MechMate CNC Router Forum

MechMate CNC Router Forum (http://www.mechmate.com/forums/index.php)
-   About this Forum (http://www.mechmate.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=72)
-   -   Attaching photos to posts on this forum (http://www.mechmate.com/forums/showthread.php?t=394)

Gerald D Tue 17 July 2007 23:02

Attaching photos to posts on this forum
 
To attach a photo (or some other types of files) you cannot use the "Quick Reply" box that appears at the bottom of the page. You need to use the "Go advanced" button under that quick reply box to reach the standard reply box. Or you can use the "Post Reply" button under the last post also to reach that standard reply box.

Under the standard reply box there are some "Additional Options", one of which is "Attach Files" and there you need to click "Manage Attachments" to upload photos or any other file ending with the following extensions: bmp doc gif jpe jpeg jpg pdf png psd rar txt zip

Gerald D Wed 18 July 2007 23:53

The main thing to watch out for: Keep your file sizes (kilobytes) small. . . . .

Modern cameras take pictures at very high resolutions, making files of 600 kB and bigger. That is fine if you want to print them on glossy paper. But if you want someone else (me) to host that pic on a website, you make it expensive for them. Those big pics chew up server space and generate a big volume of traffic (bandwidth) when other people want to view them. Also makes it slow for people to download such big pictures.

Viewing a pic on a typical computer monitor does not need the same resolution as for glossy paper. You can lower the picture quality by about 20% and get file size savings of 80%.

For this forum, I have set a limit of 195kB per .jpg file, and each user can save a total of 3 000 kB worth of all attachments for the whole forum. (might be able to revise this in future - depends on the expense)

Please realise that the issue of file sizes is not peculiar to this forum - it is something that applies everywhere on the internet, and also for e-mails that you send out to your friends. If you want friends to stop reading your e-mails, keep on sending them those 1 MegaByte photo files. :-)

How to reduce photo file sizes....

- Crop off all the unnecessary bits around the edges. The biggest gobblers of file space are leaves and grass-blades - it makes a very busy picture and the jpeg format battles to compress those pixels. A picture of a MechMate Y-car lying on your lawn (or a baby sitting there) ends up with the lawn chewing up all the kilobytes. So, crop off the vegetation...and the workshop clutter :-)

- Reduce the quality (as mentioned before). You can change the setting on the camera, or you can use software. Your camera was probably supplied with suitable software, but there are lots of other programs that can do this.

- Reduce the dimensions of the final pic. Is it really necessary that the picture must be the full width of the screen? If you make it half as wide you only use a quarter of the area (space/bytes).

What software can help?....

I use IrfanView for all of the above. It is a lean & mean freeware photo editor. Will offer help to those who go this route.

Anyone that can suggest other programs? And who will help people adapt to it?

Finally:....

Experiment in the test area of this forum as much as you want to

Gerald D Fri 20 July 2007 08:57

How I use IrfanView 90% of the time: (there must be other ways as well)

1. Crop the picture:
Move cursor to top left corner of final pic, press left mouse button, drag "rubber-band" to bottom right corner, release left mouse button. The rubber band frame can be now be adjusted one side at a time. When happy with frame....Edit > Crop.

2. Reduce final display size if necessary:
Image > Resize/Resample (The actual pixel size and aspect ratio can be set here)

3. Save the file with required quality:
File > Save as
Put slider on about 80% quality, choose a folder and filename, "Save" and you are done!

The other 10%?:

Sometimes, between steps 2 & 3, I play with:
a. Image > Enhance colors, or/and
b. Image > Sharpen

Greg J Fri 20 July 2007 20:12

I've download irfanview and experimenting with it.

What pixel/aspect ratio did you use to get 33Kb's on "our" test photo.

I'm only getting to about 500Kb's.

Greg

Gerald D Fri 20 July 2007 21:46

If you right-click on the photo and check "properties", you can see it is 566 X 335 pixels.

Under the Image > Resize/Resample step, I always leave the "Preserve Aspect Ratio" box checked - therefore I never fuss with the aspect ratio. This means I need change either the Width pixels or the Height pixels. With the photo you mailed me, after cropping it was the 566 X 335 pixels already, and I didn't have to do anything on the Image>Resize screen.

Remember that I worked from the pic that you sent, which was probably already reduced from the original. If your original pic is very high resolution, you can drop down to 40 to 60% "save quality" for email/web publishing.

Greg J Fri 20 July 2007 22:13

Thanks Gerald,

The right click button does not do the same for me as for you. I went to options, properties, etc. etc.

I'm headed for the mountains tomorrow, so I've got allot to do tonight. I'll play with the program monday.

I can't say enough about the support from you and this forum. I hope someday, I can repay the education.

"I have never let my schooling interfere with my education." - Mark Twain

Greg

Gerald D Sat 21 July 2007 05:14

The right-click thing applies for using Windows Explorer to look at a picture, on this forum for example. It won't work if you you are looking at pictures displayed by IrfanView - there you use Image > Information (or just the letter I).

