How to post photos

[running-man]

So you're all ready to show off that beautiful new '53 Izhevsk you just traded a box of .22 shells and a half can of chaw for, but you're having trouble with the way this site handles photos.  Here's how to add photos into your post:

1)  Go to an image hosting site and register.  There are quite a plethora of sites out there such as Photobucket, Image Shack, Flikr, TinyPic, Snap Fish, and Shutterfly to name a few. 

2) Once you have registered with the site, set up your album structure the way you want it.  Some people like to have everything dumped into one huge album (which can get really messy if you have 2000 photos there in a couple years time), while others like to have different albums for different things (SKSs, Mosin Nagants, Mausers, Blicero's girlfriend, etc.)  Set up your structure and upload the photos you want to post from your phone, tablet, or computer.  You also should look through the options on the site and check or uncheck options that you may or may not want.  Photobucket has an annoying 'feature' that will auto rotate your photos for you.  Unfortunately, it often gets the orientation completely wrong and your photo comes out on it's side or upside down. 

3) Now comes the hard part, getting a link from the image hosting and applying it to your post.  I'm going to use photobucket as my example here, but in reality all the sites work pretty similarly.

4a) Start your post and figure out where you want your photos to be.  An inline photo will occupy whatever space you tell it to, so you can put it before a paragraph, in the middle of one, at the very end, whatever.

4b) Choose the photo you want to place in your post.  In photobucket, the photo viewing screen should look similar to this:

You can link photos in various different ways.  The most basic is to link the photo to you post using the IMG box shown above (some sites may call it a "URL" link.  When using a computer, clicking on the text in the IMG box in photobucket automatically copies the text to your clipboard.  When using a phone or tablet, or on other sites, you might have to manually copy the text into your clipboard.  This is done by selecting the text with your mouse and then performing a right mouse click or by selecting the text with your finger and then selecting the copy popup on your phone or tablet. 

4c) Go back to your post and simply hit paste (right mouse click->paste or <ctrl>v on a desktop, using the paste popup on your phone) such that the code is pasted into your post:

You are basically done.  Preview your post to make sure the photo is doing what you want and then hit the post button. 

That's it!  Easy squeezy right?

[running-man]

The basic way is ok, if a bit clumsy.  Let's try something a bit more advanced.  When you link using the IMG box on photobucket, every time a user clicks on the photo (whether by accident, or because they want to see the photos in full detail - remember SKSfiles.com will automatically resize your displayed photos to 1000x700 resolution to help with possible bandwidth issues) that click will open a new window taking the user to the photobucket website.  Many members, me included, think this is a supreme pain in the rear! Not only do I have to wait for a new page to start up, I'm bombarded by advertisements and popup windows (because this is how the image hosting sites make their money...you thought they were free?!  )

5a) Ok, so we don't want to use the [URL] codes that photobucket gives us.  Let's make our own codes using the buttons to the top-left of the smiley faces in the post window:

5b) Click on the icon.  This will produce code in your post (wherever your typing cursor is at the moment) that looks like this:

5c) Now go to your photobucket (or other image hosting) site and instead of selecting the IMG box, let's select the "Direct" window this time and copy that web address into your clipboard.

5d) Now go back to our post and paste that web address in between the [ img ] and [ /img ] tags:

5e) Previewing the post gives you this:

Looks ridiculously similar to what we did in 4d) in the previous post, but clicking on the photo now allows the image to resize itself to maximum within the window.  No going to photobucket to view it, no senseless commercials, no annoyed users wondering why you can't embed a photo "the right way"!  Heck if you practice, you could get good at this!

[rjinga]

I came to this thread to comment on the people who post photos through hosting sites that don't display their photos after less than two years.  Imagine my disappointment when I saw (or didn't  see) that you can't see the photos that were part of the original "this is how you post photos" on our website thread.   

[running-man]

LC has a new how to post photos thread done, unfortunately I'm the long pole in the tent and haven't gotten off my tail to proofread it yet.

I'll get it up ASAP, I didn't realize this thread was as broken as it is.  Embarrassing for certain.  Thanks for pointing it out! 

