Uploading Images
Posted: Wed Jun 07, 2006 6:58 pm
One of the most common questions I see from new users (and one I myself asked when I joined) concerns the uploading of images to the SSC forums. People who are new to forums--or at least to forums that require much image uploading--might be at a loss as to how to do this, and people who have been members at forums that allow for attached images might also be concerned.
When attached images are allowed, members generally use up lots of server space, which is why attachments are disabled for users here. However, there is a workaround that also allows for much larger images than the ones here, and it involves directly linking to an image hosted at another site.
First, sign up for an account at a free image host, such as Photobucket. I personally don't like Photobucket too much, but they are decent for regular use, so I will assume that you are using Photobucket for the rest of this article. Once you have signed up and are logged in, upload the image (or images, but multiple images often play havoc with your upload speed and timeout errors might occur)--and that instruction should be simple enough. Thumbnails of all the pictures in your album should be visible, and from here on, there are a few options.
1) Copy the text below the appropriate thumbnail and paste it directly into the post editor here at the SSC forums. This should be the simplest procedure, but for some reason I haven't been using it. I'll start that right now.
2) Copy the text in the first field under your thumbnail--it should be the picture's URL. In the post editor, click on the tool button at the top that looks like a postcard with a picture of a mountain on it; then, a popup should appear, and you can paste the image's URL directly into the popup's field. Alternatively, experienced users might use the template, "[img]copy%20URL%20here[/img]."
3) Click on the thumbnail, and you'll be taken to a page that only has that image. Note that this page does not have the same URL as the image itself, so do not just copy the page's URL! If you want to copy the URL from the address bar, you'll have to click on the link with the name of your image.
4) This page (right after the album page, not the one with the actual URL) will have the same information about the picture as the main album page. Use options 1 and 2 here.
EDIT: I guess I forgot to mention that you can just create an old-fashioned link to your image's URL. Some people do that, and I don't blame them, because less actual images on a page helps improve load times for people with slower Internet connections.
When attached images are allowed, members generally use up lots of server space, which is why attachments are disabled for users here. However, there is a workaround that also allows for much larger images than the ones here, and it involves directly linking to an image hosted at another site.
First, sign up for an account at a free image host, such as Photobucket. I personally don't like Photobucket too much, but they are decent for regular use, so I will assume that you are using Photobucket for the rest of this article. Once you have signed up and are logged in, upload the image (or images, but multiple images often play havoc with your upload speed and timeout errors might occur)--and that instruction should be simple enough. Thumbnails of all the pictures in your album should be visible, and from here on, there are a few options.
1) Copy the text below the appropriate thumbnail and paste it directly into the post editor here at the SSC forums. This should be the simplest procedure, but for some reason I haven't been using it. I'll start that right now.
2) Copy the text in the first field under your thumbnail--it should be the picture's URL. In the post editor, click on the tool button at the top that looks like a postcard with a picture of a mountain on it; then, a popup should appear, and you can paste the image's URL directly into the popup's field. Alternatively, experienced users might use the template, "[img]copy%20URL%20here[/img]."
3) Click on the thumbnail, and you'll be taken to a page that only has that image. Note that this page does not have the same URL as the image itself, so do not just copy the page's URL! If you want to copy the URL from the address bar, you'll have to click on the link with the name of your image.
4) This page (right after the album page, not the one with the actual URL) will have the same information about the picture as the main album page. Use options 1 and 2 here.
EDIT: I guess I forgot to mention that you can just create an old-fashioned link to your image's URL. Some people do that, and I don't blame them, because less actual images on a page helps improve load times for people with slower Internet connections.