FAQ
Category
Online Advert Booking
If you are having trouble placing an advert via our website please take the
time to read through our frequently asked questions below.
How do I place an advert online?
To place an advert in your local paper via our website click the 'Buy and
Sell' button which is located near to the top right hand side of our site. Alternatively
click the 'Place an advert' link from our left hand navigation menu.
If prompted, next select the main publication you wish to advertise in. Multi-publication
packages are available under each title.
The next page you will see asks you to pick a category for your advert. For
example if you were advertising your car you would click on the 'Motors' category.
Now select the type of advert you would like to place from the options listed.
This could be an advert that is displayed in a box, as plain text (lineage),
with a photo or for one or two weeks depending on the advert category you have
selected.
Once you have selected the correct advert type you will be asked to enter
your advert into the text box provided. Read through the instructions listed
with each advert type to make sure you enter the correct number of words and
also choose the correct package/cost option where applicable.
Click the 'Add to Basket' button.
The following page will display your advert along with its price in a table
for you to check through.
If you would like to add another advert click the 'Go Shopping' button to
return to the category index and submit your second advert.
When you are happy with your advert(s) click the 'Purchase' button to continue
(even if your advert is free of charge you will have to click 'Purchase' to
submit your advert to us).
If you are prompted with a security alert click 'OK' to continue.
The next page will display your advert again and ask you to either 'Log-in'
if you have used our site before or 'Sign up' as a new member if not.
If you have already registered click the 'If you are already a member please
CLICK HERE to Log-in' link. This will take you to a page where you can enter
the email address and password which you registered with to continue.
If you need to sign up click the link which says 'New members please CLICK
HERE to sign up here'. You will be asked to enter your name, address, email
address, telephone number and a password to continue. Click 'Submit Details'.
Once logged in or registered your advert will be displayed again followed
by your name, address and telephone number.
If your address is missing click the 'Add new address' link to enter your
house number and postcode, then submit and confirm this new address.
If you are trying to send a paid for advert you will now be asked for your
credit or debit card details. Enter these carefully.
Once you have completed all the fields click the 'Proceed with order' button.
You should then see a thank you page and you will also receive an email to
confirm that your advert has been submitted successfully.
Follow the link to the 'Order Status' page to track your advert through our
system.
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I have filled out my advert
text but when I click the 'Add to Basket' button the page just reloads and doesn't
go any further.
This happens when you have too many words in your advertisement. Check the
advert information text for a word limit. A new word is counted every time you
use a space in your advert. A telephone number entered as '01234 567890' would
therefore count as two words. You must put spaces between all your words, if
you try to cheat the system by joining words together that shouldn't be, your
advert may not be printed.
Even if you are convinced you have the correct amount of words please try
removing one or two more before calling us.
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I am trying to upload a photo
to accompany my advert but it won't work. What am I doing wrong?
To attach an image to your advert it must first be saved in a 'jpg' or 'gif'
format. You must have saved your image as this format from your camera, scanner
or image editing software and not just renamed the file. Renaming a file does
not change it's format.
Image file names must not have any spaces or characters other than the letters
a-z 0-9 a hyphen - or an underscore _
All image file names must end in .jpg or .gif and there should be no other
dots in the file name except in this place.
To upload a file click the 'Browse' button. This will open a window showing
files on your computer. Navigate through this window to where you have saved
your image. When you can see your image use your mouse to highlight the file
name and click the open button. The window should then close and your image
name, preceded by its location on your computer, will be displayed in the text
box next to the browse button. Once you have completed your advert text click
the 'Add to Basket' button, if you have followed all the steps above correctly
you should be taken through to a new page. This means that your image has been
uploaded successfully. Continue with the check out process.
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I would like to place a Trades
and Services advert, where can I do this?
Unfortunately we cannot take Trades and Services adverts online at present. Please visit www.archanthertsandcambs.co.uk to find out the contact details of your local newspaper office.
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I would like to place a Recruitment
advert, where can I do this?
Unfortunately we cannot take Recruitment adverts online at present. Please visit www.archanthertsandcambs.co.uk to find out the contact details of your local newspaper office.
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I'm not sure whether my advert/order
has been sent or not?
When an order has been sent you will see a page that says 'Thank you for your
order'. This page also offers you a link to the order status page to track your
order.
If your order has been submitted successfully you will also be sent a confirmation
email to the account you used to register with us.
If you haven't received an email or seen a thank you page it is likely that
you have not yet managed to send your order. Please read the other questions
on this page to try and find out why.
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Can I place my advert/order over
the phone?
Paid for adverts such as Motor and Property boxes can be placed online,
by coupon or over the phone by calling your local newspaper office. Please visit www.archanthertsandcambs.co.uk for contact details.
