Images and the Gallery Feature

[Brother Tyler]

The Warhammer 40,000 hobby, like the larger tabletop miniature wargaming hobby, is an extremely visual hobby. While discussion is a core element of the Bolter & Chainsword community, images enrich the discussion. Whether showing off our miniatures, sharing fantastic artwork, or providing useful charts, diagrams, and maps, images are an integral part of the engagement that occurs within the community. While members are free to use any image-hosting solution they desire, the B&C’s Gallery feature provides our members with free storage for the sharing of images in other content.

 

This series of tutorials provides information on using the Gallery feature and posting images at the Bolter & Chainsword, including various methods for embedding images into content such as comments and blog entries, creating and editing albums, and uploading and editing images in albums.

 

All tutorials provide screenshots using both the dark and light themes. You can click on all images to see full-size versions. In cases where you are directed to click on a link or button, an orange cursor arrow is shown.

 

Embedding an image into content

Pasting images directly into content

Embedding online images using URLs

Editing an image in content

Uploading an image to the Gallery

Posting directly to a category

Posting to a new Album

Posting to an existing Album

Managing an Image in the Gallery

Managing an Album in the Gallery

 

[Brother Tyler]

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EMBEDDING AN IMAGE INTO CONTENT

 

The Warhammer 40,000 hobby, like the larger tabletop miniature wargaming hobby, is an extremely visual hobby. While discussion is a core element of the Bolter & Chainsword community, images enrich the discussion. Whether showing off our miniatures, sharing fantastic artwork, or providing useful charts, diagrams, and maps, images are an integral part of the engagement that occurs within the community.

 

There are two methods for embedding images into content:

Pasting images directly into content

Embedding online images using URLs

[Brother Tyler]

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PASTING IMAGES DIRECTLY INTO CONTENT

 

Pasting an image directly into content is the easiest method of posting an image, but it is also the least recommended.

 

To embed an image in this way, the image (not the image URL or file name – the actual image) must be copied to your clipboard. In the example below, I have opened an image of a Blood Angels Chapter badge that is stored on my computer.

 

 

Copy the image to your clipboard.

 

Now, place the Text Cursor where you want the image to appear in your B&C content. In the example below, I'm adding the image to a new topic in the discussion forum (the method is identical in other content features such as blog entries, file descriptions, etc.).

 

 

Then paste the image into your content.

 

 

The image will now appear in your content.

 

Note that the image will appear at full size unless it exceeds the dimensions allowed by the site settings, in which case it will be resized to fit (1,000 pixels wide by 750 pixels high). If the image is larger than 1,200 pixels wide by 1,200 pixels high, it will be resized to no bigger than those dimensions at full-size.

 

Elements of the formatting toolbar can be used to reformat images. These include alignment (left, center, and right) and embedding a link so that clicking on the image will take the user to the linked site/page.

 

In addition, images in content can be edited to adjust their appearance (see Editing an image in content below).

 

In addition, the image will show under UPLOADED IMAGES below, showing that the image has been pasted into the content and is temporarily stored in a folder rather than being shown from an online location. You can delete such files by clicking on the X that appears in the top right corner (useful if you decide not to include any of the images you uploaded while composing your content).

 

IMPORTANT!

 

When an image is pasted directly into content, the image is saved in a temporary folder. The system automatically empties this folder periodically (I forget if it is after 1 month or 1 year), meaning that any image that is embedded in this way will eventually disappear from the content, being replaced with the broken image icon and the text of the image title.

 

The only time this method is recommended is when posting images to either discussions that are of a temporary nature or when editing your About Me page. In general, discussions are intended to be either perpetual or long-term, with the only temporary discussions being those that are about news, rumors, and board announcements. Pasting images directly into content should never be done in the Articles, Blogs, Downloads, or Gallery features.

[Brother Tyler]

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EMBEDDING ONLINE IMAGES USING URLS

 

If an image is online and is stored at a secure site (https), it can be embedded in content at the B&C by entering the image’s full URL where you desire it to appear in the content.

 

The image used in the example below is the image of the face that appears in my signature.

 

 

This image can also be found in my albums at:

https://bolterandchainsword.com/gallery/image/238866-ttfacethumb/?context=new

 

 

Using either source, simply right-click on the image and copy the image address/link to your clipboard.

