How to Add Images to Pentrace Messages

By Jon Szanto

How to Add Images to Pentrace Messages with Image Hosting

In four parts, I'll attempt to give guidance so that people can have the ability to include images/photos into their Pentrace (which I will refer to as PT) board posts/messages. Because PT is not currently able to store images on its host, users must have a place on the web that can store images; these are then 'linked to' by copying and pasting a bit of code into their message. I auditioned a number of options and eventually settled on two image hosting sites, both offering free accounts, to give PT users this capability.

In Part 1, I will cover the use of ImgBB, the easiest free site to accomplish this task. In Part 2, I will cover using the Free account at Flickr, a long-running image hosting site that many professional photographers use. While a bit more involved, Flickr becomes clear quickly, and whichever host you might settle on will become second nature after you have gone through the linking process one or two times.

In Part 3 I'll offer any extra tips and some final thoughts on the two hosts with some important aspects for you to consider. Both sites offer straight-forward processes to create an account, as easy as any other site you have likely signed up for online. I believe they are safe to use (see Part 3) and won't cost anyone a dime. However, both also offer plans with extra features if this becomes a new hobby for you!

I must state that everything I am writing about is done with a Windows PC; the process and access to the image site, etc., will be virtually identical on a Mac, with only minor differences in keystrokes or the layout of the image websites.

Finally, I realize that not everyone is comfortable with all this 'tech' stuff, and I'm doing my best to keep it as plain as possible. I've coached many people on computer use for years, and I'm old now myself. I will revisit the posts and edit for clarity and to correct errors over time; it is my hope that once the main page settles, I can turn this into an actual article that won't scroll off into infinity! (I'll always keep a link handy to this first message)

Ok, let's go to Part 1.

ImgBB is a free, easy-to-use hosting service. It is quick to set up, and uploading and linking your images is simple.

Navigate to the site https://www.imgbb.com. In the upper right is a button to create an account, which leads to minimal requirements of email, username, and password. Click "agree," and you will be at your homepage, ready to add some images to the service. If you look at the top of the screen, you will see a small icon of a cloud with an upward-pointing arrow — that is the Upload button. Click that, and you will be given options for dragging and dropping images, choosing on your computer, and so forth. Find a picture to upload; click on that, and your upload will commence.

Once the file uploads, you will be given an option to resize the photo. This might be something you want to do after you have tried a few images at PT first, and when you actually get a link to post, you are given the option of Full size or Medium. Another handy thing is that every photo you upload immediately gives you a posting link in the same format you last used — this is handy, as you'll likely be uploading that pic to put on PT, and you can get the link right away.

Once the image is uploaded, you can click on your username in the upper right and choose "Profile," which takes you to the screen with all of your photos. Clicking on the photo you want enlarges that photo, and here is when you can grab your posting links. Either press "c" on your keyboard or click on the </> mark in the bottom right. Below the photo that appears will be first a drop-down list — click on that and choose either "HTML full linked" or "HTML medium linked." Move to the section below that, which is a line of 'web code' that looks something like this:

When you mouse over the section showing the code (on the ImgBB site), you will see a "Copy" button appear; click that and it will copy the text you need. Now you go over to PT, where you either start a new board message or continue working on one, and you find the place in your message where you want the image to appear. Paste the text in the message, and then go down and click on "Preview" to see how it looks.

That is really all it takes. Once you are used to the flow, you can have two windows open (PT and ImgBB) and upload a pic, click on it, copy the code, and paste it into your message. You are now adding visual information to share with all the Pentrace readers! If you need more help, there are many guides online; one I found useful for this host is How to Use ImgBB for Free Image Hosting: A Complete Guide.

To sign up for an account, go to https://www.flickr.com. While Flickr has paid, professional plans, they still have a free account that gives you all the functionality you need and space for 1,000 photographs/images to be hosted — surely enough for posting on web pages! I'll leave you to the details of setting up an account, but do know that you have more control and, therefore, more options that you can change to your liking if you so choose.

Once you have an account, you can click on your profile in the upper right, click on your username, and you will see your Photostream, which is the main collection of your images. Just like in ImgBB, also in the upper right is the cloud/arrow icon signifying the upload process. Click that and you will be given options for either dragging and dropping images or choosing from files on your computer, and so forth. Find a picture to upload; click on that to start. Flickr then (first) brings up a thumbnail of your image and gives you options for adding tags, descriptions, privacy settings, and other items. Edit any of that you wish to, and then in the upper right is a blue button, "Upload 1 Photo" (or however many you might have selected). When confirmed, you will be back on the Photostream page and should see the new upload.

Now you are ready to use images to post. Select an image in the Photostream and click on it. The next view will show your image centered, with info on the right side and three icons at the bottom right: Edit, Share, and Download. The Edit screen can give you a lot to play with, including cropping, but I'll let you explore that; be sure to scroll down to see other options. For now, you want to click the Share arrow, which will bring up a smaller option window with the title "Share 1 photo to:" and the options Share/Embed/Email/BBCode. For our purposes, click Embed. Note that at the bottom is a drop-down box to choose the size of the image — do this before you copy the link text if the image needs to change size. You will then click on the next text box with the line of code to highlight it. Here there is no "Copy" button, so use a standard keystroke (Ctrl-C) or right-mouse-click to copy the text. The link code for Flickr has a bit more info (it only means your photo will be clickable and have a caption), and it looks like this:

Once copied, you go over to PT, where you either start a new board message or continue working on one, and you find the place in your message where you want the image to appear. Paste the text in the message, and then go down and click on "Preview" to see how it looks.

More so than with ImgBB, there is a lot to explore in Flickr, and I've only tried to cover the bare basics for learning how to upload, link, and share the image on a PT message post.

After going through one of those two options, you will have everything you need to gather your visual elements and add them to your conversations and postings. If you are not accustomed to this, just take your time and go a step at a time. Once you have done the process a time or two, it will become second nature.

As with all things, there are a zillion help pages and videos out there. If you just do a search on "how to start with a Flickr free account" or "how to use ImgBB," you will find many articles and videos to choose from. I've tried not to get too deep into anything, and while I've tried to be clear, sometimes my own usage makes me forget something to mention. Please ask questions about the process, which I can answer as I have time.

If things change in the board software or the Pentrace.ink hosting site, it may make changes to this tutorial. However, unless someone pays for an upgrade and you can upload directly to PT, having one of these image host sites available will always be handy.

One small bit to add for completeness: I chose two options out of many, but I had to choose carefully. The BIGGEST difference between Flickr and ImgBB is that Flickr never accesses your image for any use of their own. On the other hand, ImgBB and all the free sites I could find include language in their Terms of Service (ToS) that they reserve the right to use any images uploaded to their site for many different uses (which you can read in their legalese). This may matter to some people, not to others. I leave that to you.

Some may ask why I didn't include Imgur.com, possibly the most popular image host for posting use. I didn't avoid it because of the privacy issue, as their ToS is quite similar to ImgBB's, but because Imgur is blocked in the UK, and images that would be posted, say, in the US or anywhere besides the UK would NOT be visible to UK PT members. That was a deal-breaker.

It isn't easy to make training like this clear AND concise, but I've done what I could. I hope this tutorial helps someone. I will keep reviewing and editing as clarity or errors indicate the need. If PT continues to operate as it is now, I hope a final version of these posts can become an article on the main site so that it is always visible. Ultimately, I want YOU, the PT community, to share the visual beauty of your pens and your hobby if you so desire!

Respectfully,
Jon Szanto