TOPIC: Avatar Troubles

I'm trying to edit my profile to change my avatar.  I click on uploading my own pic, browse to the one I want, then click on Change My Profile, but nothing happens except the previous pic (me, Jen, and our dogs) gets replaced by a red X.  Am I missing something?<br /><br />Brian<br />

You probably already know this, but the image has to be no larger than 80x80 pixels and in GIF format.

Ooooookkkkkaaaaaayyyyyyy.  Um, how do I find out those details on the pic I want?<br />

<br />You probably already know this, but the image has to be no larger than 80x80 pixels and in GIF format.<br />

<br /><br />my avatars have always been in JPG format, with a larger file size, and always work fine

Hmmm, that's strange...I always get errors using JPG on this forum and anything over 80x80 kicks me out too.  :| . <br /><br />Anyhoo, assuming your computer is has the same trouble as mine bpsymington, this is what I do...bear in mind this assumes you have windows XP. My instructions may work for other windows systems but I can't be sure:<br /><br />Ok, so, first find out how big the pic is. Do this by right-clicking on the icon for the image and selecting "properties." Under properties click over to the "summary" tab and then "advanced." You should then be able to see the current height and width of your image by its # of pixels. You're looking to keep it under 80x80 pixels.<br /><br />Reduce the size by using "paint" which you should find under accessories under your start menu. Open the picture using paint and under the "image" heading select "stretch/ skew." You will then be able to modify the size by percentage.<br /><br />After modifying the size, select "save as" under the "file" menu and under the "save as type" drop down, choose "GIF" then hit save. You should then have a properly sized image in GIF format.<br /><br />I hope this helps. If you run into a snag, just let me know! <br /><br /><br /><br />

Wow - sounds like alot of work!  I'll give it a try after I walk the dogs.<br />

png format is also allowed.

Is PNG better quality than GIF? GIF comes out kinda crappy.

Many thanks to Mike, aka Turnip Power!  Check out my new avatar, which comes compliments of his assistance.<br /><br />Brian<br />

Glad I could help!  =D<br /><br />I tried the PNG format as well BTW after Zoycite mentioned it but I don't think that improves the quality any.

Nice avatar & "location", Brian!

if you send me the original non-shrunken image i can try a little photoshop magic/optimization on it to try to get it working better.<br /><br />also typically the rule is this:<br /><br />image with lots of color: JPG<br />image with text on top of an image: PNG<br />image with mostly text or few colors: GIF<br />misc image: JPG or PNG<br /><br />especially when scaling the image up or down in size this is important.<br />