Working with Marketing Consultant, Nick Parker, this was achieved though a large logo, strong use of the corporate colour and then some brighter illustrative imagery that gave it a modern twist.

The home page is certainly different - boldly honing the options for the user through definitive user journeys that will be the most widely used (ie. sales, lettings, contact).

• How to compose a message using stationery in Outlook Express
• How to configure default stationery in Outlook Express
• How to automatically add a signature or vCardin Outlook Express
• How to create custom stationery in Outlook Express

How to Compose a Message Using Stationery in Outlook Express

To compose a message using stationery, follow these steps:

1. Under the Compose menu, click New Message Using, and then click the stationery design you want to use. In Outlook Express 5, click New Message Using on the Message menu, and then choose the stationery design you want. If the stationery design you want to use is not on the list, click More Stationery to view more stationery designs.
2. Address and compose your message, and then click Send.

How to Configure Default Stationery in Outlook Express

To configure Outlook Express to open all new messages with a default stationery type, you need to do the following:

1. Under the Tools menu, click Stationery. In Outlook Express 5, click Option on the Tools menu, click the Compose tab, and then click Stationery.
2. Click the Mail tab to configure the default Mail stationery, or click the News tab to configure the default News stationery.
3. Under When Composing New Messages Use, click This Stationery, and then click Select to choose your default stationery type.
4. Click OK, and then click OK.

How to Automatically Add a Signature or vCard in Outlook Express

When you compose a new message from the Insert menu, Business Card may be unavailable. This option is not available until you create a new business card entry by following the steps in this article.

To add an automatic signature, follow these steps:

1. On the Tools menu, click Stationery. For Outlook Express 5, select Options on the Tools menu, and then click the Signatures tab.
2. Click Signature, and then click the “Add this signature to all outgoing messages” check box to select it.
3. Type the signature in the text box, or click File and then choose a file to insert as your signature. This file can be your company logo for instance.
4. Click OK, and then click OK.

To add a Personal Business Card (vCard), follow these steps:

1. On the Tools menu, click Stationery. For Outlook Express 5, click Options on the Tools menu, and then click the Compose tab.
2. Click Signature, and then click the “Attach card to all outgoing messages” check box to select it.
3. Click New, type the information to be included in the vCard, and then click OK.
4. Click OK, and then click OK.

How to Create Custom Stationery in Outlook Express

1. Copy the .gif or .jpg graphic file that you want to use as the stationery background into the stationery folder. By default, the stationery folder is Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Stationery.
2. Press and hold down the SHIFT key while you right-click an .htm file in the stationery folder, click Open With, and then click Notepad.
3. On the File menu, click Save As. Type the name of the graphic file you copied into the stationery folder in the File Name box, add “.htm” (without quotation marks) as the extension, and then click OK. For example, if the file is named Flower.jpg, type “Flower.htm” in the File Name box.
4. Modify the HTML code in the .htm file so that it uses the .gif or .jpg file as the background graphic.
5. Quit Notepad.

mappr.co.uk outlines what mappr can do for different industries that require the plotting of porperties or locations, as well as related data, on a Goolge styled map.

mappr.co.uk has a simple, clean look that means the user can quickly gauge whether or not our service is for them.

This was achieved through strong graphics and plenty of javascript in order to show off the different product categories within their soultion groups.

For current LivePropertyMap.com clients, this purchase now means the full consolidation of existing online services under one roof at Kaweb.

The benefits of this include:

• single port of call for the provision of all of your sites’ online activity
• speedier maintenance / support for mapping issues
• new mapping features to be rolled out in the next 12 months

New owner, new name

With the integration of LivePropertyMap.com into the Kaweb fold, we are also taking the opportunity to rebrand the LivePropertyMap.com service into one that will now be known as mappr.

mappr is a product name we have already started using, and one we think more reflects the global nature of our mapping service (as well as being less of a tongue twister!).

However, due to there being no need for a commercial license, and the superior amount of support available (including the excellent Mike Williams tutorials), we at Kaweb plumped for Google Maps for our new service, mappr.

The service will be primarily used to plot estate agents’ properties on a map, allowing potential homebuyers to see what real estate is available in a given area. The aims of the project were:

-    Automatic geocoding from postcode data in order to plot the markers
-    Summarise property info in a panel rather than the default info bubble
-    Real-time updating on map movement or criteria change

Automatic Geocoding

Geocoding is simply the process of turning an address into a set of latitude-longtude co-ordinates. In the case of property, we intended to essentially convert the postcode into co-ordinates, to be stored in the database. However, due to the Royal Mail’s copyright, this requires payment. There are attempts at an open database, though this remains incomplete.

Google do offer a free geocoding service via their Maps API but the UK results are somewhat variable, over a mile off in some instances. The solution was somewhat surprising - simply use another of Google’s APIs – the AJAX Search API, in Local Search mode. Using the REST interface, we were able to retrieve accurate JSON-encoded data that was simply parsed and stored. Example PHP code:

$postcode = 'WS13 6TJ';
$url = "http://ajax.googleapis.com/ajax/services/search/local?v=1.0&q=".urlencode($postcode);
// Note how referrer is set manually
$ch = curl_init();
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_URL, $url);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_RETURNTRANSFER, 1);
curl_setopt($ch, CURLOPT_REFERER, "http://www.kaweb.co.uk/");
$body = curl_exec($ch);
curl_close($ch);
// Now, process the JSON string
$json = json_decode($body);
// Latitude: $json->responseData->results[0]->lat
// Longitude: $json->responseData->results[0]->lng


Display summary panel on click

Rather than use the native information bubble GInfoWindow, which we felt was rather uninspiring, we wanted to display a semi-transparent panel overlaid on the map. The key to this was to inject the HTML into the map’s holding div once the map content had been loaded. For example, using the markup below as the document’s starting HTML would mean anything within the “map” div (i.e. mappr_panel) gets overlaid when the map is rendered.

