Hello everyone.

This is a list of instructions for those of you "computer challenged"
folks that would like to add some pictures to your posts on the VMF.

There are 3 ways to post a picture on the VMF.

1. Just a one time only photo that you add to a post to illustrate what
you are talking about.

2. A "signature" photo that shows up at the end of all of your posts.

3. An "avatar".  This is the little picture by your name on the left side
of the screen.

No matter which type of photo you want to add, you need to have it loaded
onto a website somewhere that allows you to link to it.  That means that 
there is a way you can type in a web address (like http://whatever...) that
will point to the photo directly.  

Throughtout this FAQ, I will use my car as an example.

I have a picture of my car on my own personal web site.  The address of the
picture is http://www.svs.com/zim/sig.jpg

If you type that into the address bar on your web browser, you will see my car.

Notice that the picture is not very big.  If you try to use a huge photo, 
the forum will probably reject it - or simply not display it.  If it does 
allow you to use it, and it is too big, you will tick off all of the other
members who have to wait to download your huge photo every time they read
your posts.

If you have a big photo that needs to be resized, and you dont know how to do 
it, email it to me at zim@svs.com and I will email you back a smaller one.

Once you have a good version of the photo on a website somewhere (it can
be your own personal site, or you can get a friend to host it for you) all
you need to know is the web address of the photo.

If you want to include that photo in a post, just to illustrate somtething
one time only, just put the address between the [image] and [/image] tags
like this:

[image]http://www.svs.com/zim/sig.jpg[/image]  

That will put the picture in your post.

If you want to add it to every post, here's how you do it...

*Log into the forum.
*Click the "My Home" tab from the top menu.
*Then click "Control Panel" from the drop down menu.
*Then click on "Signature" in the menu that appears. 
*Enter your code in the box at the bottom of the page.
 Take a look at the code for my signature below:

----------------
Jason Zimberoff [Email]zim@svs.com[/Email] - 64.5 convertible 
260 V8 - C4 Automatic - Power Top - Console - 4 Wheel Drums - "Charlotte"
[url=http://www.svs.com/zim/mustang]Zim's 64.5 Mustang[/url] -- 
[url=http://www.svs.com/zim/mustang/colors.html]Mustang Color Archive[/url] -- 
[url=http://chicago-mustang.com]Chicago Vintage Mustang Club[/url]
[image]http://www.svs.com/zim/sig.jpg[/image]
"Nobody ever learned anything from listening to themselves talk..." - 
My grandfather
----------------

*Notice that there are some special "tags" that tell the forum what to do.

 [image] [/image] whatever address you put inside these will try to insert a 
 picure from that address (provided it isnt too big).

 [url] [/url] whatever address you put in here will come up as a clickable 
 link.  This is the simple way to do it, where the address itself is what is
 displayed as a clickable link.

 [url=http://www.whatever...] Click Here [/url] this is the more complicated
 way to have a clickable link where the text in between the tags is all that
 is displayed, but the link takes you to the address after the = sign.

============================================================================
 
Now lets say you want to put a small picture next to your name in 
every post too.  (The "avatar")

Follow the directions above to get into the "Control Panel" page
again, and then click "Avatar Settings".

Here you see a section dedicated to the avatar only.  You can type in the
web address of your photo here too.  If you need to have something sized
down to 65 x 75, please email it to me and I will do it for you.

You can also point to a file on your computer to be uploaded to the VMF
for your Avatar.

Finally, I am willing to be the "friend with a website" that hosts the
photos for you if you are in the Chicago Vintage Mustang Club.  But I would
love it if you were able to figure out how to do it with your own web space.

Most internet providers give you at least a small amount of disk space to 
keep photos like this in, and it would be cool if you learned how to use your 
own stuff.

But if all else fails, or if you can't get your net service to work for you,
I will be happy to do it.

Good luck!

-Zim