Avatars

[RJM713]

Guys,

I'm having one hell of a time getting a pic to comply with the 50-50 pixels requirement.

Assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[GoldenEagle]

I had more luck with a .png file than .jpg for some reason.

[Tom_T]

JPEG files tend to be big. They support 16 million colors, and are typically used for photos.

GIF files are smaller because they support just 256 colors. They are typically used for logos, drawings, etc.

PNG files are an improved version of GIF, providing greater depth of color.

So, if you can save your image as a .gif or .png file, that's the best bet. You can use Windows Paint (under Accessories) to open up your .jpg file and save it in .gif or .png format.

[Markus_ls]

I'm having the same problem. I have a small photo (about 1.5inches in standard resolution), that is 3kb in jpg, 5 kb in pgn, and 20 kb in gif. But I get the 50x50 pixel error for all three.

[Tom_T]

That's actually a big photo for use as an avatar. You may have to resize it.

[Markus_ls]

SUCCESS!!!

RMJ713, open your jpg file in MSpaint. (You can right click on the photo and choose, "open with" then choose paint.) Go to the image menu. Choose "stretch/skew" and reduce from 100% for horizontal and vertical to whatever fraction is necessary for the 50x50 pixel rule. To check if your have succeeded choose "attributes" from the image menu. If it's still larger than 50x50 shrink even smaller.

[Tom_T]

To see a picture of Albert Einstein sticking out his tongue? Well worth the effort.

[Markus_ls]

On the one hand my avatar is Einstein, an icon of "genius". On the other hand it's an older man sticking his tongue out and overall looking pretty darn goofy. Which image (genius or goofball) represents me???

I Display - You Decide.

[PD@HQ]

Originally posted by Markus_ls
On the one hand ...an icon of "genius". On the other hand it's an older man ... looking pretty darn goofy. Which image (genius or goofball) represents me?

Could be an older goofball.

[kerosenedan]

Um...what avatars? When I logged on today, there was a new forum format, and no avatars for any post!

[Markus_ls]

Um...what avatars? When I logged on today, there was a new forum format, and no avatars for any post!

It's the same for me. This must be the new server. I figure it will take a little adjustment time for users (me!) to figure out how to use all the options. Plus it may not be totally installed on the HQ side yet either - I notice there are no smilies enabled also.....

[Tom_T]

Test

Try uploading your avatar again. I just put a test one on my profile, and it seems to work.

The smilies only appear on your post's title, as I've done here. Don't know why I can't put them in the text.

[Markus_ls]

In the Control Panel (CP) there is a page for "edit avatar" and "edit profile picture". Edit avatar has a radio button pre-checked that says "no avatar" and can't be unselected. I think it was the same in the old system. Edit profile picture has a place to upload a file with a browse button. The picture I uploaded yesterday will not upload (it says "invalid file"), even though the new limit seems to be 100x100 pixels and it was 48x50. I tried uploading a .gif and .pgn version of that same (.jpg) picture and it seemed successful and appeared on my control panel page. But when I try to save changes it says "upload of file failed".

[Tom_T]

You don't deselect the "no avatar" radio button; you select the "custom avatar" button a little further down the page. Radio buttons should appear together, so that's my little nitpick.

Also, "save changes" seems to be a misnomer. Once I uploaded my avatar, it appeared, and I didn't need to click "save changes". In fact, clicking it causes that "upload failed" message, even though the upload actually worked.

[Markus_ls]

There is no "custom avatar" button on my display. Really. Not in Edit Avatar or Edit Profile Picture (which IS displaying the .pgn picture right now). Plus I went through every option on the left side menu.

Is it possible you have a different view because you are @HQ? (special permissions?)