Picture/Image Attachment Settings

[knightmb]

I've gotten a lot messages over the years about members asking for ways to make it easier for those on a lower speed connection to view topics with a lot of picture attachments.

So to be fair, before changing anything; I'm putting up another week long vote about it.

Here are how the current settings are.

Any images over 256kB in size are automatically made into a thumbnail link (400 pixel wide thumbnail of the original picture that you must click on to get the full picture)

Any image wider than 1024 pixels or taller than 5000 pixels gets turned into a link.

What has been suggested is to remove the dimension limitation and just use the file size limitation, but set the size limitation lower so that those on dial-up will have an easier time with topics that contain a lot of picture attachments. All of that will be in the polls.

Feedback welcome.

 

[pwbset]

I'm on a 15mbit connection and I still groan sometimes, but I like the wider/larger images. Doesn't phpBB have an option to limit posts per page to less than 15? That would help a lot I think as it's much more digestable.. at the expense of longer page threads etc. And/or limiting to a max of say 3-5 photo attachments per post... like private messages.

 

[Zoot Katz]

My kerosene powered modem is still awaiting upgrade to a one-inch wick.

In my" User Control Panel" under "Board Preferences", "Edit display options", I've selected to browse:
Display images within posts:
No
Display Flash animations:
No
Display smilies as images
No
Display signatures:
Yes
Display avatars:
Yes
Enable word censoring:
No

I was temporarily baffled by the "mr. green" I kept seeing at the end of some posts thinking it might be local jargon. . . . duh.
Figuring that through the software, I have control over how the board displays and control over how my Opera browser displays the board, do whatever the bandwidth bullies demand and you can afford.
If I gotta see a pic, and I've download and saved many an attachment or linked image, I click. YouTube links are mostly out of the question though.

I keep my uploaded attachments small by default.

My bookmark for the site is the New Posts view.

 

[Link]

Decrease to 64kb (most ~300x400 .jpgs are around that, so...yeah...), and shrink dimensional limits (because having the page stretched or the image cropped is annoying).

 

[Mr. Mik]

I often read ES on a "Pocketsurfer".

The images are of course a problem under those circumstances, but they are an asset at most other times.

Another equally annoying problem is that the contrast is insufficient to comfortably read ES on a Pocketsurfer. I do not know if this is due to the device and if other devices work better, but ES is by far the most difficult to read site which I frequent on it! A change to the background color might help against that. I always have to set the brightness to maximum and the contrast to maximum in order to be just able to read ES at all!

As for image size, I would like a staggered system: If you are browsing on a clumsy, small wireless device you just view the default: Very small thumbnails or text links for photos, minimum download time and screen real estate use.

If you want to see some more detail, click on the thumbnail or link. If it turns out to be worth a closer look still, click again to get the full size and resolution that was supplied by the poster.

 

[TylerDurden]

As traffic increases, this issue will persist. Reducing req'd bandwidth and page loadtime will enable more participation.

I suggest dimensional limit to 900px wide, kb limit @ 128... big enuf for detail, small enuf to keep the pages aligned and help the slower connections.

If members prefer to upload larger images, they get thumbbed, if they prefer images displayed inline, they can scale and crop images to display accordingly.

 

[knightmb]

I often read ES on a "Pocketsurfer".

The images are of course a problem under those circumstances, but they are an asset at most other times.

Another equally annoying problem is that the contrast is insufficient to comfortably read ES on a Pocketsurfer. I do not know if this is due to the device and if other devices work better, but ES is by far the most difficult to read site which I frequent on it! A change to the background color might help against that. I always have to set the brightness to maximum and the contrast to maximum in order to be just able to read ES at all!

As for image size, I would like a staggered system: If you are browsing on a clumsy, small wireless device you just view the default: Very small thumbnails or text links for photos, minimum download time and screen real estate use.

If you want to see some more detail, click on the thumbnail or link. If it turns out to be worth a closer look still, click again to get the full size and resolution that was supplied by the poster.

Which forum style are you using? The default style (prosilver) tends to be a little darker than the original style (subsilver2). There is no reason why we can't add more styles though that work better with the different screen layout for members.

I'll go look for a "brighter" forum style and see how well it works here, then you can just choose that and be able to read brighter pages again.

