Can someone please put me out of my agony by explaining how to post picture here

[Psi]

I haven't found anyway to get those to work without the following steps:

1. Write your post, and add the attachment to it. But just leave the attachments as the default "End-of-post expandable thumbnail". Don't try and put them inline yet.
2. Finish the post, then immediately click "modify" to start editing it again.
3. Expand the "Attachments and other options" underneath the text box, it should list the existing attachments.
4. Place your text cursor in the post where you want the inline thumbnail to appear.
5. Click "Insert Attachment x in this message" next to the attachment you want to add inline.
6. A "attach=x" label should appear in the text box.
7. Save the post. Now it should display inline attachments correctly.

I just post the message, then right click on the preview image in the post and select 'copy link address'
(Since clicking the preview would open the full size image copying the link address gets you a url to the full image.  Don't select 'copy image address' or you will get a url to the small preview image. Unless the image is already large, then the logic is reversed)
Then I edit my message, put the cursor where i want an image, click the image button, Ctrl-V the url, and click the image button again. That gets you the img tag - url - img tag
Then save the message.
Done

It's fast for doing 1 image inline, but to do multiple inline in a single post it's easier to duplicate the browser tab before editing, that way you have a tab you can copy each link address from. Or you need  a clipboard history.

[studiot]

Well I uploaded the image again and got the same thumbnail.

When I try to drag and drop it I see there is a shaded space with the legend 'add files by dragging and dropping or selecting  them'

If I drag and drop into that space nothing happens, except the dragged image disappears.

If I drag and drop into the input editor as I keep saying a huge page of alphabet soup appears in that editor.

Tonight I though well what would happen if posted that as it stands ?

So I did and got an error message 'Message exceeds 64k character limit.'

So I edited the text by simply deleting a large part of the soup and trying post again.

and bingo the picture appeared instead of the alphabet soup.


So I don't know what all that 'image data was, or where it came from, but it doesn't seem necessary for the image.

[SteveThackery]

Why haven't you followed the four steps I showed you using screenshots? It is guaranteed to work. Do exactly what I showed and it will work. Go back to reply #7 and follow it carefully.

[studiot]

Possibly because what you said doesn't happen on my screen?

[Someone]

When I try to drag and drop it I see there is a shaded space with the legend 'add files by dragging and dropping or selecting  them'

If I drag and drop into that space nothing happens, except the dragged image disappears.

Then it is almost certainly some non standard configuration or plugin of (or) your browser. This is a feature that just works across every device, operating system, and browser I have ever tried.

So what happens when you use the "choose file" button instead? (as posted here https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/can-someone-please-put-me-out-of-my-agony-by-explaining-how-to-post-picture-here/msg6335970/#msg6335970)

That removes a whole stack of the browser side and should be more compatible for weird edge cases.

[Andy Chee]

Possibly because what you said doesn't happen on my screen?

Did you follow the outlined steps?  If so, at which step did it deviate for you?

[studiot]

When I try to drag and drop it I see there is a shaded space with the legend 'add files by dragging and dropping or selecting  them'

If I drag and drop into that space nothing happens, except the dragged image disappears.

Then it is almost certainly some non standard configuration or plugin of (or) your browser. This is a feature that just works across every device, operating system, and browser I have ever tried.

So what happens when you use the "choose file" button instead? (as posted here https://www.eevblog.com/forum/chat/can-someone-please-put-me-out-of-my-agony-by-explaining-how-to-post-picture-here/msg6335970/#msg6335970)

That removes a whole stack of the browser side and should be more compatible for weird edge cases.

Attachments and other options > browse > opens file upload box > select prepared jpg on my (W11 standard firefox HP desktop) > open option  appears> click open >   thumbnail and filename appears below attachments on website input screen

I can't select the the thumbnail or its filename but I can drag and drop it to the text input box where all the gobbledegook appears.

I see no button marked choose file, there is one marked cancel but it appears inactive.

[SteveThackery]

Possibly because what you said doesn't happen on my screen?

What I showed, not what I said. In what way is it different? That will help us chase this down.

[PlainName]

open option  appears> click open >   thumbnail and filename appears below attachments on website input screen

I can't select the the thumbnail or its filename but I can drag and drop it to the text input box where all the gobbledegook appears.

Don't drag it after. Don't worry about selecting or anything. Once you've clicked open and the thumb and filename appear below attachments, that's it. Don't do anything else except to post the comment.

[SteveThackery]

I can't select the the thumbnail or its filename but I can drag and drop it to the text input box where all the gobbledegook appears.

You've said this a couple of times, now. Why are you dragging the picture to the text input box?

You are supposed to click the 'Attachments and other options' button and then drag the picture file to the 'Add files by dragging and dropping.....' box.

[SteveThackery]

@studiot:

Regarding Reply #34, please describe how your screen differs from the screenshots I posted - it will help us sort this all out.

Also: please tell us what device you are using to access this forum - again, it will help.

[SteveThackery]

Colleagues, I wonder if @studiot is has his browser set to "Mobile site" instead of "Desktop site". That could explain why he is seeing something different from what we are trying to describe.

What do you think?

[studiot]

open option  appears> click open >   thumbnail and filename appears below attachments on website input screen

I can't select the the thumbnail or its filename but I can drag and drop it to the text input box where all the gobbledegook appears.

Don't drag it after. Don't worry about selecting or anything. Once you've clicked open and the thumb and filename appear below attachments, that's it. Don't do anything else except to post the comment.

