Getting error messages? Unable to dispatch letters?
Here are some of the more common reasons for errors when dispatching a letter;
Pop-up blocking
One issue that can prevent you proceeding with a letter campaign, is if your web browser is set to block pop-ups. If you are not taken to a new tab after clicking Send Letters, look towards the right hand side of the URL search bar;
You'll be looking for an icon like the below. These can be clicked on and then instructed to allow Pro.Homesearch.co.uk pop-ups and redirects.
More information on pop-up blocking can be found here.
You might however need to refresh your page for these changes to come into effect.
Character/Line limits reached
Homesearch standard templates have a character limit but more often that not, this refers to the number of lines entered into the letter template.
A Homesearch standard letter template allows for 25 lines of text. Once you have selected a template to use, you'll notice that the placeholders and outer dotted line are all red;
If you have replaced all of the red text placeholders, and the outer dotted line is still red, you have likely added more rows of text than the maximum number of 25.
If you have counted up your rows of text and now know it is higher than 25, try to restructure your letter and combine a couple of paragraphs.
If the visible number of text rows is lower than 25, place your text cursor at the end of the letter and press the delete key a few times to clear any extra, but blank lines of text.
You'll know if this has worked as the dotted line changes from red to light grey.
File size too large
Homesearch letters and postcard files uploaded cannot be larger than 30mb. In the unlikely event you have created a letter larger than this limit, please reduce the resolution of the images added to said letter.
It is advisable that you reduce the pixel count on images before adding them to your letter by saving a copy of your high resolution property image and editing that instead of your master file.
Save to PDF over Print to PDF
Homesearch letters uploaded for print need to be in a PDF format. However to ensure your letter is in the correct PDF format, make sure you select Save As in programs like Microsoft Word and then select PDF (*.pdf) within the save options;
Printing to PDF as per the below will not save your letter in the correct format and Homesearch will not recognize the file after upload.
Clearing your Google Cache
Clearing your Google Chrome Cache periodically is always good practice. If Homesearch worked fine yesterday but isn't working today, it might be related to a built up cache. More info on clearing your cache can be found here.
Next button not appearing
It has come to our attention that certain combinations of Google Chrome versions and screen sizes might result in the Next button not appearing for some users when attempting to create letters.
If your next button does not appear as pictured in the bottom left of this image, you're likely to be effected by this issue.
In effect, the Next Button is on the page, but outside the field of view. To try and resolve this issue, you'll need to decrease the zoom level of your Google Chrome browser by first clicking on the 3 dots in the top right of your Google Chrome window;
From here, click on the minus symbol to the left of the default 100% zoom setting. Your next button should appear as the page zooms out.
If you're still experiencing issues with dispatching your letters, and the above solutions have not helped, be sure to contact us at support@homesearch.co.uk. Be sure to email us a screenshot too, to help us narrow down what could be causing an error.