picture upload problem

[500Espot]

Postby J. M. van Swaay on Thu Dec 04, 2008 7:07 pm

I tried to upload a jpeg format picture--I got an error message saying the file I was trying to upload was invalid. Am I doing something wrong?

Thanks again for all your work on this site.

J. M. van Swaay

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Postby gerryvz on Thu Dec 04, 2008 7:29 pm

Shouldn't be a problem as others have been able to upload and attach photos no problem. I will check the extensions it accepts but I am sure that .JPEG is on the list. You may want to rename it .JPG and see if that helps though. But in the "Owners & Their Cars" board a number of folks have posted with no trouble.

Cheers,
Gerry


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Postby Pupsi on Fri Dec 05, 2008 4:23 am

I think what we need is an automatic picture re-sizer so that the pictures arent huge unless you click to expand them.
Or is this only happening to me?
P u p s i

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Postby gerryvz on Fri Dec 05, 2008 7:26 am

I downloaded tonight an automatic picture resizer, but it requires a UNIX command-line interface to install and configure and I didn't have the time tonight to hassle with that. Perhaps this weekend.

Rest assured, it will be implemented and it's fairly high on my list of ongoing tweaks.

Cheers,
Gerry

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Postby Pupsi on Sat Dec 06, 2008 6:46 am

Thanks Gerry, you're doing a great job so far.
P u p s i

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Postby J. M. van Swaay on Sun Dec 07, 2008 5:13 pm

I think there may be a maximum file size restriction. I was able to upload pictures taken with an older (lower resolution) camera. After cropping and compressing the picture that generated the "invalid file" message, I was able to upload it as well..................

Thanks Gerry,

J. M. van Swaay

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Postby gerryvz on Sun Dec 07, 2008 5:46 pm

Yes there is a file size limit that is easily adjusted through a setting in the admin control panel. I think I set it to 2 MB per image, as there is NO REASON that an uploaded image needs to be any larger than that. If it is, it needs to be either compressed or its' size decreased. I will make exceptions if an image is extremely high-resolution, such as to be used for a desktop background or whatnot.

Cheers,
Gerry

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Postby gsxr on Mon Dec 08, 2008 2:35 pm

Yes, 2MB is very generous. I'd be happy with 1MB (just to speed up picture downloads). Some forums (coughmercedesshopcough) have stupidly low limits for image sizes, i.e. 75kb or 600x800 pixel size. That's practically an avitar, not a photo. Nice work, Gerry!

:rock:
Dave M.
Boise, ID
1995 E420 (W.I.P.)
1994 E500 (Q-ship)
1993 300D (Sportline)
1987 300D (Sportline Stage 2)
1987 300D (R.I.P)
Click here for my website photos, documents, and movies.

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Postby gerryvz on Mon Dec 08, 2008 3:05 pm

Well, Scott had to "up" the limits over time as well as the file types allowed. I am currently not allowing movies (.avi, .wmv, .swf, .mov, .mp4, etc.) although I am open to that if/when there is a need.

The main problem is storage space and bandwidth usage costs, which are the main issues with a hoster. If/when the traffic gets to the point where significant bandwidth and storage space is being used, I will either have to pony up more cash to the hoster I'm currently using or host the site myself (which is what Scott had done at his apartment). I'd rather pony up the cash for a hoster due to better reliability and infrastructure. If this cost increase is significant, I'd have to pass part of it on to the users here, but today we are a LONG WAY away from needing to do that.

I will provide some regular data and links as to site usage statistics over time as the site builds. In just a week's worth of use, we've got more than 80 users already which is pretty cool. Mostly the 500ecstasy.com regulars, but I expect this to reach in the hundreds fairly soon as the site gets spidered more, and the main site fills out.

Cheers,
Gerry

 

[500AMM]

Hi.

The file size restriction is dramatically different between JPG (3.81 MB) and JPEG (97.7 KB). I don't know the difference between these file types, so I neither know the reason for the different limitations. However, when I have a photo it's often a JPEG, but the same file may be called JPG in Explorer too?!? So the problem occures when uploading the photo, sometimes it goes fine dependent on the size, but sometime I need to resize the photo because it's a JPEG file.

1. Is it possible to change the file type from JPEG to JPG?

2. Why is the limitations on JPEG so low, 97.7KB isn't much for a photo?

 

[gsxr]

The two are the same, with different extensions... how about if you just change the extension from .jpeg to .jpg prior to uploading your files, and see if that helps?

Gerry will need to review the size limits & update as needed... there may also be a pixel dimension limit. In general there's no need to upload a 4MB image file, those really should be shrunk down prior to upload, or change your camera settings to a more modest resolution when snapping pix that are destined for the forum....

 

[500AMM]

Yes, it is no point in adding a 4 MB image. One of my questuiosn is how to change the extension from JPEG to JPG? I mean I've done it before, but now I can't find any way to do it.