 

[knightmb]

As traffic increases, this issue will persist. Reducing req'd bandwidth and page loadtime will enable more participation.

That I agree with 100%, I'm on the same network as the server and sometimes when the topic has about 100 images on it (LOL) even takes my computer a while to load them up. I can only imagine what a poor user on dial-up must be feeling trying to read all of that.

 

[knightmb]

I'm on a 15mbit connection and I still groan sometimes, but I like the wider/larger images. Doesn't phpBB have an option to limit posts per page to less than 15? That would help a lot I think as it's much more digestable.. at the expense of longer page threads etc. And/or limiting to a max of say 3-5 photo attachments per post... like private messages.

Currently, the "attachment per post" is set at 10.

Current Settings for posts and topics.
Topics per Page: 50
Post per Page: 15

Would probably be better for another discussion about that since this it just about the image attachments at the moment.

 

[knightmb]

Another equally annoying problem is that the contrast is insufficient to comfortably read ES on a Pocketsurfer. I do not know if this is due to the device and if other devices work better, but ES is by far the most difficult to read site which I frequent on it! A change to the background color might help against that. I always have to set the brightness to maximum and the contrast to maximum in order to be just able to read ES at all!

As for image size, I would like a staggered system: If you are browsing on a clumsy, small wireless device you just view the default: Very small thumbnails or text links for photos, minimum download time and screen real estate use.

If you want to see some more detail, click on the thumbnail or link. If it turns out to be worth a closer look still, click again to get the full size and resolution that was supplied by the poster.

I've added two more styles to the forum, both of which use different layouts and/or different color themes that will hopefully be brighter or easier to read.

So feel free to experiment with them, let me know if any of them help.

 

[Mr. Mik]

The "fisubice2" makes the print much easier to see on the pocketsurfer, but I can not see the edges any more and need to scroll horizontally much more.Also, I can hardly see the text in the input field whilst thumb-typing this.

I'll try the other one as well and let you know how it works on a pocketsurfer.

 

[Mr. Mik]

The "etech" setting is also easier to read, particularly the input field compared to fisubice2.

Quoted fields are difficult in both new settings due to the darker background.

The need to scroll horizontally appears worse than on the default for both.

Thanks for trying!

I'll test it a bit moe later.

 

[dnmun]

i had dialup for a long time, it was the pits to come here sometimes, so i voted for 128k and shrinking the image because of that. these are not picture contest entries, so small files is better since it loads faster. some people have big files on their avatar too, that makes it hard to load the page when you have dialup also.

 

[Mr. Mik]

I just tried looking at this thread in the default setting on the pocketsurfer. The entire width of the text can be read at once, unlike with the 2 new options.

I don't know if is possible to customise these schemes, but if it is then here is my wishlist for a scheme for handheld devices:

1) The layout from the current default.

2) The colours from etech.

3) Change the colours for quoted text boxes to a lighter background..

A "white text on black background" version might help to minimize download file sizes and battery consumption for mobile small devices.

Thanks again for your efforts to further improve this great forum, knightmb!

 

[MitchJi]

Hi,

I think the best solution would be if users could choose between 2 or 3 different settings depending on their access. Lower resolution and size for Dialup.

I don't like images that are so large they get cropped.

I didn't make a choice because I can live with anything that is popular, but I would really like to know what the choices are upfront (also for avatars).

So, please display the requirements when "Upload attachment" is clicked.

 

[fechter]

Hi,

I think the best solution would be if users could choose between 2 or 3 different settings depending on their access. Lower resolution and size for Dialup.

It would be cool if there was a setting for this in your user profile you could select. I don't think that's a built-in function however. I'm sure glad knightmb knows how to do this stuff, because I get pretty lost in the control settings.

 

[knightmb]

I just tried looking at this thread in the default setting on the pocketsurfer. The entire width of the text can be read at once, unlike with the 2 new options.

I don't know if is possible to customise these schemes, but if it is then here is my wishlist for a scheme for handheld devices:

1) The layout from the current default.

2) The colours from etech.

3) Change the colours for quoted text boxes to a lighter background..

A "white text on black background" version might help to minimize download file sizes and battery consumption for mobile small devices.

Thanks again for your efforts to further improve this great forum, knightmb!

It's tough to tell what will or will not work, but this will help.

