First, let me introduce myself here. My name is Michael Eshom and I'm an amateur web developer/tech enthusiast from Cincinnati, Ohio. I am also an expert with this forum system, having been involved in the project in one way or another since it started over a decade ago. Though I'm no longer on any official teams (due to lack of time), I still run several forums of my own and help out with other things related to SMF as I have time. I got in touch with Russ and offered to upgrade the forum for him since the old version was extremely out of date.
The upgrade brings about a ton of changes:
New theme that adapts to fit screens of all sizes, including cell phones and tablets
Ability to use Gravatar (https://www.gravatar.com) avatars
Better handling of times - instead of setting a time offset, you can now choose your timezone (that should have been converted automatically)
Ability to display attached images directly within the post
Ability to "like" posts
Ability to mention other members in posts - just type "@" followed by the first few letters of their name and click the appropriate one from the list
Ability to embed YouTube videos in your post
Notifications system - be notified about replies to your posts, when people like your posts, etc. The default settings can be configured by clicking your username in the upper left corner and then clicking "Notifications"
Drafts for posts and PMs - your post is automatically saved every 30 seconds, or click the "Save Draft" button. You can access drafts from the appropriate area of your profile or load a previously saved draft from the posting screen
Ability to quote a portion of a post - select the text you want to quote then click "quote selected"
A new "WYSIWYG" (What You See Is What You Get) editor that lets you see how your post will look in real time
Quick reply is always enabled by default
Note that I am still working on the header, so that will return in the coming days once I get the appropriate code to make it work with the new layout (the old code won't allow it to adapt to your screen).
If you have any questions or issues, let me know :)
A couple of days ago a message from Michael Eshom showed up in my junk mail but looked legitimate so I took a chance and replied. As I hope will be obvious, that gamble has paid huge dividends. I am very unfamiliar with Internet software and management whereas Michael is a pro, especially with respect to our forum software. While the main improvements are in place, as Michael says, he still wants to tweak a few things.
A major improvement already is functional: Instead of a 230kb limit on the size and number of images we can include in a single post, Michael has raised that to 2 MEGABYTES, the first increase in about 15 years!
If anyone finds a glitch or wants to make a suggestion, now's the time.
Russ
Hi Russ
Does This mean we don't have to resize photos any more
Barney
completely lost as usual !!!
I've removed the height/width limits so you should be good to upload things of any size as long as the filesize is 2MB or less
Barney, that means you'll still have to keep the image under 2 megabytes because a typical JPEG is bigger than that ... but you now have a lot more flexibility. On the other hand, if you stick with the 320 kilobyte limit you've been using up until now, you'll be able to fit a lot more photos into a single post (about 6 times as many).
If you want to post something and have trouble, just send me a note and I'll try to help.
Russ
Wow this is some improvement!
Jerry
For a moment I thought I'd accidentally opened the wrong website! I like the new look.
Phew, I really thought I just pressed the wrong key and was lost in space, but no.
Looks good but like anything new, it is going to take a while.
Looks like the pages still have the old features but with a Utube link etc?
If I have any questions I will post them.
cheers Kim
As I fumbled around for an answer, I accidentally deleted Kim's question about how to post a jpeg instead of a link to an online photo. The problem is that I haven't stumbled on a solution yet. -- Russ
Funny My thoughts is if you have the chance why not upload directly from your photo files.I am not good getting through tecknical issues but I use Windows and have a big photo library one file is resized images that I use to post her and other places.When I use Facebook it asks me to upload a photo we all know this.I can choose were this photo is from my library we also all know this.Why can't we use a similar system?
You can still upload photos here, just not from the quick reply form. When you're posting click where it says "Attachments and other options" and you'll see the place to upload your files.
Wow... major improvement! Glad you took the leap Russ and many thanks to Michael for performing the upgrade. It's kind of like running into an old friend who has slimmed down, swapped the coveralls for slightly more sophisticated attire, and got a haircut to boot! Well done!
I finally discovered how to post images by accessing the "attachments and other options" Michael refers to.
DO NOT use the "Quick Reply" window.
Instead press the blue REPLY button above it. Then it works like the old version of the forum did:
1. Click on "Attachments and other options", un-click any unnecessary options below that boldface heading (and usually that will be all of them), and drag your photo(s) into the "Drag and drop your files here" box ...
2. or click the ADD FILES button, locate the folder where you keep the images, and make a selection.
3. When your photo or photos are in the Attachments box, press the INSERT button. If you have too many photos or chose the wrong one, use the DELETE button.
4. Finally, hit the POST button at the bottom right-hand corner of the light gray POST REPLY box.
If I did it correctly, a photo of Mr. Greyford will accompany this little tutorial. As often is the case, if you click on the image it will open at its full size.
Russ
Hi Russ.
Looks like I have to do a bit of homework.
I am amazed that you run is a site that seems to have huge patronage but you get nothing out of it except the real friendship of its members.
Just my pennyworth most of the menu options are rarely used in my mind there should be a post picture, draft, post, and E mail option that is all.
All the pictures should be re-sized but automatically sized to suit the page. At the moment the new site looks too much like a photo editing site a bit too complicated.
