Photobucket Help
I guess this isn't a "tutorial" per sé but it is helpful hints for all fan art makers. One of the most popular free photo and video hosting sites is Photobucket. I love it and think it's a great resource for people to host their wallpapers and other fanart. (Personally, I HATE imageshack because it gets around pop-up blockers and its ads are intrusive).
Lately, I've encountered several people who aren't aware of some of Photobucket's neat features and therefore aren't utilizing it. I want to help you by pointing out a couple of things.
4 major Photobucket issues explained
automatic resizing of your uploads
automatic code generation
setting your link options
album display settings
Screencaps included
Issue #1: Photobucket automatically resizes my wallpapers to smaller versions.
Answer: This is a simple problem to correct. In your upload options you can choose the minimum size file you want to upload. For free accounts, the maximum you can choose is 1024 x 768; for paid accounts (which is what I have) you can choose up to 2240 x 1680 or a 2 megabyte. (The problem resizing is that the default setting for uploads is 800x600 so when you upload a 1024x768 wallpaper, it's going to automatically save it as a 800x600)
Here are a couple screencaps to help guide you (*extra tip included in 2nd screencap*):
Issue #2: I can't post thumbnails because I don't know how.
Answer: Photobucket takes all the coding out of the way for you! Under each image in your galleries there is a little square box. If you check the little box under the photo, then go to the bottom of the page and click the button that says "Generate HTML & IMG Code" - it will give you codes that you can just copy and paste. You can check as many pics as you want. It will give you the pre-formatted code for clickable thumbnails and full size photos. It will also give it to you in html code and img code for forums plus email urls. (You can also choose to "select all" at the bottom of the page). This is the 1 tool I use the most in photobucket - a real time saver.
Here is a screencap to help guide you:
Issue #3: People posting dead links in lj comments (big in icon challenges)
Answer: Photobucket has several different link options easily displayed for you to copy and paste. They are listed under each file. A lot of people tend to just grab the first url when posting the links in lj comments. If you post the first link shown "Email & IM" (used to be called the "Share" url)- it will not display when someone clicks on it. You have to choose the "Direct Link" url (this is important for icon challenge communities). To help avoid the confusion, you can tell photobucket to not even show you the Email & IM link. Under the first picture in each gallery there is a hyperlink that says "Change Link Options". Click on this and you can uncheck the types of links you don't want displayed in your galleries. Make sure to save your settings.
Here are some screencaps to help guide you:
Issue #4: Why does Photobucket post my pictures from end to start?
Answer: Photobucket has options in how it organizes your gallery. By default Photobucket sorts your album by newest added image first. To photobucket, the newest image is the last one inserted into the "upload" rows. For instance: you have vertical rows of upload lines. Let's call the top line # 1, The middle line #2 and the bottom line #3. Well, if you have three pictures in sequence: a, b & c and you insert them like this: a in 1, b in 2 and c in 3 = photobucket will consider 3 to be the NEWEST and will therefore display them "backwards" or from end to start in your album. This can be annoying when uploading things like screencaps. To avoid this, you can either upload them into the album in a different order OR you can tell photobucket to display them in a different order. To do this you go to "account options" at the top right-hand side of your screen (next to your "welcome"). Then go to "edit my album settings". Finally, go to "Sort Album By" and use the pull-down menu to choose which display method you want. Don't forget to "save".
Here are some screencaps to help guide you: (*extra tip included in 3rd screencap*)
