http://www.snap.com/about/shots_faq.php
An Introduction to Snap Shots™
Snap Shots makes it easier for site owners to empower their readers with enhanced hyperlinks that display previews, text summaries, videos, stock charts, MP3s, product info, and much, much more. Just roll your cursor over this link to see how it works.
What are the benefits for site users?
Snap Shots give users control over what links to click on by making those links more useful, thus helping them navigate the Internet with greater speed and accuracy.For example, Snap Shots can:
- Display a video
without requiring a big, embedded image. - Summarize a Wikipedia entry , including the links.
- Show a celebrity bio and picture .
- Chart a stock's current price .
- Highlight a product's retail page .
- Play an MP3 , and show available graphics and title info.
- Present a photo album from Flickr.
- Display a preview of a site PreviewShot for any other URL and tell the users:
- If they have already read the linked content.
- If the link points to a trusted source .
- If the destination page requires registration .
- If the linked content is Not Safe For Work .
- If they have already read
What are the benefits for site owners?
Snap Shots allows site owners to make editorial decisions about what enhanced content to display and then to deploy it as easily as creating a hyperlink. This leads to greater visitor satisfaction and a satisfied visitor is more likely to come back.For example:
- Snap Shots can automatically change their content to match linked content – the iPod wiki entry is very different than the iPod product page which is very different than the AAPL stock chart.
- VideoShots and AudioShots save space on your website by not requiring you to embed large images to trigger videos and audio.
- Snap Shots are effective when you link to articles from the same source - differences (i.e. headlines and pictures) are easier to perceive once within a repeating pattern (i.e page design).
- Snap Shots work well on blog rolls and text-heavy directory or results pages.
- Snap Shots can help fight link rot and reduce the number of trips to such pages.
Sign up to add Snap Shots to your site.
Frequently Asked Questions - Snap Shots™
Sign up to add Snap Shots to your site.
- Where can I send feedback on this product?
- What if I have a question that is not answered in this FAQ?
For Site Visitors
For Site Owners
- How do I make Snap Shots work with my site?
- I only want Snap Shots to appear when my visitors ask for them. How do I do that?
- How long does it take to capture the preview images for the links on my site?
- How do I update the preview image for a Web page?
- I don't want Snap to take a screenshot of my Web page. What can I do?
- How do I trigger Snap Shots other than PreviewShots?
- My site got a lot of automated traffic that seems to have been from Snap. What is going on?
Adjusting the Snap Shots Code
The easiest way to adjust your Snap Shots code is simply to create new code. You can do that here.
- How can I remove the search box from the Snap Shots?
- How can I prevent specific links from having Snap Shots?
- How do I add a class to a link that already has a class?
- I only want a few of the links on my site to trigger a Snap Shot. Is there a way to only include links rather than exclude them?
- How do I turn on Snap Shots for internal links?
- How can I turn Snap Shots on and off for blocks of links?
- How can I let my users know which links are Snap Shots-enabled?
- How can I turn Snap Shots icons on and off for blocks of links?
- Can I turn Snap Shots off or on for specific domains?
- What do all the parameters in the Snap Shots code mean?
- I want to add Snap Shots on plain text, not links. How do I do that?
- How can I hand code any of the Snap Shots?
- Snap Shots are showing up under the Flash elements on my page. How do I fix that?
Installing Snap Shots on Blogging Platforms
How do I install Snap Shots on...
Frequently Asked Questions & Answers - Snap Shots™
Q: Where can I send feedback on this product?
A: You can either send us a note using this Send Feedback link OR you can join the discussion on the Snap Blog. And yes, we want constructive criticism and suggestions.
Q: What if I have a question that is not answered in this FAQ?
A: If you were not able to find the answer to your question here, or have a comment, please feel free to contact Snap Customer Service.
For Site Visitors Deactivation
Q: How can I turn Snap Shots on or off?
A: Click here to disable Snap Shots. Please note you must reload the page or clear your cache for the change to take effect. Deactivation uses cookies, so if you delete your cookies, Snap Shots will be re-activated for all sites.
For Site Owners
Q: How do I make Snap Shots work with my site?
A: Paste the Snap Shots JavaScript code snippet into the HTML of your page, just before the </body> tag. If you want Snap Shots to work with a blog, you will need to paste the code into the template file. Some blogging hosts permit this and others do not. You may need to ask the support team for your blog host about this.
