Linking to pictures problem

[Oceaneer99]

I just noticed in some of Lou's postings about his Enterprise model that links to specific album pages are subject to change! 

The links to the images themselves don't change, since they are based on the file name.  For instance, the medium size thumbnail of Lou's Enterprise is at:

http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/normal_DSCF8627.JPG

And the link to the album page is currently:

http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/displayimage.php?album=20&pos=5

However, based on Lou's post, which used to work, it used to be 'pos=6'.

We'll have to keep an eye on this to see if references to albums and album pages are permanent or subject to change as we rearrange images or move albums.

Links to images themselves are permanent.

--Garet

[R.F.Bennett]

If the order of the images in the album are rearranged or if they are moved to another album that link will change. However, since the image is assigned a number when uploaded and placed in a group cache the image URL will not change. This is done so that the system does not produce a new copy each time the image is moved around thus cluttering up the files with duplicate images. Lou must have moved the images position from say number 1 in the album to number 6. Or created a sub album and moved it there. These things will cause that blue URL line to change and your link will no longer work. Just update the link in the post with the new one and it should work again.

[Oceaneer99]

I just figured out how to get the permanent url for the image.  In the "File Information" section at the bottom of the album page, there is a url for the page:

for example, this is Lou's Bonaventure:

URL:   http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-498

As far as I can tell, this is a permanent url for the album page, unlike the ones that end with something like: displayimage.php?album=32&pos=22

The documentation forum for the Coppermine Gallery seems to say this is the permanent link.

Garet

[R.F.Bennett]

That is for the album page not the image it'self. If you move the image to a different album that will change or if you change the position of the image in the album. If you post that as an image link you will only get a blank. That is the link to the images album page that you post as a hyperlink under the image.
To find the actual image you right click the image and look for "Properties" or "copy link location" the URL can the be pasted between the image brackets. An easy way to tell in the case of this image.

http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-498

The album page will end with:  displayimage.php?pos=-498

The php?pos= meaning the position in the gallery.

The actual image URL will end with:  normal_DSCF9003.JPG

The normal_DSCF9003.jpg meaning normal size and the name/number the gallery assigns the image; DSCF9003.jpg
Note the .jpg at the end of the file name. it could also be gif, zip, tif, or pdf.



In short if it end something like this; displayimage.php?pos=-xxx  that is the album page.
If it ends in a three or four letter file extension, like .jpg or .gif or .tiff that is the actual file and will show as an image when placed in the brackets.

[Oceaneer99]

Ray is correct, my discussion was for the album PAGE only, not the image itself.  It looks like people have been linking the image correctly.  Some posters have inserted the image url (so that the image shows up in the posting), and then added a link to the gallery (album) page, where the comments, etc., are located.  The link to the album page needs to have the pos=-498 type ending, not the album=20&pos=5 type ending.  If I read the documentation correctly, the one that just has pos should stay the same unless the picture is moved to a new album; the one with the "album" reference changes when the pictures are rearranged within the album.

Very confusing at the moment, but I think we'll slowly figure it out.

Garet

[Oceaneer99]

Since I used to live in Missouri, I have a bit of "show me", so I'm going to post a test message to figure out which links stay and which move around.  I'll post it to this discussion.

Garet

[Oceaneer99]

Test posting from Oceaneer99's finished aircraft gallery:

P-40 direct link to image:

http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/normal_1786102224_b5481a2960_b.jpg

image displayed here (using img tags):


Link to album page using the wrong (relative position) url:
http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/displayimage.php?album=2&pos=0

Link to album page using url in the "File information"
http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-3

Both show the P-40 when the album is sorted with the P-40 first.

Now, I'll change the album photo order...the Yak-1000 is now the first image, and the P-40 is the last (I just rearranged my view, as a Guest, which I hope just changes the order on my computer!  I just checked with another browser, and it is the old order, so apparently, I just changed some cookies that the browser uses to view the page):

The inserted image is still the P-40:
http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/normal_1786102224_b5481a2960_b.jpg

image displayed here (using img tags):


Link to album page using the wrong (relative position) url:
http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/displayimage.php?album=2&pos=0
This is now the Yak-1000 album page!

Link to album page using url in the "File information"
http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-3
This is still the P-40 album page.

Now, I'm logged in to the gallery, and I'll move the P-40 to another album.  I moved it to my Book Covers album.

The inserted image is still the P-40:
http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/albums/userpics/normal_1786102224_b5481a2960_b.jpg

image displayed here (using img tags):


Link to album page using the wrong (relative position) url:
http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/displayimage.php?album=2&pos=0
This is still the Yak-1000 album page.

Link to album page using url in the "File information"
http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-3
This is still the P-40 album page!

Okay, hopefully that answers some questions.  I'm going to move the P-40 back to its old album now.

[lastvautour]

Garet, this is clear as pie but I think I've got it.

http://smm.solidmodelmemories.net/Gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-118

[R.F.Bennett]

To add to the confusion I resized the opening page thumbnails this morning and added more of them. This is so first timers will really be impressed with the amount of information there and we can see more of the newest images posted.
I also wanted to emphasise how important it is to post the link to the gallery image with your photos on the forum pages. This is so people can use the comments section and the rating feature. I'm hoping to have contests in the future using the ratings and comments systems. Plus it allows people to see a larger image than that posted on the forum. I haven't gotten any feedback on the new size limit but it does seem to load much faster.

[Oceaneer99]

Ray, oddly enough, the images on the page seem to be resized versions of the resolution on the gallery page.  If you do a "save as" on the image in the forum, it saves an image which is the same size as the original (it *is* the original file).  But they do seem to load faster this way, so I'll give up trying to figure out why!

Nice pie, Lou.  I don't make pies, but I do enjoy making Guiness Stout chocolate cake.  It requires slightly more than a pint of Guiness, so I buy six when I have to make one of these cakes.

Garet

[lastvautour]

http://groups.msn.com/SolidModelMemories/theairracerproject.msnw?albumlist=2

[R.F.Bennett]

Some things we just aren't meant to understand.
Need another build gallery Lou? 

[lastvautour]

Ray or Garet, can you link me up to the new cook-up albums so I can start uploding some pictures and comments?