How to insert an image from your photo gallery into your message

[Mike Phillips]

How to insert an image from your photo gallery into your message (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/how-articles-discussion-forums/21313-how-insert-image-your-photo-gallery-into-your-message.html)

From the forum homepage, first verify that you're logged-in. In your User CP box it should say,

Welcome back your username

Next, click on the text link Upload Photos

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/765/insertimage001.jpg


The next screen will look like this, click on the text link that reads My Photos

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/765/insertimage002.jpg


In this next screen you'll see what are called "Thumbnails" of your full size images. Click on the Thumbnail of the photo you want to insert, in this example we'll click on the front view of Nate Trueman's 1966 Batmobile recreation.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/765/insertimage003.jpg


Clicking on the Thumbnail will pull up a larger size image of the Thumbnail.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/765/batmobile.jpg


Now that you have the full size image pulled up inside the Photo Gallery, you need to get what's called the URL Address.

URL stands for Uniform Resource Locator and the URL Address is the path to where your picture is located on the Internet so that a web browser can recognize and display it using what are called Image Tags.

There's usually a couple of different ways to get the URL Address for a photo. Different browsers will give you different options. In this example I'm using Internet Explorer but you can apply the same principals when using browsers like Firefox etc.

I'm going to show you how I do it, feel free to explore other ways within the Photo Gallery software to snag the URL Address.

The way I do it is to right click on top of the picture. This will pull up a dialog or information box about the picture. Inside this box you'll see this,

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/765/insertimage009.jpg

Note: You need the complete URL Address or you will end up with a Red X. The entire URL address is going to start with http and end with .jpg

So take your cursor and highlight the entire URL Address and then right click on top of the highlighted text and when it brings up another dialog box, select copy.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/765/insertimage007.jpg



Now go to the message where you want to insert your picture.

To insert your image you want to click on the little tiny "Picture Icon" right above the message box where there are text formatting options.

The one that looks like this -----> http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/images/editor/insertimage.gif <------
It will pull up a dialog window that looks like the image in the picture below.

You want to paste the URL Address into the dialog window and then click on OK

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/765/insertimage008.jpg


Important: If you fidget with your mouse it's real easy to un-highlight the http:// code and then when you paste the URL Address into the dialog box you'll end up with the code http:// twice and it will look like this


http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/765/insertimage010.jpg


Having the http:// twice in the code will cause a Red X to show up instead of your picture.


If you did everything correctly, your picture should show up like this,

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/500/BatmobileFinished11.jpg


It's really not that complicated after you figure out how to do it the first time, kind of like riding a bike.

Hope this helps...

:)

[DLB]

Great post Mike. Should help a lot of people to get full size images up instead of just thumbnails.


There's usually a couple of different ways to get the URL Address for a photo. Different browsers will give you different options. In this example I'm using Internet Explorer but you can apply the same principals when using browsers like Firefox etc.

I'm going to show you how I do it, feel free to explore other ways within the Photo Gallery software to snag the URL Address.Just a note to the following for anyone using Firefox...If you don't already know, in Firefox you can Right Click--->Copy Image Location. (I know you were just being general Mike, but wanted to point out the ease of this for any FF users).

DLB

[Mike Phillips]

Great post Mike. Should help a lot of people to get full size images up instead of just thumbnails.


Thank you. If someone that's familiar with the above sees any mistakes please shoot me a PM and I'll correct it.

It's so easy for people to capture great photos with their digital cameras and even cell phones but if you don't know how to resize, upload and insert the image into a message you never get the fun of sharing them with your friends.

While the above tutorial is specific to this version of PhotoPost most photo galleries work much the same way. If you're planning on being part of this forum [B]or any forum /B] for another hobby, take a moment and read through this tutorial and then learn and practice inserting photos into your messages the correct way, not merely attaching them as files. It's not that hard and anyone can learn how to do it.

Autogeek allows people to "Attach Files" which is a quick and simple way to add a photo to your message, it looks like this when you're creating a message,

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/765/insertimage011.jpg

But it only loads a tiny Thumbnail of your picture and then anyone that wants to see the picture has to click on the thumbnail and it will then open up the larger version, which is okay, but again, if you're in this for the long run, as in you enjoy participating on discussion forums, then take a few moments and teach yourself how to work with photos via Photo Gallery.

Besides only showing a thumbnail, historically, over time it's possible for the vBulletin databases to become corrupted and start showing the wrong pictures in the wrong messages. I know Autopia had this problem at least at one time.

On MOL I was a lot meaner and I disabled the "Attach Files" option and forced people to learn how to do it the good steward way.

:)




Just a note to the following for anyone using Firefox...If you don't already know, in Firefox you can Right Click--->Copy Image Location. (I know you were just being general Mike, but wanted to point out the ease of this for any FF users).

DLB


I actually took a double set of screen-shots showing how to do the above in Firefox but this tutorial was already taking quite a bit of time and it was getting confusing trying to put everything into one linear thread so I just finished out with the Internet Explorer version although I use and am a fan of Firefox.


