In this article, we’ll show you how to apply a visible watermark to images and documents. To learn about watermarking your video content, please see SafeStream Watermarking.
You can watermark the images and documents in an individual Review Link or in an entire project. As an administrator, you can choose to require image and document watermarking for every new project in your workspace. The sections below will walk you through each of these watermarking options.
| Watermarking is an add-on feature in MediaSilo. If you’d like to learn more, please contact your customer success manager, or send a message to customersuccess@editshare.com. |
- Supported File Types
- Apply Watermarking Requirements to Your Workspace
- Apply Watermarking to a Project
- Apply Watermarking to Unwatermarked Files in a Review Link
- Create a Watermark Template for Images or Documents
- Image and Document Watermarking FAQs
Supported File Types
Visible image and document watermarking is available for the following file types:
- .jpg, .jpeg
- .png
Image and document types outside of this list cannot be watermarked.
Apply Watermarking Requirements to Your Workspace
As an administrator, you can require visible image and document watermarking for every new project created in your workspace. When this requirement is turned on:
- Watermarking will be automatically enabled for new projects; existing projects will not be affected
- Images and documents uploaded to new projects will be watermarked, provided they match our list of supported file types
| If you want to apply watermarking to a project that already exists, please see Apply Watermarking to a Project. |
To require image and document watermarking, start by clicking the gear icon in the left-side navigation bar. This will open the Administration page. Go to the last tab on the right– the SafeStream tab.
Select Watermark Settings from the menu on the left. This will open your workspace-level watermark settings.
Now turn on the toggle next to Apply Visible Image and Document Watermarking.
Next, you’ll need to choose the default watermark templates to apply to new projects. Use the dropdown menus under Image Template and Document Template to select your defaults. You can choose a template that displays a viewer’s full name and email address, a template that displays the viewer’s email address only, or a custom template created for your workspace.
Whichever template you choose, the watermarks will be displayed in a “wallpaper” format, which repeats diagonally across the entire image or document. For example:
When you’re done choosing your settings, click the blue Save button at the bottom of the screen.
To turn off the watermarking requirement for new projects, toggle off Apply Visible Image and Document Watermarking, and click Save.
Choose Your Default Review Link Settings
As an administrator, you can choose the default settings for new Review Links created in your workspace. This includes the watermark templates applied to images and documents when watermarking is applied to a Review Link.
To choose the default templates for Review Links, click the gear icon in the navigation bar to open the Administration page. Then, go to the Settings tab.
Click Links on the left side of the page.
At the bottom of the link settings page, you can choose the default watermark templates to apply to your videos, images, and documents.
Keep in mind these are just the default Review Link settings; a link’s creator can still modify the link’s settings.
Apply Watermarking to a Project
You can apply visible image and document watermarking to all the images and documents inside a project, provided the files match our list of supported file types.
Start by accessing the project’s settings: Open the project, and click the gear icon next to the project name. This will open the Edit Project window. (You’ll need to be a project owner or an administrator to access this option.)
In the Edit Project window, select SafeStream to access the project’s watermark settings.
Here, you’ll find your watermarking options for visible video watermarking, forensic video watermarking, and visible image and document watermarking. Turn on the toggle next to Apply Visible Image and Document Watermarking.
Next, use the dropdown menus to select the watermark templates you want to apply to images and documents in this project. You can choose a template that displays a viewer’s full name and email address, a template that displays the viewer’s email address only, or a custom template created for your workspace.
Whichever template you choose, the watermarks will be displayed in a “wallpaper” format, which repeats diagonally across the entire image or document. For example:
When you’re done choosing your project’s watermark settings, click the blue Save Changes button in the bottom right corner of the window.
|
How do I turn off Visible Image and Document Watermarking for a project? To turn this feature off, you need to turn off the toggle next to Apply Visible Image and Document Watermarking in the project settings. If the toggle is disabled, this means an administrator must first change your workspace’s watermark settings. As an administrator:
Now, the project’s watermark settings can be edited. |
Apply Watermarking to Unwatermarked Files in a Review Link
When you create a Review Link, you can choose to watermark any unwatermarked images and documents contained in the link. This option allows you to apply watermarks at the Review-Link level without having to apply those watermarks to an entire project.
| Applying a watermark template to any unwatermarked files in a Review Link does not alter the watermark template of any files that are already watermarked due to their project settings. |
In the Share for Review window, click the Advanced button in the bottom left.
