More Image Updates
Tue Jul 23 2024

So, checking through the image uploads recently I noticed that a number of the images are quite huge. Of course when we're taking photos we want them to be the highest resolution and quality as possible, especially if we might later want them printed or something.

But when they're uploaded to a diary, and made smaller anyway to fit the screen, the 12 or 16 megapixel images really only need to be about 2 megapixel (or roughly the same as High Definition TV).

I've made some changes to the code that will reduce the size of the image down to a maximum width or height of 1920 pixels to match HD TV. This should produce much smaller (in my tests about 1/12 the size) files which has 2 distinct benefits. Smaller file size takes up less space on my disk, meaning you can have more of them. And perhaps importantly for you guys, your images will load a lot quicker if they're 1/12 the size 😀

Images that are already smaller than this maximum size will not be resized at all.

However, this is a destructive process. This means you can not get the original image back from the entry. So please do not use DearDiary as the original source for your images. Put them in Google Photos, iCloud or where-ever you want. You can store the hi-res images there and the images on DearDiary.net will be smaller copies. Photos on your diary are to help you remember and illustrate your entries and aren't the original size. Hope that makes sense.

As with everything, this is pretty new, so if you notice any issues please let me know. I haven't forgotten Lana's request to be able to set the actual size for your diary entry - that'll be coming later.

5 Comments
  • From:
    MissTick
    On:
    Tue Jul 23 2024
    I'm all up for reduced images! Looking after servers myself here, I know exactly what disk space means (or lack of it, for that matter). I would be surprised if anyone seriously considers DD to be their personal cloud storage to backup images there. So, hopefully, this won't cause any disappointments at all. Perhaps, a warning to this matter on upload or added paragraph on the Home Page with "DD main features" could prevent any possible complaints in the future ?
  • From:
    D'vorahDavida
    On:
    Tue Jul 23 2024
    You know... this whole thing makes me realize I need to get a grip on where my photos are stored in general. Now I have to give THAT the deep think! Ha! Like I need another project. :-)
  • From:
    Salamander
    On:
    Tue Jul 23 2024
    I'll admit to being a tad confused. Are you saying that Dear Diary now has a place to upload photos for linking to diary entries? I've known since the bad old days about sizing the pictures, but haven't found a place to store pics since Hami photos went defunct that will allow linking.
  • From:
    DearDiary1
    On:
    Tue Jul 23 2024
    Heya Sal, so, you can upload images into your entries and they'll be stored here at DearDiary. There's no need to 'link' as such, it'll be done for you. But there's no other way to view them except inside an entry - so it's not a photo album or anything like that. For that you want Google Photos or iCloud or similar. Hope that helps - but if it's still clear as mud I'll try to explain better :)
  • From:
    Salamander
    On:
    Thu Jul 25 2024
    Thanks for the info! I'll try to experiment with that over the weekend.