I have received several emails lately asking how to put pictures in your posts or in your signatures.
I will try to do a step by step guide in easy terms. (which will be easy for me as "thingie" is one of the words I use most often)

First, if it's a personal pic, you need some place to upload it to. Most of the photo sites, such as Ofoto or Kodak, don't allow you to link a picture from there to here.

Here is a very good free picture storage site is called Photobucket and it is located here. Just register and you can start uploading your pictures that you would like to link back to here. This site automatically gives you the url and [img] things that you need to do your linking. You upload your picture from your computer to Photobucket and then cut the [img] code that they supply for you.

Posting a picture

Let's say you want to post a picture of cute picture of yourself when you were a child. :)
All you have to do is so upload your photo to Photobucket and cut and paste the [img ] code that they provide to you into your post where you do your typing. This code is located on the bottom of each of your pictures as illustrated in the picture below:


Posting a picture in your signature file
Do all the steps for copying the message from the picture storage site. Open up your profile here, choose "edit preferences" and scroll down to the signature file area. Insert the picture code that you copied from Photobucket or if you are not linking from photobucket, right click on the photo you have found on the internet and choose "properties" Then highlight the address and paste it in your signiture area on your profile. Add [img] at the beginning and [/img] at the end of the address. Choose update your profile and you are done. Remember, the size of the picture in the storage area or on the internet will be the size of the picture in your signature!

Your avitar picture (the little picture under your name)
This one is a little tricky. It is probably easier to email the photo to John or myself as we can make it the right size to fit in the little box and we will be happy to store it for you on the LCT site. If you are comfortable posting your own photos and can judge the right size, you can paste the url of where you stored the picture in the custom avitar area found in your preferences.

Posting a picture of something you found on the internet
If you found something on the internet, say a piece of luggage that you want to show in your post, right click on the picture, click properties, drag your mouse over the address to highlight it, right click on it, choose copy and then in your message, choose the "image" link in the full reply form and remove the http:// thing that they have pretyped for you, right click on the blank and choose paste. click ok and the picture will be in your post.

As always, if you can't do it, don't want to do it or need a picture resized, feel free to email me!

The directions sound complicated but once you have done it, it is very simple!

Please remember to keep the size of your pictures on the average side. If they are wider than the window that this message is posted in, it will make us have to scroll left and right to read view the picture and text.

Karen:

Here is (hopefully) the Toto (My real dog, Daisy - who will be considered for a real Wizard of Oz production for summer 2005) I promised you could borrow her for your Authentic
Ruby Slippers Accessory! [img]http://www.hometown.aol.com/krappaport/myhomepage/mavriks%20beauty2.jpg?mtbrand=AOL_US[/img]

Thanks Kathy! Since I didn't win the Chuckie tea set this time around, I will gladly borrow Daisy!

Thank you Karen!
From the D---b
Jim B

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA Jim, really making me earn your forgiveness! But I must say, your new avitar rocks!

Great new Avitar Jim! I love the Cosmo!

Thank you thank you.
karen Helped.

Jim - haven't I seen that picture somewhere?? :D Nice avatar!

Masaki

Thanks Masaki

I like this new pic also. Seems more casual & fun!

R

Yea you are right.
The last one I had was one I took a awhile back ago when I was president of a local club that required a professional picture to be taken.

I think it is our only Avitar with a Cosmo featured too!

Gee! You may be right

Deleted

I thought I would pass along a new free photo storage site that I have been using. It's called Photo Bucket and you can find it here. All you need to do is to register and create an account.

You can store hundred of photos that you would like to link back to here. It automatically generates the code that you need to paste in the image feature here so it's one step easier than the other site I mentioned above!

Thanks, Karen. I found it with your help a few days ago. (I clicked on the photo of Mark snow blowing and saw the properties) It was just what I was looking for. I wanted a site to throw up some photos from various trips and then either post a link or add the photo.

PERFECT. You are a weath of information! I have learned so much here from you and every one else at LCT!

Kathy, I am glad you found it! I wanted to test it for awhile before I suggested it. There is a bandwidth limit but even I couldn't use up my monthly allotment so I think it's a great site.

test

again

again

Chip--love the Jeep picture---I have one too. Liz

Karen---after reading the picture posting instructions, I've definitely decided to use the e-mail option, LOL, LOL.....hopefully, I'll have it for you this weekend. My hair color is definitely BLONDE when it comes to computers!! Liz

No worries, Liz, our resident guru Karen will have you hooked up in no time! Love your quote, BTW.

Oh, Robert, Karen's amazing---especially to someone who's as computer challenged as I am. About the quote--it comes from a lovely little book that is a collection of Native American sayings about the standard range of subjects---life, love, death, old age, youth, etc. It's a wonderful little book.

testing my new quote

EGAD! Did I fix it?

Karen...HELP!

I should really try this out. Here goes:

[img]http://rancher504.smugmug.com/gallery/6635/4/207521[/img]

arrgh. Oh well.

Robert, fixing your sig now.

Wendy, you did just fine, except that smugmug doesn't allow linking from there to here.

If you create an account at www.photobucket.com you can upload your pics there and link them back to here :)

Thanks Karen!

:nw:

Thanks Karen, but that's weird, since my avatar is linked from smugmug.

BTW, I like your new avatar!

Wendy, that's very odd! I can see the picture you were trying to post when I copy the url of the photo. I also checked the code you posted it with and that part is correct!

It's a mystery :)

Here is another photo tip, when posting them on the board, make sure you resize them so they fit in the message without having to scroll back and forth, as you have to do when the pics are too large. :)

Karen - silly question - how do you resize photos? Thanks, Anne

Anne, I use Ulead as my photo editing software. Other people like Photoshop. If you just want a simple photo resizer, you can download one for free here.

Or you can even do it online for free without downloading anything, here.

testing....

I just edited my picture posting directions to make them easier and I added a visual aide :)