Unfortunately Announcements and some Article for Sale adverts cannot be taken over
the phone, these must be submitted online or by posting us a coupon from the
paper.
You can order a subscription over the phone by calling your local newspaper office. Please visit www.archanthertsandcambs.co.uk for contact details.
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My order has been saying 'Waiting'
for hours now, why is it not being accepted?
Our online ordering system is not yet entirely automated. When you submit
an order to us it will stay 'Waiting' until a member of staff manually
processes your order. Therefore if you have placed your order at the weekend
or outside of normal working hours your order will not be processed until the
next working day. As our deadline day is Monday for most adverts, your advert
may remain waiting until this day especially if a large volume of adverts have
been received that week. Please only call us if your advert is still in 'Waiting'
after midday on deadline day.
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My order is showing up as 'Failed',
why?
If your order has been marked as 'Failed' please first check that you are
reading your orders status and not the key.
If you are certain your order has
been marked as failed call 01438 866125 for help. This usually happens if you
have attempted to advertise an item under the wrong category.
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I am trying to register as
a new member but when I click 'Submit Details' the page just reloads and doesn't
go any further.
This happens when you have either missed out a required field or filled in
a field incorrectly. Please do not use any characters in your address and telephone
number fields other than a-z and 0-9. Please do not put your telephone number
in brackets or use any dashes (01234) 567890 or 01234-567890 WILL NOT be accepted.
The required fields on our full sign up page are: First name, Last Name,
Email Address, Home Phone Number, Address 1, Town, County/State, Post/Zip Code,
Password & Confirm Password. You must have filled in all these fields to
place an advert or order a subscription, reader travel brochure or any other
item from our online shop.
If you are asked to sign up to use our forums you will not be asked for your
address details.
If you are still having trouble please call 01438 866125 for assistance.
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I have already registered on
your website but I can't log in.
Currently membership to our Message Boards and Homes24, Jobs24, Drive24 websites is separate
to our Advone of these other accounts.
If you are sure you have already registered on our Advert Booking service,
but it still isn't letting you log in, double check the email address and
password combination you are using. If you are sure that at least the email
address is correct click the 'Forgotten your password' link. Your password will
then be emailed to you.
You will not be permitted to register another account using an email address
that has been already registered. If you get this message please follow the
'Forgotten Password' link to be sent the password for your existing account
rather than creating a new one.
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I have changed address/email/telephone
number or I wish to change my password. How do I change these details?
You do not have to create a new account when you change any of the above.
To change the details on your existing account click the 'Log in' link within
the 'Membership' box in the right hand column of our site. Enter your email
address and password - If you are updating your email address or password
please enter the address and password you originally registered with.
Once you are logged in, an 'Update your details' link should appear under
your name in the 'Membership' box in the right hand column. Follow this link.
Here you can change your details and password if you wish. Click the 'Submit
Details' button. If you are taken back to the website home page your details
have been accepted.
If you have changed your email or password you will need to use these new
details to log in from now on.
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I have read all of the above tips
but am still having problems what should I do now?
If you are still having trouble, the problem could be technical.
Our shopping system uses a secure server for your protection, however if the
security settings on your browser are set too high this could be stopping you
from continuing with your order. You can check your security settings in Internet
Explorer by choosing Tools>Internet Options from the menu at the top of the
window (On a mac it is Edit>Preferences). Choose the 'Security' tab.
Please ensure that you also have javascript and cookies enabled (under the
Advanced tab) as these can also prevent you from using our shopping system.
If you are still having problems after checking all of the above you can report
your problem using this
form »
This form will ask you a number of technical questions about your computer
to which we will need to know the answers to enable us to assist you further.
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Security Numbers
What are Secure Numbers?
Herts24 offers you an extra security service when receiving phone calls responding
to your advert. The Herts Advertiser Security Number keeps your original phone
number private but still allows potential buyers to contact you directly, without
any third party. We believe people will welcome the idea of having this extra
security.
How does it work?
Your phone number will be replaced by an 07092 number when your advert is
printed. This will automatically redirect buyers to your private number when
they call but your number remains confidential.
How much does the service cost me?
The service is free to advertisers.
How much does the call cost the buyer?
Anyone phoning you will pay a small extra charge. Calls are charged at 19.98 pence per minute from a fixed line, mobiles you are advised to check with your network operator as rates may vary ‘.
To use a security number with your advert select 'Use Security Number' from
the pull-down menu below the 'Advert Details' box (just before the 'Add to Basket'
button).
Please ensure that your true telephone number has been typed at the end
of your advert in the 'Advert Details' box as usual.
Your private telephone number will be converted to a security number when
your advert is published.
