CIMS has the ability to link to and display images in several locations of the program. It is possible to load up to six images per burial on the Ownership tab, Burial tab, and Marker tab. Also, one can attach a single image on the Deed tab and in the Customer Information screen. The displaying of images in CIMS can be a very useful tool for displaying marker images, obituaries, scans of deeds, etc.
The default storage location for images in CIMS is the "Images" folder that is located in the same folder as the "Data" folder. For instance, on a single machine, non-network installation on any computer with Windows Vista or newer with CIMS installed in the default location, the images folder would be located here: C:\Users\Public\RAMAKER\CIMS\Images. In Windows XP, the default location is C:\Program Files\CIMS\Images. For cemeteries whose data is located on a server, the Images folder is likely to be found in the same location as the Data folder.
When adding an image in CIMS, the software stores a link to the file location in its database. If an image file is ever moved from the location that was initially linked to, CIMS will not be able to locate the file and it will not display in the program. Also, if image files are not stored in a consistent location, backing them up will be nearly an impossible task, since they may be spread over multiple locations on your computer. This is why storing images in the same location consistently is so important.
If, for instance, you have newly taken images of headstones on your digital camera and you wish to load them on to your computer and link them to the corresponding marker in CIMS, you can start by importing to them computer as you normally would. We would then recommend copy and pasting them to the "Markers" folder in the Images folder. This is the location CIMS first looks when you go to add a Marker image in the software. If you continue to store all future Marker images in this same location, it will be very simple to back them up. Also, if the location of the images folder is ever changed, to a server or just another location on your computer, our technical support specialists could easily update your database to reflect the new location of the images, provided that images have been stored consistently in the same location.
CIMS provides many opportunities to link images to your cemetery records, which can provide a wealth of additional data to your employees and customers. If you have not already explored this functionality and have any question on how to best organize your images, feel free to speak with one of our technical support specialists at 1-800-332-7532.
