How to Post Images in the Forums

You can post images in our forums two different ways:

• You can upload an images from your desktop
• You can link to an image on another web site

The process may seem a bit complex at first, but once you do it once or twice, you'll see that it's actually pretty easy.

Section 1 - Prepare to upload or link to an image

1. You must first be logged in ... only registered members may post to the forums.
2. Go to the "Forums" tab and navigate to the forum where you want to post.
3. Click the "Write a New Post" link.
4. Type in the subject of the post and the description
5. In the description area, click on the Insert Media icon
   
   
   

6. The "Insert Media" box will open.
   
   

Section 2 - If you want to upload a file to our web site

1. Follow the steps in Section 1
2. Now, from the "Insert Media" window, click the "Upload or select a file..." link.
3. The "Select Content" window will open and show your personal file folder.
4. Click the "Browse..." button
   
   
   
5. This let's you browse your computer and find the file you want to upload. Once you find it, click to select the image, then click "Open." (It may be a little different on a Mac, but it should be pretty obvious what to do.)
   
   
   
6. You will go back to the "Select Content" window and now notice that there is a file location in the Upload File field.
7. Click the "Upload File" button and this will upload the file from your desktop to our web site.
   
   
   
8. You will now see a thumbnail of the image you uploaded to your personal files on our web site. Make sure the image is selected, then click the "OK" button.
   
   
   

9. Your image will now appear in your forum post

Section 3 - If you want to link to a file on another web site

1. Follow the steps in section 1.
2. Open another browser windows and go to the web page where the image is.
3. Right-click on the image and select "Properties" (The exact look of this and the exact wording may vary a bit from Mac to PC and with different browsers, but you should be able to figure it out).
   
   
   
4. Find the URL of the image. In Firefox this is called the "Location" and in Internet Explorer it's called "Address (URL)"
   
   
   
5. Use your mouse and drag to select the ENTIRE URL of the image and copy it (ctrl-c for Windows, cmd-c for Mac).
6. Switch back to the browser window with our web site ... the "Insert Media" window should still be open.
7. Paste the image link (ctrl-v for Windows, cmd-v for Mac) into the Media URL field and click "Insert".

8. A line of code will be inserted into your forum post. When you submit the post or look at the preview of your post, you will see the image being pulled from the other web site.
   
   

Section 4 - If you want to link to a file on Flickr

1. Follow the steps in Section 1.
2. Open another browser window and go to www.flickr.com (NOTE: You must have a Flickr account and be logged in for the rest of this to work)
3. Navigate to the page on Flickr where the image is.
4. Click the "Share This" link in the upper-right corner of the Flickr web page.
   
   
   
5. Click "Grab the link"
   
   
   
6. Click on the image link (URL) and copy it (ctrl-c for Windows, cmd-c for Mac).
   
   
   
7. Switch back to the browser window with our web site ... the "Insert Media" window should still be open.
8. Paste the image link (ctrl-v for Windows, cmd-v for Mac) into the Media URL field and click "Insert".
9. A line of code will be inserted into your forum post. When you submit the post or look at the preview of your post, you will see the image being pulled from Flickr.
   
   

 Section 5 - If you want to link to a file on Photobucket

1. Follow the steps in Section 1.
2. Open another browser window and go to www.photobucket.com (NOTE: You do NOT need to have a Photobucket account or be logged in to Photobucket).
3. Navigate to the page on Photobucket where the image is.
4. Below the image is a set of links. Click on the one labeled "Direct Link". The URL link will be copied automatically (no need to press ctrl-v or cmd-v).
   
   
   
5. Switch back to the browser window with our web site ... the "Insert Media" window should still be open.
6. Paste the image link (ctrl-v for Windows, cmd-v for Mac) into the Media URL field and click "Insert".
7. A line of code will be inserted into your forum post. When you submit the post or look at the preview of your post, you will see the image being pulled from Photobucket.
   
   

ujwala wrote

on 11 Oct 2008 11:08 PM

Hi,

When I try to upload a file from my profile page, I get this message

The size of this file exceeds the maximum limit for this user.

The file is 235 KB (241,180 bytes) 

Could you tell me what the size limit is for each file?  

