We’re used to seeing captions alongside images, but we’ve redesigned the way in which our own Captions feature works with SmartFrames to make them more flexible than ever
Streaming images allows SmartFrame to deliver a whole lot more to the image-viewing experience than the image itself, from interactive buttons and our Hyper Zoom technology through to dynamic watermarks and more.
Captions are another example of our additional functionality, and something many of our users take advantage of. And now, we’ve made this feature even better.
We’ve redesigned the way Captions work to make things better for both the viewer and the publisher of the SmartFrame, and this is the focus of what follows below. But first, we take a quick look at why you should use a Caption to begin with, and what makes SmartFrame Captions unique.
Why use Captions?
Captions allow the content publisher to add information about an image to the SmartFrame that contains it. This could be a description of the image, or perhaps the photographer’s name and copyright details. Often, it’s both.
Captions themselves are nothing new – so what makes them so special when used in SmartFrames?
First, as the content owner always has control over where their SmartFrames are shared and embedded, they can ensure that this information is always displayed with the image. This is because the Caption part of the SmartFrame itself, and so the image cannot be shared without this in place. This in turn means that SmartFrame images can always be shown with correct accreditation, as specified by the content owner.
Another benefit is that, as the SmartFrame is streamed, the Caption can also be updated by the content owner at all times, regardless of where that SmartFrame has been embedded online. So, if you’ve changed your website address or realize you’ve made a spelling mistake, or have any other reason to change it, you can do this quickly and easily through the SmartFrame Admin Panel.
What’s new with SmartFrame Captions?
Previously, when the length of a Caption exceeded a couple of lines, the Caption would automatically be moved behind a separate Info button (which you can see in the SmartFrame below).
Info button
This ensured the Caption never took up an unreasonable amount of space over the image itself so that viewers could concentrate on either the image or the Caption. It did, however, make the presence of this information less obvious, and wasn’t always ideal for those whose SmartFrames would otherwise bear regular Captions, typically at the bottom of the frame.
Now, we’re giving users the choice between retaining the above setup or having an expandable Caption when using more than a few lines of copy. This way, the user is able to retain the Caption in its original position, but still add all the information they need. This appears much like a regular Caption, only a gradation indicates that there is more information here, and this expands when clicked.
New expandable Caption
This allows the content owner to write as much text as necessary in this space, with the same visibility over the image as with a regular Caption. We do, however, recognize that sometimes it may be useful to include text that doesn’t appear like a conventional Caption, so the user is free to opt for the previous Info button setup if they wish.
How to get started with SmartFrame Captions
Captions can be enabled, edited and formatted in the Themes section of the SmartFrame Admin Panel. As long as the slide toggle is blue, you should have all the options for editing Captions available to you.
You can determine which metadata populates this space as standard using the drop-down menu provided. If, for example, you always want metadata entered in the Description field to be used here, simply select Description and this will populate it automatically.
You can also specify what should be displayed here if an image has no text in the selected metadata field. Simply change the text that reads Optional default value and click on Save, and this text will appear in event that the specified metadata is absent. If you would like to change the default method of displaying longer Captions, you can do this in the section beneath this.
For more information on using the Caption feature, head to our Help Center. And if you’ve not already signed up for a SmartFrame account, you can do so here.
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