Update: I'm sorry, I forgot to check the pixels size on the images, they were too wide. However the other question is still applicable?

 

[gsxr]

To change the file extension in Windows, highlight the file, press F2 to edit the name, press Enter/Return when done. Or, right-click on the file and select "Rename".

 

[500AMM]

To change the file extension in Windows, highlight the file, press F2 to edit the name, press Enter/Return when done. Or, right-click on the file and select "Rename".

Thanks, but that's what I've done before , so that works fine. This seems more like an Windows Explorer error, when hoovering over an image, whether it's a JPG or JPEG, the info box comming up always says JPEG. When viewing the image properties, it is always a JPEG too.

 

[gerryvz]

I have updated the JPEG file name so that has an equivalent size limit to JPG. That is an easy administrative task. I just did the same for BMP, JPE, and GIF too.

Yes, there are also physical size limitations and when people upload high-resolution images directly off of their 10+ megapixel digital cameras, the system is not set up to handle them. Nor are peoples' monitors, for that matter. The physical size limitation on uploaded photos is a very generous 2500 x 2500 pixels. The file size limitation is 4 MB.

What happens is that the vBulletin software eventually times out and gives you a blank screen when it encounters images that have physical or file size that is too large. It is a weird thing with the software that it doesn't give you a message to that effect -- I'll work on seeing what can be done about that.

I have my own digital camera (a 4.1 megapixel Canon PowerShot S45, circa 2003 or so) set up so that it takes images that are appropriately sized out of the box, and have a file size of between 500K and 1 MB for each image. These are PLENTY large enough for most screens (you can see any post I've done lately to see these images right off of my camera; for example the post I did last night on the APS Tower Paint, or the recent how-to on the 500E coolant overflow tank). The images are not the most stunning quality, but more than good enough for a web forum and with a 10-year old camera that I use extensively in the garage for documenting ongoing repairs and fixes that I do.

You can also just click once on the file name under the icon of the file (the name you want to change) shown in the Window Explorer (or desktop), or in the Macintosh Finder, and that will highlight the file name and allow you to type in a change as you see fit. Most photo programs (and the vBulletin software) can handle JPG and JPEG images just fine.

Cheers,
Gerry

 

[Jelmer]

jpg = simply the jpeg without the "e", it's just a name, the file is exactly the same.

Remember that for the renaming to work, one needs to disable the "Hide extensions for known file types" option, which is default on. Otherwise you get myfile.jpg.jpeg

 

[500AMM]

I will update the JPEG file name so that has an equivalent size limit to JPG. That is an easy administrative task.

What happens is that the vBulletin software eventually times out and gives you a blank screen when it encounters images that have physical or file size that is too large. It is a weird thing with the software that it doesn't give you a message to that effect -- I'll work on seeing what can be done about that.

Cheers,
Gerry

Thanks Gerry.

Yes, the blank screen and the missing message fooled me, I think I've never got that before so it was new to me. Dave reminded me about the physical size (pixels), and of course I was far outside. I fully agree about the necessary image size for illustrative purposes, which most pics are. Detail images can be blown up to max 2500 pixels when needed.

Ciao

 

[gerryvz]

Folks ... just a reminder ...

When uploading photos, make sure they are of a moderate file and physical photo size. This means the photo file must be about 1.2 MB or smaller file size, and 2,500 x 2,500 pixels or smaller.

I am seeing more and more people trying to upload photos taken with digital cameras and cell phones set to "high resolution," which creates large sized files that are too large for the settings on this forum.

Compared to most forums, I have already set the file size limits to an extremely generous level ... a 2,500 x 2,500 pixel photo is much larger than the screen size of most desktop and laptop monitors, and a file size of 1.2 MB or larger is extremely large for a photo file.

If your camera is set to take photos in high-res mode, you will need to

a) either set your camera to take photos (for the forum) in a lower-resolution mode; or
b) use a program to reduce the file size and/or dimensions before posting them to the forum

On my home Mac, I use a program called GraphiConverter, but you can use Photoshop, Apple iPhoto, etc. to do this. On Windows machines, you can use PaintShop Pro, Windows Picture Viewer, Microsoft Office Image Viewer, Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, etc. On Linux machines, you can a free program like the Gimp to do this.

In any case, if you are having problems uploading photos, chances are extremely large that your camera's settings are too high-res. I have my digital camera's settings at the level of taking images that are 600K-1MB in size, so that I can directly upload them from the flash card. This is how I do all my HOW-TO exposes and other image posts.

Cheers,
Gerry

 

[Stevester 500E]

I always have problems when trying to upload more that one file. Perhaps this is do to file size, IDK.

I browse and add a file, the click add again and browse and select the file. Then when I try and upload the file, I get an error. I have only uploaded one at a time since then (way back).

But if memory serves me correctly, the error was not in the form of a prompt indicating a file size issue.