How do I Add or Edit Pictures, 360° Pictures, Videos and Drawings in a Report?

This article details all regular pictures/thermal images, videos and drawings.
For our article on using 360° pictures in your reports click the link below:
How do I Add 360° Images to My Report?

Adding a Cover Photo 

Go to the General Info section and then click and drag the picture you'd like to use from the film strip to the gray box titled cover picture. 

Adding Photos/Videos Using the HG Companion 

If you are using the HG Companion, you will have the option to choose your inspection item and click the camera icon to take a photo. For videos, click the video camera icon. The picture or video will be included in that inspection item when you're editing your report in the software. For more about how to setup the HomeGauge Companion and recommended settings (click here).

Manually Inserting Photos/Videos into Your Report

If you are using a camera with the HomeGauge desktop software you must move the photos or videos into the correct place in the report. First add the photo/video to your computer and the point the software filmstrip to the location of the pictures using the Browse button.

There are two different methods to adding photos/videos:

1. Move through the list of photos in your filmstrip and find the correct place in the software to insert the photo. Drag and drop the photo or video into the gray photo area to the right of the comment box.
   
2. Move through the report and then scroll through the filmstrip to find the correct photo or video for each item. 

Method one is much faster as you can find and move to an inspection item in the report much faster than scrolling through a long list of photos/videos. This method will also help make sure you have used every photo and video. Another hint is to make sure you are not taking too many unnecessary photos/videos.

Using the Edit All Photos Tool 

HG has a great tool for finding all the photos in a report so they can be edited one after the other.

1. With your report open, click the Find Unanswered field on the top toolbar. It will display a drop down menu.
   
   
2. Select Edit all photos in the drop down, then click on the Find First button to the right of the field. This will take you to the first photo in the report.
   
3. Edit the photo to your liking and then click NEXT. This will bring up the next picture in the report for editing.
   
4. If you need to delete a photo, click Cancel in the edit picture screen, find the photo in the report you want to delete, left click on it and select delete.
5. To continue going through the remaining pictures in your report, at the top of the screen click Find Next and repeat the process until all of your photos have been edited.

Adding HomeGauge Drawings to Your Report 

If you would like to incorporate the sketches that HomeGauge supplies for free, follow these simple steps:

1. In your right pane, click on the Drawings tab.
   
2. In the Select Folder menu, select the category that your desired drawing is most likely to be in.
   
3. All of the drawings for that folder will now appear. Drag and drop or double click the drawing just as you would a photo in order to insert it with your comment or overview.
   

Adding Multiple Photos to an Inspection Item 

If you'd like to add several photos to an inspection item at once, there are two methods you can use, which are also outlined in this video tutorial.

1. In the filmstrip, click each photo you'd like to add. You'll see a red box around each selected photo. Now, click the plus symbol to add all of the photos. You will be prompted to edit each of them one by one.
2. Alternatively, select the photos you'd like to add and click the double plus icon. This will insert these photos without editing. You can still edit any of the added photos afterwards. 
   

Choosing the Right Photo and Video Format 

JPG, GIF and PNG are all accepted photo formats, thought we strongly recommend JPG as it is the most popular photo type with a small file size.

HomeGauge supports mp4 videos. Older cameras and devices may use a format that is not compatible. If you have a format that does not work with the software, you can use a free video converter to convert it to mp4. There are many tools available online for converting videos. 

Add a Photo to Companion from Phone Gallery/Memory

Instructions for Android App

1. Navigate to an inspection item comment area.
2. Choose the filmstrip roll in the bottom right corner of the screen.
   
3. Choose the icon that looks like a camera outline with an up-arrow on it.
   
4. Select an image from your phone's gallery or memory.

Instructions for iOS App

1. Navigate to an inspection item comment area.
2. Choose the filmstrip roll in the bottom left corner of the screen.
3. Choose the icon that looks like a folder.
4. Select an image from your phone's gallery or memory.