Sunday, April 19, 2009

How to add an image in Blogger

Usually, you want to add an image from your own computer. You can link to an image elsewhere on the Web; that's called "hot-linking," and only some websites allow it. If you have a Flickr or other photo-sharing account, that's fine. If you hot-link to an image without checking whether it's OK with the site owner, you may end up with an embarrassing message instead of an image. Always, you want an image you have the rights to use. There are places to find public domain or Creative Commons images you can use. Here are a few:

Here is a a list of one hundred sources from 2007. Some may have moved or changed, and some may be full of pop-ups or otherwise annoying to use! If you find an image from one of these sites you want to use, download it to your computer by right-clicking and choosing "Save Picture As" ("Save Image As" in Firefox). Browse to the location you want ("My Pictures" for example) and feel free to change the name of the image to something more meaningful to you. But, if the image requires attribution, do not leave the page where you downloaded it until you've copied the link and the name of the person--in other words, leave the page open until you've finished your post. Adding an image on your computer:
  • Click the image icon (to the right of the spell-check)
  • Click Browse
  • Find the image on your computer
  • Click the radio button under the layout you want (None, Left, Right, Center)
  • Click the size you want (Small, Medium, Large)
  • Click Upload Image
  • Click Done
  • You can click on the image and drag it elsewhere in your post
Adding an image from the Web that you KNOW you can hotlink to:
  • You must have the link directly to the image--NOT to the website on which the image is.
  • The simplest way is to right-click on the image and choose "Copy Shortcut" ("Copy Image Location" in Firefox)
  • Once the link is on your clipboard, go back to your Blogger compose window and click the image icon.
  • On the right-hand side, click inside the URL box and paste the link (right-click and choose Paste, or Control-V, or Edit/Paste from the menus)
  • Choose your layout and size (see above)
  • Click Upload Image
  • Click Done
  • Once again, you can click and drag to move the picture
If you change your mind or want to try a different size or layout, click the picture and press your Delete button. If your photo needs attribution (the author lets you use it but wants credit and/or a link), link the photo back to the author or the page it came from. In the compose window, click the photo and then click the Link icon. Paste in the link to the PAGE this time (not directly to the image). You should also add a note attributing the photo to its author. Unfortunately, doing image caption in Blogger is a little advanced. For now, I would recommend at the bottom of your post putting in "Image by so-and-so" with the name linked back to the person's profile (usually the name is a link on the page you got it from; right-click the name, choose "Copy Shortcut," and paste in the link as the URL). You can make the credit line italic and small to distinguish it as sort of a footnote to the post.

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