68 Classifieds Blog

Understanding Images

Next to E-mail, images are one of the most misunderstood aspects that impacts users of 68C. So what I would like to do is convey some basic info about images to help you better understand how 68C deals with them and why there are limitations on their size and why its important to have your administration settings for your site set properly.

Image Size
When it comes to images the word “size” can have many different meanings.

File Size
Images, like everything else computer related, are stored in containers called files. These files have a “size” which indicates how much space they take up on a computers hard disk.

Memory Size
What most people dont realize however is that most files used on the internet today are compressed. In other words special standards and algorithms are used to try and retain the data within the file but increase the space the file uses on a computers hard disk.

In order for the data within the file to be accessed however a compressed file needs to be uncompressed. This is done in a computers memory. A file that takes up 1 megabyte on the hard disk may actually take up 20 megabytes in memory depending on its contents and what type of compression is used.

Physical pixel dimension size
Images are made up of pixels which are tiny segments of information which contain color data. These pixels are arranged in a manner that is typically grid like and expressed in width x height.

68 Classifieds and images

68Clasifieds uses a high quality image upload class for handling the resizing of images. When you as a site admin or an ad poster places an ad and uploads an image many things need to take place.

1) the web server works together with the back end scripts and the clients browser to send the image to the web server where it is temporarily stored in its original format. There are certain PHP settings that are out of the control of most users on shared hosting plans which limit the size of the file that can be sent to the server. Additionally there are time limits placed on how long a script can run. If a user has a very slow connection to the internet and is uploading a very large file this execution time limit may be reached and the upload can fail.

It may also happen that your host has a very small temporary space allocated to you and if you and the other server users all are uploading images this temp spae may fill up and in turn the upload may fail.

2) Once the file is on the server in its temporary location 68C uncompresses the images and creates a small duplicate of it for a thumbnail using the settings you provided in admin. It also creates another image to use for the new full size image for the site based on admin settings as well. When done the original image is deleted from the temporary space.

When a file is uncompressed it resides in memory and the amount of memory your scripts are allowed to use is set by the php configuration file. This is totally outside the scope of 68C and is set by your web host. If your admin settings allow your users to upload images that are larger than your server can handle the script will fail. Once again this is NOT a problem with 68C but a limitation you host has imposed.

68 Classifieds Admin settings

68Classifieds allows you to set the image sizes for your thumbnails and your large images (those that get displayed in ads).

In addition you can also specify a max file size for an image as well as max height and width of an uploaded image.

As the pixel dimensions for an image increase the data contained in the file increase exponentially. Also depending on the quality setting for an image when it is saved, the same exact image saved at 2 different quality settings will have very different file sizes and also occupy different amounts of memory when uncompressed.

Most image editing software will show you the size (in kilobytes or megabytes) that an image is using in memory when it is opened. You can simply create empty images of varying pixel dimensions to get a feel for what pixel size images use in terms of system memory.

To view your servers current memory limit you can create a new file, call it what ever you would like as long as it end in .php and place it somewhere on your site. In the file have the following code……

<?php phpinfo(); ?>

The point a browser to it and look for a line called “memory_limit” and that will tell you how much memory your scripts have to work with.

If you open a bunch of files in an image editing application and see that are consuming 20mg etc and your memory_limit on your site is 16mg then trying to upload one of those images will likely fail.

What you are going to have to do is find out your hosts memory limit and then experiment with images that have different dimensions and see how large they are in memory and when saved to disk and use these numbers for your admin settings.

Then lastly, take a minute to alter your sites templates or FAQ to let people know what you file size and dimensional limitations are to save them the hassle of trying to upload images that are too large.

Most modern cameras create images that are much larger than can be processed by most shared hosting plans. Once again this is a limitation with your host and not the 68C software, 68C will handle the images just fine if it is allowed to use enough memory to process the image.

This was written by lhotch at Techconnx.net. Larry is a third party developer and has several modules for 68 Classifieds which can be found at ClassifiedMods.com.

