---
title: "Local File image banners"
description: "Upload an image creative — or give a link, or pick it from the Media Library — and let Epom serve it, step by step, with the ad unit picked first, the click URL, what the saved banner looks like and Preview."
type: "howto"
audience: [network-manager, advertiser]
keywords: [local file, image banner, upload creative, from link, media library, ad unit, click URL, 200 KB, preview, image file]
ui_path: "Account → Advertisers → campaign → Add new banner"
---

Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/llms.txt. Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. Append .md to any documentation page URL to get its markdown version.

# Local File image banners

A **Local File** banner is the image creative you upload — or give a link to, or pick from the
Media Library — and Epom serves. Pick the ad unit first, because the file is checked against it;
then the click URL, Save, and the banner is ready to link. The other flavour,
[External File](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/advertising/banner-image-external-file.md), keeps the image on your own server; both are
compared on [Image banners](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/advertising/banner-image.md).

**Example.** Summit Ridge Digital has a 300×250 JPEG of 48 KB and a landing page. One Local
File banner — Ad unit 300×250, the file dropped into **Banner creative**, the landing page in
**URL** — serves on every 300×250 placement it is linked to. Had the file been 312 KB it would
have been refused at the network's default 200 KB limit.

## Typical scenarios

| You want | Set | Where |
|---|---|---|
| A standard 300×250 creative you have as a file | **Local File**, Ad unit 300×250, drop the file, click **URL** | Add new banner → placement type |
| The same creative, already in the Media Library | **File source → Media library**; choose the Ad unit first, the picker lists only images of that size | Needs the *Media Library* permission |
| A creative hosted on a public server that you want stored on Epom | **File source → From link** — downloaded once on save | Banner creative |
| A size that is not in the list, e.g. 1456×180 | Ad unit **Custom** → Width and Height | Ad unit combo |

## Step by step

### Local File

1. On the campaign, **Add new banner** → the placement type → set **Banner type** to *Local File*.
2. Pick the **Ad unit**. Required, and pick it **before** you upload — it decides the size the
   creative is checked against. Choose *Custom* to type a width and height by hand.

   ![Ad unit dropdown](https://epom.com/docs-images/ad-server/banner-image/ad-unit-combo.webp)

3. Drop the image into **Banner creative**, or click to browse. The **File source** switch above
   the drop zone offers two other ways in:
   - **From link** — paste an `http://` or `https://` address of a public host (no embedded user
     name or password). The file is downloaded once when you save and stored as if uploaded, so
     the host need not stay online. A link that cannot be fetched refuses the save and names the
     reason under the field: not an http or https URL, not a public internet address, answered an
     HTTP error, took too long, over the size limit, or not an image.
   - **Media library** — picks an image already in the [Media Library](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/advertising/media-library.md).
     Offered only when your role holds the *Media Library* permission and the network's file
     storage is on. The picker lists only images of the creative's size.
4. Enter the **URL** — the click-through landing page. Required, no spaces.
5. Optionally set **Title** (the creative's `alt` text) and **Target** (which browser window the
   click opens).

   ![Create form for a Local File banner](https://epom.com/docs-images/ad-server/banner-image/local-file-create.webp)

6. **Save**. The banner opens on its own edit page: the upload zone becomes an **Image file**
   row with a thumbnail, download and delete buttons (the **File source** switch stays above it
   for the next replacement), and **Preview** appears in the header. Link the banner to
   placements from the **Linked placements** card.

   ![A saved Local File banner](https://epom.com/docs-images/ad-server/banner-image/local-file-saved.webp)

Preview opens in a new tab and renders the creative inside a resizable container, with the
standard ad sizes as presets and an optional page mockup — the creative as a page would show it,
not just the file.

## Caveats and exceptions

**Deleting the stored image is deferred.** The row disappears, but the file is removed only when
you next click **Save** — navigate away and the creative is still there. (Deleting a *video*
file takes effect immediately.)

The caveats that apply to both flavours — who can do this, the two messages after a successful
save, the size mismatch, the network-wide file limit, linking — are on
[Image banners](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/advertising/banner-image.md#caveats-and-exceptions).

## Not working?

| Symptom | Check | Where |
|---|---|---|
| From-link save refused with a reason | Not http/https, not a public address, HTTP error, timeout, over the limit, not an image | The reason under **Banner creative** |
| No **Media library** option | Role lacks *Media Library*, or file storage is off for the network | Network admin |
| The picker shows no images | It lists only images of the creative's size | Pick the **Ad unit** first |
| Old image still served after delete | Delete is deferred until Save | Click **Save** |

The rest of the list — *Must be image*, the file limit, the size and URL messages, **Not
serving** — is on [Image banners](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/advertising/banner-image.md#not-working).

## Reference

Every field, what the form and the server check and the API parameters (`imageFile`,
`imageFileUrl`, `mediaAssetId`) are on [Image banners](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/advertising/banner-image.md#reference).

## Related

- [Image banners (Local File and External File)](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/advertising/banner-image.md)
- [External File image banners](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/advertising/banner-image-external-file.md)
- [Reuse creative files with the Media Library](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/advertising/media-library.md)
- [Bulk banner operations](https://epom.com/ad-server/docs/guides/advertising/banners-bulk-operations.md) — upload many creatives at once