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How to prepare and post photographs/images
Mika
post Fri, 27 Apr 2007 - 00:00
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From: Wiltshire, UK
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How to Format, Resize and Post Images in a Forum Thread

Many members have been asking how to post photographs/images/scanned images, so here is a quick guide to the process using a free online editor to prepare your images, and either of two popular (and free biggrin.gif ) services to host them: tinypic and ImageShack.

To add an image to your PePiPoo thread, you need to host it online first. To do this it is recommended that you have a reasonably sized JPEG (.jpg) image.



Step 1: Capture your image
  • Scan your images
    • First, do not use a PDF (.pdf) or other document format such as Word. If you are scanning, you should be able to choose "save as..." and select the JPEG (.jpg) format. If your scanner will not save in anything other than .pdf, consider using a digital camera instead
    • Please scan your image as 300 DPI and save it as a high quality JPEG, as it will be easier to read
    • If you don't have a scanner, a mobile phone camera in close-up or macro mode can often give good results
  • Is your image a reasonable size (500-800 pixels wide) and is it a JPEG? Have you removed personal details? If so, move on to Step 4.
  • Is your image too big or is it in a different format to JPEG? Do you need to remove personal details? Do you have no idea what we are on about? Go to Step 2!


Step 2: Decide what details you need to remove

When asked to post a scan of a document you will usually be advised to "wash" or "scrub" it. What this means is that before you post it you should remove any details that would enable whoever issued the document to connect it to you. The reason is fairly obvious: posts in internet forums can be viewed by anyone, including people (e.g. the police, "safety camera" partnerships, private parking companies, councils) who you may not want to read posts discussing your options, what you did (or didn't) do, and what action you intend to take!

Peoples' initial reaction is often that this is simple - remove details like your name, address, registration mark and and driving licence number and the job's done. However the person or organisation issuing the document has all the information about it that you do; can they fill in the blanks using that knowledge? You need to consider a lot more than those obvious details, including:
  • How many similar documents might they have sent out with the same details as you've left visible on yours? For example, there will probably only be a handful of parking tickets issued for Wellington Car Park in Basingstoke on 19 February 2009; leave those details in your post and it will be easy to work out which ticket is yours.
  • How much time and effort might they put into identifying you? A private parking company after a £50 "fine" probably wouldn't spend more than a few minutes sorting through the "possibles", whereas an SCP with plenty of taxpayers' money to waste might think a couple of days sorting through hundreds of NIPs is worthwhile.
  • Do you understand what all the codes in the document mean? That apparently random 7-digit number might mean nothing to you, but it could be a unique reference number that would identify you to whoever came up with it.
  • Don't forget any payment slips! That helpful tear-off Giro payment slip almost certainly has unique identifiers on it.
  • Don't just focus on individual details. If there are several precise details in the document then individually they may mean nothing, but combined they might be unique to you. Even a sequence of events could be unique enough to allow your case to be located in the pile!


Step 3: Edit your image
  • Go to www.pixlr.com
  • Click on "Jump In"
  • Click on "File" and "Open". Don't use the top file menu! That is your browser's menu. Use the lower one, which is the Pixlr applet menu. This is ringed in the screenshot below:



  • Browse to the image file you want to edit, and select Open
  • Now you should see your image. If you need to crop it, choose the dotted box icon (ringed below) and drag a box around the bit you want to keep



  • Go to "Image" and "Crop" in the Pixlr menu
  • Now we'll obscure your details:
    You need to think carefully about what to leave and what to delete; it's not much use removing your name and registration number if you leave in details such as reference numbers or precise locations, dates and times, for example.
    • Choose the dotted box icon, as above
    • Drag it around any area you wish to obscure
    • Press Delete on your keyboard. This means the key which is actually marked "delete" on your keyboard, not the backspace key!
    • Repeat this until all personal details are obscured
  • Now we'll set the size. Go to "Image" and "Image Size". Make sure "Constrain proportions" is ticked. If it is a PCN, set the width to 400 pixels. If it's an A4 document, set it to 800. Don't worry about the height. Click OK
  • Now we'll save it:
    • Go to File - Save (in the Pixlr menu, not the top one!)
    • Choose Format: JPEG
    • Give it a name
    • Click OK


Step 4: Host the image online and insert into your post

TinyPic
  1. Image files cannot be larger than 1600 pixels (either width or height). Images that are too large will be automatically resized to the largest acceptable size so don't worry too much about filesizes.
  2. Go to www.tinypic.com. You don't have to register unless you want to use some of their extra features, like albums. Please bear in mind that if you choose not to register then you won't be able to remove the image from TinyPic later.
    • Select Browse... and find an image that you want to upload.
    • Select that image and press OK/Open.
    • Then press the "Upload Now!" button.
    • After a short while (depending on your image size), you will see a number of boxes with links to your image. The one to use on PePiPoo is the 'IMG Code for Forums & Message Boards' code line. If you select all of that line and then paste it straight into your post on PePiPoo it should show as a full sized image. If the image is too large to fit into the browser window the forum software will automatically scale it to fit, but if that happens the viewer can just click on the image's title bar to see it full size.
    • Do not copy & paste the address from your browser's address bar as this will not work
    • Important - To post the scanned image directly onto the forum , you must have BBCode enabled; (uncheck the box directly below the text box when posting).