Go here: http://www.phpbb.com/community/viewforum.php?f=73

This has a ton of styles on it and you can preview most of them. Let me know which ones worked best and I'll just install it here. There is no limit to styles we can install here, just want to avoid having a style list that's 500 entries long if no one uses the other 499 other styles

 

[Mr. Mik]

Thanks!

Could you add the theme called "Minimal", please?

It is easy to read on the pocketsurfer including transreflective mode.

The width is limited and hopefully makes horizontal scrolling unneccessary.

 

[knightmb]

Thanks!

Could you add the theme called "Minimal", please?

It is easy to read on the pocketsurfer including transreflective mode.

The width is limited and hopefully makes horizontal scrolling unneccessary.

Ok, it's installed now, let me know if it helps. I tried it out myself, very minimal indeed, but should load faster at least.

 

[MitchJi]

Hi,

Could you add the theme called "Minimal", please?

Ok, it's installed now, let me know if it helps. I tried it out myself, very minimal indeed, but should load faster at least.

Is the best way to address the Image Settings (load speed on slow connections) with themes?

 

[knightmb]

Hi,

Could you add the theme called "Minimal", please?

Ok, it's installed now, let me know if it helps. I tried it out myself, very minimal indeed, but should load faster at least.

Is the best way to address the Image Settings (load speed on slow connections) with themes?

It can for some, but the images are still the same size (if it's 256K, then it's that size no matter what theme you use). The only thing the themes do is increase the speed of loading up the index and what topics listed. That still doesn't address images that are linked directly from another site. So even if we did set a lot limit on attachment thumbnail generation, someone can still attach a large picture in the topic hosted from another site. Nothing we can really do against that short of just banning all image attachments.

 

[knightmb]

My kerosene powered modem is still awaiting upgrade to a one-inch wick.

In my" User Control Panel" under "Board Preferences", "Edit display options", I've selected to browse:
Display images within posts:
No
Display Flash animations:
No
Display smilies as images
No
Display signatures:
Yes
Display avatars:
Yes
Enable word censoring:
No

I was temporarily baffled by the "mr. green" I kept seeing at the end of some posts thinking it might be local jargon. . . . duh.
Figuring that through the software, I have control over how the board displays and control over how my Opera browser displays the board, do whatever the bandwidth bullies demand and you can afford.
If I gotta see a pic, and I've download and saved many an attachment or linked image, I click. YouTube links are mostly out of the question though.

I keep my uploaded attachments small by default.

My bookmark for the site is the New Posts view.

You bring up an excellent point, I just tried those options.

It turns all the images (including offsite images) into links. This is a good solution for those on slower connections, you won't have 15 pictures trying to load up.

 

[Zoot Katz]

Works for me from your end. About the only thing I get with those choices are the YouTube start screens. Animated avatars take a while too.
The "Show Images" and "Fit to Width" toggle on my browser can be handy when surfing.
If I choose to show no images, the board's icons, banner and avatars disappear too. That's not handy. You don't know what posts you've read.

 

[knightmb]

Works for me from your end. About the only thing I get with those choices are the YouTube start screens. Animated avatars take a while too.
The "Show Images" and "Fit to Width" toggle on my browser can be handy when surfing.
If I choose to show no images, the board's icons, banner and avatars disappear too. That's not handy. You don't know what posts you've read.

Just turn off the "Display images within post" option. Strange though, I tried turning off everything and the board icons were still shown. It might be style related, I'm not sure. Which style were you using the options with?

 

[Zoot Katz]

Works for me from your end. About the only thing I get with those choices are the YouTube start screens. Animated avatars take a while too.
The "Show Images" and "Fit to Width" toggle on my browser can be handy when surfing.
If I choose to show no images, the board's icons, banner and avatars disappear too. That's not handy. You don't know what posts you've read.

Just turn off the "Display images within post" option. Strange though, I tried turning off everything and the board icons were still shown. It might be style related, I'm not sure. Which style were you using the options with?

With the board settings I've chosen, I get no images in posts, except YouTube start screens. Icons, avatars and banner are there and that's good.
If I further select to see no images in my internet client application (Opera 9.63), everything goes away but is linked if it has a compliant tag.
The style setting is Prosilver.
I'm not complaining and not even searched for a stray unsecured wireless connection lately.