Posting Images

Posted by BigKev On 2018/6/15 15:07:34

I know some folks have had an issue posting images to the website. I have increased the image size to 7500kb/7.5mb. hopefully, this will reduce the issue. But please keep reading....

The reason I don't allow unlimited size is that this all takes storage space. Also, some of these images are so large, there is not enough system memory to resize/reduce them on the server without dramatically affecting server performance.

One of the other issues that have popped up recently is Apple has change the default format on it's cameras to HEIF/HEIC. This is not a JPEG/JPG file. It is pretty much an Apply only format as this time. The website sends whatever format it receives to browser and the browser decides if that is a something that is viewed inline (aka an image on the page), or something that has to be downloaded.

Currently, there are NO browsers are the market that can view HEIF files. Not even Safari which was a surprise to me. This is really a storage format, not a viewing format.

There are nearly no options available for me to automatically convert the HEIF files to JPEG on upload on the server at this time.

So, that being said, you can change the default setting on your iPhone back to JPEG instead of HEIF, and that will allow you upload again directly to the website (assuming the size is under the specified limits) or import them into Photos and export out to JPEG. When you "share" a photo to an Application on your Phone (FaceBook, etc), the IOS converts that to an JPEG automatically before uploading. This does not happen when you attach a file to a webpage.

Maybe in the future when browsers support this format natively or there is a stable HEIF to JPEG converter library available for the website, then this will change. But for now, those are the only options available.

Also, for other cameras in general, a lot of the photos are stored uncompressed by default. So, a photo can be huge in file size relative to its image size vs the compressed version. So, check your phone for those settings.

I did receive a generally sour email from someone recently basically complaining about how un-user friendly the website was and that as a car club I should pretty much put more effort into it.

For those that are new, and perhaps didn't know, PackardInfo is not a car club, nor is it directly associated with any car club, nor is it a business venture. It is a free Packard archive resource of information. It is supported out of my pocket and from unsolicited donations. It is my way of giving back to the hobby. I make improvements to it when I can, but I am not retired, and I have a family. Generally, the website is self-running. People and browse through the information, download what they want, and post picture and information. But even with that, I still put a good amount of time into the website ever week to make sure the wheels don't come off and that SPAM users don't fill up the forums with junk.

Fun fact, generally only about 1 out of 5 users that try to sign-up, actually get activated. The rest are usually bots or spammers trying to gain access so they can post SPAM or viruses, and I spend time everyday manually filter those accounts out.

Just thought I would pass along some information for those new and those that have been here awhile.

Thanks,

-BigKev