Avatar Issues

[BrewCrewForever]

Is there some magic trick I have to do so I can get an avatar to be a small enough size to work?

[1992casey]

Are you having trouble with the file size or with the dimensions?

 

The file size limit was awfully low, so I've upped it to 20K. I'm not sure if it's prudent to allow it to go higher or not, so let's see how this works.

 

Dimensions need to be between 60x60 and 100x100. 100x100 is preferable.

 

[EDIT: Dimensions need to be between 40x40 and 100x100. There's no need to try to make your avatar square. See [a=p766059]post #19[/a]]

 

If anyone is having trouble creating avatar images themselves, feel free to attach or link to an image here. I'm sure someone will volunteer to help you out.

 

 

(edited 2012-02-20 --1992)

[1992casey]

I did some testing with avatars, and my initial thought is that the "Link off-site" option is probably less than useful at best and confusing at worst.

 

Unlike the old place, this system doesn't automatically resize avatars, so my guess is that the off-site avatar is going to need to meet size requirements.

 

It's probably best to properly size your avatar on your computer and work from there. Of course, that's easy for some and difficult for others.

 

As I mentioned above, if there's an image you're trying to work with and you don't know how to proceed, feel free to ask for help.

[BrewCrewForever]

What is the easiest way to resize on my own computer? I have a Mac.

[1992casey]

Open the image in Preview. Since Preview is normally the default program for opening images, it'll probably be the app that opens when you double-click on the image's icon.

 

In Preview…

 

[list-sp]

• Choose "Adjust Size…" from the Tools menu.
  
• Change the larger dimension to 100, and make sure that "Scale proportionally" is checked. It's probably good to have "Resample image" checked too.
  
• Hit OK.
  
• Save.

[/list-sp]

[BrewCrewForever]

Thanks Casey!

[1992casey]

I see it worked.

[BrewCrewForever]

Have had my Mac since late 2008 and am pretty computer savvy, but had no idea I could resize images in preview. Awesome.

[hawing]

That's a sharp avatar, too.

[jjkoestler]

I couldn't upload my avatar (size was too large) until I manually adjusted the size to 100 x 100.

[1992casey]

Exactly, jj. It has to be re-sized first.

 

For what it's worth, the [a=p765396]directions for Preview[/a] above are almost exactly the same as what you'd find in any graphics app. The menu item may be called something like "Resize Image…" rather than "Adjust Size…".

 

Going a bit off topic, on a Mac, you can search for menu items. In the app's Help menu, key in something close to what you think the menu item's name is (in this case, "size" is a good choice), and the app will find the menu item for you. I rely on this in apps that have oodles of menu items (such as Photoshop).

 

Screen capture: Mac Menu Search

 

Another option is to use an online image optimizer. Simply adjust the larger dimension to 100. In addition to reducing dimensions, you can also reduce file size if necessary. Even choosing "Best Quality" in the popup can often result in a significant file size reduction. (Actually, I'd recommend "Best Quality" unless you're forced to further constrain the image's file size.)

 

Screen capture: Online Image Optimizer

[jjkoestler]

I didn't use a program to resize the image. I uploaded it, adjusted avatar dimensions to 100 x 100, and clicked submit.

[1992casey]

That's cool.

 

I wonder what happens if the avatar isn't perfectly square. I'll have to try that. If someone already knows, let us know.

[1992casey]

I couldn't upload my avatar (size was too large) until I manually adjusted the size to 100 x 100.

 

jjk, I think your avatar was still stored elsewhere. It disappeared when I disabled remote avatars (avatars linked to from other web sites). Enabling remote avatars was unintentionally turned on; allowing them causes performance issues.

 

Anyway, a side effect of the 100x100 adjustment was that your Yo was crunched horizontally. I redid him with a 100px width while letting the height take care of itself. He's by your posts now.

 

EDIT: If someone's avatar suddenly disappears, holler here and I'll retrieve it for you like I did with jj's.

[brettac1]

My avatar disappeared, as well.

[1992casey]

It's back.

[brettac1]

Thanks!

[jjkoestler]

Thanks, Casey.

[1992casey]

I've changed the avatar size limits to between 40x40 and 100x100.

 

60px was too high to do a 16:9 image with a 100px width. (16:9 is the HDTV ratio.) I lowered the minimum requirement to 40x40 as 40x100 should cover an image from a wide screen movie.

 

There's no need to try to make your avatar square on this system. (We needed to offer that advice at the old place.) As long as an avatar is within the size limits, the system will place it next to posts in an aesthetically pleasing way.

 

Keeping things simple, when reducing an image, make the larger dimension 100px and it will likely work.

[TooLiveBrew]

Have had my Mac since late 2008 and am pretty computer savvy, but had no idea I could resize images in preview. Awesome.

BCF, I just wanted to say that, even though I know who's pictured in your avatar, all I can see is Lumbergh from Office Space.