Linking pictures - a three-step guide

[uuu]

This is a three-step guide to insterting pictures into a thread on this forum. This is using a link to an externally hosted picture, to avoid the dreaded "Forum attachment limit reached", which is what you get if you try to insert the actual image onto your post.

Please forgive me for it being a bit of an "idiot's guide" - but so many people seem to get stuck on this process - me included - that I thought we needed it.

Wilf

[uuu]

Step one - you need to get your picture uploaded onto a photo-hosting site. Try Flickr, Photobucket or Dropbox.

I'm not going to show you how to upload pictures there - most people seem to be able to do that bit, but get stuck after that.

[uuu]

Step two - you need to get a URL (web address) for your picture like this:

www.model-engineer.co.uk/sites/7/images/member_albums/84404/496853.jpg

That's just the kind of link you need - as if you paste it into your web browser's address bar, all you get is the picture - no other stuff at all. That's what's wrong with this link:

www.flickr.com/photos/79576114@N04/

When you paste this into the browser address bar you get all sorts of other stuff as well as the picture. That's the acid test.

Here are three posts showing you how to do this for Flickr, Photobucket and Dropbox:

[uuu]

Here's the new -style Flickr instructions, followed by some out of date ones, as Flickr seem to have made things harder as of 27/03/2014.

Here's some text from the Flickr FAQs:

The HTML code to embed a photo in a web page that you used to find on the All Sizes page is now only in the Share menu on the photo, to the left of the More menu. We now also include BBCode! (standard message board code)
There are a few cases where the code may not be available: 1) If the photo is restricted. 2) If that person has turned off "Share this" or access to original files.
The direct link to a photo file is no longer shown on the page. Per the Flickr Community Guidelines "pages on other websites that display content hosted on flickr.com must provide a link from each photo or video back to its page on Flickr." Linking directly to the photo file doesn't do this.

I think I've figured it out - here goes:

First I select the picture I want from my photostream. The I choose the "Sharing" option - see image below:



Notice by the way, the little unlocked padlock symbol above and to the right of the Sharing option. Since I'm not an extert Flickr user, I don't know if this is significant.

Now I need to click the little pin symbol, then select the size of photo I want from the dropdown. I'm going to select the original size:



Finally I'm going to right-click the URL text and select "Copy", to get it onto my clipboard.



Just to make thigs awkward, this doesn't give you a clean URL as described above, it's embedded it in code, so Flickr users have to do things a bit differently below.



Here's the old Flickr instructions, for you to ignore:

First off - here's the official Flickr help screen:

Flickr link instructions

OK - and here's me following the instructions. First I click on the photo on the Flickr page to get it up on its own, with various symbols etc on the right. then I click on this one:



And from the choices I'm given I choose "Download/All Sizes". That gives me a screen like this:



You'll see I've already right-clicked on the image and it's given me choices - and I'm going to choose "Copy Image Location".

Then if I paste what's on the clipboard into a text editor, I get this:

farm4.staticflickr.com/3744/12441487883_b59d9ac26f_b.jpg

Which is exactly what I want.

Now I can go for the image linking, step 3

[uuu]

Here's the Photobucket version. I don't use photobucket, but this is really easy! Here's a screenshot of a photobucket picture, showing where you should click to get the URL you need:



I just click in the box where the arrow's pointing and the URL is magically copied into my clipboard. Then if I paste what's on the clipboard into a text editor, I get this:

i993.photobucket.com/albums/af52/mkm35/BL118WCSmokeboxarrangementclowres_zps6f9f2c41.jpg

Which is exactly what I want.

Now I can go for the image linking, step 3

[uuu]

Here's the Dropbox version. Here's me looking at my Dropbox "Public" folder. I've moved the pictures there from one of my private folders, so thay can be seen by anyone. I've right-clicked on the one I want, and this show the choice I'm going to make:



The I get a box that looks like this - and I need to click what's shown as 1 and 2



Actually, I don't need to click both 1 and 2 - I could miss out the "Shorten link" step and just copy the long URL.

Then if I paste what's on the clipboard into a text editor, I get this:

db.tt/6G9OR19H

Which is exactly what I want. This is a short link, so it doesn't necessarily look as if it would work - but you can test it by pasting into a browser's address box - or just stick with the long links.

I outght to also mention at this point that Dropbox is not a dedicated photo hosting site, like Flickr and Photobucket. It can store and exchange any file type. Users have tried to link to .tif files from Drobox without success, they need to be converted to .jpg ones. But the same .tif files hosed on Photbucket get automatically converted to .jpg when you use the "Direct link" method described above.

