deusex
08-24-2005, 02:35 PM
With the latest upgrade, you no longer have to resize your photos, the system will do that for you. However, it's always best to resize them in a proper photo editor for best clarity. If you do want to resize your photos, here's some guidelines:
You'll Need A Photo Editor
If you don't have a photo editor, you will need one. There are many out there, but one I know and have tested is IrfanView. It's not the best, but it works for simple things like resizing photos and saving them out as JPGS. You Can get IrfanView here: http://www.irfanview.com (when you install, it asks you to install the google toolbar - if you don't want it, makes sure you say no - it's not necessary)
Posting Photo To The Message Board
If you want to post photos here on the message board, just start a new thread or reply to one that's already started. Below the box where you type in your message will be an option to "manage attachments" Click that button and then click the browse button - this will allow you to find a photo on your computer to upload to the forums. Remember, you must be logged in a registered.
***If you don't see the option to post an attachment then you most likely haven't completed your registration. Registration is a two part process and the last part is the site sends you an email with a link in it. You have to click that link to complete your registration (this prevents bot from spoofing the system and littering the site with spam.) Often, your mail software or your server's spam filters may think the email is junk. Look in your junk or trash folder for the email. If you don't see it, contact me at john@usg-online.com and I can manually complete your registration.
Posting Avatar and Profile Pics:
When you open up your UserCp or User Control Panel (it's the link at the top left of the page) - you'll see two links in the left panel to either edit your avatar or edit your profile pic. (the profile pic is just a photo that appears when people look at your profile or searches the Members List. The avatar is the photo that appears whenever you post in the message boards or place a comment in the member galleries.)
About Photos Sizes
With digital photos, there are two main factors when you talk about "size" of a photo. There's the dimensions of the photo (referred to as pixels) and there's the amount of disk space it uses (we're talking kb or kilobytes)
There are size limitations on the photos you can post on the message boards. Here are the limits:
- Attached photo in messages can be no larger than 800 pixels by 800 pixels and can't be larger than 200kb.
- Avatar photos can't be larger than 100 pixels by 100 pixels and can't be larger than 30kb
- Profile photos can't be larger than 100 pixels by 100 pixels and can't be larger than 100k
(if your photos are larger than these, the system will resize the photo for you)
To resize a photo's dimensions, in most photo editors you'll see a menu option for "resize" You'll want to constrain or preserve the aspect ratio otherwise you'll squish either the height or the width and either make yourself look obese or anorexic. If the dimensions of the photo are larger then the allowed size, then you'll need to replace the larger number with the maximum dimension stated above. (800 for attachments, and 100 for profile pics and avatars) Click ok, and you've now resized the photo in dimensions.
To resize the photo's in kilobytes, you need to save it out as a JPG or jpeg. A jpeg is a compressed file format and you can choose the amount of compression. 100% is generally no compression and 1% is full compression. You DON'T want to choose too low of a compression as it will degrade the clarity of the photos. If the compression is too high, it will be too big to post. I personally save all jpgs out at 80% compression and that works great. The photo is small but it's still looks great.
Posting Photos To The Galleries
If you want to post photos to the user galleries, just go here: http://www.usg-online.com/photopost/ Make sure you're logged in (if you see a log in link at the top right of the page you're not logged in - just click the link to log in) and hit the "upload photo" link in the top right of the page in the menu bar. Just follow the instructions.
The galleries have the ability to resize the dimensions of a photo when you upload it, so you don't really have to worry, but if you want to save on disk space a bit of compression doesn't hurt (see resizing tips above)
You'll Need A Photo Editor
If you don't have a photo editor, you will need one. There are many out there, but one I know and have tested is IrfanView. It's not the best, but it works for simple things like resizing photos and saving them out as JPGS. You Can get IrfanView here: http://www.irfanview.com (when you install, it asks you to install the google toolbar - if you don't want it, makes sure you say no - it's not necessary)
Posting Photo To The Message Board
If you want to post photos here on the message board, just start a new thread or reply to one that's already started. Below the box where you type in your message will be an option to "manage attachments" Click that button and then click the browse button - this will allow you to find a photo on your computer to upload to the forums. Remember, you must be logged in a registered.
***If you don't see the option to post an attachment then you most likely haven't completed your registration. Registration is a two part process and the last part is the site sends you an email with a link in it. You have to click that link to complete your registration (this prevents bot from spoofing the system and littering the site with spam.) Often, your mail software or your server's spam filters may think the email is junk. Look in your junk or trash folder for the email. If you don't see it, contact me at john@usg-online.com and I can manually complete your registration.
Posting Avatar and Profile Pics:
When you open up your UserCp or User Control Panel (it's the link at the top left of the page) - you'll see two links in the left panel to either edit your avatar or edit your profile pic. (the profile pic is just a photo that appears when people look at your profile or searches the Members List. The avatar is the photo that appears whenever you post in the message boards or place a comment in the member galleries.)
About Photos Sizes
With digital photos, there are two main factors when you talk about "size" of a photo. There's the dimensions of the photo (referred to as pixels) and there's the amount of disk space it uses (we're talking kb or kilobytes)
There are size limitations on the photos you can post on the message boards. Here are the limits:
- Attached photo in messages can be no larger than 800 pixels by 800 pixels and can't be larger than 200kb.
- Avatar photos can't be larger than 100 pixels by 100 pixels and can't be larger than 30kb
- Profile photos can't be larger than 100 pixels by 100 pixels and can't be larger than 100k
(if your photos are larger than these, the system will resize the photo for you)
To resize a photo's dimensions, in most photo editors you'll see a menu option for "resize" You'll want to constrain or preserve the aspect ratio otherwise you'll squish either the height or the width and either make yourself look obese or anorexic. If the dimensions of the photo are larger then the allowed size, then you'll need to replace the larger number with the maximum dimension stated above. (800 for attachments, and 100 for profile pics and avatars) Click ok, and you've now resized the photo in dimensions.
To resize the photo's in kilobytes, you need to save it out as a JPG or jpeg. A jpeg is a compressed file format and you can choose the amount of compression. 100% is generally no compression and 1% is full compression. You DON'T want to choose too low of a compression as it will degrade the clarity of the photos. If the compression is too high, it will be too big to post. I personally save all jpgs out at 80% compression and that works great. The photo is small but it's still looks great.
Posting Photos To The Galleries
If you want to post photos to the user galleries, just go here: http://www.usg-online.com/photopost/ Make sure you're logged in (if you see a log in link at the top right of the page you're not logged in - just click the link to log in) and hit the "upload photo" link in the top right of the page in the menu bar. Just follow the instructions.
The galleries have the ability to resize the dimensions of a photo when you upload it, so you don't really have to worry, but if you want to save on disk space a bit of compression doesn't hurt (see resizing tips above)