into navigation display then the link must be deleted before the image can be removed. (Otherwise the navigation would not work). In this situation the delete button is temporarily disabled.

Once you have entered you image details pressing 'Accept' will return you to the Image Upload Page.

  

Create Walk-through Page

"NOTE - If you do not want to create a Navigation display you can skip this page."

This page is used to create a 'Navigation' walk-through display which allows images to be navigated using the points of the compass. This page is probably the least intuitive.

First make sure that you understand what a 'Navigation Walk-through' display is. Look at this example if you have not yet done so.

The information which you have input so far will allow you to view your property as both a 'Slideshow' and as 'Pop Up' display. If you do not want to create a 'Navigation' display at this time you can choose to skip this page and return here later.

So how is this page created?

  There are eight points on our compass;
    N NE E SE S SW W NW.

  Each image can be connected to another image on one of these points.

  When you upload your images on the Image Upload page the image is identified by both a filename and image number.

   Arrange your photographs or make a paper design which shows the relative positions of your images as has been done in the layout illustration given on the right.

  Now make a list of all the links that you wish to create. The Link description is in three parts; first image + point of compass + second image. There are five links indicated on the diagram and these are described here :

  Three Part Link Description

• a.jpg(1) North b.jpg(2)
• b.jpg(2) West d.jpg(4)
• b.jpg(2) NWest e.jgp(5)
• b.jpg(2) North c.jpg(3)
• c.jpg(3) West e.jpg(5)

The five links have five descriptions. The link only has to be indicated one way, the reverse situation does not have to be entered.

The list is a description the information in the layout illustration above.

With this information you can now proceed to the Create Walk-through Page where the link information can now be entered using the three drop down boxes marked Image: Link: Image: at the centre of the page.

This is made easy because the drop down box marked Image: already contains the your image filenames with their numbers. The middle box marked Link: contains the points of the compass.

Once you have put your three part link description into the drop boxes press 'display.'

The page will now be reloaded and the link you wish to create displayed in the area adjacent to the drop down boxes.

For this link to be recorded you need to press the 'accept' button. Otherwise press 'reject' and the link will not be recorded. Both actions will reload the page and invite you to input another link.

If the link already exists, in a similar fashion you will be prompted by 'accept' and 'reject' buttons to see if you want to delete the link.

To create a navigation display requires that you systematically enter the list of links that you have created.

  

Preview Page

Preview.jsp

Having previously entered your images and your property details the Preview Page is used to view the different layout formats in which your information can be presented on the web.

The display formats listed show your property. Note that some display formats require that you have entered extra information. For example, the navigation display requires that you have completed the Create Walk-throught Page and not pressed the 'Skip it' button.

Having taken time to have a look a the different display formats make a note of the URL [web address] which corresponds to the display format which you feel is most appropriate for your use. The address which is given eg. "http://www.vtour.org/mh/nav.jsp?house=1" is the address for your specific property. It is the address which people on the web type into their browser in order to view your property. This URL can be also included in your advertising, or used as link into your virtual tour from an existing external web page.

"Use Moving Houses to extend your existing web site."

Note that if you link into a Moving Houses property tour from an existing external web page the 'exit display' button will return you directly to the external site. This is important because it means that a person browsing the web is not interrupted. A person browsing may use a Moving Houses property not realising that they have ever left your web site.

The transition between an existing web site and Moving Houses can be made seamlessly with the use of Styles, Customised Displays and Facades.

Styles: Each display format is also associated with a number of Styles which can be used to alter its appearance on the web. Changing a Style mainly affects the fonts and colours on your pages, rather than altering the layout. A drop down box allows you to choose Note that Moving Houses remembers the last Style which you select and will apply the Style when the URL is requested.

Customised Displays: The existing display formats are 'Popup Window' 'Slideshow' and 'Navigation.' However the layout of the page can readily be changed and other display formats can be added. Customised Displays are displays which have had either their layout or appearance altered to suit a specific business. It might for example include the name of the company, company logos, a menu from your existing web site etc. If you have a suggestion for another display format or would like a format which is customised to the appearance of your existing web site these can be created for you.

Facades: A facade is final step in the process of customisation where we effectively provide you with a web site for your property business which is powered by Moving Houses. You will be given a domain name eg. "www.myEstates.org" plus a homepage and associated pages which are designed specifically for your business. The clients who view you properties using customised displays will be unaware of Moving Houses site. However using Moving Houses to power the site means that the web site doesn't have to be built from scratch.

If you are interested in a customised display format or a facade please contact the Administrator - [here].

Once you have selected the display format that you wish to use press the 'Submit' button and you will be forwarded to the Property Submission page. The Property Submission page gives you the cost of putting your property tour online.

  

Property Submission Page

Submit.jsp

"This is the page on which you decide whether you want to publish your Moving Houses Property Tour on the Internet."

Up to this point you have completed entering your tour details and reviewed the different layout formats in which your information can be presented on the web. You are able to view your information over the Internet using your account. On the Property Submission Page you indicate your intention to publish your Moving Houses Property Tour and make that information publicly available on the Internet.

For a professional account the information will be published immediately. For a private account the information will be published upon receipt of a cheque or postal order.

The Property Submission Page presents you with specific information about the cost of placing your Moving Houses Property Tour online. Using the radio buttons you can change the cost into the currency with which you intend to pay.

If your not sure whether you want to proceed at this stage please press the "later" button. Your information will remain on the system for a number of days should you wish to log on again later and continue.

You signal you intention to publish your Moving Houses Property Tour online by pressing the accept button. If you are a private account holder you will be forwarded to the home page. If you are a professional account holder you will be forwarded to your account page.

  

Accounts Page

Accounts.jsp

The Accounts Page is for property professionals and provides details for those paying monthly accounts.

Figures are given for each Moving Houses Property Tour and the total amount which is currently outstanding.

Please include your Account Name and the Moving Houses Tour Number(s) on the reverse of side your payment.