Have you ever considered Patron I know you get to the stage in life that running a new business has no attraction but you get huge patronage?
cheers Kim
I can add a button to the quick reply box to take you to the attachments area on the main posting form if that would be helpful. Thumbnails for photos are 300x300 max, but that can be changed as well.
Michael, it would be more intuitive at first to have a photo attachment button on the Quick Reply box but once you remember to use the REPLY button for photos it's probably unnecessary. Still, I get comfortable with software pretty quickly whereas several forum members are probably better off with the simplest workable solution.
Kim, whose post is immediately above yours, is a vital member here and his preferences probably reflect those of several others. We're a very small and select group of artists and craftsmen, and many consider computers a necessary evil. Kim's idea about automatically formatting photos probably would be quite popular, assuming somebody could create it quickly and easily.
Kim, I don't understand what you are asking about Patreon. Are you suggesting I try to make our forum profitable? If so, as soon as money is involved, the things you like about it could change in a very negative way. Please send me a note explaining what you have in mind.
Russ
I'm not sure there's an easy way to make the photos automatically resize to fit the screen other than making them shrink to fit screens smaller than the actual image (which I think already happens).
Wow, thanks Michael and Russ! Total disconnect at first, but wow!
Michael, regarding auto-resizing photos: We've been doing it manually for over a decade so, unless it were simple, easy, convenient, and required virtually no time to set up, we can just continue what we've been doing.
Chuck, I suspect you probably figured out the new software after only a few minutes.
If anyone is having trouble, please post your questions ASAP, while Michael is still keeping an eye on things. Once he wanders off, you'll be stuck with me.
Russ
I'm subscribed to this topic so I get an email every time someone replies :)
Well I sure don't know anything about all this new Tech Stuff... so looks like Ill just be dropping in once in a while and maybe typing a comment on a post... Simple :)
Quote from: Oldiesmann on June 27, 2022, 11:44:41 AMFirst, let me introduce myself here. My name is Michael Eshom and I'm an amateur web developer/tech enthusiast from Cincinnati, Ohio. I am also an expert with this forum system, having been involved in the project in one way or another since it started over a decade ago. Though I'm no longer on any official teams (due to lack of time), I still run several forums of my own and help out with other things related to SMF as I have time. I got in touch with Russ and offered to upgrade the forum for him since the old version was extremely out of date.
Thanks a lot for making the future of this forum more secure!
DSC_4594.jpg
Well I guess I know how to post. Zoey the most beautiful Yorkie made it here unharmed!!
Jerry
If she builds (rather than eats) models, please ask Zoey to send a username and password and I'll sign her into the forum. -- Russ
Russ and Michael, I need a lesson on how to post photos on the revised forum.
If you go to down page 4 of Stuart's thread on Leftie's garage https://www.finescalerr.com/smf/index.php?topic=3226.45
you will come to my reply about Letterbashing. I thought I could add photos into the text wherever I wanted, but couldn't do it and wound up adding a second reply to try to keep text and images together.
Also I haven't been able to change the default font that all my posts & rplies seem to be using, Any help appreciated. Thanks.
Quote from: Bill Gill on July 13, 2022, 06:56:22 PMRuss and Michael, I need a lesson on how to post photos on the revised forum.
If you go to down page 4 of Stuart's thread on Leftie's garage https://www.finescalerr.com/smf/index.php?topic=3226.45
you will come to my reply about Letterbashing. I thought I could add photos into the text wherever I wanted, but couldn't do it and wound up adding a second reply to try to keep text and images together.
Also I haven't been able to change the default font that all my posts & rplies seem to be using, Any help appreciated. Thanks.
You can put the photos wherever you want them. After uploading it, you'll see "Insert" and "Delete" buttons. Click in the post area wherever you want the photo to appear, then click "Insert" and it will add code to display that attachment there.
As far as the font goes, click the first blue A on the toolbar (first icon in the third group) and you can select a different font from the list there.
Michael, I noticed a software upgrade is available but I assume I would have to install it from within the server. If you have time, and if installation is foolproof, please send me instructions. If there's a way to mess it up, I'll probably do that and almost certainly will need to ask you some questions via e-mail. -- Russ
Quote from: finescalerr on July 13, 2022, 11:48:10 PMMichael, I noticed a software upgrade is available but I assume I would have to install it from within the server. If you have time, and if installation is foolproof, please send me instructions. If there's a way to mess it up, I'll probably do that and almost certainly will need to ask you some questions via e-mail. -- Russ
What software update are you referring to? We're running the latest version of SMF.
Sorry, I saw an update announcement and didn't notice what version we are running. The current software glitch causing the numerous (false) error messages is why the update caught my attention in the first place. -- Russ
I just noticed that I had received a number of ALERTS from members commenting on some of my posts. Is there a way to reply to the senders? Clicking on their icons didn't do anything.
If you click on the topic name in the alert, it will take you to that particular post. You can quote the post or mention the member (type @ followed by the first few letters of their name then select the appropriate one from the list that pops up) to reply to them
Thank you for that answer, Michael. -- Russ
Thanks, Michael. That would've taken me a while to figure out.