GIFs and Images on the Boards 101

Stasia t'Andrei

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Since I’ve seen lots of people ask about how to post GIFs and other images on the boards, I decided to write up this post with some instructions and suggestions.


How to find GIFs:
- On mobile, the only app I have had consistent luck with is Giphy. YMMV but that is what I’ll provide instructions for in this post.
- On PC/Mac, you have a lot more options. A quick Google Image Search will do the trick in a pinch!
- You can always upload and host your own! But if you know how to do that you probably don’t need this guide. :giggle

***

How to get your GIF or Image link:
To post a GIF or other image, you’ll need to have a direct image link. Instructions are different depending on the device you’re using (note that depending on your browser/app, the exact words might be different as well, but the general process is the same). If the image is saved on your phone or computer, you’ll have to host it yourself. I use Imgur, but there are a lot of other hosting sites available- just don’t use Photobucket or other similar paid sites, it will result in an ugly watermark on your image.

On PC:
Right click on the image, then select “Copy Image Location”. Paste into your post.
BWFF7j9.png

On Mac:
Ctrl+click on image, then select “Copy Image Address”. Paste into your post.

On iOS Giphy app:
Select the gif you want, then click the share button (paper airplane).
1jlcMBZ.jpg


Next select “Copy GIF link” (not “Copy GIF”!).
nF9DizV.jpg


You’ll get a “Link Copied!” message if you did it correctly.
xqV4pE4.jpg


Paste into your post.

On iOS Imgur app:
Select the post containing the image you’d like to share.
OmDYtPb.jpg


Next select the individual image you’d like to share.
l2YZ8sr.jpg


Click the share button at the bottom of the screen.
74dC0PP.jpg


Select “Copy Link”.
OyUEjlA.jpg


Paste into your post.

[Android instructions coming soon]

***

How to actually write your post:
Congrats, you made it this far! You have a link and now you’re wondering what to actually do with it. Here’s how to get that picture into your post.

Option 1: Click the Image button in Rich Text Edit mode, paste in your link, and click insert.
TLYxZTG.png


Option 2: Use the IMG BB code tags.
Code:
[img]your link goes here[/img]

Either way will result in the image showing up in your post!

***

Troubleshooting:
Still having issues? Here are some common things to look for:

- Does your link end in a file format (.gif, .png, .jpg, etc.)? If it doesn’t, you probably grabbed an album link, not the direct link. You can post album links if you’d like but only as regular URLs, not images.
The imgur album I have for all the pics in this post is https://imgur.com/a/ZqOR81N. If I try to post that in image tags it does not result in any images:
ZqOR81N


However if I use the image links from within that album, you get all the pictures you've seen throughout this post!

- Some sites don’t allow hotlinking, which means you could follow these instructions exactly and the image still wouldn’t show. Of the most popular GIF sites, I know Tenor doesn’t, so don’t bother with them!

- Different sites are blocked by different employers, browser extensions, and even countries. If you follow these instructions and your images still aren’t working, that may be your issue. For example, I use a Facebook blocker so any images linked from Facebook don’t show for me, but they do for other people.

***

If you’re still having trouble, feel free to post here and I or others can try to assist you. However, we can’t help if you don’t show us what you were trying to post! So please be sure to copy it over when you ask for help.

Happy GIFing!
5c0da44e284c721a8c1d42d7e17f8e72.gif
 
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Leese Sulan

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This is the community service I needed.

Please come be tech support for everything else in my life too.
 

Alexr al'Petros

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So I carefully followed your instructions....and it works!!

Thank you!!
 

Lithiel Morn

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You're amazing, Stasia, thank you for taking the time and effort to do this. It can sometimes be very easy to lose track of who knows what and how much, and I am sometimes guilty of assuming someone knows something tech-related just because I know it - but having worked online in the last almost two years has really taught me to reevaluate my approach. :laugh: This is super useful. :hug
 

Morgana Arakos

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This is really great, thank you for doing this!
 

Jocasta Braithe

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.... I love your Persona 5 Makoto sig!? Why haven't I seen it before? /fangirls
 

Lithiel Morn

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Stasia's post says that part will be updated soon, too. :pleased-1:
 

Stasia t'Andrei

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I’m glad this is helpful to everyone! :pleased-1:

.... I love your Persona 5 Makoto sig!? Why haven't I seen it before? /fangirls
Aww thank you! :love I’m pretty proud of that one, but I took it off my rotator a while ago which is probably why you hadn’t seen it.

Does anyone know how to post GIFS using an Android phone?
Stasia's post says that part will be updated soon, too. :pleased-1:
Yeah, sorry it’s been a few months… I may have forgotten to pester my husband for Android screenshots. :look: :laugh: I’ll see if I can get those and get the first post updated!

In the meantime- to get a picture’s direct link on Android, you have some options. In Chrome at least, you can just long press on the picture you want and click “copy link address”. In the GIPHY app, you follow the same steps as the iOS version and look for the “Copy GIF link” button. I don’t remember how the Imgur app works on Android off the top of my head, but the long press like in Chrome might also work there.
 

Alenya Al'Roran

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On my Android, Samsung phone, I use my keyboard to search for GIFs, and when you click the GIF, it gives you a little square at the bottom of the GIF, and I click that and it opens another window. I copy the link from there, and paste it in the image thing on here. The long press does not work for that. That's all on mobile, btw.
 

Arella Mathara

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On my Android, Samsung phone, I use my keyboard to search for GIFs, and when you click the GIF, it gives you a little square at the bottom of the GIF, and I click that and it opens another window. I copy the link from there, and paste it in the image thing on here. The long press does not work for that. That's all on mobile, btw.
I do this but you need the Google Keyboard (Gboard) installed, the Samsung one doesn't work like this. Afaik at least.
 

Lithiel Morn

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Does anyone know how to post GIFS using an Android phone?

I'm sorry about my response, I just saw people's recent responses to the thread and I thought Stasia had made it recently - I didn't even realise it was posted months ago. :look:
 

Alyria Ess

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Why don't I understand how to copy the right link from the imgur app :scratch

I still haven't figured this out. It's only imgur I struggle with.
 

Siera al'Cere

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Do you have an iPhone and Android? (Process may differ but I'll try and figure it out)
 

Alyria Ess

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Android - but now I can't remember if I can never do it or just on my phone, un momento por favor...

yeah I am missing a step through a browser as well.

HA I THINK I HAVE IT


3KjNx7b.jpg

b7ZUctp
 
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