Post by radiostationx on May 26, 2019 0:56:16 GMT 1
I note members having some difficulty with Flickr lately...This is NOT good for events later this week !
Flickr is not as good as it used to be for hosting photos (even if you pay for pro, it always was and still is utter crap).
Dropbox is a good alternative, the file quality is much better and no annoying watermarks. Unlike Flickr as there is no compression and no matter how large your photos are, the "in forum mechanics" of proboards will always limit the size within the borders of the forum margins so it is pointless to embed massive files anyway.
Setting up Dropbox is easy, you will get 2gb of cloud storage for free (basic package) which is enough for a few thousand photos if sized wisely (1600pix wide or less jpegs).
If you are familiar with Photobucket, this will be easy and the only real change using Dropbox is editing the embed link in notepad which is explained later in this post.
Set up a Dropbox account.
In the dropbox window, click on "my files" then "new folder".
create a new foder, call it whatever you like.
When the folder is created it should look like this in the files list.
Click to open your custom folder.
Next click "upload files" in the right hand menu, find the photo in the file browser window and click "open".
The photo will now upload and a thumbnail is displayed, click on the 3 dots and select "share".
Click "create link"
The next step is to click "copy link"
Then open Notepad if you are using windows or Textedit if you are a mac user and copy the link into a new blank page...Note that the last part of the address has dl=0 at the end of the line.
Copy this line and again into a new line underneath it, we need to change/edit just one line so its a good idea to view the original line and a copy below it to play with. Any mistakes/spaces/errors in editing will be easier to spot by comparing the two.
Now, this is the most important part of the process.
edit out /backspace the dl=0 at the end of the line and replace it with raw=1
This will enable the file to be displayed.
You should have something like this, note the new edited /modified line (the one ending in raw=1) which we will use on the forum.
The modified line tricks dropbox into embedding the photo, its a code workaround that always works 100%.
Open NWAN forum to make a post for your photos as normal. Tip : Create a personal message to yourself to practice embedding from dropbox and perfect technique first before going pubic.
Click the "insert image" tab.
Copy your modified dropbox link (the one with raw=1 at the end) from notepad/Textedit into the "Image URL" box.
When ready Click "insert image"
Now the bbcode will look something like this (Have faith at this point)
Check the photo is embedded by trying preview tab first.
Finally , Click create post /create message as you would normally to post on NWAN.
Thats it and your photo will be embedded on the forum from your dropbox cloud account.
FYI All 14 images/screenshots in this post are hosted on dropbox.
Unlike Flickr ( where you waiver all and I mean all rights to smugmug), the intellectual rights of dropbox files are yours, you have control, not dropbox.
Flickr is not as good as it used to be for hosting photos (even if you pay for pro, it always was and still is utter crap).
Dropbox is a good alternative, the file quality is much better and no annoying watermarks. Unlike Flickr as there is no compression and no matter how large your photos are, the "in forum mechanics" of proboards will always limit the size within the borders of the forum margins so it is pointless to embed massive files anyway.
Setting up Dropbox is easy, you will get 2gb of cloud storage for free (basic package) which is enough for a few thousand photos if sized wisely (1600pix wide or less jpegs).
If you are familiar with Photobucket, this will be easy and the only real change using Dropbox is editing the embed link in notepad which is explained later in this post.
Set up a Dropbox account.
In the dropbox window, click on "my files" then "new folder".
create a new foder, call it whatever you like.
When the folder is created it should look like this in the files list.
Click to open your custom folder.
Next click "upload files" in the right hand menu, find the photo in the file browser window and click "open".
The photo will now upload and a thumbnail is displayed, click on the 3 dots and select "share".
Click "create link"
The next step is to click "copy link"
Then open Notepad if you are using windows or Textedit if you are a mac user and copy the link into a new blank page...Note that the last part of the address has dl=0 at the end of the line.
Copy this line and again into a new line underneath it, we need to change/edit just one line so its a good idea to view the original line and a copy below it to play with. Any mistakes/spaces/errors in editing will be easier to spot by comparing the two.
Now, this is the most important part of the process.
edit out /backspace the dl=0 at the end of the line and replace it with raw=1
This will enable the file to be displayed.
You should have something like this, note the new edited /modified line (the one ending in raw=1) which we will use on the forum.
The modified line tricks dropbox into embedding the photo, its a code workaround that always works 100%.
Open NWAN forum to make a post for your photos as normal. Tip : Create a personal message to yourself to practice embedding from dropbox and perfect technique first before going pubic.
Click the "insert image" tab.
Copy your modified dropbox link (the one with raw=1 at the end) from notepad/Textedit into the "Image URL" box.
When ready Click "insert image"
Now the bbcode will look something like this (Have faith at this point)
Check the photo is embedded by trying preview tab first.
Finally , Click create post /create message as you would normally to post on NWAN.
Thats it and your photo will be embedded on the forum from your dropbox cloud account.
FYI All 14 images/screenshots in this post are hosted on dropbox.
Unlike Flickr ( where you waiver all and I mean all rights to smugmug), the intellectual rights of dropbox files are yours, you have control, not dropbox.
