Attaching and inserting images

[Jay Bee]

I understand all that. I was just pointing out the 2 different scenarios with and without the box checked.

[rmchrgr]

2. Go to (as an example) Page 1, Post 1 of "Funny pictures, memes, videos" thread.
3. No picture present, only the paper clip (attachment/filename).
4. Click the attachment and picture automatically downloads, doesn't display in the thread.

I see what you are saying and you're correct. Thankfully the attachments don't go away but they are not displaying in the post as an image. That was definitely not what I thought would happen. In my mind, merely "attaching" an image file to a post should automatically make it display in the post, period. That would go for any past, present and future posts. Pretty sure no one wants to have to click the paper clip to download every image either. That's just as cumbersome as the duplicate.

For now though, it appears that the only way to avoid the 2nd image below the post is to insert it and have preview turned off. This has to mean the preview function dictates whether the attached image automatically appears in a post. That's an inherent problem with the code because besides making the image appear in the post it also adds the redundant image below it. Adding the duplicate image is the only aspect of the code that should change. 

I personally have no idea how to change that. There has to be something in the code that is saying "place a redundant image below the post whether you want it to or not". If whoever is looking at the code can somehow see that and has the ability to change it, please do. If not, I'm not sure what else can be done, if anything.

Last - I'm thinking "insert" should only function as an option for the user to place the picture in a specific spot in the text. It should not override images automatically appearing in a post (with preview disabled). Unfortunately, the majority of the users here do not seem to even know about inserting images. It's not even relevant though because it would appear that preview is what determines whether the image displays or not.

I could be wrong on this so don't take my word for any of it but it just seems logical based on what I'm seeing.

[TwitchisMental]

Okay I believe we have some miscommunication going on and simply some incorrect information.

By default if you have an attached image it will show a preview of it at the bottom.  That is the default and intended behavior.

You can go one step further and insert that picture into the post .

With this new mod if you disable the preview image it will no longer appear. If you have previously inserted the picture into the post it will still appear .

I am not sure where these other ideas are coming from. It by no means removes anything else. 

Where the big issue seems to be coming from is the simple fact that alot of people have simply attached the image and viewed the preview. Never actually inserting it into the post.  So when they use the new disabled preview feature they won't be seeing that preview anymore .

Just another note. This is pretty standard on all forum software not just SMF. Xenforo does something very similar as does IPB as does phpBB. All with their own tweaks and inner workings of course. 

[rmchrgr]

I've been saying the same thing since the start which is there is no need for the redundant image below the post.

But for discussion's sake - is preview necessary to display the image in the post? Yes? If so, OK but why does it also add the duplicate image? That's the only thing that makes no sense. I've personally never seen this particular behavior or whatever on any other forum and I'm on several.

With the new layout/view choice, disabling preview only allows the user to see images that have been inserted. This creates a problem because 98% of the users here do not insert images so any image in a post prior to today that was not inserted is not immediately displayed and has to be downloaded to be viewed. That's no good either! No one wants to do that.

When preview is enabled, it appears to automatically place the image at the bottom of the post. Fine. I'm just trying to understand if there is a way to prevent it from creating an exact duplicate of the image under the post. 

If you can do that, you wouldn't even need to even turn it off because the image would be visible regardless of whether it was inserted or not. That's it.

[TwitchisMental]

I've been saying the same thing since the start which is there is no need for the redundant image below the post.

But for discussion's sake - is preview necessary to display the image in the post? Yes? If so, OK but why does it also add the duplicate image? That's the only thing that makes no sense. I've personally never seen this particular behavior or whatever on any other forum and I'm on several.

With the new layout/view choice, disabling preview only allows the user to see images that have been inserted. This creates a problem because 98% of the users here do not insert images so any image in a post prior to today that was not inserted is not immediately displayed and has to be downloaded to be viewed. That's no good either! No one wants to do that.

When preview is enabled, it appears to automatically place the image at the bottom of the post. Fine. I'm just trying to understand if there is a way to prevent it from creating an exact duplicate of the image under the post.

If you can do that, you wouldn't even need to even turn it off because the image would be visible regardless of whether it was inserted or not. That's it.

Holy moly I feel like we are going in circles lol.