Q: I only want Snap Shots to appear when my visitors ask for them. How do I do that?
A: When you sign up for Snap Shots, on the last page, you will see the option to generate an "Opt-In Badge." The opt-in badge is a link-in-a-box that appears on your Web page and lets your users switch Snap Shots on and off for that page. When you create the badge, a small window containing code for the badge will appear below the window containing the Snap Shots code.
First, paste the code for Snap Shots just above the </body> tag in the HTML for your Web page. Then paste the code for the opt-in badge wherever you want it to appear on your page, but make sure you paste it somewhere between the <body> and </body> tags.
Q: How long does it take to capture the preview images for the links on my site?
A: Images of most sites will already be in our system. If not, Snap will automatically generate a preview image. The process for each image begins when someone rolls his or her cursor over the link. Usually the images are created in under 30 seconds, but there can be a delay if there are a lot of pages in the queue.
Q: How do I update the preview image for a Web page?
A: Type or paste in the URL of a web page that needs an updated preview and click "Send Request." It will be added to the preview queue. We cannot guarantee timing or entry, so please only submit URLs once.
Q: I don't want Snap to take a screenshot of my Web page. What can I do?
A: If you don't want Snap Shots to take a screenshot of your Web page, you can instruct your system to block user-agent "SnapPreviewBot" in the robots.txt file.
More information about robots.txt is available here.
Q: How do I trigger Snap Shots other than PreviewShots?
A: These will automatically display based on links matching our pattern URLs in the list below:
Adjusting the Snap Shots Code
The easiest way to adjust your Snap Shots code is simply to create new code. You can do that here.
Q: My site got a lot of automated traffic that seems to have been from Snap. What is going on?
A: There are two possibilities:
- When someone rolls over a Snap Shot-enabled link for the first time, Snap takes a picture of the linked-to Web page so the image can be displayed in the preview bubble. If someone links to many pages at your site, you may notice a temporary increase in automated traffic. However this is generally quite brief because Snap stores the image so it does not generally need to fetch it again. The user-agent for our snapshot-taking bot is "SnapPreviewBot".
- Snap.com, our search engine, uses an indexing bot that may occasionally visit your Web pages. The user-agent for our indexing bot is "SnapBot/1.0".
Both of our bots operate in the IP range of 38.98.19.66 to 38.98.19.126.
Q: How can I remove the search box from the Snap Shots?
A: In the JavaScript code added to your page, look for the query parameter "sb=1" and change it to "sb=0". For example:
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://shots.snap.com/snap_shots.js?ap=1&key=SAMPLE_KEY& sb=0&domain=www.example.com"></script>
Q: How can I prevent specific links from having Snap Shots?
A: Add the 'snap_noshots' class to any link and it will not display the Snap Shot. For example:
<a class="snap_noshots" href="http://www.example.com" mce_href="http://www.example.com"> www.example.com</a>
Q: How do I add a class to a link that already has a class?
A: An element can have more than one class. Just separate each class with a space. For example, the following link has two classes, 'snap_noshots' and 'other_class':
<a class="other_class snap_noshots" href="http://www.example.com" mce_href="http://www.example.com ">www.example.com</a>
Q: I only want a few of the links on my site to trigger a Snap Shot. Is there a way to only include links rather than exclude them?
A: Yes. In the JavaScript code on your page, look for the query parameter 'ap=1' and change it to 'ap=0'. This will cause the system to NOT display the Snap Shots by default. For example:
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://shots.snap.com/snap_shots.js?ap=0&key=SAMPLE_KEY&sb=0&domain= www.example.com"></script>
Then, for each link that you DO want Snap Shots to display, add a 'snap_shots' class. For example:
<a class="snap_shots" href="http://www.example.com" mce_href="http://www.example.com"> www.example.com</a>
Q: How do I turn on Snap Shots for internal links?
A: By default, Snap Shots are turned OFF for links to other pages at the same domain. To turn it ON for internal links, change 'si=0' to 'si=1' to your Snap Shots code, as shown in this example:
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://shots.snap.com/snap_shots.js?ap=1&si=1&key=SAMPLE_KEY&sb=0&domain= www.example.com"></script>
Q: How can I turn Snap Shots on and off for blocks of links?
