Updated Instructions for uploading pictures

[J.P. Rap]

Below are instructions on posting pictures (and embedding text).

There are three ways to do this.
The first and easiest way is to copy and paste a picture from the CWW Members Gallery. Just open the picture you want (in the Members Gallery) and hover the cursor over the picture. Right click on the picture and select copy from the drop down menu. As you are typing you message, you can insert that picture anywere you want by right clicking in the text box at the point were you want the picture, then select paste from the drop down menu. The picture will be pasted into your text at that point. You can continue typing text and pasting pictures (from the gallery) in that manner as you like. Click the preview button to make sure it worked. The picture will be there as long as it's still in the gallery.


The the second is to upload a picture from your computer to this site. With this method the picture will stay there as long as this site is maintained, even after you delete it from your computer. The only drawback to this is the size. The pic must be below a certain size and some folks have difficulty getting a clear picture to post in that size. All that depends on the software you have available so I won't go into that.

The third way is by referring to a picture that is stored on another web page (linking). It can be a picture on any web page or a picture in an album you have in a picture hosting site (like photobucket or webshots). These pictures can be any size but if the picture is ever moved or removed from the original site, it will no longer show up on this forum. Also, there are some web pages that don't allow you to link pictures from their site. In most cases, when you try , just the address of the picture will show up. This method will not work from the Members Gallery. Use the method above for pictures stored there.

I will also instruct you on "embedding" this is when you click on a word and it takes you to another web page. It's quite easy to do.
It can be done with pictures (thumbnails) as well as words but I have to figure out how to do it with pictures before I can tell you how to do it.

These instructions will seem very complicated at first. That is mainly because I am including as much information as I can for those who aren’t computer literate. After you do it a few times, it’s really quite easy. Believe me, if I can do it, anyone can.

Thanx

[J.P. Rap]

Before you can use the second or third method of posting pictures or imbedding text, you have to have your setting set properly.
When you post a reply or a new message, your screen should look like the picture below. If it doesn’t, you have to change your settings (read on). If it does look like this you can skip to the next response (Embedding).



To change your settings click on User CP in the top menu.
In the menu on the left side of the page, My Settings, then scroll way down and you will see General Settings.

Scroll down until you find Miscellaneous Options. For best results, choose Enhanced Interface - Full WYSIWYG Editing

While you're there, click on Enhanced Image Uploading On if its not already marked.

Click Save Changes at the bottom.





You are now ready to post pictures and embed text.

[J.P. Rap]

To embed text, you need to open a second browser. This will allow you to have both this site and the site you’re linking to, open at the same time.
First, start typing your message. You can embed after the text is finished or do it while you’re typing. Once you’re ready, go to the page you want to link to and copy the address of that page. Right click on the address bar and select Copy from the drop-down menu. You can close that browser now if you wish.

In your reply, select the words in the text box that you want to be your link and highlight them. You can double click for one word or click and drag for several words. Now go to the icons above the text box and click the earth link icon (see picture below).



A box will pop up. Right click in the box and select Paste. Make sure there is only one “HTTP” at the beginning of the address.



Click OK.
You’re done.
Click preview and you can test your embedded link before you hit submit.


It gets a little more complicated from here.

[J.P. Rap]

If you want to post a picture from a web site that doesn’t allow linking you must first save the picture on your computer then upload it to this forum. That picture will then be permanently placed in the message. This works the same for pictures you already have on your computer.
There is a faster way to do this that will work for some pictures. The only way to know if it works is to try it. If it doesn’t work, you have to do it the long way. Both methods are in the next response “uploading pictures (part deux)”
If you know how to save a picture to your computer you can skip over this step.

To save the picture on your computer…

Open the picture in a browser. Right click on the picture and select Save Picture As.
A box will pop up and you can choose were on your computer you want to save the picture. Normally it will automatically open to you’re My Pictures folder. To make things easy, I always save them to my desktop so they’ll be easy to find when I post them. You can also change the name of the picture at the same time if you wish. Once you’re done that, you may have to reduce the size or change the format before you can post the picture. It depends on how big the picture is and what format it was saved in originally. You will need photo editing software to change the size. There are lots to choose from and you may already have it on your computer. This same software should allow you to change the format. The preferred format is JPEG (or JPG).
Often times the pictures are saved as “Bitmap” (BMP) and they can be opened in MS paint. Once the picture is open in MS paint, simply go to the menu bar at the top and click on File and select Save as from the drop down menu. A box will open and you can change the format by clicking on the box at the bottom and selecting JPEG from the list and click save. You will now have two copies. One in Bitmap and one in Jpeg. You can delete the bitmap copy at this point if you wish.

