How to Use Photobucket (revision)

[Turboman]

• How to use Photobucket

A lot of you know far more about Photobucket than I do - so bear with me-but this thread is for the less experienced user, and will only concentrate on the basics that we need to know to operate Photobucket within this forum. With the following sub-sections:

1. Why use Photobucket
2. Registering for Photobucket,-- Basic Photobucket Album Organisation-- & Error Message"--Image has been deleted or moved"
3. Privacy & Passwords in Photobucket
4. Photobucket for Social Threads and Amusement
5. Uploading Images from your PC & Moving Public Stuff to your Private Albums
6. Sizing of Images
7. Photobucket for displaying CCA's,Loan Statements etc within a thread
8. Photobucket for use in the Join-In Excel Basic Tuition Thread
9. Error messages---"Upgrade to Pro edition-Bandwidth exceeded"

1.-Why use Photobucket

In order to illustrate within a thread, we often need to display various scanned documents, or screenshots, or photographs etc.



There are 2 basic methods here on these VBulletin forums

• Uploading the image to the Legal Beagles thread as an Attachment using the Manage Attachment facility
• Uploading the image to an Image Hosting Package and then linking to it from within the thread message

There are several such packages, but the most common is Photobucket which I will demonstrate within this thread.
.
Imageshack is another one which is often used on the forums.

Attachments are the only way for .Doc, .XLS or .PDF files by the way
but for scanned images and photographs in a JPG format, it is better for the site resources to use an Image Hosting Packagewhich doesn't embed them in the message, but links to them in real time.

All sites have a set bandwidth within which all open threads and associated attachments are channelled-so the less attachments the better (Tools---rephrase this last bit a bit better if you will please)

Photobucket is predominately for .JPG images--but it also hosts videoclips too

A disadvantage of using Attachments is that no matter the quality and resolution, the VBulletin software scales, it down to a smaller size and hence quality suffers.

A further advantage of Photobucket is that by displaying in the message as a "hosted image", the reader is not having to interrupt the flow by following links or attachments or enlarging attachments---plus you've got all your images in one place ( I have lost loads of attachments in PCF when they upgraded the software btw)

Plus Photobucket is the only way to send Images via PM as there is no facility for Attachments. also same in Chatbox




2.-Registering for Photobucket,-- Basic Photobucket Album Organisation-- & Error Message"--Image has been deleted or moved"

Here's the link to register for photobucket
PHOTOBUCKET
For basic Social Threads & Amusement and searching for images-you don't actually need to register---but you do to own an account to upload stuff to--Soooooo---you need to register

Right--now think about how to organise your albums--its just like your PC Folder hierachies

You can have 1 large album
or several smaller ones for each subject
and within each smaller onr-further divisions



For instance--lets say we are thinking about organising for our various

• Claims
• Pets
• Holidays

Then we might have the following structure:

Main Album
----------Sub Albums-Claims
--------------------Sub Sub Album Barclays
--------------------Sub Sub Album Nationwide
----------Sub Albums-Pets
----------Sub Albums-Holidays
--------------------Sub Sub Album-Corfu
--------------------Sub Sub Album-Balham

but if you can't be a.rsed---then just use one big album and make sure that you give the images meaningful names

A very important point here is that if you insert your link in your thread and LATER on either delete the image OR MOVE IT TO ANOTHER ALBUM the link won't work and you get this:



The create album function is at the right hand side---see below



My albums , for instance,are organised based on various Tuition Type stuff I've done :

• Football
• LB Info (with sub forums of "Excel Thread" & "Photobucket"
• MiscA
• MSE Images
• OCR
• PCF Images
• PDF995
• Screenprints-Amort(ization)
• Screenprnts

[Turboman]

Re: How to Use Photobucket (revision)

3.-Privacy & Passwords in Photobucket

I must emphasise that all personal details in uploaded images should be removed-and anything with which the post could be linked back to you. Remember, the banks & DCA’s read sites like this one as guests, and also possibly as covert members.

