A Quick Guide to SimLit - Sims Story FAQ
It pains me that I have to say this, but this is NOT the thread to advertise your story. Please refrain from doing so, so that new writer's questions don't get lost. Some places to advertise are ment...
Forum Discussion
Tips for Wordpress Users
This post shares helpful tricks and instructions for wordpress users (since it's the most popular blogging choice on this forum). If you know about an issue on wordpress, that people often ask about and you have a solution, share it! Others might have the same question. You can also ask wordpress related questions in this thread and if we find a solution, I will add them to this guide. Also check out this site by @SilentWolf101 for helpful wordpress guides. If you are a wordpress beginner and want to ask a lot more questions check out this thread where you can ask any wordpress question you want and it will be answered step by step.
Questions discussed in this post are the following:
1) What do I do if I run out of media storage space?
2) How do I include externally hosted images in my blog posts?
What do I do if I run out of media storage space?
Don't panic! There are many ways to free storage space on your wordpress account without deleting pictures or buying additional space. The easiest solution is to use an external image hoster instead of uploading the images to wordpress. There are many external hosting sites that offer unlimited storage space for free (e.g. Imgur or Flickr). See the question below on how to include externally hosted images in your blog posts. However, if you don't want to use and external image hoster here are a few tips on how to save storage space:
@mastressalita says:
"One trend I've been seeing a lot lately which has been quite sad for me as an archivist is people deleting their stories off their blogs, and I'm thinking this may be due to Wordpress image limitations. I'd certainly be willing to provide information on how to insert images using HTML code into blog posts so folks don't feel they have to rely on inserting directly from Wordpress. Or other tips like simply resizing their screencaps from game (I notice a lot of people don't do this, and they are huge and would look just as good at half the resolution!) could save them space on their accounts. It has just been heartbreaking lately to see so many stories being deleted left and right... often completed works! While I myself prefer to have all my stories on a single site, if you just simply won't go the external image-hosting route, consider opening another Wordpress and moving the story you are about to delete in order to free up space over to the new Wordpress and then informing your readers from your main site where you've relocated it. Don't just delete it (especially a completed work!) to make more space on your account!"
Check out this post by @ValoisFulcanelli to see how much space you can save by converting and resizing your images.
@CathyTea says:
"One approach I've started using for Wordpress is that I have multiple blogs. One of them is for a "picture-less" story, so I've started using that to store images for my main blog (which is just about out of storage space). I just upload all my images to the other blog, insert them into a dummy post (that I never post), grab the HTML code from HTML view, and paste it into the real new post on my main blog. Works like a charm!"
(If you have more tips on how to save wordpress storage space, feel free to post here or to contact me)
How do I include externally hosted images in my blog posts?
Since wordpress wants you to use their storage system (so you'll eventually run out of space and pay for more space), wordpress will not assist you with including externally hosted images. However, it's not as difficult as you might think. Click the spoiler tags below for detailed instructions.
This post shares helpful tricks and instructions for wordpress users (since it's the most popular blogging choice on this forum). If you know about an issue on wordpress, that people often ask about and you have a solution, share it! Others might have the same question. You can also ask wordpress related questions in this thread and if we find a solution, I will add them to this guide. Also check out this site by @SilentWolf101 for helpful wordpress guides. If you are a wordpress beginner and want to ask a lot more questions check out this thread where you can ask any wordpress question you want and it will be answered step by step.
Questions discussed in this post are the following:
1) What do I do if I run out of media storage space?
2) How do I include externally hosted images in my blog posts?
What do I do if I run out of media storage space?
Don't panic! There are many ways to free storage space on your wordpress account without deleting pictures or buying additional space. The easiest solution is to use an external image hoster instead of uploading the images to wordpress. There are many external hosting sites that offer unlimited storage space for free (e.g. Imgur or Flickr). See the question below on how to include externally hosted images in your blog posts. However, if you don't want to use and external image hoster here are a few tips on how to save storage space:
@mastressalita says:
"One trend I've been seeing a lot lately which has been quite sad for me as an archivist is people deleting their stories off their blogs, and I'm thinking this may be due to Wordpress image limitations. I'd certainly be willing to provide information on how to insert images using HTML code into blog posts so folks don't feel they have to rely on inserting directly from Wordpress. Or other tips like simply resizing their screencaps from game (I notice a lot of people don't do this, and they are huge and would look just as good at half the resolution!) could save them space on their accounts. It has just been heartbreaking lately to see so many stories being deleted left and right... often completed works! While I myself prefer to have all my stories on a single site, if you just simply won't go the external image-hosting route, consider opening another Wordpress and moving the story you are about to delete in order to free up space over to the new Wordpress and then informing your readers from your main site where you've relocated it. Don't just delete it (especially a completed work!) to make more space on your account!"
