Channels and groups, what is the difference?

I use groups to define where on the page ad will be displayed (header, footer, left column etc. – there is block for every group) and channels to define on what pages ad will be displayed (channel = URL).

Answer provided, closing issue.

#2,

if I use ad group blocks I can determine which page they go on.

Why do I need channels then?

I am still confused.

Do I have to specify a channel and a page?

If ad blocks are giving you everything you need, then use them and be happy. You do not have to enable the ad_channel module, and should only do so if it provides something you need.

Thanks Jeremy. I would just like to understand ad_channels vs ad_groups a little better. I don't understand how they are used together like in #2. I am probably missing something pretty fundamental.

1. ad_groups are taxonomy that I could use to specify certain ads
2. ad_groups create blocks that I can then place in different regions of a page like any other block
3. I can specify where the ads will be placed using this method

now with ad_channel
1. I can specify a specific url where the ad will be placed.
2. It says I can add ". If serving ads locally use Drupal relative paths. If serving ads remotely include the 'http://' or 'https:/'. "
Does this mean that the ad will be served to this local Drupal page or to the external ad at http://?
3. I can specify which container this is in (which is reminiscent of forum channels holding forum taxonomy)

Now if I connect an ad_group to ad_channel, how is placement specified? Is it specified by the block or the channel itself? Which takes presidence?

thanks for your patience with me as I get familiar with this module.

Chris

if I use ad group blocks I can determine which page they go on.

You can, but if you have several different pages for ads there will be several blocks and they will be hard to manage. And you'll miss a lot of functionality.

Why do I need channels then?

I have space in the header for banners 468x60. So I created ad group "Header 468x60" and placed its block in the header. There is default ad (Google Adsence) that is assigned to this group. It should be displayed on every page so it is not assigned to any channel. Then there are other ads and advertisers wants them to be displayed on particular pages (front, non-front etc.). So I created channels for that pages (urls) and assigned ads to them. Now they are displayed on that pages instead of default ad, but when they expires, default ad is displayed instead. You can't do that with blocks, as far as I know.

You wrote: So I created channels for that pages (urls) and assigned ads to them.

how do you assign ads to the channels?

do you use ad_group and also place ad_group on the page in the area that you want? That is where I am getting confused.

If someone could contribute documentation that better explains this, that would be much appreciated. I can either add it to the existing README, or we can start a new file.

how do you assign ads to the channels?

When you edit ad there is list of available channels (under Channels header) with checkboxes. Checking box near channel name assigns ad to that channel.

do you use ad_group

Yes, ads are assigned to both groups and channels.

and also place ad_group on the page in the area that you want?

For every ad group you create there is block created automatically. Group blocks are placed on the page.

Channels is very useful once you understand how to use it with ad groups. Could it be expanded to include enabling the channel if a php code condition was true like blocks do?

I find that just adding or listing pages is not enough. I need to display the channel if the a certain domain is being used (domain access module) or based on an organic group or a combination of both. PHP code for this works great in blocks.

Any ideas on how to do this with channels?

Drupal 6 is EOL and no longer supported. Closing this as outdated for that reason. Thanks for your contribution!