No the preview is not required to be on in order to insert it into the post. The "redundant" image below the post is the preview image/thumbnail.  Hence why the mod was made.

With the new layout/view choice, disabling preview only allows the user to see images that have been inserted. This creates a problem because 98% of the users here do not insert images so any image in a post prior to today that was not inserted is not immediately displayed and has to be downloaded to be viewed. That's no good either! No one wants to do that.

There lies the real issue.  Due to how attachments have been used in the past, when disabling the preview alot of images disappear as they were never properly inserted and were only just that the preview image. 

I believe that is why most members have also stuck to just attaching an image. Where as those who rather insert an image "properly" create the double effect . Which I agree is unneeded. 

Something I feel like we and the entire SMF team can agree on is that the attachment system needs a full on rework.  It is planned for SMF 3.0. 

Either way there is an option to disable the preview if you wish. You see the flaw of this as most people simply just used the preview to show the image instead of inserting it into the post. It's almost like improperly using a tool but it still works lol.  

Edit : I may have another idea for this... Stayed tuned lol

[rmchrgr]

I've been saying the same thing since the start which is there is no need for the redundant image below the post.

But for discussion's sake - is preview necessary to display the image in the post? Yes? If so, OK but why does it also add the duplicate image? That's the only thing that makes no sense. I've personally never seen this particular behavior or whatever on any other forum and I'm on several.

With the new layout/view choice, disabling preview only allows the user to see images that have been inserted. This creates a problem because 98% of the users here do not insert images so any image in a post prior to today that was not inserted is not immediately displayed and has to be downloaded to be viewed. That's no good either! No one wants to do that.

When preview is enabled, it appears to automatically place the image at the bottom of the post. Fine. I'm just trying to understand if there is a way to prevent it from creating an exact duplicate of the image under the post.

If you can do that, you wouldn't even need to even turn it off because the image would be visible regardless of whether it was inserted or not. That's it.

Holy moly I feel like we are going in circles lol.

No the preview is not required to be on in order to insert it into the post. The "redundant" image below the post is the preview image/thumbnail.  Hence why the mod was made.

With the new layout/view choice, disabling preview only allows the user to see images that have been inserted. This creates a problem because 98% of the users here do not insert images so any image in a post prior to today that was not inserted is not immediately displayed and has to be downloaded to be viewed. That's no good either! No one wants to do that.

There lies the real issue.  Due to how attachments have been used in the past, when disabling the preview alot of images disappear as they were never properly inserted and were only just that the preview image.

I believe that is why most members have also stuck to just attaching an image. Where as those who rather insert an image "properly" create the double effect . Which I agree is unneeded.

Something I feel like we and the entire SMF team can agree on is that the attachment system needs a full on rework.  It is planned for SMF 3.0.

Either way there is an option to disable the preview if you wish. You see the flaw of this as most people simply just used the preview to show the image instead of inserting it into the post. It's almost like improperly using a tool but it still works lol. 

Edit : I may have another idea for this... Stayed tuned lol

At first I didn't see what Jay Bee was talking about but after going through a few random threads he was right, sorry for any confusion. I'll probably keep the preview enabled for now and just deal with the duplicates - I prefer to see the images in the posts without having to download them.

Regardless, there has to be a way to get attached images to display without creating a duplicate at the same time. I can't see writing that code with the idea that's what people want.

[Jay Bee]

At first I didn't see what Jay Bee was talking about but after going through a few random threads he was right,

Hahaha, there's something I don't hear too often, I agree that maybe the terminology I used could be misinterpreted, perhaps this is better...

With the new "Don't display..." box checked previous pictures that were "attached" to a post (not inserted) are no longer conveniently visible, only the filename is visible in said post. NOTE: the picture is not gone or deleted. To view the picture the filename needs to be clicked on at which time it will download. This is for PCs running Windows 10.

Is this any better of an explanation I was trying to get across with all my screenshots and previous terminology???

[rmchrgr]

You're fine, no need to re-explain. This is not an easy idea to articulate.

Again, the bottom line of this entire thread is about preventing preview from creating a duplicate image below a post. There has to be a way to remove that one aspect of it - it's only code. It's either 'if yes, do this' or 'if no, do this.'

What's funny about this whole thing is as a new member I've so far created more posts about forum functionality than actual E body stuff.