How To Post Photos & Effective Use of Links

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Feb 6, 1998
11,759
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
Using photos and links in your posts can add greatly to the success of a thread and to the bottom line answer.

Using photos here is not difficult once you are set up and ready to go. there are two basic ways to add a photo to a post.

Adding Photos To Posts

Method #1

Upload your photos to SBO and add them to your post. This method using vBulletin is rather slow and cumbersome and limits you to only using the photos here. If you belong to other forums, as many here do, an external hosting site is the best way to achieve this.

To use method #1:

1) Bellow the window where you create a new post is a box titled "Additional Options". Inside that box is a button called "Manage Attachments" click this button.

2) A new window will open with five "browse" buttons. Click a "browse" button and then find the picture on your computer and click "Upload".

Warning: Uploading files to the SBO server requires the file size be no larger than 620 X 280 pixels. Unless you know how to easily re-size your photos I'd strongly consider using Option 2.
Using method 2 involves an external photo hosting site and "linking" to your images using the
icon.


Method #2


Preface:

Picasa3 - I suggest downloading and installing Picasa3. This free software is one of, if not the best, photo organization and minor photo manipulation programs in existence. It is also the absolute easiest to use. Once you download it it will automatically scan your computer for photos and import them into Picasa. Please be aware that it DOES NOT duplicate your stored photos but rather references them at their stored location for use in Picasa3. This technique saves your valuable hard drive space by not duplicating photos. If you do not already use this program you will love it!

It is not necessary to have Picasa2 in order to use Picasa Web Albums. I only suggest it because for anyone with a digital camera it is simply the easiest photo software on the planet. I'm a published photographer who owns and has spent big bucks on Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Lightroom, and many other pro-grade programs, but who also chooses to use Picasa3 for 90% of my web photo publishing.

If you have photos already hosted on a site skip to the words in burgundy for instructions on how to add them to your post.

Uploading to Picasa Web Albums

#1 Go here: Picasa Web Albums or Click on "Web Album"

#2 If you don't already have a free Google account create one.

#3 Once you are into the Picasa web albums page click the "Upload" button.

#4 A box will pop up and you'll want to click "Create a New Album"

#5 Another box will pop up and ask you to name your new album. For illustrative purposes we'll call it "SBO Forum Pics". Click "Continue"

#6 A page will pop up with five "Browse" buttons. Click "Browse" and then locate the folder and then the specific picture within the folder that you want to upload. When you find the picture click "Open" and it will insert the picture into the upload box.


#7 Once you have found and selected the picture or pictures you want to upload click "Start Upload". Depending upon your connection speed and file size this could take a little bit of time.

#8 Once your photos are uploaded it will take you directly to this new "SBO Forum Pics" album. Simply click once on the photo you want to post and make it bigger. Follow directions bellow from here.

Note: You can also use many, many other photo hosting sites such as SmugMug, PhotoBucket, Snapfish or possibly others but you'll need to figure those out on your own. As much as 'd like to I just can't post directions for every possible photo hosting site on the net.

Linking Your Photos Into A Post With;


This is the big secret to hot-linking just about ANY photo hosted anywhere on the web to your post. Please read this part carefully!

#1 Once your image in Web Albums is upload and has been made larger move & hoover your mouse pointer over the photo and execute a "right click" and then select "Copy Image Location" from the drop down menu.

Please note that I use Mozilla Firefox as my browser and other browsers may not have or show the "Copy Image Location" feature (this feature is a very, very useful tool!). If you do not use Mozilla Firefox I highly recommend it!

If you still use Internet Explorer :confused: you'll need to execute a "right click"and then select "Properties" from the drop down menu. A new box will pop up and you'll see "Address (URL):" manually highlight only the address, copy it and paste it as directed above into the
icons web address box.

#2 Back on the SBO forums, and in your post box, select this
icon. When the box opens execute a "right click" on your mouse and select "Paste". You can also press "CTRL V" and paste it that way.

WARNING: The
pop up box icon
already has http//:pre-populated in the web address box. If you copied and pasted a photos web address using either Firefox or Internet Explorer you must first remove this - http//: - before pasting your images address.

Here's how it will look:




Effective Use of Hyperlinks

Using external links links is a good way to add depth and information to your posts and to re-direct someone to more information on a subject or product. The information bellow will help you understand how to use descriptive word hyperlinking.