 

In the example below, I want the image to appear below the paragraph. The Text Cursor shows where the image will appear.

 

 

Simply paste the URL of the image and press either the spacebar or the enter key (I have pressed the spacebar).

 

 

The software will then convert the URL to the image (this may take some time).

 

 

Note that the image will appear at full size unless it exceeds the dimensions allowed by the site settings, in which case it will be resized to fit (1,000 pixels wide by 750 pixels high). If the image is larger than 1,200 pixels wide by 1,200 pixels high, it will be resized to no bigger than those dimensions at full-size.

 

Elements of the formatting toolbar can be used to reformat images. These include alignment (left, center, and right) and embedding a link so that clicking on the image will take the user to the linked site/page.

 

In addition, images in content can be edited to adjust their appearance (see Editing an image in content below).

[Brother Tyler]

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EDITING AN IMAGE IN CONTENT

 

Whether you embed the image by pasting it from your clipboard or  by entering the URL of an image on an https site, you can edit the image to adjust how it is presented to viewers/readers.

 

In the example below, I first entered the text, then I placed the Text Cursor at the beginning of the line of text.
 

 

I had already copied the URL of an image in one of my albums, so I simply pasted the URL into the post.

 

 

As you can see, the image and the text appear on the same line, so if text flows over multiple lines, there will be a separation between the text where the image was pasted and any lines above/below. This is where the ability to edit an image becomes very useful. Simply double-click on the image to open the Image dialog box:

 

 

The first thing to focus on is Alignment at the bottom of the box. The default alignment is None, which puts the image and text on the same line as shown above.

 

 

To make the text flow around the image, simply click either Left or Right, then click the Update button. In the example below, I've selected left alignment.

 

 

This improves the appearance of the post, making the text appear together without vertical separation.

 

You can also adjust the size of the image. If the Keep original aspect ratio box remains checked, when you adjust the width, the height will automatically be adjusted. If that box is unchecked, you can adjust either/both width and height. Depending on the outcome you desire, you may have to make several adjustments until the image appears the way you want. In this case, I've simply adjusted the width to 200 pixels.

 

 

After I click the Update button, the image will be shown at its new size.

 

 

You can continue to edit the image until you get the results you desire. In this case, I've switched the image's alignment to the right.

 

 

The two other elements of the image that you can edit in the Image dialog box are its Link URL and Image Title.

 

Assigning a Link URL is optional, and only necessary if it suits your purposes. If you don't assign a link URL to an image, when a member clicks on the image, the site will show the image at its full size. This is especially useful when the image's dimensions are reduced, such as in these tutorials. If you assign a link URL to an image, when a member clicks on the image, they will be taken to the target URL. In the example below, I've assigned the URL of my Indomitus club (a group project in which we are developing expanded rules for the Space Hulk game).

 

Assigning an Image Title is not mandatory, but it is highly recommended. Some members of the community "view" the site using screen readers. When the screen reader reaches an image, it either tells the member that an image appears (without describing it) or it reads the Image Title that has been assigned to the image. This might be a caption or some other description that helps such members to understand the image. In the example below, I've entered a description of the model shown in the image.

 

Once you have entered the information you desire in the Link URL and/or Image Title, click the Update button.

 

[Brother Tyler]

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UPLOADING AN IMAGE TO THE GALLERY

 

You can upload an image into the Gallery through two methods. The first, shown here, is via the Gallery feature. The second, shown below, is via your albums.

 

Click the GALLERY button at the top of the screen.

 

 

This will take you to the site’s Gallery feature.

 

Click the Add Images button.

 

 

The Choose Category dialog box will open.

 

 

Click the dropdown arrow to see the menu of categories and find the best category for your image(s). Some of the options have dropdown arrows, indicating that they have sub-categories. If you click on the text (e.g., "Adeptus Astartes/Legiones Astartes"), you will assign that category. If you want to choose from one of the sub-categories, be sure to click on the dropdown arrow to see and select from those sub-categories.

 

 

In this case, I’ve chosen the Blood Angels & Successors category (under Imperium > Adeptus Astartes/Legiones Astartes).

