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 xMichael Devaney
& David Knell |
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How to include images in a post on
a BBS
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Including images in a BBS post can be extremely
useful when making a point: "A picture paints a thousand words".
The Guidelines on posting images in the Romulus
2 Forums are as follows:
Images of a non-relevant nature are allowed only
in the General Forum or Wag's Corner. They must, of course, conform to the same rules as text, i.e. they should
not be pornographic, offensive or generally inappropriate. Images are strongly discouraged in the technical forums
unless they are highly relevant to the topic and are necessary to make a point. |
Step One: You need web space
First off, you will need to get some web space.
Any free web space account will be fine. A list of free servers could be obtained by typing "free web space"
in any search engine. Or you could use the space that your ISP may provide you with. |
Step Two: Saving the image
The image you want to post must be in the right
format, either JPG or GIF. If your image is in the wrong format, use a picture editor to convert it. The Paint
program that comes with Windows will do fine.
To capture a screen shot of an active window (for instance, a SiSoft Sandra benchmark or something similar), just
hold down the Print Screen & ALT keys at the same time. (If you would like to capture the entire screen just
hit the Print Screen key.) Now open up Paint or a similar program and paste the image. Save it in a JPG or GIF
format.
If copying an image from a website, make sure it is not copyright before using it. |
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Step Three: Sizing the image
Do bear in mind that images of a large size take a long
time to load (particularly for those on slower modems) and can slow down the whole thread to an unacceptable level
- frustrating for those who just want to have a casual read.
There are several ways to reduce the file size (measured
in KBs) of an image.:
- Image Size: The image should be no wider than
an absolute maximum of 600 pixels and preferably much narrower. A width of 200 or 300 pixels should be more than
adequate for most purposes. It is a good idea to crop an image to show only the part that is relevant.
- Amount of Colours: Reduce the amount of colours
- 16 colours are usually sufficient for most technical images - and consider converting it to monochrome (black
& white).
- Format and Quality: Try the image in both formats
(JPG or GIF) to see which produces the smallest acceptable result. Try it in different levels of quality; a JPG
image tends to have superior quality but a level as low as 40% may well be adequate.
Aim for a file size no larger than 40KB in JPG or 20KB
in GIF.
Note:
IrfanView is recommended as an excellent image program to achieve these
results.
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Step Four: Uploading the image
The image must now be sent (uploaded) to your
web space. Many web hosts provide easy instructions on how to upload files to your space.
Note:
You don't need to insert the image into a web page. You merely have to upload it into your space.
Remember the URL address of the image (for instance: http://www.yourspace.com/image.gif). |
Step Five: Inserting the image into your BBS post
The vB software used by the Romulus 2 Forums
(and by many others as well) allows you to use vB code to insert images into your posts. In the part of your post
where you want the image to appear enclose the URL address of your image within [IMG] and [/IMG], as in the following
example:
[IMG]http://www.yourspace.com/image.gif[/IMG]
Note:
IMG can be in either upper or lower case (IMG or img). The complete URL (including "http://")
is necessary and there must be no spaces. Don't forget the forward slash before the final IMG.
A complete list of vB codes is here. |
Please be considerate:
If you eventually remove the image from your
web space, the corresponding IMG link on the BBS will result in 404 timeouts, causing that thread to have extremely
long loading times. To avoid this, please return to your original post and edit out the IMG link, perhaps replacing
it with appropriate text such as "Image Removed" or substituting a normal URL link to the source.
With thanks to Herb for additional input. |
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