Now I can go for the image linking, step 3

[uuu]

Step 3 - getting your picture URL into a forum thread.

You can best link pictures when you're in the proper Reply window - not good in the Quick Reply box. Like this:



Then you should be looking at a screen like this and I've put an arrow on the button you need to click BUT NOT if you're a Flickr user and you're following the new-style Flickr instructions, don't click the button for Flickr.



When you've clicked you get this (Skip this for Flickr):



You need to paste your URL from step 2 into the top box and put a description in the bottom box (Skip this for Flickr):



Then when you click Insert image, your editor screen should look like this (not Flickr):



You'll see it's put your image's web address into a section with square brackets. The img src= bit gives the URL of the image, and the alt= bit gives your description.


Flickr users (at last!) can just Paste the code they got straight onto the page and it will look like this, instead of the version above:





You can click on the "Preview" button to see what it looks like - and then the BBCode button to get back to the text editor. Just to prove it works, I'll now link to Julian's URL here:



Then click "Create Post" to finish.

[uuu]

That's it - have fun!

Wilf

[Jim]

By coincidence Wilf I've only just this evening emailed a similar set of steps to another member who was having trouble with linking photos in Photobucket to the site.

You've provided folk here with a great set of guides.

Jim

[masahiraoka]

Jim

it seems my frustration has been that i've been trying to insert tif drawing files.  it clearly works when i convert them to jpg format first then insert them

see my thread on Ernest Steel's 7 1/4 inch gauge West Country

Martyn

[uuu]

Mar 23, 2014 11:14:49 GMT masahiraoka said:

Jim

it seems my frustration has been that i've been trying to insert tif drawing files.  it clearly works when i convert them to jpg format first then insert them...

Martyn

Thanks for finding that out Martyn - I've added an extra note in the Dropbox paragraph above to urge Dropbox users to convert their files. Photobucket seems to do this for you. I've no idea how Flickr treats them.

Wilf

[Jim]

I'm not sure if this is any help but on the Mac if I right click an image a drop down menu appears with 'Get Info' listed. Selecting that allows you to not only change the title of the image but change the extension from .tiff to .jpg.
As you say PhotoBucket lets you upload images regardless and the link can be copied to a post on this site to appear in your post.

Jim

[Deleted]

Nice Work Wilf... perhaps an admin could make this thread a sticky so new people to the forum can easily find this much needed help that you have so kindly taken the time to produce.

Great stuff..

Pete

[shooter]

I agree with Pete, it would be good to have this as a sticky. I will need to refer to it many times before I get the hang of it, I'm sure!!!
Well done Wilf for providing us with the information.

Steve

[jma1009]

as you can probably imagine i owe a considerable debt of gratitude to wilf for his help with the above due to the recent limits on uploading pics on the site. my own computer 'skills' are about as much as i know about DRO and CNC!
thanks again wilf for all your help privately and then sharing same.
can i please suggest wilf's thread be put at the top of the list to our administrators?
cheers,
julian

[Deleted]

Blimey !!--------- that seems a bit complex ... Has anyone actually given TINYPICS a go ??..................... tinypic.com/ -----------try this}-------a) On the Tinypic site clik onto "CHOOSE FILE"........................................................b) Clik onto DEFAULT drop down menu and clik onto MESSAGE BOARD( 480 X 640).........................C) Clik onto "UPLOAD NOW"......................................................................d) Answer the Anti-spam question..................................................................e) Clik IMG Code for forums and Message Boards IMG ( This will now change to a Black background)............................So far, so good..Now just move your mouse pointer onto the Forum's tab and clik (this opens the forum site) ---------- Right Clik and paste in the normal manner ( That IMG xxxxxxx IMG code will now be showing)..............Clik "POST QUICK REPLY" and you should get your post with the photo showing as well................

[Deleted]

and NO, that's NOT me with the long, Brown hair !!!

[uuu]

So we need to rename the thread as a two-and-a-half step process?

[runner42]

When I used photobucket the linking options didn't include direct link. If this is the case press update link options and tick the diect link box.

Brian

[Roger]

Any ideas on how to get links from the new layout in Flickr? I've just gone to do it the way I've always done and there are no controls I can see for doing it any more. Heaven knows why these companies can't stop messing about with their programs, making it harder to do things.