4.3.1.3. Background Images

 

IRM supports adding a static non-selectable background image for an Area. This can be useful, for example, for Areas that represent a larger geographical region; by adding an image of a geo-map of that location as a background image, users can more easily navigate and identify the region's sections, and have a better context from which to work on IRM's managed objects.

 

An example of an Area with a background image is displayed in the screenshot image below, where a simple geo map of the real-world geographical location of that Area is inserted as a background image and positioned in a way that the position of Design World objects correspond to their real-world geographical position represented in that map. For example, in a case where a technician needs to investigate a maintenance hole at some location, a map like this can make the maintenance hole easier to find.  Also, it having such a background simply provides a bit more information about the Area.

 

IRM enables adding multiple background images (in standard .jpeg, .png and similar formats) to an Area. This is done inside the standard Area Properties dialog, through a dedicated tab - Background Images:

 

In addition to accessing the tab the usual way through the dialog (by clicking on the Area name, or selecting the Edit Properties... option from Area context menu) and then clicking on the appropriate tab, there is a way to directly open the dialog and the appropriate tab - by selecting the Background Images... option from the Area Operations context sub-menu:

 

Inside the dialog, background images are listed in separate rows, with each image file represented by a thumbnail image and a name displayed as a hyperlink right under it:

 

Clicking on the image name opens the image in a new browser tab. In addition, the following action buttons are enabled for each image file:

 

- Upload New Image - opens the Upload New Background Image file upload dialog.  This dialog enables adding/removing multiple files in the upload queue, uploading individual files and viewing upload progress, similar to other IRM upload dialogs:

 

  - Visible / Hidden - clicking on this toggle button hides / shows the background image for the selected Area.

 

- Edit background image file properties. Clicking on this button opens the Edit Image sub-dialog that enables specification of basic file properties, like name, position, width / height and if resized, whether the aspect ratio should be constrained:

 

- Delete background image. Clicking on this button opens the standard Confirmation sub-dialog before removing the image.

 

Tip: It is also possible to change the z-ordering of the images, simply by drag-and-drop.