Using Images With Your Messages

You have probably noticed that some people are including pictures with their messages. This is an excellent way to get advice on a particular problem, illustrate a point, or simply to show off your work to other forum members. Including a picture or graphic with your message is quite simple once you understand the process.

#1. Convert your photograph or drawing to a graphics file

There are a few methods by which you can turn a photograph into a file which is suitable for including in a message. If you own a scanner, then all you have to do is scan the photo and save it as a JPG file. You should scan your file at about 72 dpi, and use a JPEG compression ratio which will yield a file not larger than 50k. Anything larger than that takes too long for people with slower connections to download and they will lose interest.

If you do not have a scanner, you can take your photographs to a local printing shop, Kinko's Copy, or the like and they will scan the photo and save the file to a floppy disk (take a few disks with you when you go). The price for this varies. Before we purchased a scanner, we paid a local printing shop $2.00 per scan. You will want to specify that they save the file in JPG format at 72 dpi (they'll know what you're talking about). Kodak also offers a "save to disk" service, check your local photo shop for details.

Seattle Film Works, the big mail order film processor will put your photos on disk, and even deliver them to you via the Internet if you want. Costs an extra $5 or so for a 24 exposure roll. They use some off-the-wall format that has to be converted to GIF or JPG for most services like this site's, but almost any graphics program can do that. You can also crop, edit or enhance them at the same time you're converting them.(Source, Jim Delaney)

Once you have the graphics files on disk, you will probably want to edit them. With a photo editing program, you can crop, color correct, enlarge, reduce, set compression ratio, etc. There are many photo editing programs on the market and available as shareware on the Internet. The old standard is Adobe PhotoShop, but unless you plan on doing this for a living, the $500.00 price tag will make you turn away. Adobe Photodeluxe is a lower-priced alternative for around $50.00 at a large software retailer. Keep in mind that a large number of forum users have 640x480 monitors. There is little to be gained by uploading a photo that measures larger than that. We have found that a maximum of 300-400 pixels in either height or width gives the best appearance in a message. Also bear in mind that the typical monitor only has a resolution of 72dpi so scans at higher dpi settings simply make a larger file.

IPPlus is another one that often comes bundled onto the HD on new computers, and also gets bundled with several brands of scanners as well (source, Jim Delaney).

There are many shareware photo editing programs available on the Internet. Probably the most widely used is Paint Shop Pro by JASC. Paint Shop Pro has all of the features you will need to convert image file types, compress image sizes, and edit images. Ulead's Photo Impact which sells for about $100.00 is also a good choice.

Once you have the graphics files, you must then put them on the site's server to enable you to reference them in a message.

#2. Name your Files & Upload them to Badger Pond's anonymous FTP site

Please note:

Do not upload files larger than 60 kilobytes. The software will not accept images larger than 60 kilobytes. For "Signature" photos, the file size needs to be 15k or below. Only two file types are acceptable (GIF or JPG) and the files must have the proper extension (.gif or .jpg). The software will not accept files without the proper extension.

To upload files for use in a forum message, use the File Upload Program. Simply click on the link to the upload program (links to it are also available from the Power Tool and Hand Tool forums) and follow the instructions there. The upload program automatically renames the files after you have uploaded them and then notifies the Forum Administrator that you have uploaded the file. Please wait for a confirmation email, telling you that your file is ready before trying to include it in a message. If the image file you are uploading is a "signature" photo, please note its use in the "comments" field of the upload forum so it can be moved to a different directory.

Some folks have started using "signature" photos with their messages. This is usually a small photograph of the message poster. Images to be used in such a fashion need to be 15k or below in order to keep bandwidth usage at a managable rate. Since such a file would be loaded every time a message you post is viewed, the smaller size is necessary.

Anonymous ftp uploads are no longer possible. If you wish to upload an image file for use in a forum message, you must use the file upload program as outlined above.

#3. Type your message and reference the files you just uploaded

Okay, you've uploaded the graphics file, you've notified the forum administrator, and you've received notification that the file is ready. Now you're ready to include it in a message. The easiest way to do so is to enter the URL (Uniform Resource Locator) to the file (the file's "address") into the "Optional Image URL:" field on the message form.

For this example, let's say you just uploaded a file and named it chair.jpg. In the message form, at the bottom of the form, you will see a field titled, "Optional Image URL:". Type in the URL to the file in this field. When you uploaded the file to the server, it went into the "member" directory. So the URL to this example file would be http://www.wwforum.com/member2/chair.jpg. Note: all URL's to uploaded graphics files start with the URL http://www.wwforum.com/member2/. You then simply add the filename and extension. A common mistake at this point is using "members" rather than "member2".

Here's a screen shot of a properly filled out Optional Image field.

You must be certain to enter the address correctly. If you enter the URL incorrectly, nothing will happen; the image will not appear in your message. This is why we recommend that you use all lowercase letters in the filename. It's too easy to name a file Myproject.jpg and then enter myproject.jpg in the Optional Link field. Better to name all files in lowercase letters so that you don't make that mistake. If you do make a mistake (and we all do), don't worry too much about it. You won't break anything. Send the forum administrator an email([email protected]) and he will edit the message file so that it contains the proper filename or address. Get into the habit of using the "Preview" function to check if you have your URL's correct. If the images don't show up in "Preview", don't post the message. The links will be broken.

If you wish to include more than one image per message, you'll have to put the HTML into the message to do that. Simply use the code below, once for each image file, replacing the "your file name here" with the name of the file you want to reference. Be certain not to remove the double quotes which appear in the code below. Also be certain to include the full name of the file, for example if your filename is example.jpg, the

Example HTML code for referencing images "inline".

For more than one image, you simply repeat the code once for each image.

Please note that it is acceptable to "pull" your images from another server using either the "optional image" field or HTML. Please make certain the remote server allows you to do this. Messages containing broken image links for images housed on another server are liable for removal as a matter of housekeeping. Note also that it is not allowable to use a link to an HTML page on another server to send folks to a remote server to view your images. If you cannot "pull" your images from the remote server, then upload your images to the Badger Pond server.

If you are interested in learning more about the HTML language, Webmonkey is a good place to start.

That's all there is to including a photograph with your message. If you still have questions or are having a problem, feel free to contact the forum administrator, but please study these instructions first.

Badger Pond Webworking