In the Watermarking section, turn on the toggle Apply Visible Image and Document Watermarking.
Watermark templates are automatically selected for the unwatermarked images and/or documents in this Review Link. These templates are the defaults chosen by an administrator (See Choose Your Default Review Link Settings above). You can keep these selections or choose a different template.
Whichever template you choose, the watermarks will be displayed in a “wallpaper” format, which repeats diagonally across the entire image or document. For example:
If a watermark template displays a viewer’s identifying information (their name or email address), then you’ll need to enter link recipients: First, click Audience on the left side of the Share window. Then, enter your recipients.
Your choice of watermark template can affect the link's Access setting. If a watermark displays the viewer's name, then you'll need to select Workspace users and enter workspace users as recipients. If a watermark only displays the viewer’s email address, then you have the additional Access options of Public and Password protected. When you select Public or Password protected, you can enter any email address in the recipients field, even if that email does not belong to your MediaSilo workspace.
When you’re done choosing your Review Link’s watermark settings, click the blue Send Link button in the bottom right.
Create a Watermark Template for Images or Documents
As an administrator, you can create custom templates to apply to projects and Review Links. First, go to the SafeStream tab in Administration.
Then, click the blue New Template button, and select the type of template you want.
After you select a template type, the template editor will open. Start by giving your new template a name (required) and a description (optional). These fields are for your team’s internal reference only and do not appear in the watermark itself.
In the preview window on the right, you’ll see an Email watermark that is automatically applied to the template. You can change this to a Name or Custom Text watermark using the Watermark Type menu.
To add another watermark, click Add Mark. Image and document templates support up to two watermarks.
When you select Custom Text from the Watermark Type menu, a text field will appear. Here, you can enter up to 50 characters. To keep your content secure, we recommend you only use Custom Text in combination with Email Address or Name. At least one watermark should contain personally identifiable information.
Whichever watermark type you choose, the text will be displayed in a “wallpaper” format, which repeats diagonally across the entire image or document.
You can customize a watermark by selecting it in the preview window and then changing the settings on the left side of the page. Under Opacity, you can enter a percentage or click the up and down arrows to adjust the value. When changing a watermark’s Color, you can enter a hex code or use the color picker.
If you are creating a watermark template for image files, the orientation button lets you switch from Landscape preview to Portrait preview, and vice versa.
To remove a watermark, just select the watermark in the preview window, and then click the X button.
Keep in mind that a template must have at least one watermark. The X button is disabled if you try to delete the only watermark in the template.
When you’re done customizing your template, click Save Template.
The new template is now listed in the SafeStream tab in Administration; the Type column indicates if a template can be applied to videos, images, or documents.
Image and Document Watermarking FAQs
Is visible image and document watermarking available on mobile devices?
You can view watermarked images in MediaSilo Go, our mobile app for iOS and Android. When you open a watermarked image, please note the full-screen toggle and commenting tools are unavailable in the mobile app. To view a watermarked image in full screen or to make comments, please use the MediaSilo browser or desktop app.
For iOS users, watermarked documents can only be viewed if you download them for offline viewing. For Android users, watermarked documents are currently unavailable for viewing or downloading in MediaSilo Go. To access watermarked documents, please use the MediaSilo browser or desktop.
Can I download watermarked images and documents?
Yes, watermarked images and documents can be downloaded from both the MediaSilo browser and desktop apps. A downloaded file will include whichever watermark was selected on the project level or the Review-Link level.
To download a file from inside a project, a user’s role must include download permission. To download a file from a Review Link, downloading must be enabled in the link settings.
Can I include watermarked images and documents in a Spotlight or Presentation?
Yes, you can add a playlist containing watermarked images and/or documents to a Spotlight or Presentation. When sharing the link with your audience, keep in mind that viewers must log in to view watermarked content, even if the Spotlight or Presentation’s access setting is Public.
In the Spotlight template builder, you cannot insert watermarked images as standalone images via the Media Browser.
Why does a Review Link email display a generic image icon instead of the actual image in the link?
If a Review Link contains a watermarked image, then the link notification email will not display a thumbnail image of the watermarked content. As a security measure, a generic image icon is displayed instead.