:xyxthumbs:

[DLB]

On MOL I was a lot meaner and I disabled the "Attach Files" option and forced people to learn how to do it the good steward way.
I am all for it! (Except for when teh attachment is something besides a photo...)


I actually took a double set of screen-shots showing how to do the above in Firefox but this tutorial was already taking quite a bit of time and it was getting confusing trying to put everything into one linear thread so I just finished out with the Internet Explorer version although I use and am a fan of Firefox.Go figure...
I think the next writeup then should be why Firefox > IE. :D

Mike is right though.
If you are going to post much on any forum, learn how to do it right. He has already made a couple of other "guides" on how to do stuff on here. The little stuff is what makes a forum really stellar in stead of run of the mill.

DLB

[Mike Phillips]

Next will be tutorials on,


How to crop out the fluff
How to resize your image without distortion

So many people upload HUGE picture files and what they either don't know or don't care about is that size matters. A large file size takes up space on a hard drive somewhere and someone, (Max), has to pay for this. A better option and good Netiquette is to first, crop out the fluff and then resize your photo to a practical and viewable size. Usually 800 pixels wide is more than enough and anything larger than that and you force a majority of your readers to have to horizontal scroll.

The thing about mega pictures is if a person has to horizontal scroll then they NEVER see the entire pictures at one time because as they scroll to one side of their screen to see the rest of the picture, on the other side of the screen the picture is disappearing off the screen. Thus a person can never see the entire picture.


Cropping out the fluff is simply means cutting out all the non-important background and thus focusing on the item of interest.

The below is an example of cropping out the fluff, it's not my favorite example but I processed these photos for this thread (http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/21147-1967-starline-deville-extreme-makeover.html) earlier today so it was convenient to use them here in this thread for an example.

The below are the same photos but in the second one I cropped out the boat from the space around it in the garage.

Note, both pictures are 800 pixels wide.

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/762/1967SD070.jpg

http://www.autogeekonline.net/gallery/data/762/1967SD071.jpg



I use a free software program for resizing that works awesome as it doesn't distort your photos and make them look all wacky.

EZ Thumbnails (http://www.fookes.com/ezthumbs/)



:)

[Nappers]

Nice write up!

You beat me to it, I had 12 screen shots lined up.....:D

Good show!

[Mike Phillips]

Nice write up!

You beat me to it, I had 12 screen shots lined up.....:D

Good show!

So sorry...

I can knock out a resizing tutorial pretty easily but could really use some help with a cropping tutorial.

It would be best if the software for cropping is free and a safe download. I've been toying with PhotoScape (http://www.photoscape.org/ps/main/index.php) and it actually seem pretty easy to use for all kinds of thing including cropping and resizing which is all I really need out of photo software.

I don't think I could live without EZ Thumbnails, it just works too well. I like the older shareware version of Lview Pro 1.D2/32-bit for Microsoft Windows 3.1 to 95 too, (It's old but works great for some simple tasks), which can be found with a little Googling.


Car detailing discussion forums are so photo heavy and it's really nice when you can help others figure out how to really work with photos on discussion forums instead of simply uploading them to some freebie account like Photobucket and then attaching them as files.

The problem with Photobucket and freebie photo hosting companies like it is that most people only have the freebie account and when they use up all their free space they start deleting older photos to make room for new photos and then EVERYWHERE they posted the now deleted photos there will be red x's. Kind of takes the fun out of reading a thread only to never see the pictures.


:)

[Nappers]

I use Paint a lot when I resize photos and my Photoshop Elements when needed for other stuff (not cleaning up photos of befores/afters mind you!)

Paint is easy to crop photos or reduce them!

[Mike Phillips]

Paint is easy to crop photos or reduce them!


Seems like MS Paint alters a photo in a negative way after opening it and then saving it?

I use paint for adding text to images, not the best software for that but it gets the job done. All the photos in this thread that have text in them were created in MS Paint.

Ugh....

:)

[Nappers]

If the picture is originally a jpeg, then it won't affect the outcome, all of my photos here and on MOL were cropped or at least resized using MS Paint. I typically take a picture with 5mp and reduce 75-80&#37; (depending on outcome of size I want) and stick to that.

screen shots in my experience save as a BMP and I don't have problems with the picture becoming distorted when saving as a jpeg, the words kind of get nasty looking but they work....

I have used my PS Elements to do tutorials in the past. If you remember my "....For Dummies" series over yonder. I am pretty sure that 99.5% of my screenshots were cropped, sized and text with MS Paint and the words don't really turn out well, I find that making lines bigger and using Arial as the font works better.....I did use PSE here and there.....

[DLB]

If the picture is originally a jpeg, then it won't affect the outcomeActually it will. Jpeg's are are a compressed image file. For more info than should be here...Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/####/JPEG)

A BMP is a true pixel for pixel file. This is why they are typically larger.

What you see in paint is that it chooses the compression ratio for you with a .jpg. If you start off with a very high quality picture, you end up with a good quality picture.

Photoshop (and others I am sure) lets you choose how much to compress your image. But a .jpg will always compress.

