Options Manager -- Pictures

This option is set from the Profiles tab of the Options Manager interface.

About Profiles and Pictures

All versions of Discus Pro ever released have permitted registered users and moderators to upload a picture of themselves to the board in either GIF or JPEG format. Discus Pro 4.0 allows picture upload in this way, but also includes the ability to create 'thumbnail' images that can optionally be displayed on each post by the user.

Discus Pro currently supports two methods of creating these 'thumbnail' images. One way is to use the GD perl module, which will resize an uploaded JPEG image to a specified size, allowing the user to have a large picture in their profile and a smaller 'thumbnail' image for display on their posts. Because of copyright/patent issues with the GIF format, the GD module no longer provides support for the sizing of GIFs. Discus Pro checks automatically whether or not your Perl distribution supports the GD module and displays the GD module options only if your server does properly support the module.

The other is to use the actual picture as the thumbnail. Since the thumbnail will be exactly the same as the uploaded picture, it is suggested that the picture that is uploaded be restricted to a small size, especially if the thumbnails will be displayed on posts. This option is left as a fallback to use the thumbnail feature even on boards whose servers do not support the GD module.

Options available in all configurations

Picture upload in profiles: This must be checked to allow picture upload in profiles. If unchecked, no picture upload in profiles is permitted, and none of the options below will do anything productive.

Allowed Formats: The choices are "JPEG only" and "GIF & JPEG." Use the JPEG only setting if you will be resizing thumbnails with the GD module.

Picture Size Restriction: If checked, you can set the maximum picture size for profile pictures on your board. NOTE: The file size restrictions under Options Manager - Security, if any, also apply to uploaded profile pictures. Image size restrictions from that section do not apply to profile pictures, since this setting allows you to restrict picture size. For this setting, choose whether to restrict uploaded pictures to be "Smaller than" or "Exactly" the width x height dimensions that you enter in the boxes. (Enter dimensions in pixels.)

Thumbnails: The box must be checked if you intend to use any thumbnail features.

Thumbnail Creation: There are two options here.

• Use uploaded picture: The "thumbnail" is created simply by making an exact copy of whatever image is uploaded by the user. If you choose this option, it is very strongly recommended that you set low limits on dimensions with "Picture Size Restriction" above.

• Create thumbnails using GD module: The thumbnail image is created with the GD perl module. (This setting appears only if your server has the GD module properly installed.)

Enable picture display on posts: If checked, all posts created after this option is checked that are authored by a registered user or moderator with a picture in their profile will have the thumbnail image displayed with the post. For this option to work, the following very specific conditions must be met:

1. You must be using a skin that supports picture display on posts. DiscusWare-distributed skins that permit pictures on posts are tables2 and tables3. If the skin does not support pictures on posts, no pictures will appear.

2. A thumbnail image must be on file for a poster at the time of posting in order for a thumbnail to be displayed with the post. A thumbnail image becomes on file if the user uploads a picture to the board when the "thumbnail" option above is enabled.

3. To create thumbnail images for users with pictures uploaded before you turned on the thumbnail option, go to Data Recovery - Other after saving your thumbnail options and click the button to regenerate thumbnails.

4. Your thumbnail settings affect new posts only. Old posts that do not bear a thumbnail image will never show a thumbnail image.

Options specific to GD module

If your server supports the GD module, the following options will be available to you in addition to those described above.

Create thumbnails of size: Enter the dimensions (in pixels) for the thumbnail images that will be created.

Default background color: In the case that a blank area is present in a created thumbnail (which could occur if you preserve the aspect ratio with the next option), you can control the background color of the "blank" space in the thumbnail. Generally you will choose a color similar to your board's background color. Most often you will enter 255 in all boxes (for white) or 0 in all boxes (for black).

Preserve aspect ratio: If checked, the thumbnail will preserve the aspect ratio of the original. Neither the height nor the width will be greater than the size that you choose in the "Create thumbnails of size" option.

For example, if you are creating thumbnails of size 50x50, and the user's uploaded image is 400x200, the resulting thumbnail will be of size 50x25 if aspect ratio is preserved. Note that the width-to-height ratio is 2.0 in both the original and the final image (which is precisely what it means to preserve the aspect ratio). In this case, the width is equal to the maximum width specified in the size option. The additional space in the thumbnail that is unoccupied would be set to the default background color.