Little tidbits of my life

Tutorial for using Photobucket to add images and pics to your blog entries

I have written a tutorial below to explain how to insert an image/picture from www.photobucket.com into a blog.  I wrote it based on Windows, not Macs.  I am not sure if the instructions are the same for Mac users.  If you have further tips, feel free to add in the comments section:

• Go to www.photobucket.com.  If you do not have an account, set one up, it is FREE.  Just follow the instructions on the site...
• After setting up your new account, you can then view your album by clicking the tab "My Album" at the top of the page.
• to categorize your images/pics into individual albums, use the box on the top left corner of the screen "add a new album". 

NOTE:  Each time you add a name, it opens the "new" album, so before you add another name for an album, make sure you go back to your first album (just click the tab "my albums" again) so it doesnt create lots of sub-sub-sub albums. 

• Upload your pictures.  Instructions are on their site.  They also have a link for uploading lots of pictures (click "use our bulk uploader") that is VERY user friendly.  If you have trouble with this step, let me know.
• If you have already added pics to your main album, you can move them to your newly named albums by putting a checkmark in the box under the pic, then clicking the option to "move picture".  You can then specify which album to put it.
• Once you have added the pictures into the specified albums, you are ready to use them as you wish. 
• If you plan to add a pic to a blog, you must NOT move it to a different album on www.photobucket.com once you have added it to your blog b/c it will cause the pic not to load into your blog for future viewers. 
• OKAY, now to add the pic...locate the pic you want to use from www.photobucket.com.  Advertisements are always at the top of the screen, so if you do not see the pics when you click on the album, just scroll down.
• under your pic in www.photobucket.com, you will see several options listed under each picture.  I find it easiest to click the box beside "Direct Link", it will highlight the info...
• hold down your CTRL key and then hit your letter C.  This is a shortcut to quickly copy a link to your computer's clipboard...
• go to the new blog you are typing and click your mouse next to where you want the picture to go (at the end of a sentence maybe, where you describe the pic)...
• then click on the icon in the toolbar of the box that looks like a little mountain and is shaded yellow above...it is 3rd from the right, just beside the smiley face used to insert smileys.  (When you hover over it, it will say "Insert /Edit Image").  This will open a new box used to insert pics...
• Click into the space titled "Image URL".  hold down CTRL key and click the letter V.  This is a shortcut to paste the direct link from www.photobucket.com into the space. 

NOTE:  You may get a message pop up from Internet Explorer at this point that states "DO YOU WANT TO ALLOW THIS WEBPAGE TO ACCESS YOUR CLIPBOARD...".  Click "Allow Access". 

• Once you have pasted your link, click into next space on the box.  You should now see your pic in the preview button. 
• You will likely not be able to see the entire pic at once b/c it is just a preview box, but If the pic in the preview window looks like it will be WAY too big, you can change the width easily by putting a number in the box located to the right of the Preview box named "width".  I like to make my widths no bigger than say 700 or so...you can decide as you try this feature out.  It should automatically fill in the height for you after you click out of the width box so that the proprtions will be correct...
• then click the tab at the bottom of the screen "Insert Image".  Your pic will now be in your blog's edit box...

NOTE:  if you still do not like the size of the image/pic, you can click on the image/pic that you just inserted and this will highlight it and create little white boxes on the corners and centers of the edge of the pic.  You can use mouse to move the boxes in/out to further change the size of the pic...when finished, click off the pic and proceed in finishing your blog as usual...

I hope this helps!  It is extremely detailed, but I was trying not to leave out any steps...if you need clarification, just leave a comment and if I do not know the answer, I will try to find someone who does...

Teresa

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11:05, Monday, February 25, 2008 .. Posted by borderling

thank you. I've been wondering how to do this for awhile now.
Rhonda

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10:54, Monday, February 25, 2008 .. Posted by seventhheaven

thank you so much for sharing this. I had already used photobucket but couldnt get them to my site. One question, how do you get them permantley to be on your blog site?

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05:38, Monday, May 19, 2008 .. Posted by Anonymous

Thank you so much for doing this. I am a Mac user so I will have to check with my husband to see if I can pull this off. For your next tutorial, would you be willing to show me how, step by step, how to make categories for my blog? I have asked and looked and still am thoroughly confused. I'm over at HomeschoolBlogger, but I am assuming HomesteadBlogger works much the same way?
Many Blessings,
Holly
www.homeschoolblogger.com/aiminghigh

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09:27, Tuesday, May 20, 2008 .. Posted by Anonymous

Thank you so much for getting back to me...and so quickly! I have understood everything so far, but now I come to my glitches....I noticed that other peoples' entries have a place on the top or bottom of each entry that says which category it has been placed in. Mine doesn't do that. Why? Also, how are the category lists showing up on peoples' sidebars for others to access?
Many Blessings,
Holly
www.homeschoolblogger.com/aiminghigh