How to Upload Images to LiveJournal ScrapBook

Bloggers with LiveJournal accounts have access to a great photo sharing resource called ScrapBook, which allows you to add images to your journal entries or create detailed photo galleries to share with family and friends. To make use of this service and all its options, first you'll need to upload your favorite images to the LiveJournal ScrapBook system.

Things You'll Need

• LiveJournal account
• Images in GIF, JPG, PNG, or TIF formats only

Instructions

1. 

   Go to any LiveJournal page where the LJ menu bar is visible. Place your cursor over the ScrapBook option and a drop-down list should appear. Click on the "Upload Pictures" menu choice.

2. 

   Look for the "Upload Into" section on the Upload page. This is where you decide what area of ScrapBook you want to store your photo in. Choose "Unsorted" to add the image to the general database. You can use the image for journal entries, and add it to a specific gallery later if you decide to.

3. 

   Select "New Gallery" in the "Upload Into" section to create a new subset of images. This is how you can keep related images together, like vacation pictures or baby photos. A menu box will appear for you to fill out with details about your collection. Choose a descriptive title so you'll easily remember what images are in that gallery. Tags are keywords that identify the subjects of the images, and these tags will help you link galleries and images together later. Click the "Create" button when done.

4. 

   Look for your new gallery title in the "Upload Into" selection. You can now select it and add images to this gallery.

5. 

   Select "Choose Gallery" to add an image to any of the galleries you have created. A menu box will appear. Click on the gallery you want and then click "select". There is also a search feature if you have a lot of galleries and can't remember the exact title. Your gallery titles will also appear at the bottom of the drop-down menu in the "Upload Into" section for quick access.

6. 

   Move to the "Security" section on the Upload screen. This setting limits who can see the images you're uploading. "Public" means anyone on the Internet can view them. "Private" means only you have access. "Registered Users" means anyone with a LiveJournal account. "All Groups" refers to the user groups you've created for friends list filters. If you haven't created any filters, the default for "all groups" is your entire friends list.

7. Select "LJ: all_friends" from the drop-down "Security" section if you want everyone on your friends list to be able to view the image. Any groups you've created for friends filters will also be listed here. Select the name of the group you specifically want to have access to the image, and none of your other filtered groups will be able to see it.

8. 

   Click the "Browse" button in the "Files" section to locate your image file on your computer. A file upload box should appear. Select the image you want and click "Open".

9. 

   Repeat step 8 for any additional images you want to add. Click the "Upload" button when you are finished. You should see the message "Uploading, please wait..." to let you know it's working.

10. 

    Fill in the blanks to add information to your uploaded image. This information will display to those viewing your gallery, so it's a great way to name the subject(s) of the photo, give locations, dates, and other details. Check the image and gallery title on the "Annotate" page to be sure your image uploaded into the correct gallery. Click "Save" after entering the data.

11. 

    Click on the image itself for more options. "Alter Picture" allows you the chance to rotate or flip your photo. "Thumbnail Focus" helps you make a smaller "hint" photo for the front page of your posts. "View" allows you to see how the picture will look in the gallery.

12. 

    Scroll down for more options. Here you can give the image its own separate security. In this way you can keep vacation photos together, share landscape and landmark shots with the public, but keep images of family members private or accessible only by your friends and family groups. Add tags to the image, or add to a specific gallery.

13. Select "Post to Journal" to make a new journal entry with this image. Choose "Upload/Manage User Picture" and LiveJournal will shrink the image to a thumbnail and allow you to use it as a LiveJournal icon.

14. Click "Save Changes" if you've made any selections or additions to the image. You can choose "Delete Picture" if you've changed your mind and want to remove the image from the ScrapBook database.

Tips & Warnings

• Tags will help you find images with similar subjects that were uploaded into different galleries, so it's important to use the same terms each time. For example, don't use "vacation" for one gallery and "vacations" for another, as the database will consider them two different tags. Remember that databases can't reason or assume, so you have to be exact!

• You can add more than one image at a time, but don't go overboard. Too many images at once adds to the loading time and sometimes causes your account to freeze up. Upload a 5 to 7 images at a time and the process should work smoothly.

• Clicking the "View" button on the image options screen will take you to the gallery view of the image. Click the image again, and you'll have the precise web address for that image, that you can then use in any html links to that image.

• If you have one of the older "basic" accounts, free but with no ads, you will not have access to the ScrapBook option. You need to upgrade to a "plus", "paid", or "permanent" account.