Posting Pictures Incorporating an Image in a 'post'

Inserting Images and Videos Into Posts

There are a couple of different ways you can insert an image to display within a posts you make.

One way is to have the forum host the image via the attachment system, however this method is currently restricted to staff members only at the moment, therefore all other members will have to use a 3rd Party Host to display by linking to an image that they have hosted elsewhere.

How to Insert Images Using a 3rd Party Host

First you will have to open an account with www.photobucket.com, www.imgur.com, www.ImageShack.com etc there is no charge for the basic package. Ensure you know the location of the photos on your PC, which you wish to post. Upload the selected pictures from your PC to your newly opened account. This is quite straight forward, simply click on 'browse', locate and select the desired image, double click it, then click 'submit' (sometimes drag and drop) and with a bit of luck a copy of your image will now be uploaded to your account. Now that you have successfully uploaded your image or photo to your chosen Host you can now post them here on the 'MEV Owners Forum' (but be aware that if you move the images around into different folders within your Host account that this may affect your links to the Forum).

To link directly to an image hosted elsewhere, you'll first need to get the direct URL (the web address of the image) to the image you want to embed within your post. A direct URL will end with the file format of the image, such as .jpg, .png, .gif, etc. Often times you can locate the direct URL of an image from the share options when viewing the image on the hosting service.

Once you have the direct URL of an image you would like to insert into a post, click the Reply button to an existing thread on the forum, or create a new thread to bring up the posting page. On the posting page click on the 'picture icon' button found in the toolbar directly above the message area. Once clicked a pop-up window will display asking you for the Image URL, along with the Alt Text. Paste in the direct URL for the image you want to share within your post into the box provided for the Image URL option. The text you enter in the Alt Text field is what will display in your post any time the image itself is unable to load, either because the visitor has images disabled in their web browser or if your image hosting provider is having technical issues and is unable to load the image.

Once you have the Image URL and Alt Text filled out, click on the Insert Image button found at the bottom of the pop-up window and you should see a reference to your image appear in the message area of your post. Once your post is made, the image will display directly in your message.

WARNING: Ensure you are familiar with the privacy settings on your account; though your holiday/leisure snaps may be 'interesting' we suggest you start a separate MEV album within your hosting account. (My Bucket/album is set to 'private' - only the images to which I provide the direct URL are viewable.)

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Ok it is acknowledged that some of the above may be a bit bewildering for those that are new to the world of the internet or forums in general. So in an attempt to simplify and get you started uploading Images to the MEV Owners Forum we offer the following.

Assuming you have successfully opened a 3rd Party Host account and uploaded your images to, using say www.photobucket.com as an example, you should see displayed on your computer screen a like image as follows. (see screen shot below, click on to see full size)



The image displayed and used as an example is the 'MEV Owners Banner' , now the Direct link Image code that you require is in the second box listed in the SHARE LINKS column to the right of the screen marked with the arrow, move your mouse pointer over the box and click, this should copy, capture the link for you. Then return to your post within the MEV Forum and click on the 'Insert Image' button marked with the arrow and the 'Insert Image' pop up box will appear. Delete the 'http:/' highlighted in blue and paste the Direct link code from photobucket, then click the 'Insert Image' button at the bottom of the popup box.



If viewing in Preview mode you should be able to see your image displayed within your written post.



Click on 'Create Post' as usual and your text post including linked image will be displayed on the Forum.

(Note:- you will not be able to use this image insertion method in 'Quick Reply' posting mode)

We repeat this WARNING: Ensure you are familiar with the privacy settings on your account; though your holiday/leisure snaps may be 'interesting' we suggest you start a separate MEV album within your hosting account. (My Bucket/album is set to 'private' - only the images to which I provide the direct URL are viewable.)
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How to Insert Video

If you found a video on the internet that you would like to share with other forum members, you can embed the video into your post. When this is done, a video player will appear in a thread after your post is made. The forum software supports a variety of video services to embed from, as well as supports direct links to video files you have hosted with a file host.

When creating a new thread or post, find the 'movie Icon' button on the posting page to begin embedding a video to your post. Once you click this button, a pop up will display asking for the Video URL, as well as be able to view a list of supported video websites. Simply paste in the URL of the video you would like to embed in your post; you can find the URL of the video either by copying directly from the web address in your web browsers address bar, or through a direct link provided by the share options of the video service you're linking from. Once you have the URL pasted in, click the Insert Video button at the bottom of the pop up window. Now in the posting area, you should see an image placeholder for where the video player will be positioned in your post. After you create the post, the video will display in that spot.

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