Introduction
Using the right image for thumbnails and headers may help learners to understand the subject of your training and to identify content in catalogs and other pages at first sight. In your learning platform, you can upload images from the Courses area, the Learning plans management area, and the Configure branding and look menu, taking advantage of some simple editing functionalities to make your images more appealing.
Accessibility hint. Thumbnails and header images are decorative elements implemented as background, they are invisible from screen readers. For this reason, you do not need to add alternative text for them. Remember not to use images of text (opens in a new tab), that is text that has been rendered in a non-text form (such as an image) to convey meaning.
Assigning a thumbnail to a course
To assign a thumbnail to a course, log in as a Superadmin, then access the Navigation menu > Content and delivery (folder icon) > Courses. Select a course from the Courses table, then move to the Properties tab of the course.
In the Thumbnail section, click Upload image to select an image from your device or Select image to browse among the images already available image repository or in the Web library.
Refer to the Uploading an image, Selecting an image from the image repository and Selecting an image from the Web library chapters of this article for further information on how to upload or select images.
Assigning a header image to a course
Header images are shown at the top of the course page in catalogs. You have the option to assign a default header image for all courses and learning plans in the Configure branding and look menu, but you can overwrite the global setting at course level. To do so, log in as a Superadmin, then access the Navigation menu > Content and delivery (folder icon) > Courses. Select a course from the Courses table, then move to the Properties tab of the course.
In the Header layout section, select the Enable custom settings for the header layout and check the Cover image layout option.
Click Upload image to select an image from your device or Select image to browse among the images already available in the platform image repository or in the Web library.
Refer to the Uploading an image, Selecting an image from the image repository and Selecting an image from the Web library chapters of this article for further information on how to upload or select images.
Assigning a thumbnail to a learning plan
To assign a thumbnail to a learning plan, log in as a Superadmin, then access the Navigation menu > Content and delivery (folder icon) > Learning plans. On the Learning plans page, identify the plan you want to assign a thumbnail, hover the mouse on the bottom of its row, click on the ellipsis menu and select Edit.
In the General settings tab, move to the Thumbnail section, click Upload image to select an image from your device or Select image to browse among the images already available in the platform image repository or the Web library.
Refer to the Uploading an image, Selecting an image from the image repository and Selecting an image from the Web library chapters of this article for further information on how to upload or select images.
Assigning a header image to a learning plan
Header images are shown at the top of the learning plan page in catalogs. You can assign a default header image for all courses and learning plans in the Configure branding and look menu, but you can overwrite the global setting at learning plan level.
To do so, log in as a Superadmin, then access the Navigation menu > Content and delivery (folder icon) > Learning plans. On the Learning plans page, identify the plan you want to assign a header image, hover the mouse on the bottom of its row, click on the ellipsis menu and select Edit.
In the Header Layout section, select the Enable custom settings for the header layout and check the Cover Image Layout option.
Click Upload image to select an image from your device or Select image to browse among the images already available in the platform image repository or the Web Library. Refer to the Uploading an image, Selecting an image from the image repository and Selecting an image from the Web library chapters of this article for further information on how to upload or select images.
Uploading an image
When landing in any of the areas allowing you to upload images (see the previous chapters of this article), click Upload image and select an image from your device. After selection, the image will be loaded and you will be able to edit it before finalizing the upload. You do not need to resize the image after selection since it is automatically resized to fit the right dimension and ratio needed for the thumbnail or the header image. Zoom, crop, rotate, and/or flip the image according to your needs, then click Crop & apply to confirm your changes.
Please note that the accepted image size to grant the image quality on all devices is 800x400px for thumbnails and 1400x800px for header images, both with a 2:1 ratio. Also, remember that it is possible to upload images in PNG, JPEG and JPG formats, but all images are converted into JPG during the upload. Transparency is not currently supported.
Now, press Save changes in the bottom bar to confirm your changes and officially assign the image to the course or the learning plan. Remember that the image will not be assigned if you do not save your changes.
Selecting an image from the image repository
Every time an image is uploaded, it is stored in the platform image repository so you can use it again in the future. When landing in any of the areas allowing you to select images from the image repository (see the previous chapters of this article), click Select image. A right panel will open for the selection.
The Thumbnail (for course and learning plan thumbnails) or the Cover (for headers) tab of the right panel shows all of the images already uploaded. Click on the filter button to filter them to see only the images in use, or those still unused. As a Superadmin, you can additionally filter the images you uploaded. Additionally, you can look for an image according to its filename; use the search text area on top of the panel for this.
Select the thumbnail you want to assign to the course, and click Select in the bottom right corner. You do not need to resize the image as its size is already adjusted according to the right dimensions and proportions.