BHawthorne Wed 12 December 2007 02:05

I would actually suggest using a free host service like www.imageshack.us. They even have built-in resizing and compression options. I'd only upload to the forum if it's critical files like the actual pdf and dxf plans. For threads with jpegs I'd link offsite. That'd keep the bandwidth costs down for the forums/host site.

gmessler Wed 12 December 2007 08:46

Microsoft's image resizer works great for changing the size of photos for uploading.

http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/d...powertoys.mspx

Gerald D Sun 20 January 2008 10:29

6 Attachment(s)
Quick procedure in Irfanview - GregJ was happy that I place a copy of a mail to him here:


1. Decide what the final picture size must be:
Your original is higher than wide, so you want to get within the forum height limit of 500 pixels. Let's say 400 pixels high. The memory size is not a big issue yet. Let's first get the physical size right.

2. Crop off the parts of the pic that don't tell anything:
We want to get the height down, but your pic has a lot of dark space at the top - we can cut that off. Use your mouse and hold left button down to drag a box around the part of the picture you want to keep.



Attachment 817

3. Edit > Crop Selection dumps the rest.

Attachment 812

4. Resize the height of the pic to 400 pixels. Simply type 400 into that block - leave all the other settings at default. Press OK.

Attachment 813
Attachment 814

5. All the re-sizing has been done! Now comes the time to save the new picture to memory, and at this point one says "how much" memory by deciding the "quality" of the pic. You are not printing these pics to gloss paper, so it is okay to set a quality of about 80% on the slider scale.

Attachment 815
Attachment 816

To Summarise:

A. Crop the part of the pic you want to keep
B. Resize for pixel size
C. Save as 80% quality (or thereabouts)

GregA Sun 20 January 2008 10:39

Google Picasa. Upload the pictures to your gmail account. It provides a link so this web site doesnt have to host them. They have functions to resize them right there on the host.

Only thing is... From my gmail account, I can't take photos directly into picasa on the web. I have to download them then upload again.

First gigabyte of storage is free... Which is like a 1000 * 5 megapixel pictures.

Alan_c Tue 05 February 2008 14:31

To anybody that can help...

How does one insert pics between the text of ones post, every time I post pics they appear at the bottom of the post.

I see Gerald and even Greg J does it often and he could'nt even post pictures last year, now he's a pro :D:D

Used search but could not find an answer...???

Greg J Tue 05 February 2008 14:58

Alan,

I just insert all my pictures. The pictures show up as text.

[quote] picture [quote]

Something like that above. Just start entering your message before the first [quote] or after the second [quote]. Adjust it with line breaks or back spaces.

Hope that clear.

Gerald D Tue 05 February 2008 21:58

Alan, on top of the "Advanced" reply box, there is a paperclip icon for inserting attachments. You upload your pics as normal, and then after uploading you insert them. As Greg says, they appear as "text" in the edit box which can be centered, justified, etc.

J.R. Hatcher Wed 06 February 2008 04:36

Gerald, Greg J, I just might be the king of posting pictures on this forum, but I don't have a clue what you two are talking about. If you will notice my pictures have no text between them ........... never could figure out how to do it????????????. Just tried to follow Gerald's instructions and can't find the "advanced" reply box ........................ Hhhheeeellllpppp (help)

Gerald D Wed 06 February 2008 05:03

Under the quick reply box there is a button "Go Advanced" . . .

Greg J Wed 06 February 2008 06:20

I always did a regular reply. The paper clip shows up in the "reply to thread" box.

Click on it and upload pictures. Close out window and "reply to thread" box is there again.

Click on the paper clip again and your pictures (link) are there for inserting.

Sorry for not being clear. I'm trying to work on that.

Gerald D Wed 06 February 2008 06:35

1 Attachment(s)
Where to find the advanced reply page:


Gerald D Wed 06 February 2008 06:39

1 Attachment(s)
Where to find the insert paperclip:


J.R. Hatcher Wed 06 February 2008 07:20

1 Attachment(s)
Look I did it. :D
Attachment 942
Just like I always wanted to. Thanks Guys ;)
This is what I've been waiting for, now I can do some serious picture uploading. :eek::eek::eek:

Greg J Mon 10 November 2008 06:00

. . . . . I have got to get a screen shot program . . . .

Gerald D Mon 10 November 2008 06:23

Greg, use the PrtScn button on your keyboard to capture a screen. Then right-click Paste into most of the photo-editing programs, including MS Paint and IrfanView.

javeria Mon 10 November 2008 10:07

try this for screen grab

Greg J Mon 10 November 2008 17:47

Gerald,

The "prtscn" won't work on my shop computer. Brand new with vista. Go figure.

The guys on the Mach forum use this one.

http://www.wisdom-soft.com/sh/index.htm

I'll install this evening. After playing with the MM doing some inlay work first. :D

KenC Tue 14 July 2009 02:51

Hi,

I thought they might come in handy.


I use a program call ShrinkPic, this clever little thingit will detect & compress pic before you send automatically. Yet no lost in quality.



http://www.onthegosoft.com/sp_download.htm

Cheers

skippy Wed 27 January 2010 07:27

I found this FastStone photo resizer works well. Free for Home Users etc can also batch convert, watermark, resize plus many more options in one go

http://www.faststone.org/FSResizerDetail.htm

Regards

Skippy

Tokamak Sun 14 February 2010 09:22

Gerald,

I recognize the pictures in the upper right of the screen as from the threads. Some I have not seen but they interest me. I find myself clicking on them but they don't do anything.

Is there a way to jump to the thread that the picture resides.

John

Gerald D Sun 14 February 2010 12:41

Those pics at the top are only random eye-candy


All times are GMT -6. The time now is 01:23.

Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.3
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.