If you want to see it happen - open a photo in paint, save it, then save it again, etc...
You will see the quality start to degrade. (Not saying any of this for arguments sake, just information...)

Mike - as far as free image editing - the best I have seen is this:
Photo editor online pixlr free edit image direct in your browser (http://www.pixlr.com/editor/)

You can resize, crop, and edit photos in a number of ways. The UI is very much like Photoshop though (which I am used to) so it may not be as easy as I think.

If I get time I can help snag some screen shots and get that outlined for you.

Also - for image resizing, Microsoft has a GREAT solution.
Microsoft PowerToys for Windows XP (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/Downloads/powertoys/Xppowertoys.mspx)
The Image Resizer powertoy plugs into your shell and you can then right click an image, and resize it (or several) on the fly.

DLB

[Mike Phillips]

What you see in paint is that it chooses the compression ratio for you with a .jpg. If you start off with a very high quality picture, you end up with a good quality picture.


If you want to see it happen - open a photo in paint, save it, then save it again, etc...
You will see the quality start to degrade. (Not saying any of this for arguments sake, just information...)


What you posted is what I've always seen, that's why I don't like using Paint to add text to pictures.



Mike - as far as free image editing - the best I have seen is this:
Photo editor online pixlr free edit image direct in your browser (http://www.pixlr.com/editor/)

You can resize, crop, and edit photos in a number of ways. The UI is very much like Photoshop though (which I am used to) so it may not be as easy as I think.

If I get time I can help snag some screen shots and get that outlined for you.


Thanks! I'll look into that program, sounds like it's just what I'm looking for, I know some people are real Pro's with Photoshop but most people don't own it so when it comes to working with photos on discussion forums I like to find free, easy to use software than any of our members can download and use.

I've actually already written dozens of articles like these on the MOL forum but I can't simply copy and paste them over here so I'm slowly re-creating new articles.

It all comes down to just helping our forum members share their photos in their messages without having to attach them, without having to use sites like Photobucket, (because sooner or later the pictures turn into red x's and at the same time, how to use good Netiquette and be a good steward of the Autogeek resources.

That's a lot to tackle but bite by bite it can be done.




Also - for image resizing, Microsoft has a GREAT solution.
Microsoft PowerToys for Windows XP (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/Downloads/powertoys/Xppowertoys.mspx)
The Image Resizer powertoy plugs into your shell and you can then right click an image, and resize it (or several) on the fly.

DLB

For years everyone always says what a great tool the Image Resizer in Powertoy's is but it might be beyond the ability of some computer newbies to download the entire suite and get it all figured out. Don't want to overwhelm anyone but a how-to article on downloading Powertoys and then setting up Image Resizer for a Newbie would work great.


:)_

[Nappers]

Actually it will. Jpeg's are are a compressed image file. For more info than should be here...Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/####/JPEG)

A BMP is a true pixel for pixel file. This is why they are typically larger.

What you see in paint is that it chooses the compression ratio for you with a .jpg. If you start off with a very high quality picture, you end up with a good quality picture.

Photoshop (and others I am sure) lets you choose how much to compress your image. But a .jpg will always compress.

If you want to see it happen - open a photo in paint, save it, then save it again, etc...
You will see the quality start to degrade. (Not saying any of this for arguments sake, just information...)

Mike - as far as free image editing - the best I have seen is this:
Photo editor online pixlr free edit image direct in your browser (http://www.pixlr.com/editor/)

You can resize, crop, and edit photos in a number of ways. The UI is very much like Photoshop though (which I am used to) so it may not be as easy as I think.

If I get time I can help snag some screen shots and get that outlined for you.

Also - for image resizing, Microsoft has a GREAT solution.
Microsoft PowerToys for Windows XP (http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/Downloads/powertoys/Xppowertoys.mspx)
The Image Resizer powertoy plugs into your shell and you can then right click an image, and resize it (or several) on the fly.

DLB


Thanks DB, hate to steer people wrong......

Would that explain the RAW photos on my other camera? They are taken BMP?

For forum purposes, the pictures I take are 5mp and I reduce them with the stretch/skew in MS Paint by 80%.

[DLB]

Thanks DB, hate to steer people wrong......

Would that explain the RAW photos on my other camera? They are taken BMP?

For forum purposes, the pictures I take are 5mp and I reduce them with the stretch/skew in MS Paint by 80%.
You are correct Nappers. The RAW Photo is a totally unprocessed (from my understanding) picture. It shows up in the BMP format because no compression is applied.

DLB

[Evolve]

Nice writeup Mike!


The RAW Photo is a totally unprocessed (from my understanding) picture.Correct. RAW format is completely uncompressed(massive images sizes). Generally only Professional and Enthusiast models shoot in RAW. (I used to work at the Kodak Service And Repair Center where all of their digital cameras were repaired, including several cameras that NASA used in the first shuttle mission after the Columbia accident)

GIMP - The GNU Image Manipulation Program (http://www.gimp.org/) Is a free image editing program that is pretty good. Some similar features to Photoshop.


P.S. Love the front shot of the Batmobile!