Picture Upload Instructions
Digital pictures either from a camera or scanner are often used for getting pictures on web. Both methods typically create large photos both in size (mega-pixels) and in storage. While large pictures are great in a local environment, they aren't used on the web. Large pictures would take to long to download and the reader would have to scroll around on the screen and only see a portion of the photo at anyone time. On Esoxhunter I would like to keep all pictures 800 X 600 or smaller with a maximum size of 75k. The actual upload program doesn't check the picture dimensions, but does check the maximum storage size of 75K. If your picture exceeds 75k in size the program will not upload it to the website.
Before I get into all of the details, there are a couple of things you should know. First of all only registered users of the Esoxhunter chat board can upload pictures, as you will need your login to do it. The pictures that are uploaded are only for use on the Esoxhunter website, so please don't use these pictures for posting on other websites as it uses the Esoxhunter bandwidth. Also, all uploads are logged so I know who uploaded and what they uploaded. If pictures are uploaded that are of poor taste or not for the Esoxhunter website, your chat board registration will be terminated.
If the picture you want to upload is 75K or less, then go to the "Uploading your pictures" section. Pictures are typically resized to make them smaller for web use. This shrinking not only makes them smaller in viewing size, but reduces the amount of space that they require. While virtually all picture/graphics programs are capable of resizing photographs, I am going to use Irfanview, which is a fantastic, free program. I you would like to download a copy of this program just click this link which will take you to the website.
The first step in resizing the picture is to open the image with photo editing program. Again, I am demonstrating with Irfanview, but these instructions should translate to other software. Once the picture is opened, we want to resize it. This is done by clicking on the "IMAGE" menu item and selecting "Resize/Resample" as shown below
When you click on "Resize/Resample" the program will automatically provide you with another screen where you can specify the size. In the picture below I have selected a picture size of 640 X 480 by clicking on the preset for it. I could have entered the dimension in the area provided. After you have determined the size, click "OK".
The program will automatically resize the photo at this point. Now the photo needs to be saved. This is done by selecting the "File" Menu item and then clicking "Save As" from the list provided. See the picture below.
The program will then present you with another screen as shown below. Please note that I entered "StJohns.jpg" as the name, which is different from the original. I don't want to overwrite the original so I changed the name. It is very important to only use alphabetic and numeric characters in the name. Don't use special characters such as ",.<>?" or leave spaces in the new name as won't work on the web. Bad example: "Bill's 40 pounder.jpg" as it has spaces in it and a special character. A good example would be "Bills40pounder.jpg" It is also important to make sure that the "Save as Type" field is set to "JPG". This setting provides you with the "JPG/GIF save options" window". Change it to "JPG" if it isn't already. In the "JPG/GIF save options" window, slide the slider until the value is 50. This means that you will be saving the picture at only 50% of the quality, but it adequate for web use. This again cuts the picture memory size drastically. When you have everything in place, click "OK". The picture is now saved in its smaller size
This portion is very easy. Either go to the menu item called "Upload Pics" or click this link.. Either method will take you to the upload screen which looks like the one below. As you can see, I have entered in my username and password, plus the location and name of the picture I want to upload.
To find your picture, just click on the browse button and find the picture on your computer, then select it. The location and name will automatically fill in the space provided. When everything is ready, click on "Upload File". The program will then upload your photo to the Esoxhunter website. If you are a valid user and your picture is 75K or less, the program will respond with a screen that looks like the one below:
In the picture above I have highlighted the name of the file as it is on the website. You can see your username has been added and the location of the picture has been listed. You can highlight your uploaded name with the mouse as I have done, then hold down the CTRL key and press C. This will copy the name into your computer's clip board. Then when you are posting and want to reference the picture, hold down the CTRL key and press V. The picture address will be pasted into your posting. The last step would be to highlight in your posting (no extra spaces) and then click the "IMG" button above your message. This will automatically put some tags around the name. That's it.
The whole process will take you maybe 5 minutes when you are use to it. It is much easier than it looks. If you have any questions, just click the mailbox below and send me an e-mail.
Click the mailbox to e-mail.
Last updated on ... June 21, 2006