Check out this post by @ValoisFulcanelli to see how much space you can save by converting and resizing your images.
@CathyTea says:
"One approach I've started using for Wordpress is that I have multiple blogs. One of them is for a "picture-less" story, so I've started using that to store images for my main blog (which is just about out of storage space). I just upload all my images to the other blog, insert them into a dummy post (that I never post), grab the HTML code from HTML view, and paste it into the real new post on my main blog. Works like a charm!"
(If you have more tips on how to save wordpress storage space, feel free to post here or to contact me)
How do I include externally hosted images in my blog posts?
Since wordpress wants you to use their storage system (so you'll eventually run out of space and pay for more space), wordpress will not assist you with including externally hosted images. However, it's not as difficult as you might think. Click the spoiler tags below for detailed instructions.
Spoiler
When adding a new blog post, you will first see the visual mode, which looks like this:
http://i.imgur.com/hm8sBUq.png
But notice that there is also another tab on the top right which says "HTML". When you click it, the visual mode bar vanishes and it will look like this:
http://i.imgur.com/1gAYOYd.png
HTML is something that helps you with formatting (such as putting text in bold like in the above picture). Why use HTML when visual mode does this for you, you say? Well, HTML mode allows you to use any sort of HTML code, while the visual mode is restricted to the formatting options that are presented to you in the bar. You can find HTML code options through google, if you want to achieve a certain formatting. But the nice thing is, you can also insert images! Now, as you can see, wordpress offers no assistance in HTML mode. But don't worry, we have you covered. Type this code fragment into the html mode at any place in your text where you would like to include a picture.
http://i.imgur.com/6Lj9lnV.png
The next step is uploading your image to an external image hoster. I'm using Imgur.com as an example here, but you can of course choose any other image hoster - it's the same process. After uploading, you will see something like this:
http://i.imgur.com/2haZu5i.png
You will need to copy the direct link (not image link) and insert it into your html code fragment.
Note: Imgur has recently removed the direct link from their share links bar. What you have to do is right click your uploaded picture on imgur and select "Copy image address" which will give you the correct link.
http://i.imgur.com/BV0lZdu.png
Then, when you switch back to visual mode, you will see your picture there! Yay!
http://i.imgur.com/2vvLBwT.png
When adding a new blog post, you will first see the visual mode, which looks like this:
http://i.imgur.com/hm8sBUq.png
But notice that there is also another tab on the top right which says "HTML". When you click it, the visual mode bar vanishes and it will look like this:
http://i.imgur.com/1gAYOYd.png
HTML is something that helps you with formatting (such as putting text in bold like in the above picture). Why use HTML when visual mode does this for you, you say? Well, HTML mode allows you to use any sort of HTML code, while the visual mode is restricted to the formatting options that are presented to you in the bar. You can find HTML code options through google, if you want to achieve a certain formatting. But the nice thing is, you can also insert images! Now, as you can see, wordpress offers no assistance in HTML mode. But don't worry, we have you covered. Type this code fragment into the html mode at any place in your text where you would like to include a picture.
http://i.imgur.com/6Lj9lnV.png
(for easy copy-paste)
The next step is uploading your image to an external image hoster. I'm using Imgur.com as an example here, but you can of course choose any other image hoster - it's the same process. After uploading, you will see something like this:
http://i.imgur.com/2haZu5i.png
You will need to copy the direct link (not image link) and insert it into your html code fragment.
Note: Imgur has recently removed the direct link from their share links bar. What you have to do is right click your uploaded picture on imgur and select "Copy image address" which will give you the correct link.
http://i.imgur.com/BV0lZdu.png
Then, when you switch back to visual mode, you will see your picture there! Yay!
http://i.imgur.com/2vvLBwT.png
