Lightboxes

A lightbox is an area in which you can keep images that you have found but don’t wish to order immediately. Lightboxes are different from shopping baskets in that they allow you to store and edit selections over a period of time without fear of losing your work because the computer has crashed, the network failed, you have inadvertently quit your browser application or simply had to browse another site before completing an order.

How do I access my lightbox?
On registration you will be automatically assigned a single lightbox entitled ‘Login name’s Lightbox’, although you can go on to create, rename, delete or share any number of different lightboxes from a single log in account. The content of your lightbox is displayed as a scrolling list of thumbnails,. Clicking on a thumbnail allows you to preview an image. All the images can be viewed in sequence in the preview mode by clicking the numbering in the top right of the screen. The back button will return you to the thumbnail view.

To view or switch between lightboxes, simply select the lightbox you wish to use from the ‘Selected Lightbox’ drop down menu at the top of the screen and click on ‘View’.

How do I create a new lightbox?
To add a new lightbox, follow the ‘Create’ link next to the ‘Your Lightbox’ facility at the top of the page and type in a name for your new lightbox, then choose ‘Ok’. Your new lightbox will now appear in the dropdown selection menu.

The lightbox you select from the ‘Your Lightbox’ drop down menu at the top of the page becomes your active choice when you begin searching and saving. You will need to use the same drop down menu to switch between active lightboxes.

There is no limit to the amount of lightboxes you can have although there is an expiry time on each of them of 30 days from the last time a lightbox was used.

Can other people view my lightboxes?
Only if you want them to! You can share your lightbox(es) with other users by selecting a lightbox from the ‘Your Lightbox’ drop down menu, and then clicking on the ‘Share’ button. On the next screen you will need to enter the email address of the person or group you wish to share with, either by typing the address in the field provided or by selecting them from the ‘select recipient’ list. A field is also provided for you to enter a message for the recipient(s).

Click ‘Share’ to activate the share. If you entered a new address, this will become part of your personal address book and will be accessible only to you from the drop down recipient list or by visiting ‘Your Account’.

What happens when I share a lightbox?
Once you have followed the steps to share a lightbox, an email will be sent to your chosen recipient(s) containing instructions and a hyperlink to the shared lightbox. The word ‘Shared’ will appear in red on the right of the recipient’s screen to denote that it is a shared lightbox. The recipient can browse and preview the images contained in the lightbox but cannot edit the content in any way.

If the recipient wishes to start working with your selection (other than just browsing) they will need to either log on (if they are already registered with Visit London Images) or register. Once logged on, your shared lightbox becomes a selection in their drop down lightbox menu with the word ‘shared’ appearing in brackets after the name. [Note that if the recipient is registering with Visit London Images, the email address they enter on their registration will need to match the email address you entered to set up the share].

The recipient can now order directly from the lightbox by either placing individual images in their shopping basket or by adding the entire contents of the lightbox. For more information about ordering please see the ‘Ordering’ section.

What are the limitations of lightbox sharing?
The recipient cannot edit the contents of a shared lightbox. In order to edit the content, the lightbox will need to be renamed to create a separate identity. The renaming by a recipient in no way affects your lightbox; they are just creating another version, which is under their editorial control.

The recipient can also unshare a lightbox by clicking the ‘Unshare’ button. This will delete the lightbox from the recipient’s lightbox menu. The share could be reactivated if they were to go back to the original email and go through the process once again.