Recently Clare Reesey inquired about how to post images to RCSB. The question continues to pop up in threads so I thought I would post the following on the site...then realized it not only stepped on the original topic, but was not at all contributing to cleaning up the RCSB photo memory management issues its constantly haunted with. Here it is:

Not to Hijack the thread but to possibly enable this subject to be better seen... this may help everyone attempting to post images to RCSB. Of late there are several people asking Clare's question.

The hyperlink "" next to  over the post input box is the symbol you click to upload images which are smaller than 60k. This is the last step "after" image has been reduced in "quality" and displacement of ram by 60k or less.

This does not necessarily mean you have to reduce the physical displacement size of the image. Most of the time, a 640 x 480 will post with no problems after it has been compressed. These images are 505 pixels wide and appear to have been corner dragged to reduce their size instead of electronically reduced. They are from your AOL album. Notice jagged edges of normally straight lines...

Most of the images seen in building threads are down in the 300 pixel width range and resized in any editor prior to being uploaded. Any graphics related program can be used to reduce the physical and the ram displacement size of images. The program used with a scanner will usually permit this.

After identfying the image on your computer, (file name and drive location) fire up your scanner graphics program. Usually you have to have your scanner on to initiate the program. Instead of scanning an image, look at the "get" function in the header or left margin of the program. This usually permits you to easily click and click again on the drive where the image is, then click on the file folder that contains the image, then finally...the image itself.

After the image file is displayed on the program screen...you can do some editing to change the physical displacement size and compress a new "save as" image. This does not effect the original image.

With the original full size image on the screen you can first click on it and change its physical displacement size. Simply click once on the image displayed on your screen...then look in the heading or margin of your scanning program. Typically you should find the word size or re-size, or something of the like.

You should change the size electronically to retain the highest "qualify" image. It is tempting to click a corner of a drawing and drag it down in size to reduce it...DO NOT DO THIS. It creates electronic noise and can distort the image.

Using the menu in the size control section of your program will cleanly or more cleanly reduce the size. There is a second element you need to look for. After a resizing has been done...look for a refresh button "within that section" of menu. Typically this will reconstitute as much of the original control code within original image and you will physically be able to "see" a more clear image when it has been clicked. If you don't find it, don't worry...your program may do it during the resizing of the image for you.

Now, click on "save as" and pay attention to the menu choices available to you. It'll typically ask the % or degree of compression to be applied to the "saved as" image. This might be referred to as "quality" of the saved image. In most cases it is best to set this option at no higher than 20 to 25% of the range offered. The higher the percentage, the more electronic noise will be present. The noise will distort the image in squiggly splotches if the % is selected too high.

You won't know how effected the image is until the file is saved to your hard drive and opened again in the same program. If it is distorted, delete the new file name saved under "save as". Then call forward the original image and when saving as again...set the % of compression lower...or if it is called image qualify increase the quality setting slightly and try again until you are satisfied with the way it looks.

Typically, once you identify a compression % or quality setting that looks good once, it will work for most images except those with radical color density or lighting conditions. To print this brief tutorial, simply highlight it with your mouse, right click mouse and select copy to save it so you can paste it in a word processing program for use later or printing out.

Hope this helped you to upload clear, clean and proper sized images of your Flite-Metal covered Wingspan Models B-17 on RCSB. After completing the image edits and saving as new files, close the scan program and go back to RCSB where you will upload by clicking this image...