ImageShack
  1. Filesizes above 1024kb will be automatically resized so don't worry too much about filesizes.
  2. Register at www.imageshack.us and follow the registration process.
  3. Once you have logged in to ImageShack:
    • Click the frog logo or the Upload link to be taken to the front page.
    • Select browse and find an image that you want to upload.
    • Select that image and press OK/Open.
    • Then press the "Host it!" button.
    • After a short while (depending on your image size), you will see a number of boxes with links to your image. The one to use on PePiPoo is the 'Thumbnail for forums (1)' code line. If you select all of that line and then paste it straight into your post on PePiPoo it should show as a small thumbnail image that the viewer can then click on to take them to the full sized image.
    • Do not copy & paste the address from your browser's address bar as this will not work
    • Important - To post the scanned image directly onto the forum , you must have BBCode enabled; (uncheck the box directly below the text box when posting).
  4. Also to keep within Imageshacks T&C's then you MUST also do the 'Imageshack' Link part, or do as some others have done and add it to your signature block.


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BULBOY
post Mon, 4 Apr 2011 - 22:40
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just to add some more washing. Most of the cameras will save the so called EXIF information to the JPG photo. This will contain camera settings and model, but most important the date and time. If the camera/phone is GPS enabled the gps coordinates may be present too.
I use a program called Irfan view to view the information stored in the EXIF part of the file (default key is "I").

To remove this I save the JPG photo as BMP and then resave again as JPG.