 

The system will then search through the albums that belong to you, with the appearance of the next dialog box depending upon the categories in which your existing albums are located.

 

 

Click the appropriate link on the Choose Album dialog box to complete the process of uploading your image(s) to the Gallery:

• You will always have the option to Continue without using an album.
• You will always have the option to Create a new album.
• If you already have any albums in the category that you selected, you will also have the option to Use an existing album. If you don't have any albums in the category that you selected, this option will be greyed out.

[Brother Tyler]

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POSTING DIRECTLY TO A CATEGORY

 

If you select Continue without using an album...

 

 

...you'll be taken directly to the Add Images screen. Immediately beneath Add Images in the upper left you will see 'Uploading to category "[the category you selected]".'

 

 

Refer to the Add Images section of this tutorial, then return to this section.

 

Once you have submitted all images, you will see the category main page, showing the images you added at the bottom of the page. The image(s) may also show up in the sidebar on the right.

 

[Brother Tyler]

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POSTING TO A NEW ALBUM

 

If you select Create new album...

 

 

...the Create Album box will display. Enter the name you desire for the album. You may additionally enter a description, though this is optional.

 

Select the Ownership, Privacy, and Album Features that you want for the album. Simply click the name/dropdown arrow for each of these to choose the settings. When selecting the default sort order for images in the album, you have several options.

 

 

In determining album ownership, you can set the ownership to you (default) or you identify another member of the community as the owner.

 

 

In determining the privacy of the album, you can determine that:

• Everyone can see this album
• Only the owner can see this album
• You want to choose who can see this album

The default is that everyone can see this album. When this is set, any member of the community can view the album and the images within, with the ability to review and comment on the album and images. This saves you from having to post the images elsewhere on the site, allowing discussion about your images to take place within the Gallery.

 

There may be times when you want to limit who can see an album, however. For example, you may desire to use the album as a location for storing images that will be embedded elsewhere, such as in articles, blog entries, etc. Alternately, you may not want the image to be visible to the entire community, limiting visibility to specific members that you select. Often, special projects (in the Clubs feature) want to keep images somewhat secret - perhaps a play-by-post RPG group is using images in their session/campaign and certain images aren't to be revealed until a certain time. Or perhaps a group is working on a special project in secret, with the intent to reveal the finished product once all work is done.

 

IMPORTANT

 

Staff members can see all albums/images, regardless of your album settings (so privacy settings aren't a viable method of posting inappropriate image content).

 

Determine the Privacy and Submissions settings that are appropriate for your album:

 

 

The Album Features settings allow you to determine the order in which images in the album are sorted, as well as whether or not to allow comments on the images and the album.

 

While most members think of the Forum feature when considering discussions within the community, discussions actually take place within all of the features. By allowing comments on images and/or the album, discussion can take place within the Gallery feature (as well as in albums in clubs), saving members from having to create discussion topics in the Forum feature. Alternately, you may choose to not allow comments because you envision discussion on the images taking place elsewhere, such as in the Forum or Blog features.

 

 

When determining the default sort order, you may choose from:

• Recently Updated
• Last Reply
• Caption
• Highest Rated
• Start Date
• Most Commented
• Most Reviewed
• Most Viewed

This allows you to tailor the organization of the images in the album based on how you intend the album to be used.

 

 

You may also include images in the album description. In the example below, I have used an image of a model from the Space Marine Heroes line.

 

 

 

 

Once you have completed the creation of the album, you will be taken to the Add Images screen. Immediately beneath Add Images in the upper left you will see 'Uploading to album "[the name of the album]".'

 

 

Refer to the Add Images section of this tutorial, then return to this section.

 

Once you have submitted all images, you will see the album main page, showing the images you added. The image(s) may also show up in the sidebar on the right.

 

[Brother Tyler]

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POSTING TO AN EXISTING ALBUM

 

If you select Use an existing album...

 

 

...the system will find all of the albums that you own in the selected category and the Choose Existing Album screen will appear, showing all those albums.

 

 

Select the album you desire to upload the images into and click the Use Selected Album button:

 

 

Once you have completed the creation of the album, you will be taken to the Add Images screen. Immediately beneath Add Images in the upper left you will see 'Uploading to album "[the name of the album]".'