[rjinga]

I do apologize if I came across as a tool.  I enjoy seeing other people's range reports, but I quit opening threads after only two of the first five or six had any open photos.

[Greasemonkey]

I do apologize if I came across as a tool.  I enjoy seeing other people's range reports, but I quit opening threads after only two of the first five or six had any open photos.

Well thank PhotoBucket.. it has and goes by alot other names, they threw a shaft in a majority of users across thousands of internet forums in an attempt to make money. A lot of photos were lost or not recoverable by some users, so there is a metric crap ton of goofy kittens or stupid clocks saying upgrade your account or photos have been removed in some posts.

Maybe if your lucky, the OP has the photo saved elsewhere and simply asking may get them reposted fixing the post. We spent countless hours fixing the sticky posts after the whole mess. 

[running-man]

I do apologize if I came across as a tool.  I enjoy seeing other people's range reports, but I quit opening threads after only two of the first five or six had any open photos.

Not at all.  I'm truly glad you brought it up to our attention.  It needs fixed plain and simple and I haven't visited this thread for months, perhaps years.  You'll find that many old threads here have broken photos, but all the FAQs and stickys (with the exclusion of this one obviously  ) should be up and running.

I'd second GMs recommendation, if you find a thread that looks promising but has no photos, post in it (even if it is years old) asking for an update and perhaps the original poster will go in and update it with working photo links. 

[running-man]

RM's Note: This is LC's first crack at the imgbb options.  These will eventually replace the main post in this thread (once I get all three options fleshed out) 

Posting pictures here is relatively easy, and you have a few options.  Below, I will attempt to outline them as a guide for whoever needs it.

Option #1: Uploading directly from the forum

For your convince, we have set up the forum to easily attach your pictures to your post directly from the screen when you create/type your post.  You do not need an account at a photo hosting site to do this, but be aware that you will also not be able to manage the photos that you upload if you do not have an account.  The following steps assume you do not have an account with imgbb.com.

Directly below the window in which you type and to the left you will find an "• Upload image to post" link.  All you have to do is click that link:



This will open a window to imgbb.com which is a photo sharing/hosting platform.  Follow the prompts and select your image either by drag and drop or by browsing from your computer:



When you have the images selected (you can upload more than one at a time), select the “Upload” button and the file will be transferred from your computer to the imgbb.com servers.



When the upload is complete the code for all photos will automatically be pasted into the main edit window on SKS-Files:
 


In rare instances, the paste will fail and you will be greeted with an error, I’ve found that creating an imgbb.com account will generally fix this issue for me.

Note: When using this method you ARE NOT required to sign up with their site (free anyway).  Your photo will go onto their system without the ability to retrieve later, retrieve past uploads, organize them in folders or anything else. It simply uploads it to their server as a one-time deal. Again, this is completely free, harmless, and nobody will ever have any of your information because you never even joined their site.

[Matchka]

Is there a simplified process for adding the profile avatar?

[Greasemonkey]

Should be a place in Board profile settings, hit the dot that says "Specify avatar by URL", copy and past link to avatar there.. or just post or PM me the link and I'll see if I can screw it up....err...I mean do it. 

It usually takes me a couple of tries to get mine right sometimes. 


If I can't....RM is the technogod of explaining how to do the fun stuffs.

[Matchka]

I tried that URL thing, no bueno. Here's the pic.
THANX! (Ignore "facsist" in the pic string - the guy that built this pic is a nut! :-)

[Greasemonkey]

Looks like it worked I got something right 

[running-man]

Good job GM. 

As an FYI, avatars should be 166 x 166 pixels.  I don't know why that number was chosen, but there you go.

Matchka, your image resized to 166x166 looks like this:

[Greasemonkey]

I thought the board software auto resized avatar pictures.. I remember seeing something from LC about that somewhere in a post. 


Oh well.... either way he's got an avatar..

[Loose}{Cannon]

I thought the board software auto resized avatar pictures.. I remember seeing something from LC about that somewhere in a post. 


Oh well.... either way he's got an avatar..

It does