How to Insert and Align Photos in Your ActiveRain Posts - Not Just for Newbies!

I am relatively sure that someone has written about this subject in the past, but I have had a number of people call and email me asking how to insert and layout pictures here on our ActiveRain posts lately.  I have also seen a good number of posts that seem as though they could use this knowledge, so I thought this would be some good information to share. 

To begin, click on the small tree icon at the top of the blog entry box:

Once you click this, a window will open that looks like this:

You can see that there are two tabs at the top - "General" and "Appearance". 

In order to locate the image you want to put into your post, click on the small box to the right of the "Image URL" field:

Once you click on the box, another window will open, allowing you to browse your files to find the right picture:

Clearly, you must have the image saved somewhere on your system (perhaps in your "My Pictures" file) in order to place it into the post.

After you select and upload the photo, you will return to the first window, where your image should now appear.  You have some cool options here!

Under the "General" tab, you can give your photo a specific description and/or title.  Simply type in whatever you think would be the best keywords to describe your photo under "Image Description" and "Title".  It's that easy.  As a bonus, the description and title tags for your graphics/photos are seen by the search engine spiders for any Public posts, so it could have an SEO benefit as well.  If someone hovers on the image, they will see the title that you set here.

I HIGHLY recommend also clicking on the "Appearance" tab (I always use this feature, and you probably should, too):

This opens the following window, which contains LOTS of layout options:

Under the "Alignment" dropdown menu, there are several options.  I typically use the default ("Not Set"), or "Left" or "Right".  I used "Left" for this image, which is why the text appears wrapped on the right side. 

You can resize the image here as well, by placing a smaller number in the first "Dimensions" box. In other words, if the number says 487, you can put in 250 or 350.  I wouldn't recommend placing a larger number than the image already has, because the picture will turn out grainy and odd-looking.  Since the "Constrain Proportions" box is already checked for you, you don't have to worry about calculating the second number to make the picture look right.

One common question is how to keep the text from running into the photo.  You can put some space between the picture and the text by using the Vertical and Horizontal space options here.  I used a 7 in the Horizontal space above to keep the text here from touching the image itself.

I don't normally use the Border option myself, but I experimented with it, and you can put in a small number to place a line around the image (sort of like a frame).  The larger the number, the thicker the border becomes.  (EDITED: Someone mentioned in the comments that this only shows up in "Edit" mode, not in the published post).

Class and Style are not enabled at this point on ActiveRain, so I would simply ignore those for now.

So, to recap, if you want to put a picture on the left or right side of the post, click Alignment, then "Left" or "Right".  The text will automatically wrap around the photo or graphic.  If you would like some space to the side (i.e. text not right up against the picture), use the Horizontal Space option.  Clearly, the same thing works on the top or bottom of the picture if you use the Vertical Space option.

Here's a final example (picture to the right).  I am using the "Right" option with a 5 in the Vertical Space and a 5 in the Horizontal Space.  You will note that the text is separated from the photo by a small amount of white space on top and on the left.  In my opinion, this makes it easier to read and easier on the eyes.

If this stuff is completely new to you, I would like to encourage you to just start experimenting with it.  If you have any questions, please feel free to call or email me and I will do my best to walk you through it.  If I don't have the answer, I will try to help you find it.

Here are some other tutorials that I have written if you are interested in taking a look:

How to Use Your ActiveRain "Statistics" Page - Viewing Your Subscriber List and Blog Entry Stats

How to generate and track backlinks for your Active Rain profile - A few basic SEO tips

What's all that stuff at the bottom of the post? - An Active Rain Tutorial  

Thanks for reading!  Have a great day!