How to post images on the forum

Before you post images on the forum;
Please consider other forum users. Some users may not have fast connections and large images can seriously slow down the loading time of a page. Also, large images will be partially obscured by scroll bars which will make the image more difficult to view. You should therefore try to keep images to a reasonable size. Use any image editing software to crop your image to the relevant portion, and resize it if necessary.

Whenever possible, please try to keep images to within about 400 x 400 pixels. In some case larger images may be required for clarity, and they are allowed as long as they are not excessively large.


Image formats;
The standard formats for pictures on the web are JPG (jpeg), GIF and PNG. For compatibility with web browsers please keep to these formats.
JPG and PNG are generally best for photographic images.
GIF and PNG are generally best for diagrams that have few colours.
Do not use BMP or Tiff images.


How to post large images;
For the reasons already given it is best to not post large images directly into the forum.
If possible upload the picture elsewhere on the internet and type the web address of the image into your message.
Ensure that you include the “http://” part of the address and the forum software will automatically convert it to a link. For example: http://www.mysite/images/example.gif

Whenever possible, avoid using spaces in file names as these can be misrepresented. Rather than using “My image.gif” it is better to use “my_image.gif”


How to embed an image into your post;
There are two ways of doing this.
If the image already exists on the internet and is not behind a password protected page or other authentication mechanisms, then use the “Img” button at the top of the message editing box. This will create the code [img][_/_img]
Now type the web address in between the two tags like this:
[img]http://www.mysite/images/example.gif[_/_img]

If the image is available on the internet, this code will be displayed in the forum as the actual image. This is called “hot linking” and has the advantage that it does not use up storage space on the forum server.

For images that exist on your computer, you must first upload them onto the internet.

In the case of small / medium size images, you may upload them directly to the forum (see below).


How to upload files and images;
Only certain file types may be uploaded to the forum. These include;
Images - JPG, PNG, GIF
Files - ZIP

To upload a file;

  • click on the “Upload attachment” tab below the editing box.
  • Click on the “Browse” button and browse to the location of the file that you want to upload and select it.
  • Click the “Add the File” button (next to the “Browse” button) and wait for your file to be uploaded. The web page will be refreshed when the upload is complete.

Files will not be uploaded if they are of a type that is not allowed, or if they are too large. In these cases an error message will be shown.

In the case of image files, they may be included within your message rather than just displaying as an attachment at the bottom of the post. This is called “displaying in-line”.

How to display an uploaded image In-line;
After you file has been successfully uploaded it will be listed below the message editing box as an attachment. There will also be a button next to it called “place inline”.
Position the typing cursor at the position that you require the image to be displayed, then click the “Place Inline” button.
This will enter code similar to this:
[attachment=0]myimage.jpg[_/_attachment]

The image will now be displayed when you submit your post.