How to Post a Photograph on the Forum

[Zeldazog]

There seems to be frequent questions as to how to post photographs on the forum - so I thought I would put everything together in one place and this topic will be sticky'd - I'll leave the thread unlocked initially for anybody to ask questions or add extra information to, then at a later date, will prune it back down to instructions, etc, and we'll probably lock it later.


Firstly, because this is such a picture heavy site, images cannot be directly hosted on the forum - we'd overload the server very quickly and slow the site down.  So, if you want to insert an image into a post, you have to store your image externally - either on a photo hosting site, or on a blog, your website, etc.  Please also note that, even though images are hosted off-site, it's still best not to use very large images - they will slow loading of the page as the viewer's computer is trying to load the external picture, and for some, they are simply too big for smaller screens.


To insert an image from Flickr (they have recently changed this):

Select the image you want to use

Click on the share icon (bottom left of the image) to drop down

Select BBCode and the medium(500) size. Copy the link provided and paste it into your post. You may need to add a line break just before the title to format neatly.


     



Inserting an image from an External Source (such as your own website, or a blog page)

2 options here - either be at the point that you have just the image on your page, and nothing else - copy the full URL from the address bar.

Or

Right click the image, and "Copy Image Location"

Either way, you should have a line of code that begins with http:// followed by details of the exact location of the image.

Paste this into your post.

Select the entire line so it is highlighted blue.

Click on the Insert Image icon, which is the second row, second button in, looks like a little picture frame.  This will insert the code required to display the image.

If you image is too large, look for the part of the code which is [img] (this will be right at the start of the line that you selected and highlighted) and you can control the size there by adding the red text after the image code: [img width=500]


As with Photobucket, you can use the Preview button to check you have done it correctly, and the same applies to Flickr too.




Hope this helps!

Please feel free to add to this thread, correct me if I am wrong, clarify anything, and myself or another mod will adjust the original post as necessary.  Useful links can also be added.



Edited to add notes about sizes

[mizgeorge]

Could I just remind people that if they are using an external host for their pictures, and subsequently remove those pictures from that host, they will disappear from here as well. This seems to apply particularly to free flickr accounts.

Posts containing missing images will usually be deleted as they tend to become meaningless without the picture.

[Zeldazog]

As detailed in the first post, you only need to use "insert image" if using a link to an external location.

Photobucket and Flickr (and probably other dedicated image sites) generate the relevant bit of code on your behalf, so you don't need to use insert image.

[Zeldazog]

There's been quite a lot of people struggling with posting photos on the forum recently, and I think at lot of that is down to several things.  These instructions were written three years ago, and there's been some updates.  They were written using Mozilla Firefox on a Windows XP machine.

Both Flickr and Photobucket have changed their interfaces in recent months, and many more people are using different versions of Windows or might even be accessing from a tablet.  There's been a couple of new Windows versions, including Windows 8 which is designed for touch screen devices so may work differently again.  And of course, you might be on a Mac which might appear different again.

I know quite a few people have problems with Photobucket, but although mine has changed the look entirely, I still have no problem finding all the links, so I cannot help as to why people cannot find their links any more.  One problem could be your link options - so I'd suggest you look out for the gear icon that says "UPDATE LINK OPTIONS" and tick every box that it offers, so it should offer all the link options.

The emphasis now seems to be on integration - linking everything with Facebook, Twitter, your iCloud, your Blogger, your Google Plus account - so, if in doubt, and you can't find anything, look out for a share option - and you might just find a code in there.

At some point I will try and update these instructions, but please bear in mind even when that is done, they're written from one computer, one view point.  Things may appear differently if you're on a different version, a different platform, a different browser.


So, could I ask that if you need to ask for help, you also add what you're using (are you on a Mac, a PC or Tablet) - what operating system you're using (Windows XP, 7, 8, Mountain Lion, etc) and what browser you're using - then hopefully someone using the same set-up will be able to give relevant help.  

Thanks for bearing with us - progress is fine, until it means we have to re-write our guides!