5 replies to this topic

[GG-1]

Aloha

Here are excellent instructions on the process to post Pictures here. These are courtesy of MrFSS. A number of us here use the Smugmug site referenced in these instructions.

To post pictures on this site you have to have uploaded the pictures to a site that allows a type of link that will show them in your post. I happen to use SMUGMUG which costs about $40 a year. There are others that are free and perhaps someone can mention some. I like the paid one as I know it will always work and it has unlimited storage.

Then, after you have uploaded your picture to post in a thread, you have to get its properties. The site where you have uploaded may do this for you or you may have to right click on the uploaded picture to get them.

High light the link that is show and in a thread here on this forum click the little green tree icon above where you type the text. Put the link you just copied in the pop up box and hit enter. It will show in you post as the picture you uploaded to your site.

NOTE - sometimes with some browsers, if security is set high, this site may refuse to let you insert the link without temporarily allowing it by selecting that option in a bar across the top of the browser window.

Sounds complicated, but once you've done it a few times, it becomes routine.

[Ryan]

I would highly recommend using Flickr. Free, although $25 a year gives you unlimited uploads (good if you want to upload full resolution pictures from a DSLR which can be quite large).

Inserting into the forum is also quite easy - for a single picture, you click on "share" and then you can copy the "BBCode" which will insert the image into a bulletin board like this one:
It looks like this:

[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/rstavely/4861869816/][img]http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4114/4861869816_cb83c5bbe6.jpg[/img][/url]
[url=http://www.flickr.com/photos/rstavely/4861869816/]AEM-7 #919[/url] by [url=http://www.flickr.com/people/rstavely/]Ryan Stavely[/url], on Flickr

And will turn into this when you post:

AEM-7 #919 by Ryan Stavely, on Flickr

Where Flickr really shines, is the ability to include galleries - if you want to link to an entire photo set, just past the link into the forum. For example, the link to the set that the above picture is in is:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/rstavely/sets/72157624531071627/

But the forum software sees that it's a set of multiple pictures and turns it into a gallery/slideshow that can be viewed in the thread without having to leave the site:

[Braniff747SP]

I use ImageShack which is free, has unlimited storage, and has no bandwidth limits. Simple and easy to use- and does not downgrade a picture's quality at all. In fact, when I first posted this, I used their "standard" forum code- and because of the forum software (I assume, never happened to me before) it posted the below image at it's full resolution- huge. The only alternative on this forum is to post it as a thumbnail. I've never seen this problem before- but you can click on the thumb and it will go straight to the image. You can copy+paste the code they provide for forums directly to here. I've used it for a few years on several different forums and I've never had a problem. Much better than Photobucket or any of the other hosting sites.... And it's free.

[CHamilton]

I've posted photos from Facebook and Picasa in the past, but this thread has given me an excuse to try Dropbox's new feature that allows users to create public links.


Looks like it works, but you'll need to:

• Resize the images yourself, since Dropbox won't do it for you. This is odd, because Dropbox actually has a lightbox feature that downsizes images, but they can't be shared.
• Make sure that the images are in your "Public" folder. Otherwise, you'll be able to add a text link to the image, but not to embed it in your AU post.
• Once the image is in the Public folder, click on it in Dropbox's web interface. You'll see a "Download" button at the top right. Right-click on the button and select "Copy Link Location" or "Copy URL" (the wording varies depending on which browser you are using.
• Now go to AU, click the Insert Image icon, and paste the web address of the image.

Is it worth all the steps? Maybe, if you're looking for a free service. Dropbox's basic accounts are free, but according to an article I read about the new feature,

Dropbox help pages state that the bandwidth limit for publicly linked files is 20 GB per day for free accounts and 200 GB per day for premium accounts. Links that hit these limits are automatically suspended.

I would think that those limits wouldn't be an issue on AU, but you never know.

By the way, if anyone doesn't already have a Dropbox account, PM me, and I'll send you an invitation. Both of us will get extra storage space if I refer you.

Edited by CHamilton, 08 May 2012 - 01:45 AM.

[Carolyn Jane]

I use Photobucket, and I guess it resizes, because I never do except when creating an avatar. I have a free account, and upload many, many pictures. I think they just give me unlimited without upgrading. CJ

[jebr]

I'm starting to use imgur more. It's free, offers easy linking and unlimited, anonymous storage.