posted
It seems many of you are having difficulty with posting your pictures to some of the free servers on the internet.
One option that you may not be aware of is to use your own personal webspace. Most ISP's provide their clients with up to 10mb of webspace with their internet service. This space is usually used by individuals or families to create their own personal webpage. If you're not up to designing your own webpage, you can at least use this space to post pics on the BB. I even use the same process for posting proposed layouts for customers to view from their own computer rather than trying to e-mail a large graphic file.
I'm going to try to walk you through the steps of getting set up to do this. I'm not the best teacher, so if something doesn't make sense to you, please let me know!
First, you must find out if you have this option available to you. Contact your ISP or take a look at any documents you might have recieved when you signed up for your service. Before you call your ISP, read the rest of this post as there a couple other things you'll need to get from them.
Once you know you have this webspace available to you, you're ready to get set up. You will need to download an FTP program. This is the program that transfers the file you wish to upload and places it onto your ISP's server. I have always used WS_FTP LE, so, this is the one I will give instructions for. I just read the description of it. It says it is free if you meet some certain requirements. One is you must be a non-commercial home user. So I guess that means you'll have to do your FTPing at home. You can download it here. http://www.download.com/3120-20_4-0.html?qt=WS_FTP+LE&tg=dl-20&search=Go%21
Download the program and install to your computer.
Once you have the program installed, open it up. There are only a couple setting you will need to make before you start uploading.
When you open the program, a window opens up titled Session Properties
I didn't change anything in the first space (Profile Name) The next is Host Name/Address. This is the address you need to get from your ISP Second and third are your User ID and Password. (These are what you use to connect to the internet.)
That's it! Make sure you are connected to the internet at this point.
Click OK to continue to the main screen. When you click OK, the program should automatically open a connection to your server. If it doesn't, try clicking Connect in the bottom left corner. If the Host Name/Address and your User ID and Password are correct you will be connected and will now be able to upload files. If your connection failed, you'll need to double check your info.
The screen you are looking at represents two computers. On the left is your computer and on the right is you ISP's.
On the far right hand side select MkDir (Make Directory) For posting pics to the BB, I've set up a directory named BB. You can name this anything you'd like, but if you are going to use it for other things, such as customer layouts, creating separate folders helps keep thing organized. Now, double click on your new folder to open the directory.
On the left side of the screen is your computer. You can navigate this just as you would in windows explorer. I'd suggest creating a folder somewhere on your computer that would be a duplicate of the "BB" folder you just created. That way, when you save a drawing or set up a photo for posting, you can place it into this folder. Place everything you want to post here and you will always be able to find it easily.
To upload a file, simply select it from your computer, make sure Auto is checked and click the -> arrow. This will copy the file from your computer to your webspace. Done!
The final thing you need to do is to find out what the actual URL is for the file you just uploaded. As far as I know it will usually go like this- www.yourisp.com/yourusername/youruploadfolder/filename A real life example would be http://www.sympatico.ca/twhynott/BB/file.jpg (this link won't work as no such file exists) You might need to check again with your ISP to determine what the address would be.
This is the address you will use to show off all your great photos! You can either just post a link to that photo or you can insert directly into you post using IMG tags. To do this type [img]copyaddresshere and finish with [/img] Make sure you leave no spaces.
I sure hope this has made some sense and that some of you will be able to use it! I know it might seem a little daunting at first, but once you've got it set up, it's just a matter of a couple clicks to upload a picture.
posted
Thanks Terry,good post... I also notice a few people owning their own web pages and still use these picture hosting services. Its simple to just FTP the photo to a folder you can easily create at your domain. I pay only about 15 bucks a month for about 50 meg of domain space with Earthlink. They are a very fast server and are hardly ever down. I have two large pages there, plus a ton of reference photos. I can also FTP files to large for whimpy ISP's to hold in their mailbags for customers, which can be downloaded directly from the NET.
-------------------- "Don't change horses in midstream, unless you spot one with longer legs" bronzeo oti Jack Davis 1410 Main St Joplin, MO 64801 www.imagemakerart.com jack@imagemakerart.com Posts: 1549 | From: Joplin, MO | Registered: Mar 2000
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posted
Needing to "Jump" into the relm of electronic file transferring. I am going to (try) this out!! Thanks Terry for SHARING this info in such terms that even I might be able to accomplish.
-------------------- PKing is Pat King The Professor of SIGNOLOGY Posts: 3113 | From: Pompano Beach, FL. USA | Registered: Nov 1998
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posted
Terry...I use WS_FTP also. Your explanation was short, sweet and to the point! I am sure it will help lots of folks get their pictures online!
-------------------- Dave Grundy retired in Chelem,Yucatan,Mexico/Hensall,Ontario,Canada 1-519-262-3651 Canada 011-52-1-999-102-2923 Mexico cell 1-226-785-8957 Canada/Mexico home
Right in the centre of the screen, there are two arrows one to the left and one to the right. Click the bottom one (pointing to the right). You might even be able to drag your file over to the folder, but I'm not sure.
Even after saying all this, if anyone is still uneasy about it, please feel free to e-mail me any pics you'd ever like to post and I'd be more than happy to post them for you. Don't be shy!
posted
Yep, if any plan on getting them a website... a couple of pages for maybe a portfolio to send someone to for your address or what have you... a website is a relatively low cost way to branch out. All you need is a domain name (www.???.com)and a host. There are a lot of hosts these days. I use ipowerweb, no real reason aside from they offer all bells and whistles you need for around $7 a month... but what really sold me was the fact they provide you with 100meg of space.. that is pretty nice. They can set you up the domain name as well...
It is something to think about. For storage, it is nice to have a place to put up photos for distant relatives to look at anytime they want, post images for clients, bb picts, and a few other things...
But a webpage has a lot to offer. I have a small portfolio on mine (it actually got me the job I have now). Businesses who have one may find a few new clients there. Current clients could have access to updated designs and information on their jobs. etc....
Sorry... straying a bit... thanks for the step-by-step...
Above all, the web is not as tough as you think... My biggest problem is remembering my username and password.... so i have them written on everything so i dont have to look far when i need them.
be well. =)
-------------------- --If you don't care where you are, you ain't lost.
Tony Potter Blind Mice and Company 3001 Bever Ave. SE Cedar Rapids, IA 52403 (319) 573-9001 www.blindmiceandcompany.com tonypotter@yahoo.com Posts: 209 | From: Cedar Rapids, IA | Registered: Nov 1999
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