 

 

Refer to the Add Images section of this tutorial, then return to this section.

 

Once you have submitted all images, you will see the album main page, showing the images you added. The image(s) may also show up in the sidebar on the right.

 

[Brother Tyler]

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ADDING AN IMAGE

 

You will see the Add Images screen. At the top left you will see Add Images. The text below that will depend upon the option you chose:

• If you chose to upload your image(s) directly to the category, you will see 'Uploading to category "[the category you selected]"' below that.
• If you chose to upload your image(s) into either a new or an existing album, you will see 'Uploading to album "[the name of the album]"' below that.

The examples below show that you are uploading the image(s) into an album, but the process is identical when uploading directly into a category.

 

 

Click the Add Images area with the large plus sign (+) and add the image(s). You will see the image(s) that you select display in that area.

 

 

You may set the copyright information that will apply to all of the images. This is optional, but recommended, especially when using images that have a copyright owner other than you or the Bolter & Chainsword website.

 

 

You may also set credit for all of the images. This is to indicate the entity(ies) responsible for the creation of the image.

 

 

You may identify the tag(s) that will apply to all of the images.

 

 

You may choose to be notified of comments on the image(s).

 

 

Once you have selected all of the images that you wish to upload and set the other information, click the Submit all images button at the bottom right.

 

 

The system will then show that your images are being stored. Depending on the size/number of images that you upload, this may take awhile.

 

 

Once the system has uploaded all of the images, you will then be taken to the image location. Select the option below based on the location that you originally selected:

• Without using an album (directly to the category)
• New album
• Existing album

[Brother Tyler]

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MANAGING AN IMAGE IN THE GALLERY

 

First, select the image that you want to manage.

 

 

In the example image, you can see how the tags, credit, and copyright information were set when the image was first uploaded with the other images (see the Adding an Image tutorial).

 

If you are the owner of the album, you’ll see the Manage Image button in the lower left. If someone else owns the album, you’ll see the Report Image button, instead. Click on the Manage Image button.

 

 

If you want to report the image, you can either click the Report Image button or select "Report Image" from the Manage Image options. You might report an image because you think it violates the community rules (probably someone else's image ) or if you need help from staff members with the image. Refer to the tutorial on Reporting Content.

 

 

You can edit the details of the image by clicking the "Edit Details" option.

 

 

You’ll see the Edit Gallery Image page.

 

 

When an image is first uploaded, the image caption is the file name. You can edit the caption to a name of your choosing. The image caption is what screen readers will read unless you enter an image title when embedding the image into content. You can also edit the tags.

 

 

In the example above, you can see that I have removed the “.jpg” portion of the image caption and have added the “Space Marine Heroes Series 2” tag.

You can also edit the item prefix. A topic prefix appears as a tag before the image caption and is selected from the tags that are assigned to the image. If you want the image to have an item prefix, first click the Item Prefix button.

 

 

Next, select the desired tag.

 

 

In the example below, you can see that the caption, tags, and item prefix have been edited.

 

 

You can also edit the description as well as the credit and copyright information that may have been entered when the image was first uploaded.

 

The description is a useful location for the URL of any content into which you embed the image, such as discussions, blog entries, articles, etc. The reason for this is explained below in the step about uploading a new image.

 

 

In the example above, you can see that I’ve added information about the various releases of the model in the description. In addition, since the model was released in a Space Marine Heroes game and as a made to order option (in addition to the Space Marine Heroes Series 2 release), I have edited the credit to “Games Workshop Limited.” I have left the copyright information as first entered when the image was uploaded.

 

You also have the option to upload a new image, replacing the original image. You can do this by either dragging the file from your computer into the image space at the bottom or by clicking the Choose Single File… button and following the prompts.

 

 

Note: If you upload a new image, the image URL will change. This will create broken image links in any locations where you have embedded the image such as in discussions, blog entries, articles, etc. If you include the URL of any content into which you embed the image in the image description, you’ll have an easier time updating the link in case you upload a new image.

 

Once you have completed editing the image details, click the Save Image button.

 

 

You’ll return to the image page, where you can see that the details you edited have been updated.