I've read all the tips above and I still have questions, who can I contact?
You can give our advertising department a call on 01438 866000 or fill in our technical report form here and someone will get back to you »
E-Editions
How much does it cost to read an e-edition?
All of our e-editions except for the Welwyn and Hatfield Times and Potters Bar Times are free to read online as an e-edition. You will need to register, but this is free and only needs to be completed once - after this you can just follow the log-in prompts. The Welwyn and Hatfield Times and Potters Bar Times are just 55p an issue - the same as the printed publication.
When will a new edition be available?
A new e-edition will be uploaded inline with publication day.
I can't open the e-edition. What's wrong?
It's likely that you don't have the lastest version of Adobe Flash player installed on your computer. You will need Flash Player 9 to view our e-editions or supplements. You can download Flash Player for free by clicking here »
How can I view a past edition?
To view a past edition you must first load up the current edition. Once you are viewing the current edition you should see a number of black buttons along the top of the page. The one furthest to the left says 'View editions'. If you click this button you will be shown all of the front pages of the editions we have online as e-editions so far. Click a front page to view the edition.
How can save a page?
You can save any page of our e-editions to your computer as an Adobe Acrobat PDF file.
To save the page you are viewing as PDF just click the little PDF icon which will appear at the top outside corner of the page when you hover your mouse over the page. Alternatively if you would like to make a PDF of a collection of pages you can click the menu button in the bottom middle of the screen. This will bring up a menu of which one of the options is 'Download a PDF'. All the pages will then load as thumbnails and you can select which ones you want to include in your PDF file by clicking each thumbnail. Once you have selected all the pages you need click the 'Download' button at the bottom of the screen.
How can I print a page?
To print the page you are viewing just click the little printer icon which will appear at the top outside corner of the page when you hover your mouse over the page. Alternatively if you would like to print a collection of pages you can click the menu button in the bottom middle of the screen. This will bring up a menu of which one of the options is 'Print Pages'. All the pages will then load as thumbnails and you can select which ones you want to print by clicking each thumbnail. Once you have selected all the pages you need click the 'Print' button at the bottom of the screen.
Can I email a page to a friend?
Yes. To email a link to an e-edition to a friend, click the menu button in the bottom middle of the screen. This will bring up a menu of which one of the options is 'Email to a friend'. On clicking this option a form will open which you can fill in to include a message and your friend's email address. If you want to send your friend to a specific page, make sure you are currently viewing that page before you hit the 'Email to a friend' link, then check the 'link to current page' check box before clicking the 'send' button.
How can I search for a specific article/advert/announcement?
To search for a specific article you need to click the search button in the top right hand corner. A search box will then appear and you can enter your keywords followed by the 'search button'. Keep your search term as simple and broad as possible. For example try a person's surname or a street name. A new window will open listing all the results found. Click a result to view the page.
How can I jump to a specific page?
To jump straight to a specific page of the current e-edition click the black page number button in the middle at the top of the window. A page number box will appear, enter the number you require and press enter on your keyboard.
How can I browse pages of an e-edition quickly?
To quickly browse an e-edition for a specific page you can use the thumbnail browser. This is accessed via the menu button in the bottom middle of the screen which opens the main menu.
How can I turn off the sound?
Sounds can be toggled via the menu button in the bottom middle of the screen which opens the main menu.
Why won't my E-Edition load?
You must have Flash Player installed on your computer to view an e-edition. This can be downloaded for free in a few minutes here »
I've read all the tips above and I'm still having problems what shall I do?
Fill in our technical report form here and someone will get back to you »
Search
I can't adjust the date field, what am I doing wrong?
To adjust the to and from date fields you must click the calendar button which looks like this: 
This will bring up a calendar which you can navigate through by clicking the arrows < > either side of the month name.
To select a date you must click on one of the numbered dates on the calendar.
Why can't I find what I am looking for?
The best way to use our search is to keep your keywords as broad as possible. Search for just one keyword at a time, such as a person's surname. Our search only covers recent years, further archives can be found in most main libraries.
If you are still having trouble you can try our e-editions. These are an exact duplication of the printed edition and an archive of past editions is also available.
You can read an e-edition in exactly the same way that you would read the printed edition by flicking the pages and reading the articles, adverts and pictures or you can take advantage of it's powerful search facilities and find articles from any of the current or past editions by entering a keyword or name.
E-editions also allow you to download and save pages from the paper as PDF documents, send pages to friends via email or print off pages to keep.
Find out more about e-editions here »
I've read all the tips above and I'm still having problems what shall I do?
Fill in our technical report form here and someone will get back to you »
Other
I've read all the tips above and I'm still having problems what shall I do?
Fill in our technical report form here and someone will get back to you »