Also, you MUST set your account with a password if you use it for personal use as well. Some of you may have seen my posts in October 2007 on Consumer Credit Support (CCS)
where I detailed how I inadvertedly realised how to read other unpassworded accounts. A quick test across the sites established that a lot of people were posting their UNEDITED correspondence, driving licences and even passports, as well as their photographs. Identity fraud is real. PCF and CCS published my my reccomendations within 24 hours.

Ha Ha-- Bill--I now know what youreally look like!-seen your album--LOL
By the way-whats "persistently insistent" mean--is that ars.ey!

Right--Serious

As DL has indicated -I'm on a crusade.
I've only just got into Photobucket through looking for Joke Animations for our Ms Ellie Sofa thread over on Penaltychargesforum(PCF) --- BUT its certainly opened my eyes!!
As I am from IT-I quickly realised that a lot of the people I was "talking to" were using insecure albums.
So I did a quick recce across sites-& found that the most expert people (incl Mods across sites) were posting Edited CCA's etc but had both Unedited ones with identites & even Identity Passports Photos etc in their insecure albums.

These are people who post across sites (often in protected forums (apparently) and change their user name to apparently attempt go incognito.
-and often use the same Photobucket Album ( even Clouesso could follow the trail)

and are expert in CPR's & Law & DCA's & CCA's & you name it!!
-but know buggar all about protecting their identity!

So--summarising--if I (who has had 24 hrs on this) can tie up user names from a couple (or more) forums with common Photobucket Album Identities & see your real names and addresses & your passport photos etc.. Then the IT lads from LLoyds & Barclays will probably be laughing their socks off)

So please--Take it seriously

I promised Dragonlady I wouldn't publish how to do it on open forum---but I'm sure the geeky guys know.

However, again I emphasise-do not post up unedited correspondence-even if you are using passwords.
Even with passwords, there are people out there with dubious motives who are more clever than you or I.

Right---mechanics on how to set albums Private


At the top of your main album---Click on "Album Options"

• Click on the "Edit" option under "Privacy: Private" (edit)
• Click on "Private" & optionally ---if you would share your album with friends by giving them the password
• Click "Save" at the bottom

Note that you can have the top main album Private but make a sub-album Public---see my post 1 image---"MiscA" has an "unlocked padlock" and therefore Public

[Turboman]

Re: How to Use Photobucket (revision)

4.-Photobucket for Social Threads and Amusement

There's a whole wealth of images on Photobucket and a lot of the humerous posts on the social and chatter threads are from there.

Just simply do a "search" --- which btw WILL NOT search PRIVATE ALBUMS--only PUBLIC ones.
and then click on the image you want,
click on the IMG line (4th line --see above illustration on the Hanging Basket Image in post1)
paste into your "message post"

ie type in Breakfast



There are also gif files in there with animations-for instance -here's a couple that we might use in the Excel Teach-in thread





Right--lets say we want to make absolutely sure we don't get the dreaded "Image has been deleted or moved" error message. For odd ad hoc postings-that are out of date quick I just use the link, but for special ones (walking lady-lol) or "Happy Birtday" or "Congratulations" (say) where you want to use them over again---we need to post a copy from the contributors PUBLIC ALBUM into our OWN ALBUM-which means our link will work even if the contributor removes their original image.

This is described in the next post, together with standard uploading of images held on your PC.

[Turboman]

Re: How to Use Photobucket (revision)

5.-Uploading Images from your PC & Moving Public Stuff to your Private Albums

We have 2 scenarios here

• Upload from your PC preprared scanned images or edited screenprints (say)
• Capture of Public Album Image to Your Album

• Go to your Main Album or Sub Album
• Click on the green "Upload Now"
• at l/h side click on the drop down box arrow from "upload from"

• for Images on your PC-select "My Computer"
• select the green "Photos & Videos"
• then find them on your PC, select them (hold control down to select up to 3)
• Click "Open" in the files dialogue box
• They are then uploaded and appear in your album
• Add a Title (if you like) then click "Save & Continue to my Album"

