Watermarking is the process of overlaying a visual marker onto an image or a displayed file. It is typically used to identify ownership of the copyright of the image or file. When the image or file is displayed, the watermark is visible to the viewer and will be present in any screen captures, photos or video recordings made of the displayed image or file.

The watermark itself can be either an image, such as a company logo, or text, such as copyright verbiage or owner name. Watermarks can be very visible or almost imperceptible, depending on how obvious you want it to be to the viewer.

Uses for Watermarks

Digital watermarking may be used for a wide range of applications, such as copyright protection, source tracking (different recipients get differently watermarked content), fraud and tamper detection, and content management on social networks. Files.com offers the ability to automatically apply watermarks to images and PDF files when they are previewed using the Files.com web application.

Two types of watermarks, image based and text based, are supported. An image based watermark can be used for copyright protection, fraud and tamper detection, and content management, by displaying your company logo to the viewer. A text based watermark can also be used for source tracking by displaying unique information that identifies a specific recipient. If copies of the watermarked image or PDF file appear elsewhere online, the watermark information can be used to determine which recipient was responsible for copying, capturing or recording it.

Limitations of Watermarks

Watermarks can only be applied automatically to images and PDF files. If watermarking is needed for other files types then it should be applied manually by the application used to create the file.

The automatic watermarks are only displayed when previewing the file using the Files.com web site. If the file is downloaded, transmitted or copied then it will not contain the automatic watermark. The best practice is to prohibit the downloading, transmission and copying of these files so that access is limited to the Files.com web site in a "preview only" mode.

Image Based Watermark

An image file can be uploaded and used as the watermark. Files.com supports most of the common image file types including PNG, GIF, JPG and BMP.

The alignment, opacity and maximum size for your watermark can also be configured. Alignment specifies where the watermark will be positioned within the preview. Alignment position is based on a 3x3 grid, where you can choose from NorthWest, North, NorthEast, West, Center, East, SouthWest, South or SouthEast.

Opacity determines how visible the watermark will be on the preview. Enter a value between 1 and 100 to specify the percentage opacity for the watermark. A setting of 100 will set the watermark to be completely opaque (no transparency) and a setting below 50 will set the watermark to be mostly transparent.

The Maximum Size of a watermark is the size of an image based watermark, as a percentage of the size of the preview. A setting of 50 will set the height and width of the watermark image to be 50% of the preview's height and width.

Text Based Watermark

A text based watermark will superimpose the supplied text on the preview. When using text, placeholder variables can be used within the text. For watermarks associated with Share Links, the {{name}} and {{company}} and {{email}} placeholders will contain information from the registration screen; if there isn't a matching field on the registration (or registration is not enabled for the Share Link" the placeholder will be blank. Text based watermarks associated with a folder's settings can use the placeholder {{user}} which is populated with the Files.com user name of the logged-in user.

In addition to the text that will appear, the alignment and opacity for your watermark can also be configured. Alignment specifies where the watermark will be positioned within the preview. Alignment position is based on a 3x3 grid, where you can choose from NorthWest, North, NorthEast, West, Center, East, SouthWest, South or SouthEast.

Opacity determines how visible the watermark will be on the preview. Enter a value between 1 and 100 to specify the percentage opacity for the watermark. A setting of 100 will set the watermark to be completely opaque (no transparency) and a setting below 50 will set the watermark to be mostly transparent.

Configuring Automatic Watermarks for Previews

You can configure automatic watermarks for previews by logged-in users within the File listing or for previews by web visitors to a Share Link. Configuration of both types of watermarks can be performed using the Files.com web site or by using the Files.com API.

Automatic Preview Watermarks for Logged-In Users

A site administrator or a user who has admin rights to a folder can manage the watermarks associated with a folder from the Folder Settings, or from the Watermarks page. To access the Watermarks page, type "Watermarks" in the search box that appears at the top of each page and chose the matching result. You can configure either an imaged based watermark or a text based watermark.

Watermarks configured in a folder's settings apply to the folder and its subfolders. You can configure different watermarks for different folders. However, configuring a watermark for the top level root folder will cause all folders to inherit the watermark.

Automatic Preview Watermarks for Share Link Visitors

Site administrators can apply a preview watermark to all Share Links in Sharing Settings. Individual Share Links can be also configured with their own Watermark settings, which will be displayed instead of any global watermark defined by site administrators.

Watermarks will only appear during preview, and will not be included in any downloaded files. For that reason, you may wish to only include watermarks on Share Links that only allow visitors to preview.