Posting images in the Bogleheads forum

The Bogleheads forum does not have any built-in facilities for including images in posts.  is a rough-and-ready guide to how to do it. Unfortunately, exact step-by-step details depend on what platform you're using (Windows, Mac, Linux), what browser you are using (Firefox, IE, Safari), and what image-editing tools you have at your disposal, so this article can only suggest the general approach; you must fill in the details.

First, determine if the image is copyrighted. Usage which violates the image's copyright policy are not permitted in the forum.

If the image is already on a Web page
If you see an image that is already on a Web page and is a reasonable size, that means it has a URL--a "web address." If you have the web address for an image, you can post it in the forum by surrounding the URL with [IMG] tags.

For example, in Safari I can right-click on the Bogleheads' forum "compass" logo and choose "copy image address." That puts this URL into the clipboard. I can't see it, but the clipboard now contains the URL:


 * https://www.bogleheads.org/w/images/a/ad/Compasslogocapturedemo.png

I now click the "Img" button, paste, and click the "*Img" button again, and I see this in my edit box:


 * [img]https://www.bogleheads.org/w/images/a/ad/Compasslogocapturedemo.png[/img]

When I post, this is what now appears when the post is viewed:


 * [[Image:Compasslogocapturedemo.png]]

If the image seems to be on a Web page, but you cannot seem to get a URL for it, or your URL does not work
Sometimes an image really is just a static URL with a fixed address, but the URL contains characters within it that puzzle the Forum software. In this case, it may be worth using a "URL-shortening" site such as http://www.tinyurl.com. In this case, you are using it, not because it shortens the URL, but because it produces simple URLs that don't contain any punctuation but forward slashes. Unfortunately, not all of the pictures you see on Web pages are "static" images with fixed URL addresses. Sometimes a site uses Javascript and produces a URL that doesn't work inside an [img] tag. Sometimes it is Flash content, or a PDF file displayed inline inside the browser. In this case, you cannot just post a URL for the image. Instead, you might begin by taking a "screen shot," capturing the actual image on the screen.

On the Mac, you can do this with one of several built-in commands, including the Mac OS "grab" utility. Under Windows,  PRT SCN will capture the image of the current window into the clipboard. You can then open the Paint utility, paste the screen image in, and use Paint to crop it to size. There are also numerous public domain and shareware tools, cost-free or inexpensive, that make the task easier. Photo editing software, including ones that were bundled with your computer or your digital camera, can crop and scale, and may be a good choice if you are already familiar and comfortable with it.

Capturing a screen and cropping using Windows and Paint
These directions are for Windows XP. Details may differ in other versions. Windows Paint is an awkward tool for this job, but it works.
 * Press the Prnt Scr key.
 * Open Windows Paint, which might be located at Start, All Programs, Accessories, Paint.
 * Edit, Paste. The entire screen will now appear in Paint, ready for editing.
 * Choose the selection tool (top right icon in the toolbox at the left edge of the screen).
 * If necessary, scroll the image until the section you want to capture is completely in view.
 * Drag the mouse across the diagonal of the area you want to capture. An expanding rectangle shows you what you are selecting. Make the rectangle enclose the exact area you want to capture, trying again if needed.
 * Edit, Copy.
 * Image, Attributes: Width 1, Height 1, Pixels, Colors. (You are doing this to make the image as small as possible, so that when you Paste you will only get the part you selected).
 * Edit, Paste.
 * File, Save As. File Name: as desired. File Type: JPEG.
 * Upload the file to an image hosting site as described below.

If the image needs editing
Many images will need simple editing. Images posted to the Bogleheads forum, for example, probably should be less than about 640 pixels wide or they create annoying effects for people with smaller screens. So you need to have a tool that does simple cropping and scaling, and it is helpful to have simple editing tools for drawing arrows or circles or text. Choosing a tool is beyond the scope of this article, except to say that for Bogleheads posting purposes you might consider using OpenOffice (or more recently LibreOffice) "Presentation" freeware program.

"Presentation" is the equivalent of Microsoft's PowerPoint and is very good for drawing arrows and circles. You can easily paste your image into a slide, edit, then convert to bitmap and Save Picture as a PNG (Portable Network Graphics) file.

When you have finished editing, upload the file to an image hosting site as described below.

Postimage
An alternative image hosting site is Postimage. No sign-up is required and it is blocked less than imgur. You can select resizing options.

After uploading, select the second option "Direct link". Paste the link into your forum post and surround it with the "Insert image" BBCode.

Google Drive
Google Drive can display an image inside a forum post.


 * 1) Upload an image to Google Drive and get a sharable link
 * 2) Modify the URL to a form of   and place this code into your forum post.

For example, to place File:Calculator.png inside a forum post, upload the file to Google Drive and get a a shareable link.



1. Copy the file ID, which is this part:


 * (will be different for each image)

2. Paste the file ID into the code as shown here:



3 Put the resulting code into your forum post.



The working example is in this.

Privacy concerns
A file shared using the "Anyone with a link can view" method is visible everywhere the link is used. Not just in the forum, but in other websites or emails that you post this link to. The links can be passed multiple times, so you really don't know where your image (or any shared file) is used.

There is a privacy concern, but only when you are logged into a Google account. The issue is that the name of the file's owner is visible from the sharable link (the link that starts with https://drive.google.com ). Click on the vertical ellipse --> Details --> Sharing.

This information is not visible when using the file ID method as described above. The owner's name is only visible when the person who accesses the link is logged into a Google account.

If this is a concern, please don't remove the image. Forum members depend on this information.

Instead, change the name on your Google account to be anonymous. See Change your Google Account picture, name & other info. Single characters are allowed, so you can use your initials for your first and last name, for example.

You'll have peace-of-mind knowing that your real name is not visible, regardless of where the file resides or who views your file.

Creating an avatar
Avatars are limited to 100 pixels square and may not contain animation. Be aware that it may take some trial and error to find or create an image that small and looks good.

Tip: Try to find an avatar that's already 100 px X 100px, as reducing from a larger size may result in a blurry image.


 * Find or create an image you want to use as an avatar.
 * Select one of many available free avatar resizing websites, such as those found in a Google Search. Picasion is one recommendation.
 * In the Bogleheads forum: User control panel, Profile, Edit avatar, Upload from your machine.