[studiot]

Ok so perhaps I was trying too hard.

I followed plain names suggestion in the immediately  preceding post with a small test file I had handy and it worked.

Many thanks.

[PlainName]

You're welcome

[zapta]

This forums software is a dinosaur.

[newbrain]

This forums software is a dinosaur.

Yes, in the sense it's hopefully going to last millions of years (much more than us puny apes) and being very good at what it does.

Now, the image system is a really a nightmare, as I always remark when I have to add a picture to any of my posts.

[EEVblog]

Now, the image system is a really a nightmare, as I always remark when I have to add a picture to any of my posts.

One click and drop the files to attach  is a nightmare?

[SteveThackery]

Now, the image system is a really a nightmare, as I always remark when I have to add a picture to any of my posts.

In what way? The drag-and-drop works fine. There are speed bumps when it comes to sizing the pictures and getting them in the right order.

[newbrain]

Quote from: EEVblog on Today at 03:51:22>Quote from: newbrain on Yesterday at 12:26:08

Now, the image system is a really a nightmare, as I always remark when I have to add a picture to any of my posts.

One click and drop the files to attach  is a nightmare?

If you want to have them inline, or more than one, it always get the wrong index, or miss some entirely.
And since there's no preview, only way is (post and edit)*.
God forbid you be tempted to toggle the view (mouse pointer in red brackets icon), the result i a mess - this very post is an example.

But hey!, as I said I like it in general, for the format and ease of reading, and referring to other post etc.

[EEVblog]

Quote from: EEVblog on Today at 03:51:22>Quote from: newbrain on Yesterday at 12:26:08

Now, the image system is a really a nightmare, as I always remark when I have to add a picture to any of my posts.

One click and drop the files to attach  is a nightmare?

If you want to have them inline, or more than one, it always get the wrong index, or miss some entirely.
And since there's no preview, only way is (post and edit)*.
God forbid you be tempted to toggle the view (mouse pointer in red brackets icon), the result i a mess - this very post is an example.

But hey!, as I said I like it in general, for the format and ease of reading, and referring to other post etc.

Yes, that's the plugin unfortunately.
This isn't the best forum if you want nicely formatted posts with inline pictures etc.
But if you just want to attach a bunch of images to a post then it's literally just dragging and dropping with zero issues.

[jnk0le]

Doing inline images can be seen a bit weird.
Sometimes one out of 3 or 4 images completely disappears after posting, but generally no issues.

[paulca]

Now, the image system is a really a nightmare, as I always remark when I have to add a picture to any of my posts.

One click and drop the files to attach  is a nightmare?

But it's not that simple is it Dave.  Be honest.  Produce a tutorial style post with 6 large images, each located in the flow of text.

Its "Easy to upload" single images, fully prepared, within the size limit....  which is why very few posts have images and those that do usually only have one.  It was demo'd in this thread by Steve creating multiple posts with a single image.... because to make it a multi-image post is ....  frustrating and broken.

Once you have more than one, the "Select box with hidden action assigned" an HCI sin - to place an image in the post is...  well, it has it's own ideas lets say.

I want... "Place cursor" "Paste".  I think this first appeared in Word in the 1990s?  Its been a browser feature for at least a decade now.

Which is the other side you don't elaborate on.  "How do you get the image in the first place?  In teh correct format, dimenisons and data size?"   The majority of screen capture mechanisms in the modern world place it in the clipboard and there are extra steps to save a file. 

Mobile users?  Ha.  Good luck.  These days they pretend like they don't have filesystems at all!

[EEVblog]

Its "Easy to upload" single images, fully prepared, within the size limit....  which is why very few posts have images and those that do usually only have one.  It was demo'd in this thread by Steve creating multiple posts with a single image.... because to make it a multi-image post is ....  frustrating and broken.

You don't think I know this?
The options are:
1) Move to entirely new forum software like Zenforo that allows inline cut and paste and better formatting etc.
2) I pay someone to write a fully custom plugin for SMF that does all this magic and hope it works.

If you have a third option then I'm all ears.

[xrunner]

I'm wondering if the path to making it easier would start with getting the forum code up to date?

It looks like the version of SMF being used here is

SMF 2.0.19 | SMF © 2021, Simple Machines

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/?action=credits

Simple Machines Forum version 2.0.19 was released on December 21, 2021 - 5 years ago. Since that version I found that these releases have been issued to the general user base -

The chronological list of major releases and updates in the SMF 2.1 line from the 2.0 era transition to the present:

SMF 2.1.0 — The major stable release introducing a modern responsive default theme (Curve2), improved security, built-in mentions, user alerts, and full overhaul of the system architecture.

SMF 2.1.1 — Maintenance patch restoring compatibility for older PHP versions (PHP 7.0–7.2) and fixing minor Package Manager issues.

SMF 2.1.2–SMF 2.1.4 — Incremental maintenance and security updates addressing stability, bug fixes, and PHP compatibility adjustments.

SMF 2.1.5 — Mid-2025 patch focused on core system fixes and general maintenance.

SMF 2.1.6 — Quick follow-up patch addressing minor regressions introduced in the 2.1.5 release.

SMF 2.1.7 (March 8, 2026) — The current stable release featuring important fixes, including PHPSESSID removal, mail queue fixes, search optimization improvements, broken Gmail activation link repairs, and updated SCEditor/caching tools.

Just wondering why the releases since SMF 2.0.19 have not been installed. Looks like there are important improvements. Maybe there is a package available now for the latest version that would help with the above complaints?