Please note that the accepted image size to grant the image quality on all devices is 800x400px for thumbnails and 1400x800px for header images, both with a 2:1 ratio. Also, remember that it is possible to upload images in PNG, JPEG and JPG formats, but all images are converted into JPG during the upload. Transparency is not currently supported.
Now, press Save changes in the bottom bar to confirm your changes and officially assign the image to the course or the learning plan. Remember that the image will not be assigned if you do not save your changes.
Selecting an image from the Web library
If you need inspiration to find the right image, you can look for images online by browsing the Web Library.
When landing in any of the areas allowing you to select images from the image repository (see the previous chapters of this article), click Select image. A right panel will open for the selection. Move to the Web library tab.
Enter a keyword to look for the image, and select the one that suits you the most among the search results. Click on the image and press Select in the bottom right corner to continue. The image preview will be uploaded with the correct ratio, and you can zoom, crop, rotate, and/or flip the thumbnail image before assigning it to the course or the learning plan.
Click Crop & apply to confirm your changes. You do not need to resize the image after selection since it is automatically resized to fit the right size and ratio. Remember that the accepted image size to grant the image quality on all devices is 800x400px, for thumbnails and 1400x800px for header images, both with a 2:1 ratio.
Images are free from copyright, so you can use them without any restrictions. Once the image is selected, press Save changes in the bottom bar to confirm your selection and officially assign the image to the course or the learning plan. Remember that the image will not be assigned if you do not save your changes.
Editing an image
Images can be edited at upload time or at any time by accessing any of the areas allowing you to select images from the image repository (see the previous chapters of this article) and by clicking Select image.
In the right panel that opens, click on the ellipsis menu in the bottom right corner of the image card, and select the Edit details option.
Before updating an image, check whether it is used in courses or learning plans by moving to the Usage tab. Once edited, the changes to the image will reflect on all of the courses and learning plans in which it is used. Please note that the Usage tab is available only when the image is actually in use.
Move back to the Image details tab, from here you can edit the image name or overwrite the image with a different one by clicking Overwrite image and selecting a new image or reloading the one already in use.
When reloading the image in use, you will lose all of the changes made to the image and will be editing the original image. Select the image and zoom, crop, rotate and/or flip the image according to your needs, then click Crop to confirm your change.
Please note! If you upload a different image but with the same title, the preview and the editing tool pop-up will still show you the previous image. To avoid that, change the title of the new image.
Remember: When editing an image, changes will be applied to all of the pieces of content to which the image is assigned.
Downloading an image
You can download images to your device, in order to build your private, image library and keep a backup of the images in use.
To do so, when landing in any of the areas allowing you to select images from the image repository (see the previous chapters of this article), click Select image.
Click now on the ellipsis menu in the bottom right corner of the card of the image you want to download, and select Download. You can download the image using the same flow (ellipsis menu -> Download) from the image area in the Properties/Details tab.
Deleting an image
As a Superadmin, you are responsible for maintaining the platform repository. If you need to delete images that are no longer in use, when landing in any of the areas allowing you to select images from the image repository (see the previous chapters of this article), click Select image.
Find the image you want to delete in the right panel and click on the ellipsis menu in the bottom right corner of the card of the image you want to delete, and select Delete. You can delete the image using the same flow (ellipsis menu -> Delete) from the image area in the Properties/Details tab.
Replacing the thumbnail of several courses with a mass action
You may need to use the same thumbnail image for several courses at a time. To do so, select the courses by selecting the checkbox next to the course name in the course table, click on Choose Action in the bottom right corner of the page and select Replace thumbnail.
Upload an image, select one from the ones already available or look for it online, as described in the previous sections of this article.
Visibility rules
As a Power User, you will be able to see only the images you uploaded. Images uploaded by Superadmins and other Power Users will not be available for selection. When changing an image uploaded and associated with the course by another user, you will not be able to retrieve the original thumbnail after changing it since you do not have permission to access it.
As a Superadmin, you have full access to all images uploaded by all users in all domains. Remember to grant Power Users permission to edit and use images from the Web library in the Power User profile. Refer to the Permissions for image management chapter of the article on Power User permissions for more information.
Image manager for the Extended Enterprise
If the Extended Enterprise app is active in the platform, when you select and assign an image, it will be applied to the course and/or learning plans in all the domains. Consequently, when updating an image, you will update it everywhere.
As a Superadmin, you can make the images uploaded in a domain available to other domains. To do so, when landing in any of the areas allowing you to select images from the image repository (see the previous chapters of this article), click Select image. Find the image in the right panel and click on the ellipsis menu in the bottom right corner of the card, then select Copy to domain.
Select a destination domain or select root to copy the image to the main domain, making it available to all domains.