<div id="map"><div id="mappr_panel">Panel Contents</div><div>

Instead, we used our Javascript framework of choice, jQuery, in conjunction with a marker click listener.

// Create a marker called our_marker here
Event.addListener(our_marker, 'click', function(){
var contents = 'Marker ID: ' + our_marker.id;
show_panel(contents); });

function show_panel(contents){
var panel = '<div id="mappr_panel">\
' + contents + ' \
<\/div>';

$('#map').append(panel); // Puts the panel div inside the map div...
}


NOTE: jQuery’s remove() function was then used when we wanted to hide this panel.

Real-time updating on map change or criteria change

We needed the map to reload properties (incidentally we used an AJAX approach) and redraw following either a map movement (e.g. zoom, pan), or a change in search criteria.

The first was a simple case of :

GEvent.addListener(map, 'moveend', redraw_map);    // Call redraw_map() on drag / pan / zoom end

The second however, required the function to be triggered following a form change. Again, jQuery was used. By simply including class="onchange" on form elements that may change, we could harness jQuery’s selector syntax to actually apply the onchange event.

$(document).ready( function(){
$('.onchange').change(redraw_map);
}

The finished product can be seen by performing a map search at http://www.chartex.co.uk.

Kaweb have developed a new online mapping service that enables properties to be shown on a Google-styled map.

The application, dubbed mappr, has been developed in-house and is designed to work with existing client sites (such as our estate agents) as well as be integrated into other service industries that require this type of solution.

Database driven, the software makes use of information we already hold for existing Kaweb-hosted clients. Where a client is not hosted by Kaweb, the data can easily be imported into our systems via feeds from third party sites/suppliers.

mappr features include:

• Zoom functionality
• Map/satellite/hybrid toggling
• Intelligent information overlay

Tailored to suit, Kaweb can build any data-specific requirements into the map and style accordingly.

Estate Agent Property Mapping

The new service will mean more intuitive property searches for users. Allowing them to search and display properties from their chosen criteria quickly, and furnish them with all the necessary property details, will be a real time saver.

The screen shot below shows how the software can be applied to a commercially-based agent (with many property types).

Other Applications

Any online service that requires the placement of a property/service on a map can make use of this software. These could include housebuilders, developers, UK-based retail outlets and any service requiring location-based search results.

mappr Updates

Planned updates include a client admin area and property clustering as well as more end-user enhancements - so look out for more from mappr!

www.mappr.co.uk

This change effects how email is authorised and is pretty straightforward to implement. However, should you require any help, please contact us and we’ll talk you through it.

Who Does This Change Apply To?

This modification applies to all clients who use our incoming mail server. If you are unsure as to whether or not you use our email server, please give us a call.

What You Need to Do - Outlook Express Users

Go to the menu at the top of your screen and select ‘Tools’ then drill down to ‘Accounts’. Select the Mail tab and double click your email account in the list (or select it and then click ‘Properties’ on the right hand side). Then click the ‘Server’ tab. In the account user field (above the password):

if this is shown as your full email address, you do not need to make any changes at all;

if this is shown as the first part of your email address only, please change to read your full email address. Once done, click ‘Ok’, then you are done.

What You Need to Do - Outlook 2003 Users

Go to the menu at the top of your screen and select ‘Tools’ then drill down to ‘Email Accounts’, then select ‘View or change existing e-mail accounts’ before selecting ‘Next’. Select your email account in the list and click ‘Change’ on the right hand side. On the next screen under ‘Logon Information’ (above the password):

if this is shown as your full email address, you do not need to make any changes at all;

if this is shown as the first part of your email address only, please change to read your full email address. Once done, click ‘Next’ then ‘Finish’, then you are done.

What You Need to Do - Outlook 2007 Users

Go to the menu at the top of your screen and select ‘Tools’ then drill down to ‘Account Settings’, then select the ‘Email’ tab (if not already showing). Select your email account in the list by double-clicking it. On the next screen under ‘Logon Information’ (above the password):

if this is shown as your full email address, you do not need to make any changes at all;

if this is shown as the first part of your email address only, please change to read your full email address. Once done, click ‘Next’ then ‘Finish’, then you are done.

What You Need to Do - Mac Mail Users

Go to the menu at the top of your screen and select ‘Mail’ then drill down to ‘Preferences’, select ‘Accounts’ option from the top of the screen that appears,then select your email account. In the User Name field, under Incoming Mail Server:

if this is shown as your full email address, you do not need to make any changes at all;

if this is shown as the first part of your email address only, please change to read your full email address. Once done, close the window, apply the changes made, then you are done.

The screen grabs below illustrate what needs changing in Mail (Mac), Outlook 2008 (PC) and Outlook Express. If you are using different software/versions, please review the instuctions below and make the change in the corresponding field within your software.

What You Need to Do - Webmail Users

All webmail users will simply need to login using the full email address as their username.

When Does This Need To Be Done?

Please make this modification as soon as you can. We will be changing to the new authorisation method at the end of February 2009, so all changes need to be made by then.

Help

Please get in touch should you have any questions regarding this change. We appreciate that you are having to make a modification to something you may not technically know much about and yet rely on and use every day, so we’re here to help any way we can.