Writing.Com 101

Image

Images are a great way to spice up your portfolio, signatures and items on Writing.Com! If you are an Upgraded member or higher, you may upload and store images in your portfolio.

Image Items are created just like any other item type on Writing.Com. There are two methods for creating and saving images. You can select the Writing link in the navigation under the Writing.Com logo, then scroll down and click on Image. Or, you can go to your Portfolio and select Create Item just below your Portfolio tab. Select Image from the links that drop down. In either case, follow the instructions in the Create an Image Item window. For a detailed explanation of creating an image item, please see "Create/Edit an Image" . Images are limited to 400 x 400 pixels with a maximum file size of 150K. (If you would like to upload larger images than 400 x 400, please see: "Photo Album" .)

What kind of Images are available?
While the following classifications are currently listed, selecting one image type over another does not change the actual composition of the image nor the method in which the image is displayed on Writing.Com. You should still select the appropriate genres in Section 3 of the creation/edit window to ensure your image is properly advertised or listed. Properly inserting one of the following types can, however, be used to narrow your search for a specific type of image when looking for an image on the Writing.Com public listing pages.

Clip Art: Ready-made pieces of printed or computerized graphic art, such as borders and backgrounds, that can be electronically copied and used to decorate a document.

Cover Art: The illustration or photograph on the outside of a published product such as a book, magazine, comic book, product package, video game, DVD, CD, videotape, audio album, manual or brochure.

Diagram: A class of visual display that explains something, such as a chart or table.

Graph/Chart: A type of information graphic, that represents tabular numeric data and/or functions.

Illustration: Any type of picture or decoration used in conjunction with a text to embellish its appearance or to clarify its meaning.

Logo/Text: Words or graphics used to identify the origin or ownership of goods and to distinguish them from others.

Painting: The application of pigment to a surface to produce some representation or decorative arrangement of natural or imagined forms.

Photograph: An image created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface, or by the digital representation of light capture.

Signature: A digitally handwritten (and sometimes stylized) depiction of someone's name or nickname that readily identifies its creator or user.1

Image File Types
The following image file types may be uploaded into your Writing.Com portfolio:

JPEG: These are usually best for photographs and high-color images.

GIF: These contain no more than 256 colors and do not work well for photographs or high-color images. GIFs can use transparency and animation. Please note that use of animated GIFs is reserved for members with Premium membership and above (see: "Free and Paid Membership Benefits" ).

PNG: PNG is a format similar to GIF, but PNGs compress better than GIFs. This means they create smaller files that are quicker to upload and download.

Embed Images Within Other Items
Perhaps you'd like to include an image in another item such as a message post, signature or static item. You can add an image to these items using the WritingML image tag and your image's unique seven-digit number. When you decide where the image should be displayed, type the following at that location in your item:

{image:#######}
Replace the #-symbols with the seven-digit item number of the image you would like to use.

Share Images With Other Members
An owner of an image may allow his or her image to be shared with other Upgraded or above members on Writing.Com. Thus you would be able to use selected images without having to store those images in your own portfolio to use them.

The image owner simply sets the Image Sharing option in the creation/edit page of an image in his or her portfolio. Other Upgraded and Premium Members can then use the image within their items, posts, entries, etc with a normal WritingML {image:######} tag. For an example of shared images, check out:

Writing.Com Images For Upgraded Members  [E] #218143 Need a new look? Grab a Writing.Com image to spice up your posts and emails! by The StoryMistress

Again, the use of images is only available to Upgraded members and above. If you are interested in this feature and are not an Upgraded member, please check out the Writing.Com Shop for more information by choosing Shop from the left column and clicking Paid Memberships. You can visit the store at http://www.Writing.Com/main/store.php, or for more information, please see: "Free and Paid Membership Benefits" .2

Recommended Reading

1. Save Image To Your Computer
2. Create/Edit an Image
3. Image Guidelines and Policies
4. Creative Image Ideas
5. Free and Paid Membership Benefits

Footnotes
1  Definitions are from Dictionary.Com
2  Written by JACE and The StoryMistress