 

 

In the example above, you can see that the image caption has changed from “Vastus Feurran.jpg” to “Vastus Fuerran,” the “Terminator” tag now displays as the item prefix, the “Space Marine Heroes Series 2” tag has been added, the description has been added, and the credit has been updated from “Space Marine Heroes Series 2” to “Games Workshop Limited.”

 

Another option you have is to delete your image. Simply click the Manage Image button and then select “Delete” and follow the prompts.

 

 

If you mouseover the image area, you’ll see the Image Tools button appear in the lower right corner of that area.

 

 

This provides you with several options for the image as it appears in the gallery. Click the Image Tools button to see the menu of options.

 

 

One option is to add one or more notes to the image. Notes allow you to highlight certain areas of the image and provide notes for viewers. Notes only appear in the Gallery, however, and will not appear in any other location in which the image is embedded (e.g., Articles, Blogs, Forums, etc.).

 

To add notes,  select “Add note” from the Image Tools options.

 

 

You’ll see a dotted square appear in the image with a note editing box.

 

 

Move the dotted square to the section of the image that you want the note to apply to. You can re-size/shape the box by dragging the handle in the lower right corner. Then enter the note. Click the Save button once you are done.

 

 

The area with the note now has a solid square when you mouseover the image.

 

 

If you mouseover the note square, the note will appear.

 

 

You can include multiple notes on the same image.

 

 

To delete a note, simply click on the area and then click on the X that appears at the top right corner of the note square.

 

 

Another option is to rotate your image. It isn’t uncommon for an image to appear right side up on your computers only to appear sideways or upside down when uploaded to the gallery. In such an instance, simply click the “Rotate” option from the Image Tools menu and follow the prompts.

 

You can also set any image to be the cover photo of the album in which it is located and/or as your profile photo (a.k.a., your avatar).

 

 

You can also Download any image in any member’s albums. Simply click the “Download” option from the Image Tools menu and follow the prompts.

[Brother Tyler]

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MANAGING AN ALBUM IN THE GALLERY

 

Note that in this tutorial, the screenshots have greyed out the sidebar and omitted the bottom section because the behaviors of the various blocks on the Album page work differently than on other pages, with certain elements scrolling vertically while others remain stable. This would create confusing images when screenshots are stitched together.

 

To manage one of your albums, open the Album page:

 

 

You have options to determine how the images display on the Album page.

 

The default option is for images to show as thumbnails.

 

 

Images can also be shown as large previews.

 

 

Since the images in this album are so large (tall), the screenshot only shows the first image so that you don't have to scroll. You can imagine how all of the images in the album will display using this method. The large previews method is not recommended unless the images are at least 4x wider than they are tall.

 

Images can also be shown in a list.

 

 

Finally, you may choose a method for sorting the images. This will temporarily overwrite the Default sort order (see the section on editing the album, below).

 

 

The options are:

• Recently updated
• Last Reply
• Caption
• Start Date
• Most Commented
• Most Viewed

If you are the owner of the album, you’ll see the Manage album button in the lower left. If someone else owns the album, you’ll see the Report album button, instead. Click the Manage album button.

 

 

If you want to report the album, you can either click the Report album button or select “Report album” from the Manage album menu. You might report an album because you think it violates the community rules (probably someone else’s album ) or if you need help from staff members with the album. Refer to the tutorial on Reporting Content.

 

 

Click the “Edit Album” option from the Manage album menu.

 

 

You’ll be taken to the Edit Album page. This will look familiar from when you first created the album, but it includes one new option.

 

 

The album Name, Description, Privacy, Submissions, Default sort order, Allow comments on images?, and Allow comments on this album? settings can be edited here and function as described in the section on Posting to a New Album.

 

You can also change the Category in which the album is located, as described in the section on Uploading an Image to the Gallery.

 

The new option is whether or not to Allow ratings. If you enable this option, other members of the community can submit reviews of your album, rating your album on a 5-star scale.

 

In the example below, I have opted to update the Name, Description, and Category to reflect the fact that these models were also released as general use Adeptus Astartes.

 

 

Once you have updated your album settings, click the Save button.

 

 

The system will then edit the album and you will be taken back to the album screen, showing the updates.

 

 

Click the “Delete Album” option from the Manage album menu and follow the prompts.