This info is useful especially on parking tickets as the "evidence" in my case was presented online, so I could download the pictures and check exact time of the pictures being taken.
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Posts in this topic
- Mika   How to prepare and post photographs/images   Fri, 27 Apr 2007 - 00:00
- - Fredd   Article Discussion If you have any comments on the...   Fri, 27 Apr 2007 - 08:47
- - Fredd   Article extended to cover the TinyPic service, in ...   Mon, 28 Jul 2008 - 14:22
- - Fredd   Added details from Dave-o's "Totally Awes...   Fri, 20 Feb 2009 - 15:33
- - Fredd   Added advice on removing personally identifiable d...   Mon, 23 Feb 2009 - 18:53
- - mjkerr   What is the preferred uploaded image size, to prev...   Sun, 22 Nov 2009 - 14:14
- - Fredd   If you're directed to Step 2 then you'll n...   Sun, 22 Nov 2009 - 14:52
- - mjkerr   I tried width of 800, but the images are still get...   Sun, 22 Nov 2009 - 15:15
- - Fredd   Having looked at the Javascript that actually does...   Sun, 22 Nov 2009 - 16:22
- - mjkerr   The reason it does that it because the page width ...   Sun, 22 Nov 2009 - 21:12
- - strollingplayer   Needs to be a little more explicit about dates. O...   Thu, 31 Dec 2009 - 10:16
- - Ellla   Whilst I ABSOLUTELY accept that the buck lies with...   Thu, 15 Apr 2010 - 10:04
- - Fredd   I've added a note to bring this implication of...   Thu, 15 Apr 2010 - 11:13
- - Ellla   Perfect, thanks Fredd!   Thu, 15 Apr 2010 - 11:27
- - StatusBaby   Been to Tinypic and tried to register..... Tinypi...   Mon, 12 Jul 2010 - 20:32
- - BULBOY   just to add some more washing. Most of the cameras...   Mon, 4 Apr 2011 - 22:40
- - Mortimer   I don't see a problem with leaving EXIF data. ...   Mon, 4 Apr 2011 - 22:59
- - jdfi   Could someone tell what the correct code is to inc...   Tue, 29 Nov 2011 - 11:20
- - andy_foster   http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thum...   Tue, 29 Nov 2011 - 11:30
|- - jdfi   QUOTE (andy_foster @ Tue, 29 Nov 2011 - ...   Wed, 30 Nov 2011 - 11:19
- - Mortimer   Andy has posted the correct syntax. I suspect he h...   Wed, 30 Nov 2011 - 12:03
- - petemelyn   I am attempting to upload 3 photos using tinypic.I...   Sun, 21 Oct 2012 - 11:18
- - RacquelS   Is there a limit on how many that I can upload, I ...   Fri, 30 Nov 2012 - 12:50
- - Mortimer   I believe there is a limit to how many images can ...   Fri, 30 Nov 2012 - 13:07
- - jdfi   Hello, help please. I've just tried to use bo...   Wed, 19 Dec 2012 - 09:03
- - Mortimer   It would appear that tinypic has a problem at the ...   Wed, 19 Dec 2012 - 10:21
- - ZangLdn   What do you guys think of hosting the pic on faceb...   Wed, 30 Jan 2013 - 01:18
- - Mortimer   It does seem reasonably anonymous. Is that image f...   Wed, 30 Jan 2013 - 08:53
|- - ZangLdn   QUOTE (Mortimer @ Wed, 30 Jan 2013 - 08...   Wed, 30 Jan 2013 - 11:38
- - Fredd   The Facebook sharing method works. There are many ...   Wed, 30 Jan 2013 - 09:50
- - Mortimer   Unlike the sites like Photobucket, Tinypic**, etc....   Wed, 30 Jan 2013 - 10:55
- - Mortimer   If you use Photobucket or other similar services a...   Wed, 30 Jan 2013 - 11:42
- - ZangLdn   I just to add some feedback as I followed this and...   Mon, 4 Mar 2013 - 21:29
- - wolverine03   I am using photobucket to host & edit the imag...   Sat, 13 Apr 2013 - 20:56
|- - StuartBu   QUOTE (wolverine03 @ Sat, 13 Apr 2013 - ...   Sat, 13 Apr 2013 - 22:23
- - trinityblue   Is it safe to add a photo taken with my I phone if...   Sat, 14 Dec 2013 - 20:13
|- - StuartBu   QUOTE (trinityblue @ Sat, 14 Dec 2013 - ...   Sun, 15 Dec 2013 - 02:00
- - Mortimer   There is a Photobucket app for the iPhone that mea...   Sun, 15 Dec 2013 - 11:14
|- - StuartBu   QUOTE (Mortimer @ Sun, 15 Dec 2013 - 11...   Sun, 15 Dec 2013 - 12:53
- - RottenToTheCore   The very first piece of advice given at the top of...   Thu, 19 Nov 2015 - 12:44
|- - StuartBu   QUOTE (RottenToTheCore @ Thu, 19 Nov 2015 ...   Thu, 19 Nov 2015 - 14:49
|- - RottenToTheCore   QUOTE (StuartBu @ Thu, 19 Nov 2015 - 14...   Thu, 19 Nov 2015 - 14:56
- - AndyMalo   Having tried to use TinyPic this morning (without ...   Thu, 28 Jan 2016 - 11:47
|- - StuartBu   QUOTE (AndyMalo @ Thu, 28 Jan 2016 - 11...   Thu, 28 Jan 2016 - 11:55
- - Olive55   I am trying to add photos to a thread using TinyPi...   Mon, 6 Jun 2016 - 20:34
- - andy_foster   Personally I use photobucket - but they are all mu...   Mon, 6 Jun 2016 - 21:41
- - Phil_Barker   As Photobucket no longer supports image sharing, a...   Wed, 22 Nov 2017 - 11:16
- - CYRIL   QUOTE (Mika @ Fri, 27 Apr 2007 - 00...   Tue, 16 Jan 2018 - 14:23
|- - boxer29   QUOTE (CYRIL @ Tue, 16 Jan 2018 - 15...   Tue, 17 Sep 2019 - 19:26
- - sharefe   I am not able to upload onto tinypic so tried yout...   Mon, 11 Feb 2019 - 15:48
- - snowman816   Is there a recommended program/platform for upload...   Sat, 2 Nov 2019 - 12:20
|- - Fredd   QUOTE (snowman816 @ Sat, 2 Nov 2019 - 12...   Sat, 2 Nov 2019 - 12:27
|- - cp8759   QUOTE (snowman816 @ Sat, 2 Nov 2019 - 12...   Thu, 30 Jan 2020 - 21:40
- - VanCan   Image Shack offers a 30 day free trial and then yo...   Tue, 28 Jan 2020 - 00:37
- - i got towed   I used to use tiny pic but their site is discontin...   Sat, 24 Jul 2021 - 11:13
- - cp8759   http://imgur.com On the other hand it is 2021, yo...   Sun, 25 Jul 2021 - 09:05
- - SLX32SC   I use this one: https://postimages.org/ You can ...   Wed, 15 Sep 2021 - 11:11
- - AndrewAfresh   Re "you must have BBCode enabled" has th...   Sat, 10 Sep 2022 - 18:57


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