New 68 Addition

I would like to announce the newest addition to the 68 family, Trinity Barnes. Trinity was born on December 10th 2008 at 21:53. She weighed 5 lbs 8 oz and was 19 inches long. Trinity was so excited to be a member of the 68 family that she decided to come 10 days early.

As many of you can imagine with this new addition I will be off work a few days getting me, my wife, and Trinity adjusted to a new life altering routine.

Thanks again to everyone and I just couldn’t wait to share the news.

Site Showcase - Hobby Classified

1. Can you tell us a little about you or the site?

Hobby Classified is the first site of classified ads specifically based on the Hobby. It is particularly conceived for Hobbyist. You can used it in English and French. This site was designed to be used across the world. We want to make it the perfect site for classified ads in Hobby.

2. What made you decide to start a classified site?

I am in R/C (Radio Control) for several years. On several occasions I used classified ads to sell or buy items. I loved the operation so I decided to open a website.

3. That is a very unique design. Did you create it?

With the help of a web designer from Intense Interactif, we create this unique design site.

4. Since you have a hobby site. What is the hobby you are most interested in?

My preferred hobby is remote controlled helicopter. I practice this hobby for over 10 years. I like computers, but since I designed this website, I discovered a new hobby.

5. In closing anything else you wish to share?

68 Classifieds is very easy to edit templates of script and it has a very useful forum. You can easily find solution for your problem if you have. Also 68Classifieds.com has a very quick and friendly service. 68 Classifieds is updated all of the time, which makes it a solid product.

And the winners are…

Now that Thanksgiving is over it is time to get back to work and announce the winners of our Thanksgiving Competition.

I was actually a little surprised at the number of comments (0nly 5) so I decided to make everyone that entered a winner. I have already emailed everyone and will get the prizes out tomorrow.

Thanks again and congratulations to the winners!

Happy Thanksgiving - Win a FREE Template

In the USA tomorrow is Thanksgiving and our office will be closed Thursday November 27th through Sunday November 30th 2008.

Since this is celebrated as a day of thanks I wanted to send a big THANK YOU to you (Our Customers!) without you we wouldn’t be doing what we are now.

As a way of showing our thanks we are going to run a competition and give away two free products. One template and one module.

The prizes

Module - Either the Google Maps or Youtube module from lhotch.
Template - Any one template found at ClassifiedMods.

How to Enter

To enter the competition all you have to do is leave a comment on this post and say what you are thankful for in your life. You must also be a customer or else you really wouldn’t need the prizes. The winners will be announced on Monday December 1st from a random drawing. Comments must be added before midnight Sunday.

ClassifiedMods

We are proud to announce a new website designed to help you find resources for 68 Classifieds. The new site is ClassifiedMods.com and will provide access to Professionals familiar with 68 Classfieds along with a variety of Templates and Modifications specifically designed for use with 68 Classifieds installations. Originally, we used 68mods.com as the primary location for 68 Classifieds resources. From now on, ClassifiedMods.com will be the first (and only) place to look for new modules, templates and resources to extend your installation’s functionality.

The goal of this new site is to offer a central location where module developers and template designers can share their work with the 68 Classifieds community.

Below are some of the important features of this new site:

Rating / Reviews - On the site you can rate and review each listing. It is very important to rate listings. This way it makes it easy to find listings that are of high quality and helps others find the perfect mod for their site.

Mod Review Policy - In order for any type of mod to be listed on the site, the developer has to send us a copy of the files so we can test it and make sure it actually runs and works as described.

Developer’s Code of Conduct - Every commercial developer has to agree to the following Code of Conduct before their item is added. This was added to protect you!

• 14 day money back guarantee on modifications.
• Email responses within 2 working days.
• Complaints referred to 68 Classifieds when and if necessary.
• A reasonable level of support will be provided for the installation and use.

The site already has lots of modifications and some awesome templates.