A: You can selectively turn blocks of links on or off by including them within a <div>, <span> or, actually, within any HTML element.
To do so, you modify the element (or add an element) to include either:
- <div class="snap_shots"> (to force the links within the block to have Snap Shots) or
- <div class="snap_noshots"> (to force the links within the block to not have Snap Shots).
For example:
- <div class="snap_shots">
- <a href="webpage.html" mce_href="webpage.html">this link triggers Snap Shots</a>
- <a href="webpage2.html" mce_href="webpage2.html">this link also triggers Snap Shots</a>
- </div>
- <a href="webpage3.html" mce_href="webpage3.html">this link does not trigger Snap Shots</a>
By switching the class in the initial <div> element to "snap_noshots" you would turn all the links in the <div> off.
Q: How can I let my users know which links are Snap Shots-enabled?
A: Some of your users may want to know at a glance which of your links have Snap Shots and which do not. Therefore, we have created a Snap Shots icon you can use to indicate that a link is Snap Shots-enabled. The easiest way to add this functionality to your links is to use our Web interface to create new code for your website.
Or, you can edit your existing Snap Shots code manually. Here's how:
To turn on icons, add '&link_icon=on'.
To turn off icons, add '&link_icon=off'. (Or, do not add anything, as this is the default behavior.)
Here is an example showing the icon turned on, with the code added to the end of the JavaScript:
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://shots.snap.com/snap_shots.js?ap=0&key=SAMPLE_KEY&sb=0
&domain=www.example.com&link_icon=on"></script>
Also, if you are using the icon, you may want the Snap Shots to display when the user:
1. Rolls the cursor over either the link or the icon: Example Link
2. Rolls the cursor over only the icon: Example Link
Here is how to adjust this:
For option one, add '&shots_trigger=both' to the JavaScript code. (Or do not add anything, as this is the default behavior.)
For option two, add '&shots_trigger=icon' to the JavaScript code.
Here is an example with option two added to the end of the JavaScript code:
<script type="text/javascript" src="http://shots.snap.com/snap_shots.js?ap=0&key=SAMPLE_KEY&sb=0&domain=www.example.com
&link_icon=on&shots_trigger=icon"></script>
Q: How can I turn Snap Shots icons on and off for blocks of links?
A: You can selectively turn Snap Shots icons on or off for blocks of links within a <div> or <span> element, or actually, within any html element.
To do so, modify the element (or add an element) to include:
<div class="snap_trigger_icon"> (Turns on the link icon. Rolling the cursor over the icon causes the preview image to be displayed.)
<div class="snap_trigger_both"> (Turns on the link icon. Rolling the cursor over either the icon or the link causes the preview image to be displayed.)
<div class="snap_no_icon"> (Turns off the link icon.)
For example:
- <div class="snap_trigger_icon">
- <a href="webpage.html" mce_href="webpage.html">The Snap Shots™ icon is displayed and triggers a preview image</a>
- <a href="webpage2.html" mce_href="webpage2.html">The Snap Shots™ icon is also displayed here and triggers a preview image</a>
- </div>
- <a href="webpage3.html" mce_href="webpage3.html">this Snap Shots™ icon is not necessarily displayed</a>
By switching the class in the initial <div> element to 'snap_no_icon' you would turn off Snap Shots icons in the <div>. By switching to 'snap_trigger_both' you would cause the Snap Shots icons to be displayed and both the icons and the links to trigger Snap Shots.
Q: Can I turn Snap Shots off or on for specific domains?
A: Yes, though it's a bit technical.
Copy the following code and paste it in a text editor so you can modify it. When you are done editing it, paste the resulting code into your HTML page just before the </body> tag.
<script type="text/javascript">
//<[CDATA[
var links = document.getElementsByTagName('a');
for (var l = 0; l < links.length; l++) {
if(links[l].href.match(/^http:\/\/www\.example\.com/)){
links[l].className += " snap_noshots";
}
}
//]]>
</script>
The snap_noshots in the code above turns Snap Shots off for links to the domain www.example.com. But perhaps you have Snap Shots on your page turned off by default and you only want to turn them on for certain domains. Then you would use snap_shots.
- snap_noshots turns Snap Shots off for www.example.com.
- snap_shots turns Snap Shots on for www.example.com.
