[littletractorguy]

How to post pictures and smilies and links in your posts...

Lesson 1 - Inserting an Image


Okay, so we're going to talk first about how to insert an image into a post. What we're assuming here is that you are going to create a new post in the Test forum on MTF. If you click on the Test Forum link in the last sentence, it will open a new browser window for you in the Test Forum. Arrange the two browser windows so you can see them both. For the purposes of this first lesson, I'm NOT going to talk about how you make YOUR images available on the internet so you can post them, I'm going to provide you with an image to practice with.

1. Start your post
   
   Do this by clicking the
   button at the top left of the Test forum. Give your post a title, something snappy like "Testing Posting Images"
   
   
2. Find your image on the internet
   
   Again, as I mentioned, I'm going to give you an image to test with. Every image on the internet has a URL, or internet address associated with it. That address starts with http:// and ends with either .jpg, .gif, or .png. We'll talk in the NEXT lesson about how to figure out what the address of an image is that you've found on the internet somewhere. For now, here's a test one for you to use
   

   http://saskatoon.usask.ca/personal/minoupage/minpics/images/gracefl2_jpg.jpg

3. Select the whole image address
   
   Take your mouse and drag it over the URL (internet address) above. You need to highlight the ENTIRE thing, from http:// right to .jpg
   
   
   
4. Select Edit -> Copy (or CTRL-C if you are on a PC or CMD-C if you are on a Mac, OR right-click on top of the highlighted address and choose Copy from the menu that appears)
   
   This will copy the internet address of that image into your computer's clipboard
   
5. Click the Insert Image button.
   
   
   The Insert Image box will appear, it looks something like this (depending on your browser).
   
   
   
   
6. Paste the image's internet address into the Insert Image box that appears.
   
   You can do one of the following to paste the image's address into the box:
   
   - Choose Edit -> Paste from the menu bar of your browser
   - Type CTRL-V (for PCs) or CMD-V (for Macs)... That is, hold down the CTRL key on your keyboard at the same time as pressing the V key.
   - Right-Click inside the Insert Image box, then choose PASTE from the menu that appears.
   
   Once you've pasted in the address, the Insert Image box should look like THIS:
   
   
   
   
   
7. Click OK on the Insert Image box
   
8. Click the "Preview Post" button
   to take a look to see what your post will look like. This will change your browser window, giving you a look at what the post will actually LOOK like in the top part, while at the bottom of the window, you'll still see the post entry box. You should check to ensure you see the image you inserted, and that it is a reasonable size in your browser window. It will be, in this case, since I sized our preview image to a pretty standard sized for web pages. When we get to the lesson where we talk about posting your OWN images, we'll talk about that standard size. A good recommendation is to have your images no larger than 640 pixels wide by 480 pixels high... But we'll get there!
   
   If you are satisfied with how the image looks, move on to the next step!
   
   
9. Click the "Submit New Thread" button
   to submit the thread
   
   

At that point, you should see a post with YOUR title on it, and the following picture inserted into it!

Congratulations, you've just completed Lesson One in Inserting Images!