The same basic process applies if you're using pictures from your digital camera. Download the images to your computer, and use the camera photo editing program, or some other picture editing program to crop out "junk" around the picture, then resize the picture. While the forum software will attempt to resize large pictures, it does not resize them all, so to save yourself a lot of grief, resize them on your computer first. The largest size is 640 x 480 pixels.


Do this for all pictures you want to put in your message. Once you have all the pictures on your computer and edited for size and format, you’re ready to put them in your message.

Next response…Uploading pictures.

[J.P. Rap]

Uploading pictures (part deux)
First ..From your computer. Then …from the web.

Open the response box where you type your message.
(a) To attach a single image, you can use the Attach Image icon which is available in the Quick Reply and the Advanced menu options.






(b) To attach multiple images, or to re-use images you have previously uploaded, click on the paperclip at the top and a new page “File Upload Manager” will open.



Click on the button labeled Add Files, then in the menu that opens, click on Select Files and choose the ones from your computer that you wish to upload, the click Upload Files.



If the files are of acceptable size and format, you will now see thumbnails of the pictures you just uploaded.



Repeat this for all the pictures you want to put in your message.

Now you have a couple of options as to how you put the images into your message.

The first is to just type your message, then select the tumbnails you want to use and click on Insert Inline. This should add all the images to the bottom of your text. Please note, the images are inserted in reverse order to the way they were uploaded. In other words, the last image uploaded is the first one inserted. You can change the order manually, or insert them one at a time, in the order you want them displayed.

The other method of insertion is where you want a block of text, an image, another block of text etc. The best way to do this is to type your entire message, then position your cursor where you want an image, hit enter a couple of time to create some space, then click on the paper clip again and click on the image you want to use at that location. Continue on down through your post, adding images in the appropriate places.

You can also type a few lines of text, hit enter to create some space, then use the paperclip icon to select the image you want to add. Normally, you can then position the cursor after the image, hit enter to start a new line, then resume typing. However, this does not seem to always work for everyone. The most fool-proof method is as outlined above.


Uploading pictures from the web is done much the same way. You need to have the URL were the picture is stored. If you don’t know how to get that, it’s explained a couple of responses down. “Getting a URL”

Click the paperclip icon to open the File Upload Manager box. Click on Add Files, then select Website



The picture will upload the same way it does when you upload from your computer. All the rest of the steps are the same.
With this method, if the picture is too large or is the wrong format, you will get an error message (red x) beside the image you're trying to upload

Don’t worry if you made a mistake or need more pictures. Just below the text box you will see another button that says Manage Attachments and a list of your attachments.
You can click on that button and make any changes you need to.

Next is putting the pictures in the text.

[J.P. Rap]

Now you’re ready to put pictures in your message.
This is the easy part. Simply start typing your message. When you get to a place that you want to insert one of your pictures, hit enter to put the cursor on the next line.
Now, click on the paperclip icon. A list of your pictures will show up. Just click on the picture you want in that spot and it gets inserted there.
It looks something like this…

[ attachment ] XXXX [ attachment ]

Now continue typing below the picture and insert the rest of your pictures wherever you want using the same method.
If you don’t insert any or all of the pictures, they will automatically be inserted at the bottom of your message.
Once the message is posted you can delete the pictures you saved on your computer if you wish. It will not affect the pictures in the message.

Next, Getting a URL and linking to a picture

[J.P. Rap]

You can insert a copy of a picture that is already on the web through a link. Doing it this way means if the picture is ever moved, it will no longer show up here.

To do this you need the "address" or the URL of the picture .

Open the text box to start typing your message. Open a second browser with the picture you want. Place your cursor over the picture and right click. Select Properties from the drop down menu (at the bottom). A box will open with information about the picture. In the center it has the address (URL) of the picture. This is what you have to copy. Sometimes, part of the address is hidden so to be sure I get it all, I do it like this. Place the cursor over the address and right click. Select Select All from the drop down menu. The address is now highlighted. Place the cursor over the address again and right click again. this time select copy from the drop down menu. You now have the URL copied to your clipboard.



Start typing your message and when you get to were you want the picture, hit enter to start a new line. Now click the insert picture icon at the top of the text box.



A box will open. Paste your URL in the box. To do this, right click the box and select paste from the drop down menu but make sure there is only one HTTP at the beginning of the address.






Now click on ok and the picture will be inserted into the text box at the position of your cursor.


See how easy that was.