How to submit images to the OAS Gallery

[Rick]

If you want to share your astrophotographic images with a wider audience, then why not submit them to the OAS gallery?

To submit images you will need to be a member of the O.A.S. and have a member's account on the Gallery system. If you are an O.A.S. member and want an account on the Gallery then please ask Klitos or Rick to set one up for you.

Once you have logged into the Gallery you will see an "Upload files" menu option. Click on it. The default upload method uses HTML5, but there is also a simple single-file upload form. Choose the one you want using the drop-down at the top right of the box.

Either way, the first thing you have to do is select an Album. If the image is one you're just putting up so you can link it in the forum for folk to have a quick look, then scroll to the bottom of the list of albums and find your personal "Previews" one. Otherwise, choose the most appropriate of the public albums.

Then select the image file(s).

• Images should be in JPEG, PNG, GIF or TIFF format, and up to 8MB in size.
• Please do not use BMP format for images in the public albums, nor for images you have linked in the forum.
• TIFF images tend to be somewhat larger than equivalents in the other formats, and they're not displayed properly (or at all) by many (most? all?) browsers, so please only use them where necessary, and only in the Processing examples or Raw data files albums.
• Raw data files may be in any appropriate format provided they are placed in the Raw data files members-only album.

Please avoid putting text in the images themselves. A date, time and your name is fine, but explanations in the image can be hard to read; use the file description field instead. It also helps to give the image file a meaningful name to cut down on the risk of file-name collisions and make the archive easier to manage. you could:

• Start the name with your initials or some other personal identifier.
• Follow that with something descriptive.
• Include a short-form date.
• Use underscores "_" rather than spaces in filenames!
• Please note that though the gallery software retains the case of file names as entered for display purposes, its database searching is not case-sensitive, so it will not accept two images which differ in name only by case.

The simple file uploader will let you choose just one, and won't upload it until you click the "Upload" button. The multiple file uploader will upload each file as you go, so you can upload more than one at a time, and click "Continue" when you've selected them all.

You'll then be asked to provide some information about each image. There are fields for various bits of information. Most of them are fairly obvious, but a few are not:

• Album allows you to select which part of the gallery will be the primary location for this image. Images can be moved later, so you could put your images into your own "Previews" album first, and move them to one of the main albums later. Images can also appear in more than one album by using appropriate Link-words.
• Link-words (sometimes mis-named "Keywords") allow you to place an image in other secondary albums. Each album has its own link-word, and your image will appear in any album for which it has the matching link-word. Each of the main albums has a note of its link-word in its description. Please do not make up your own link-words.
• File description can be rather longer than any of the other fields. A limited set of BB-code tags can be used to alter its formatting and to insert links.

When you've entered sufficient information, which should include dates, times, locations, instrument details, and so on, click "Apply Changes" (or "Upload" if you're using the single-file uploader).

Note: The copyright of your image remains with you, but by submitting it to the OAS Gallery, we assume you are giving us permission to use it on the OAS websites.

FAQ: How do I move my images from my Previews and Works in Progress album to one of the public albums?

• Go to the gallery, and log in.
• Go to the Previews and Works in Progress section. If it says "There are no user galleries" then go back and log in.
• Go to your personal section within the Previews and Works in Progress section.
• Click on the "EDIT FILES" box above the "Your Name's Previews" description. This will take you to a page with a list of the images in the album
• For each image you want to move, click on the drop-down arrow against the "Album" name, and select an appropriate album from the drop-down list
• Click on the "Apply Changes" at the top or end of the page

[Rick]

New users of the OAS Gallery, please read the post above!