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Posting Photos on CRPF

Started by DavePEI, February 20, 2013, 05:46:25 AM

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SUnset2

It's always a good idea to clear out the metadata before posting to a web site.  It could contain identifying information.  But removing the metadata doesn't usually help getting the photo posted on this site.  If I can't get the JPEG to post, I convert the photo to PNG format.  That always ends up working for me.

TelePlay

Quote from: SUnset2 on October 30, 2016, 08:19:30 PM
It's always a good idea to clear out the metadata before posting to a web site.  It could contain identifying information.  But removing the metadata doesn't usually help getting the photo posted on this site.  If I can't get the JPEG to post, I convert the photo to PNG format.  That always ends up working for me.

Well, that makes sense and goes along with unbeldi said. What raises the flag can be in the meta data or a string of digital characters within the image itself. A large image has a lot of code. Resizing the image either up or down "juggles" the image code and hopefully the voilating string is broken up. It may take more than one resizing to do that. Now, if the offending code is in the meta or EXIF data, resizing won't touch that and the only way to get rid of that is run the image through something that strips out the meta data and/or EXIF code.

I've created images in an old software imaging program I have that has nothing to do with a smart phone or any Adobe product or Microsoft product and once in a while, they won't load, resizing them once or twice allowed me to load them. Then, I've had members send me images via email they could not post and by opening the image in my old software and doing nothing more than saving it in a new file name allowed me to upload the image - meta and EXIF data stripped out so the problem was in the image header. Both of those experiences prove unbeldi's contentions.

Lastly, sometimes the cause is truly unknown in that an offending image one night will load just fine the next night with nothing done to it except being one day older. I've had that happen to me a couple of time when working with offending images.

One thing for sure, several work arounds are out there to get an image into a post.

TelePlay

#47
Had time to look at jpg vs png images meta data, with the PNG option being a work around.

The attached 4 pdf files are printouts of EXIF data from two different images (one of a phone booth recently posted on the forum taken with a Microsoft Lumia and a water scene taken with an Apple iPhone SE) both saved as a JPG file and then saved as a PNG file.

The reported ease of loading images in PNG format when JPG loading fails may be the result of the PNG file stripping away much of the meta data (NOTE: neither of these images were take with "Location Services" turned on for if it was, the amount of meta data in the JPG images would be even larger).

While the "random string within the image data" theory of larger images sizes being more open to setting off the flag may not be affected by saving an image as a PNG file, it does show that removal of meta data by saving an offending image as a PNG for uploading can help post troublesome images to the forum, to get around the "security flag" when it appears for any one image.

andy1702

I've just tried converting the troublesome images to PNG and they have uploaded ok. Another is attached below as a test.

My next question is this... How do we put images within a post rather than attaching them to the end? Sometimes it's useful to have some text, then an image, then some more text, then another image etc? On other forums I've used when the images are uploaded as attachments a link then appears for each one which allows you to place it within the post. That doesn't seem to happen here though. Here it seems to just attach everything at the end.

Andy.
Call me on C*net 0246 81 290 from the UK
or (+44) 246 81 290 from the rest of the world.

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unbeldi

#49
Quote from: andy1702 on November 01, 2016, 10:03:03 AM
I've just tried converting the troublesome images to PNG and they have uploaded ok. Another is attached below as a test.

My next question is this... How do we put images within a post rather than attaching them to the end? Sometimes it's useful to have some text, then an image, then some more text, then another image etc? On other forums I've used when the images are uploaded as attachments a link then appears for each one which allows you to place it within the post. That doesn't seem to happen here though. Here it seems to just attach everything at the end.

Andy.



Yes, this would indeed be a highly desirable feature.  It requires installing additional modules to the forum software.
I have used a work around using the table feature, but the images still have to be attached to a post first. Once on the forum, they can be referenced by URL and incorporated into a table layout, as I have done here with your photo.  Not ideal, but it works.


TelePlay

#50
unbeldi posted while I was composing the following. We agree, we say the same thing, I included examples.

---------------------------------------

That can be done using the html code [i mg] image url [/i mg], without the spaces between the "i" and "m" but while this can be done to put images in the "text" or body of the post, it is problematic in that it is best if the image already is posted on the forum, such as this,



and not linked to an external source, such as this,



which was taken from this eBay current auction

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-retro-Iskra-ATA-62-rotary-telephone-grey-Yugoslavia-/152301547631

which will end and shortly after the url will be put into an inactive area by eBay and then reused someday for another phone.

