About uploading cover images and magazines

[PixelBoy]

I am about to try to upload stuff, as apparently some options which weren't working for me in the past appear to be working now. Thanks to the person(s) who pushed some right buttons .

But I'm not able to find all information that I presumably need.

 

About uploading covers:

FAQ says: "If you notice that we are missing a magazine cover in our Gallery, please feel free to upload it and link it to the correct database record. Members are also encouraged to upload higher quality images of existing covers if they can. Check out or guide on how to Upload and Link images."

I can't find that or any other guide that would tell how to link images, or how to name them properly, or what would be the required pixel size. Am I missing something obvious here? When I tried as far as I could without actually uploading anything, there were no instructions, or any menu option that would link an image to any particular magazine.

 

About uploading magazines:

Scanning guide says: "An admin will create a New Release post for your issue if you do not have permission to do so yet"

I tried a practice run of that, and I seem to be able to upload magazines that I am working on currently, and it would also appear that I am able to start a new topic in the new releases area. But there's no guide that tells how the post is linked to any uploaded magazine. Is it somehow automatic based on some magazine database code, or is there some template that I need to manually copy-paste and edit in the message window? 

[MigJmz]

the tldr version

For Images: follow how other images are labeled for example: 

Go to https://www.retromags.com/gallery/category/2486-super-power/ Click add image

put the name of the magazine with the issue number and date /year (ex: Super Power Issue 76 (November 2000)

Images should be saved in 2200px in Height.

for uploading stuff: That has to be added by me or a Team Member. You can upload the file to dropbox or mega.io and send it over. You will be given the proper credits.

[kitsunebi]

3 hours ago, PixelBoy said:

I can't find that or any other guide that would tell how to link images, or how to name them properly, or what would be the required pixel size.

I don't speak TLDR, sorry.

After uploading the image, look at its URL.  There is a number at the beginning of the URL (in the image Migjmz posted above, that number is 58360, which you can see by mousing over it.)  Go to the database entry for whatever issue you uploaded a cover to, click the "edit" button, and then enter the cover's number into the box titled "single cover image" (2nd from the top), and then click "save."  That will link your image to the DB entry.

The minimum size for magazine scans is 2200, so your images should be no smaller than that.  This wasn't always the case, and 10 years ago when bandwidth was more limited, 2200 was the maximum allowed size for mags, and ads were uploaded at 1200px.  Unfortunately, that meant that once bandwidth wasn't a problem and bigger images were allowed, we had a bunch of low-res images in the gallery that needed replacing. 

Nowadays, we no longer have 2200 as a maximum limit for scans, and it has become the minimum.  300dpi-equivalent scans are allowed (depends on the physical dimensions of the mag, but usually between 3000-3200px.)  600dpi is still far too large and is not allowed.  But at any rate, so long as the magazine scan the ads are pulled from falls within the allowable parameters, there's no need to resize the ads.   If the mag is 2200, then upload the ads at 2200.  But if the mag is 3000, there's no need to resize the ads - 3000 is fine.

Larger sizes than that ARE possible to be uploaded, but that is to allow for two-page ads which are edited into a single double-wide image, and are thus twice the size of a normal ad.  This allowance should not be taken advantage of to upload oversized single-page ads.

[PixelBoy]

It's a bit confusing when FAQ is referring to a guide which doesn't exist, but thanks to you both, those are very clear and good instructions on how to do it. Good info. 

I hope others will find this thread in the future and use it as a guide.

[kitsunebi]

27 minutes ago, PixelBoy said:

It's a bit confusing when FAQ is referring to a guide which doesn't exist, but thanks to you both, those are very clear and good instructions on how to do it. Good info. 

I hope others will find this thread in the future and use it as a guide.

Lots of information in our FAQs and guides are out of date.  And so far as I know, there has never been a guide on gallery uploads.  I may have written one in the past when we had a section for member's guides, but at some point that entire section was deleted (I believe I was the only person ever to have contributed to it), though to be fair, whatever I wrote would probably be outdated now, as well.  So now the only information available is whatever Phillyman and/or E-Day posted years ago.

I don't think it's ever been a priority for them to make an official gallery guide, since

a) so few people ever contribute to the gallery

b) it's a given that if anyone starts uploading stuff incorrectly, either myself or Migjmz will swoop in and correct them

 

Looking forward to having another contributor!