A standard non-descriptive link looks like this:


Here's a good source for changing an impeller http://http//www.pbase.com/mainecruising/impeller it uses pictures to walk you through the steps.
It looks cluttered, and does not really tell what you're looking at.


A link using descriptive words looks like this:

Here's a good source for changing an impeller, Changing A Raw Water Impeller, it uses pictures to walk you through the steps
This flows much better and is easier to read..

Doing this is easy.

#1 Simply type the words you'd like to use to describe the link. In this case; "Changing A Raw Water Impeller"

#2 Highlight only those specific words with your mouse and then click the link
icon and paste your web sites link in the address bar of the pop up window. The words you highlighted will now become your descriptive link...

You can also make your descriptive link stand out more by using the
feature to make it pop out from the rest of the type/font like this;


Here's a good source for changing an impeller, "Changing A Raw Water Impeller", it uses pictures to walk you through the steps.
 
Last edited:
May 21, 2004
172
Hunter 31_83-87 Milwaukee South Shore Yacht Club
Great Explanation

Thanks but I still could not get a photo to Upload from my computer. I use IrfanView. I shrank it to 426x280 pixels, 19.8 kb size, and 72 ppi resolution. I still get the "errors on upload" message. Maybe the Forum rejects photos from non-Babes.

Rip :)
 
Feb 6, 1998
11,759
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
It's can be a bugger!

Thanks but I still could not get a photo to Upload from my computer. I use IrfanView. I shrank it to 426x280 pixels, 19.8 kb size, and 72 ppi resolution. I still get the "errors on upload" message. Maybe the Forum rejects photos from non-Babes.

Rip :)
As I mentioned the vBulletin upload tool is a bugger not just here but on many other sites too.

Use a photo hosting site and the
icon.

My personal preference is PBase. Yes, it's 23.00 per year but SOOOOOO worth it! It is very professional looking and you get tons of space for your $23.00. It's also super easy to link to and it let's you choose sizes. You also DO NOT have to re-size your images to upload to PBase.

Our PBase Gallery (LINK)
PBase Small:

PBase Medium:

PBase Large:
 
May 26, 2004
204
Macgregor Venture 25 Trailer Sailor
How about movies?

Is there a place for movies? Before the switch I was trying and Phil said to wait, he indicated it would be possible with the new layout.
 
Feb 17, 2006
5,274
Lancer 27PS MCB Camp Pendleton KF6BL
Is there a place for movies? Before the switch I was trying and Phil said to wait, he indicated it would be possible with the new layout.
You can link a movie from YouTube. Instruction are Here. Look for post #23 from Maine Sail.
 
Jan 22, 2008
328
Beneteau 46 Georgetown YB
Maine Sail:

Thanks for that recommendation. I downloaded the P3 Beta Version to my windows based laptop the other day and have found it to be excellent. My girlfriend is an art director who uses the latest & greatest Photoshop amongst other programs. She was very impressed at the ease with which Picasa works. Even more so at the results. (This from a girl who absolutely hated giving up her t-square, ruler & all the other manual tools of her trade!)

Offhand - do you know if it is compatible with a Mac running OS-10?

Regards.
 
Feb 6, 1998
11,759
Canadian Sailcraft 36T Casco Bay, ME
Unfortunately!!

No Picasa is not compatible with Macs..:cry::cry:

This, among many other issues, is the reason I will not be buying a Mac again!!!!!
 

Jim

.
May 21, 2007
775
Catalina 36 MK II NJ
This site stinks now

and it is not worth the effort!

Just my opinion...:cry:
 
Dec 8, 2007
478
Irwin 41 CC Ketch LaConner WA
No Picasa is NOT compatible with Macs..:cry::cry:

This, among many other issues, is the reason I will NOT be buying a Mac again!!!!!

Main PM me with thoes "other issues" I was contemplating going Mac next time as Im tired of Windows issues/crashes/lockups.

Everyone always seems to brag on their Macs...now Im really :confused:

Of course I tried your Picasa and deleted it after a week...so what do you know.....Just Kidding :D :D

I really liked its automatic filling system..but its image enhancement sucked.

I use Photo Impact Pro I really like it a lot better..sorry
 
May 26, 2004
204
Macgregor Venture 25 Trailer Sailor
Bilbo: At first I thought your beautiful springer was at the helm. We have sailed with our springers for about 11 years now. Our first two would sing with happiness when the moon would come up on a summer night. And our first man-over-board drill was actually a dog recovery operation. Thankfully there was very little freeboard on our V21.
 
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