I am trying to upload pics to my blog but I am out of storage space. Help!

If you have a newer digital camera it is probably set to take pictures that are big enough to print, but too big to use on the internet–for example, on your blog or on the Park Bench. There are two easy ways to fix this:

1. Upload your photos to the Gallery and paste the code from the Gallery into your blog or post. The Gallery will automatically resize your photo as you upload so you won’t end up with gigantic files that take up all the storage space on your blog.

   (There’s more information about “pasting the code from the Gallery” here.)

2. Resize your photos and upload them directly to your blog.

   Your digital camera probably comes with software that will allow you to resize your photos. But, since all cameras are different, it’s easiest to explain the resize step by using an online service that doesn’t require you to download new software or figure out how to run it.

   Here’s a good, free online resizing service: www.freeresizer.com. To use it:

   Choose the photo you want to resize from your hard drive by pressing the “Browse” button, then press “upload image.” Wait…wait… wait… while the file is uploading. On the next screen, choose the settings for your resized photo. Here’s an example:

   

   There are only a few things you need to pay attention to on this screen:

   Image height and width: set the longest side of your image to 1024. If you have a horizontal photo, set the width to 1024. If you have a vertical photo set the height to 1024. The other dimension will adjust automatically.

   Set the photo quality to 70.

   Hit “process.”

   When your image is resized, a new image will appear on the right. Press “save” and save the resized image to your hard drive. Give it a new name so you won’t write over the top of the original picture. The resized image is the one you’ll want to use for your blog.

   See the red arrows? On the left (original image) it points to gobbledegook that reads “1473kb.” That’s your file size and it’s huge. You can only fit about 10 photos that are this big in the storage space for your blog.

   Now look at the right (resized image.) The arrow points to gobbledegook that reads “76kb.” You can fit 100-150 pictures that are this big in your blog. Again, the instructions for uploading photos directly to your blog are here.

If you want to know more about why photos for print and internet are different, there’s an article about it here: Understanding Resolution.

More questions? Post them in the comment section below.

Next, read the instructions on adding a link (to text) to get the general idea: How to add a link to your post or page.

Link an image

Linking an image is a bit more complicated than linking text so the easiest way to start is to link an image from the web. Let’s just assume you’ve used the instructions to link an image from the web and you have a pig cartoon on your page like this:

Here is the URL for the image if you want to play Click Along with Mitch:

http://www.featurepics.com/FI/Thumb/20070109/Pig-Cartoon-185066.jpg

In your Visual tab, you’ll see the picture of the pig. If you click on the Code tab, you’ll see gobbledegook. The particular flavor of gobbledegook you’ll be looking for starts with <img src=
Following that, you’ll see your image URL in quotes. Here’s an example:

The Code is cut off in the image above because it’s too long to fit in the picture. The entire line of code that makes this little piggie appear goes like this:

<img src=”http://www.featurepics.com/FI/Thumb/20070109/Pig-Cartoon-185066.jpg” alt=”Pig Cartoon” align=”left” height=”124″ width=”130″ />

To link the image of the pig to another url:

• Press the Code button.
• Find the image code (gobbledegook) and select the whole thing, beginning with (and including) <img src, ending with (and including) />. In the example we’re using here, your selection should look like this:

  

• Click the link button and type or paste the URL you want to link to in the pop up box. Press OK.
• Your URL link should be wrapped around your image link. (Huh?)For example, if you linked the picture of the pig to http://lovelycounty.com, your code will look like this:

   

  <a href=”http://lovelycounty.com/”><img src=”http://www.featurepics.com/FI/Thumb/20070109/Pig-Cartoon-185066.jpg” alt=”Pig Cartoon” align=”left” height=”124″ width=”130″ /></a>

  The original image code you started with is in purple. The URL link you added when you went to the Code page, selected your image code, pressed the link button, and typed in your URL is in red.