• for images in a PUBLIC ALBUM
• click on the image
• click/copy the link 2nd line down (Direct link)
• then as above-but select "upload from"-the web
• paste the link into the first line
• click "start uploading"
• They are then uploaded and appear in your album
• Add a Title (if you like) then click "Save & Continue to my Album"

[Turboman]

Re: How to Use Photobucket (revision)

6.-Sizing of Images

Not a priority at moment---so leaving this while next week

[Turboman]

Re: How to Use Photobucket (revision)

7.-Photobucket for displaying CCA's,Loan Statements etc within a thread


Not a priority at moment---so leaving this while next week

[Turboman]

Re: How to Use Photobucket (revision)

8.-Photobucket for use in the Join-In Excel Basic Tuition Thread


There will be a sister thread tomorrow on capturing screenprints and cropping so you can post up queries etc
These will be images which are a lot wider than deeper--ie full monitor size

However, its just a simple case of following above upload procedure from your PC
Then clicking Image
Clicking/Copying 4th line down (Img Code)
Pasting in the "Message Post"

[Turboman]

Re: How to Use Photobucket (revision)

9.-Error messages---"Upgrade to Pro edition-Bandwidth exceeded"

Just an explanation as to why you SOMETIMES get the "Update to Pro version-Bandwidth Exceeded" image.


On the free version of Photobucket,we are allowed for Free accounts--25GB (ie we are less than 1% usually ))--BUT--if you are linking a lot of popular images in OTHER peoples free account (instead of transferring them to yours)-then you are subject to THEIR bandwidth problems.

Everytime a thread is read, which contains Linked Images-then that registers against the bandwith on the other persons account.

See here from the Help on Bandwith

What is hot linking?

Hot linking is like direct linking except it is linking content from someone else's Photobucket account. When content is linked from someone else's Photobucket account, it is using resources allocated to that Photobucket account.
Bandwidth usage is allocated on an individual account basis and there is a limit to the bandwidth usage allowed per month for free Photobucket accounts. If you have linked content from someone else's free Photobucket account, you take the risk of having that content on your webpage replaced with a 'Bandwidth Exceeded' icon if the allotted monthly bandwidth usage is exceeded for that account. If the account owner chooses to remove that content from their Photobucket account, the links on your webpage will break. You have no control over that account and cannot do anything to resolve the issue other than remove the link from your webpage
Direct linking of content from your Photobucket account uses bandwidth. Please see the Sharing - Bandwidth section of this FAQ for further details on Bandwidth usage.

So--sometimes you get it if you choose a really popular album someone has set up and lots of people are linking to it, ---and when the month is up-it may display again ok.

You can get round it by putting em in YOUR ALBUM before uploading.

[Turboman]

Re: How to Use Photobucket (revision)

Right----finished---would appreciate your comments if this is useful or not----and also contributions to correct anything/explain it better

Here's a good link for those that don't my cossetting-lol

http://www.mahalo.com/how-to-use-photobucket/

[Bill-K]

Re: How to Use Photobucket (revision)

Brilliant, If I may say so Turbo. Well done.

[Turboman]

Re: How to Use Photobucket (revision)

Brilliant, If I may say so Turbo. Well done.

Thanks Bill---and just for you

[Bill-K]

Re: How to Use Photobucket (revision)

MMMMMM.......

"Thank you Mistress. Please may I have another...?" !!!! :madgrin:

Oooops.....wrong forum...!!!

I think.

[Turboman]

Re: How to Use Photobucket (revision)

Forgot to say--if Photobucket new to anybody-you can use this thread to practice

[cymruambyth]

Re: How to Use Photobucket (revision)

Heeelp please!!!!

I have uploaded my documents to photobucket however every time I put in a link it doesn't link me to just the one album but enables everyone to see all my albums. What am I doing wrong?

Thank you

[Turboman]

Re: How to Use Photobucket (revision)

Heeelp please!!!!

I have uploaded my documents to photobucket however every time I put in a link it doesn't link me to just the one album but enables everyone to see all my albums. What am I doing wrong?

Thank you

Re read post 7---post more info if not solved