Picture Sizes, How they impact printing a thread Options

[ThinAir]

I don't know about the rest of you, but I often want to print a thread so that I can have it out by my car or just to file away. I find it very frustrating to pick something up from my printer only to find that the right side has been cut off and I can't make sense of it.

This morning I figured out that this is not just the laser printers work, but that the size of pictures in a thread is probably the primary cause for this problem. It turns out that although browsers can wrap the text when printing to compensate for the size of the paper, they don't seem to be able to resize the pictures to fit. I know that some printers have a "reduce to paper size" option, but my printer doesn't.

An example of this is this thread: http://www.914world.com/bbs2/index.php?act...t=ST&f=2&t=4940 where the pictures at the beginning are 825 pixels wide. When I printed it, the first line ends with "soldering is rat" because the text wraps at the width of the pictures.

My solution for this one was to save the thread as an html page, then I used my web page editor to resize the display of the first picture to 700 pixels wide. When I printed this time the pictures were narrow enough that they did not go past the right side of my page. The text wrapped at the same point where the right side of the picture is and I'm a happy camper.

I don't know that 700 pixels is some sort of magic width. I had also reduced my margins from .75" to .5" and that has an impact as well. What I'm sure of is that slightly smaller images in the threads would probably help for this problem as well as reducing bandwidth requirements.

[Air_Cooled_Nut]

Try adjusting your screen resolution? That thread fits on my screen and prints out just fine.
My screen resolution is 1280x960x32

[ThinAir]

Screen resolution has no effect on printing. When you print from your browser there is a whole different set of stuff that comes into play. That's why whenever you print it doesn't look exactly like it does on your screen.

[Brad Roberts]

Ernie.. those pics are NOT hosted on our servers. If somebody had uploaded that pic to our server.. you could have printed it fine (which is why we lock down the size.) When you see a pic that is HUGE on your screen... its not actually uploaded to our servers... its being "broadcast" from another web server.


Here is the link to the pics....


http://www.icbm.org/erkson/temp/914-fi-relay-board.jpg


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[Brad Roberts]

To figure out whether a pic is being "broadcast" from another server...

Right click on the pic you want... and go to properties...



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[Brad Roberts]

Then look at the pics URL in the properties page... if it doesnt say www.914world.com/blah/blah///blah.jpg... then your going to have trouble printing it.


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[ThinAir]

Interesting Brad. It never occurred to me that you could put pictures into a thread without putting them onto your server. Although I knew that big pictures were something that I didn't want to post, I did not realize that the server had a size limitation enforced. I think the lessons learned are still valuable, but it's nice to know just where the problem resides!

[Air_Cooled_Nut]

Ah, I see what's going on. Now I understand why there's only one image per post (and now why everyone's post count is so high), y'all attach the image to the posting. Hrm...well, where I come from that would take up unnecessary space on the web server (and space is money) but since resizing images just for this forum is unrealistic and the BBS does it automatically then I can comply (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) It's not my space that's being wasted.

I'll edit the image in the thread as an attachment.

[Air_Cooled_Nut]

Humm...a Print Preview still shows the image truncated...¿?

[Brad Roberts]

I have over 5 k pics I have shot over the years on this computer... it takes up 1 gig of space. For over 1000 members posting pics .. it hasnt even reached a gig on this server... and we have a 80 gig HD. Space is REAL cheap these days when you own the actual server.


I specifically shoot in 640x480 so I dont have to resize for ALL the forums out there (havent seen a forum yet that lets you upload any size pic into their server)

Your pics are fine... just think about who might try and print them off. I have people walk up to me all the time with technical shots they have printed off from our site or my web site... its cool knowing that people actually benefit from this site.


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[Brad Roberts]

The print preview doesnt work. It removes it from the server.

Upload it and go... if its not correct... edit your post.


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[Brad Roberts]

The other issue with "linking" pics... the actual post will be slow to load the pics if something is wrong with your hosting ISP. We have had people try and try to use their Rennlist web space to "broadcast" pics from image URL's... and the Rennlist connnection to the West coast is not the greatest... so you get blank threads like Andy was talking about... so.. its best to put them on our server. Also.. if you switch ISP's for any reason (that never happens).. your link to the pics goes bad and the thread becomes worthless without the pics... our link will never break unless we lose the whole box in a fire.... its all backed up in a database.

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[Air_Cooled_Nut]

I can't afford a digital camera right now so I'm simply scanning 35mm photos (which explains the poor image quality). Are there any tags that can be used to size an image within a reply, like how tags are used to display images or different text?

[Air_Cooled_Nut]

The other issue with "linking" pics... the actual post will be slow to load the pics if something is wrong with your hosting ISP. We have had people try and try to use their Rennlist web space to "broadcast" pics from image URL's... and the Rennlist connnection to the West coast is not the greatest... so you get blank threads like Andy was talking about... so.. its best to put them on our server.

I can understand that!

Also.. if you switch ISP's for any reason (that never happens).. your link to the pics goes bad and the thread becomes worthless without the pics... our link will never break unless we lose the whole box in a fire.... its all backed up in a database.

Actually, I won't switch my ISP because I own part of the web server and it is backed up. I hate it when people have information and months/years down the line you go back to get that info and the site is gone (IMG:style_emoticons/default/headbang.gif) I have vowed that I won't be that kind of person. Heck, I've had the SAME email address since 1996! Very few people can say that (IMG:style_emoticons/default/beer.gif)

How long is information stored on this server before it's purged?

[Brad Roberts]

Ahhh.. I see said the blind man.

We searched and searched for a web based auto image resize software before going live with this BBS. We knew people would have a hard time with the images...so we offer free image manipulation software like "Irfanview". Actually.. you tell your scanner what size you want. Preview the pic on your scanner and see what size it is. Then tell it to scan the pic using some variation of 640x480... your pics would have been 480x640. You just have to play with the sizes until you get a pic that fits into our locked down format. Once you get the size down... doing it to all your pics will become very easy and fast for you. I know all the key stroke commands for Pain Shop Pro.. I can resize a image for this site in about 2 minutes... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/laugh.gif)



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[Brad Roberts]

I dont recall about the purging... I think its set for 6 months or so.

I have had the same email address since 1999... it just doesnt work all the time... (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif)


Just keep posting... the small pain it takes to shrink them for this BBS is more than paid for in other information you can learn from the 914club. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/clap56.gif)



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[ThinAir]

Well I'm feeling pretty embarrased right now (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wub.gif) . Whenever I printed I failed to notice the "print this topic" button that was right there in front of me in clear view. Using this shows a preview with the images resized and it prints just fine.

The one curious thing about using "print this topic" is that the only pictures included from the original thread are the first ones which are not attachments. All the attachment pictures are stripped out. Is this the way it is supposed to work? How would one put a picture into a topic so that it was stored on the group server and also shows up when printing the topic this way?

[Brad Roberts]

Ernie.. I would have to look at our settings. give me a minute.


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[Brad Roberts]

I dont see a spot in the admin area that allows me to control what/how we print from the BBS. I *thought* I read something about it when we where testing back in Dec... but I have slept since then. If I run across something about the process... I'll post it.


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[ThinAir]

... but I have slept since then

You SLEEP!?!? Shame on you... where's your sense of commitment? (IMG:style_emoticons/default/wink.gif) Next we'll find out that you have a full time job running a business too!