But probably you do not want to link to www.example.com at all, so here's what to do:
- First, notice that in the code "www.example.com" is written like this: www\.example\.com
- So, replace www\.example\.com with whatever domain name you please, but it must be written in the same fashion, with a backslash before each dot.
If you only want to turn Snap Shots on or off for one domain, then you are now done modifying the code. Just paste the modified code into your page just before the </body> tag and republish if necessary.
But perhaps you want to turn Snap Shots on or off for two or more domain names. Here's how:
- Replace the line in the code that contains www\.example\.com with this line: if(links[l].href.match(/^http:\/\/(www\.example1\.com|www\.example2\.com)/)){
- With this line, Snap Shots will look for either www.example1.com or www.example2.com. Notice in this new bit of code that the two domains are separated with a vertical bar ( | ).
- You can add more domains simply by adding a vertical bar before each new domain, as shown in this replacement line of code. And, of course, remember to put a backslash (\) before any dots.
Finally, paste the modified code into your HTML page just before the </body> tag, republish if necessary, and you are done.
Q: What do all the parameters in the Snap Shots code mean?
A: This is rather technical and we recommend you don't adjust the settings of your Snap Shots code unless you understand what you are doing. The values these parameters can take are listed in parentheses at the end of each entry.
- ap - Indicates whether Snap Shots are on or off by default. (0 = off, 1 = on)
- sb - Indicates whether the Snap Shot bubble contains a search box for Snap.com. (0 = no, 1 = yes)
- cl - Indicates whether Snap Shots will display a custom logo as uploaded by the Web site owner during sign-up. (0 = do not display custom logo, 1 = display custom logo)
- df - Delay loading of Snap Shots until after page loads. (0 = off, 1 = on) [It is rare that you will need this. Setting to 1 may speed page loading in some cases.]
- key - This is a unique alphanumeric string created when you signed up for Snap Shots. It is required and you should not mess with it.
- link_icon - Turns Snap Shots link icon on or off. (on, off)
- oi - Indicates whether Snap Shots should be controlled by the Snap Shots Opt-In Badge on your web sage. (0 = off, 1 = on) [This should be off unless you selected the Opt-In Badge during signup and have included the Badge on your Web page.]
- po - Indicates whether Snap Shots will display Web page previews only (no stock quotes, product info, movie info, video, etc.) or the full range of Snap Shot previews. (0 = all Snap Shot previews, 1 = Web page previews only)
- shots_trigger - Indicates whether to activate a Snap Shot bubble with the link icon only (see link_icon), or with both the link icon and the link. (icon, both)
- si - Indicates whether Snap Shots should be on or off for links to other pages on your site. (0 = off for internal links, 1 = on for internal links)
- size - Indicates the initial size of the Snap Shots bubble. (small, large)
- th - Indicates background color of the Snap Shot bubble (silver, ice, green, linen, orange, pink, purple, asphalt)
- domain - Domain on which the Snap Shots code is being placed. This is required.
Q: I want to add Snap Shots on plain text, not links. How do I do that?
A: Please see our Snap Shots Markup Language whitepaper for instructions.
Q: How can I hand code any of the Snap Shots?
A: Please see our Snap Shots Markup Language whitepaper.
Q: Snap Shots are showing up under the Flash elements on my page. How do I fix that?
A: Try adjusting your Flash code to be transparent.
Here are two things to try, depending on whether you are using the OBJECT or EMBED tag:
Add the following parameter to the OBJECT tag:
<param name="wmode" value="transparent">
Add the following parameter to the EMBED tag:
wmode="transparent"
Installing Snap Shots on Blogging Platforms
How do I install Snap Shots on...
Q: TypePad?
A: Click here to begin the TypePad widget installation process.
Q: WordPress?
A: Click here to view Ajay D'Souza's WordPress plugin.
Q: Blogger/Blogspot?
A: Read our Blogger Quick Start Guide.
Q: Moveable Type?
A: Click here to view Chad Everett's Moveable Type plugin.
Q: Google Pages?
A: Click on the 'edit' link, as shown here, and insert the code above the title text and publish it.
--
Zhipeng Zhang (Alan) BCompSc MInfoTech MACS(Prov)
"You must be the change you want to see in the world."
"Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end; then stop."
-- Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland
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