It would be nice if the images could be automatically resized (as in wetcanvas / flickr)

Thank you,

Ujwala

EricS wrote

on 14 Oct 2008 12:25 PM

Hi Ujwala. We have limited the file size of any upload to 100 KB. We also recommend that you do not post anything bigger than 500 pixels wide or tall ... this is to protect you from any potential theft of your works.

And, yes, I wish images would be automatically resized too. Our software doesn't do that out-of-the-box, but we're working on ways to add that capability in.

ujwala wrote

on 14 Oct 2008 10:48 PM

Thank you Eric.  I will bear these details in mind before the next upload.  It would be nice if you could indicate these limits in each window dedicated to the upload.  I upload images to many sites and each has their own limitations and these can be difficult to track and remember.   Look forward to your software also building in this capability.  Thanks again for you help.

Phil4a wrote

on 3 Mar 2009 6:52 AM

I have been posting my paintings on this forum for months and now I am suddenly denied access and don't know why.  I guess I'll just forget about this site and go back to "Artistsnetwork".  It seems that I'm not the only one that you have denied access to.  Sorry about this.

Phil Sydell, (phil4a)

Karyn wrote

on 3 Mar 2009 8:42 AM

Hi Phil,

I've just responded to you via the private message system.  We'll work to figure out why your access has been denied.  No one has been intentionally denied access at this point, and your account is in good standing. 

It is likely an error attached to file uploading, or file size limit.  But, I'll have to post about it when I know for certain.

Thanks for letting us know,
Karyn

K. Henderson wrote

on 28 May 2009 7:20 AM

In the Media URL box I put my image address from my website. The "Select Content" window doesn't show up .

My post shows a link to my image and not the image itself. Whats wrong?

If ,  from the "Insert Media" window,  I click the "Upload or select a file..." link WITHOUT putting anything in the box, The "Select Content" window doesn't show up.

In other words The "Select Content" window doesn't show up. Ever. What am I doing wrong?

Karyn wrote

on 28 May 2009 9:42 AM

Hello K,

The "Select Content" window shouldn't show up if you are just putting a URL in the media box.  So, lets see why the link is showing up, but the image is not.  Is the link just to an image without anything else on the page?

If you click on the "Upload" link, what does happen? 

And lastly, can you tell me what browser you are using?

K. Henderson wrote

on 28 May 2009 7:51 PM

I'm linking to a page from my website that has the image but also some text about the image and a header from my website. That's probably the problem. But since the insert media asks for a URL link I don't know what other choice I have.

Most forums let me browse my computer and I can load an image from my computer. That's not what this site is asking for.

When I put the website page link in the box and 'Uplaod' it  puts a text link in the forum. If I leave the box blank and Upload, the Insert Media box disappears

My browser is Opera

Karyn wrote

on 29 May 2009 11:18 AM

Ah, okay.  Yes, when the site asks for a URL, its asking for a URL that holds just the image.

Lets work on the other option, then.  When you try to "upload" an image, the select media box disappears entirely?  Is this in the forums or in the Gallery?

Do you have another browser option to try and see if the same problem occurs?

K. Henderson wrote

on 31 May 2009 7:41 PM

It's in the forum.

I tried using Mozilla Fiefox and I get the exact same results

K. Henderson wrote

on 31 May 2009 7:46 PM

I'm able to upload an image to the Galleries using the "upload file" feature. But I don't have that option in the forums

K. Henderson wrote

on 1 Jun 2009 7:48 AM

Testing your account K.  (This is Karyn)

I was able to upload this fine in Firefox, so I'm wondering if your browser settings for java and javascript are turned off.  Could you check those?  Make sure your browser is allowing this.

K. Henderson wrote

on 3 Jun 2009 7:22 AM

Yep. Javascript is turned off. And since I don't choose to turn it on, I'll just have to live with not being able to post images on your forums. The other forums I'm on don't require this.

Thanks for your help

georgianne fastaia wrote

on 23 Oct 2009 1:42 AM

i have had success with  creating a test blog on say, blogger. if i need to link to a url i use blogger to upload my image. then i click on  that post on my test blog--created just for this purpose. i link to the post page--where i posted the image and only the image, in essense giving that image its own web address.... on the blog not the blogs url itself. goodlluck

gia