Photos in dropbox don't appear in posts

[SMichelsen]

I am finding including photos in my posts to be a challenge on this forum. It seems like the photo MUST be online. I can place them on a website of mine, but it's more convenient to use the dropbox link for the photo, like this URL...

https://www.dropbox.com/s/8gmhw1hzxmna8 ... d.jpg?dl=0

However it seems that the forum software doesn't "like" this as the resulting photo appears as a link.

What to do? What's the best/easiest way to get a photo in one's post here?

Thanks,
Steve

[GreenLake]

You are correct. When you use the "img" tag from the buttons above the edit field, the string that goes between the two tags needs to be a URL that resolves to an image file. Unfortunately, using the link you show DropBox does not serve an image, but a web page with an image on it. That's not something the forum software can embed. You can test any link by pasting it into the address bar of your browser. If it opens just an image, the link is good. (It also must end in an extension, like .jpg, that the forum software recognizes as an image).

There are photosharing sites that allow deep linking (linking to "just" and image).

A link has the advantage that you don't get the size restrictions the forum imposes. But if you can compress your image to reduce file size, and also scale the pixel dimensions to something that fits a browser window, but not so small that it becomes a postage stamp, (I use ~1200 for the width) then you can use the "Upload Attachment" feature (below the edit window).

For the forum, the advantage of an attachment is that it's hosted here, and won't "disappear" some day in the future, if someone loses an external picture hosting account or deletes an external picture without realizing it was shared here. To me, that's worth the slight hassle of prepping pictures for upload.

Now, if you have really large sets of pictures (e.g. many, many detail shots from some project, or from surveying your new boat), then a link to some external folder with image might be preferable. But if it's something that you think some other new owner, coming a few years after you might like to be able to see, then I'd upload it here.

[GreenLake]

I've reposted your image as an attachment. You see it's taller than the preview window, but should expand if clicked on. It's a pretty good size for viewing and the file size is pretty good as well. I grabbed it from the page from your link. DB calls it a "preview" image, so it may have been scaled down compared to what you uploaded, but the result is perfect for use as an attachment. I saved it to a temporary location then uploaded it from there.

Sample:

From the DropBoz

MastCrutchStub.jpg (59.1 KiB) Viewed 6824 times

[SMichelsen]

testing 1,2,3...

OK, got it - thanks! I do notice that your sample doesn't say "Attachments" above it like my test. Not sure what that means; probably doesn't matter...

Steve

[GreenLake]

There's a "place inline" button somewhere in the process. You first put your cursor where you want the image in the text, then click "place inline" and it inserts the code to do that. (You can then cut/paste that code if you need to move it for any reason, as long as you keep it intact).

I believe, the "place inline" is even available when editing a post. Just go to "upload attachment" and you should see all them and there should be the button. You can also edit the comment (or caption) for images that way.

[GreenLake]

I do notice that your sample doesn't say "Attachments" above it like my test. Not sure what that means; probably doesn't matter...

This is a bit late a reply to that issue, but for the record there are two steps involved.

1. Upload the file as an attachment
2. Place the image inline

If you don't do the second step, your images will be shown at the end of your post and visually marked as attachments. Usually not a big deal, but the placement does give you some control. However, it's done by dropping a bit of BBC code into your text. Be sure to not alter that; however, if it is not in the correct place, you can carefully cut and paste it where you want your image to show.