Link to the URL of an image somewhere on the web

• Find the image you want to insert in your post and copy the url (beginning with http://)
• Click on the tiny tree in the Visual menu bar. A pop up window will appear. Links marked in red (URL/description) are required:

   

  

   

• Paste the URL for your image into the URL box and type a description in the description box.
• Press “Insert.”

Upload an image from your computer

• In the Write screen, scroll the page down to find the file upload form:

   

• Click on the Browse button and find the image on your computer hard drive.
• Type in a title for your image and press Upload.
• Next, you’ll see this screen:

   

  

   

• Click in your post where you want the image to appear and press the Send to editor button. It’s usually best to leave “Thumbnail” selected unless you’ve already resized your image so that the width is less than 600 pixels. Your full size image is automatically linked from the thumbnail.

Paste an image from the gallery

• Find the picture you want to use in your Gallery.
• Look under the image for the code to “Share this Image.” Click in the box under “HTML and blogs” and copy:

   

  

• Return to your post and press the Code tab.
• Paste the code you copied from the Gallery into your post where you want the image to appear.

In the Write screen:

• Click on the Code tab.
• Select the text you want to link.
• Press the link button. A window will pop up.
• Type the web site (url) you want to link in the box.
• Press the “OK” button.

Here’s an image with the buttons you need to look for highlighted:

The navigation bar at the top of your Lovely Voices blog will lead you to all the opportunities for tweaking. Here is what it looks like:

Items in bold refer to links on the navigation bar.

1. Click on Presentation. You’ll see a selection of themes. If you like one of the themes better than the default theme, click on the picture to select it. Your blog will be automatically converted to that theme.

 

2. Click on Users. You should see your user name here and, at the far right, a link to “Edit.” Click the Edit link. This is where you can change the automatic gobbledegook password to something more memorable. Be sure to press the “Update User” button if you make any changes here.

 

3. Click on Options. Now you’ll have to pay attention to the secondary navigation bar. Here is what it looks like:
   

   See where the dark blue row says “General, Writing,” etc? That’s the secondary navigation bar. Here is what you do with the Options:

 

4. Under General, change the Tagline to something more descriptive of your blog than, “Just another Lovely Voices weblog.” Press the “Update Options” button.

 

5. Click Blog Category and select the category that best fits your blog. Press the “Update Options” button. If you don’t see a category that fits you, post a comment on this thread and we’ll figure it out together.

 

6. Click on Write and write your first post.

Next in the Tweak Series… Categories, Plugins & Widgets (oh my).

Tip:

Link your blog to your Park Bench account by adding it to your profile.

Go to the Park Bench. Click on the User Control Panel link (upper left hand corner) then the Profile tab. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and enter your blog name in the box labeled “Blog.” You’ll need to start with the http:// like this:

Press the “Submit” button.

Entering your blog in this way will link your blog from all your posts on the Park Bench.

The Park Bench

Is Lovely County’s friendly forum. Banter, chit chat and out and out self-promotion are welcome. Spamming and insulting other posters… not so much. No flaming or offensive content. Why? Because it isn’t lovely.

You don’t have to register to post a question or comment on the Park Bench, but registration gives you access to all the features of the forum and…

The Gallery

A place for you to post photos of your trip, your pets, your family or your goodies for sale. You do have to be registered to upload photos to the Gallery.

To register, go here and click on the “Register” link in the upper right hand corner of the page. This registration will give you access to both the Park Bench and the Gallery.

Lovely Voices Blogs

Start by looking at some of the examples on the Lovely Voices page. Like butterflies, blogs are free… and you can use them to record and promote everything from your business to your family photo album to your philosophy of life.

You can get your free blog now and start experimenting. If you already have a blog somewhere else (like WordPress or MySpace), let us know and we’ll connect it to your Lovely Voices blog so you can post away on your regular blog and watch your words appear in Lovely County… like magic!

This is important: Read this. (No, really.) Your blog login (user name and password) is not the same as your Park Bench/Gallery.

For now, just look around, click on a few links, and get comfortable with your new imaginary world. We’ll post tech support answers here as questions arise.