When anything is done to change the url of the external image, including deleting a Photobucket or similar such photo storing site, or removing the photo from the collection or simply moving it to another area of the collection, the image will no longer appear in the forum topic, only this will be seen,



and if photos from an external site were used to help describe the context of the post, the context is lost forever, as in this topic

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=5237.msg64572#msg64572

which would have been a very good example of a 302 dial rebuild, if the pictures were still there.

I created this topic some time ago to explain how why it is best to post images directly to the forum

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=11610.0

I guess one work around is to post the images, maximum allowed are 6 per reply, and then go back into the post in the "modify" mode and copy the forum url of a photo and paste it into the context at the wanted place. The image would then appear twice in a reply but would be on the forum forever. A little extra work but that is the "approved" was of doing it, or the way that is best for the posterity of the forum.

===============

The pdf of the test phone is attached, showing limited meta data.


TelePlay

After receiving the offending jpg photos by way of email, posted here as uploaded to the 8100circuit topic,





I opened them in my old image editing software and did nothing more than save them in a new file, same file name with the word "stripped" attache to the file name. Did not resize them or edit them in any other way other than running them through the software.

After doing that, both uploaded to the forum here on first try indicating that the flag issue was in the meta data. To further prove that, I went into this post and then tried to add, to upload the original jpg images sent to me by regular email - both images gave me the security check error.

So, using my old software or saving an offending image as a PNG are two work arounds (except for the random string in the image code theory) to meta data caused loading issues.

AE_Collector

#52
I want to point out in case it wasn't obvious that while the security checks could easily be deleted, it isn't a function that the owner (Dennis) or moderators of this site (CRPF) have any control over but rather the way the forum software from Simple Machines works.

None of us are how do I say...very good at any of this computer/internet stuff and struggle to keep the software reasonably up to date. However we do have members here who are very knowledgable on more than just phones, some are knowledgable on forum software etc. If we knew where to start we could maybe work with Simple Machines for some changes.

I think there are newer software releases to what we are currently on, I wonder if any of those releases have addressed the picture security Issues? I know the last update done was enough problems for one life time for Dennis but it was a major update going from version 1.x to version 2.x software. Maybe the next update within 2.x will be easier?

Terry

TelePlay

The current version is 2.0.12 released Sept 27th, 2016.

This is what SMF said about the upgrade form 2.0.11 to 2.0.12

"Simple Machines Forum has released a new patch to the 2.0.x line, bringing our latest release version to 2.0.12.

This patch is a security and maintenance release, which focuses on fixing a couple of minor bugs, while adding some enhancements and a patch to a security vulnerability reported in the software. Therefore, it is important that you install this patch in a timely manner."


Dennis will have to talk to his software support guy about this and upgrading. But, don't know if the upgrade will fix the "bug" we are seeing when loading certain JPG images.

AE_Collector

OH, I am surprised to see that we are currently on 2.11. I thought we were back at 2.03 or so and that updates don't happen automatically. Maybe Dennis and his software guy did the update to 2.11 fairly recently.

Terry

unbeldi

Quote from: AE_Collector on November 01, 2016, 06:20:13 PM
OH, I am surprised to see that we are currently on 2.11. I thought we were back at 2.03 or so and that updates don't happen automatically. Maybe Dennis and his software guy did the update to 2.11 fairly recently.

Terry

I think it has been this way for quite a while, because I remember comparing it with software I have installed, and mine was one version older, which it still is.

TelePlay

Quote from: andy1702 on November 01, 2016, 10:03:03 AM
My next question is this... How do we put images within a post rather than attaching them to the end? Sometimes it's useful to have some text, then an image, then some more text, then another image etc? On other forums I've used when the images are uploaded as attachments a link then appears for each one which allows you to place it within the post. That doesn't seem to happen here though. Here it seems to just attach everything at the end.

Here's another way of doing it. Put a descriptive file name on images to be uploaded and them reference those image files names in the text of the post or reply - a little bit of work to read and look below and go back to reading but it's a work around.

http://www.classicrotaryphones.com/forum/index.php?topic=4492.0