The INKFORUM

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Posting Images


There is no way to upload an image to the forums directly. To host an image you will need to use a free hosting site. The recommended one is ImageShack. To post a picture in a thread, follow these steps:

1. Taking Screenshots

To take a screenshot in Windows, press the PRTSCN (Print Screen) Key. This takes a screenshot of the current contents of the entire screen and puts it in memory. Alternatively if you just want to take a screenshot of a single element (like a dialog box), click on the relevant element and press ALT+PRTSCN. To take a screenshot in a game, you can use the in-game screenshot function (typically covered on the last page of the relevant game tweak guide), or use the free FRAPS utility.

2. Saving the File as JPG

If you've used PRTSCRN (or ALT+PRTSCN), you should open a photo editing program like Photoshop, or even Microsoft Paint (Start>Run>mspaint), and paste the image into there (CTRL+V). You should now save the image as a JPG format file, as this greatly reduces the file size of the image without losing much quality.

If you've taken a screenshot and it's in another format other than JPG, once again, open the file in a photo editing program or MS Paint and re-save it as a JPG file. Do not use large image formats like BMP or PNG for example as these will be up to 10x larger in file size than an equivalent JPG image and thus extremely annoying for people on slower Internet connections (and even those on fast ones).

3. Uploading the file to the host

Go to ImageShack. Do not alter any of the visible options, leave them at their default, and click the Browse button, go to where you've stored the image, and click on it, select Open, and click then 'Host it' button. Wait for a while and the image will be uploaded to Imageshack.

4. Posting the image in your post

Once ImageShack has finished uploading you will see a results screen. Carefully highlight all the text in the Thumbnail for forums (1). Usually this just involves clicking in the box and everything will be highlighted automatically. Right-click and select Copy, or press CTRL+C to copy the entire link.

Now simply past this link directly into the post where you want it to be displayed. Do not alter the code in any way, do not add any code, page breaks etc. to it. To see if it looks right, before submitting the post, click the 'Preview Post' button (go to Advanced mode if necessary) and you will see if it looks right or not. What you should see is a small thumbnail version of your image which, when clicked upon, opens a new window with the full-sized version.

Important: Make absolutely certain that you do not post lots of images in a row as this can skew thread width and make it hard to read the thread. Even when posting clickable thumbnails, do not post more than 5 in a row, as this will typically skew thread appearance. And do not post dozens of images in one post, regardless of their size, as this can impact on thread loading times for users and cause annoyance.

Use your common sense when posting images, again the main aim of these guidelines is to prevent annoyance and inconvenience to others.


This is the most appropriate way to post images on this forum. Obviously you can use other image hosts if you are familiar with them, but you need to make sure the resulting image is either a clickable thumbnail, or no larger than roughly 500x400 pixels if you want it to look correct.

Members who repeatedly post excessively large, offensive or inappropriate images will lose their Invited Member status or even be banned.