02-11-2006, 04:11 PM
[font "Comic Sans MS"][size 2]Recently a fellow BFTer asked me how to get an avatar to display in his posts. Since I thought that others might also be interested, I decided to share it here.
The small little iconic pictures located under our screen names on the left side of our posts or PMs are called "avatars". (I am not referring to the fish icons that the BFT Web site automatically assigns you according to the number of posts you make.) Avatars are quite small pictures. If you would like to have an avatar display in all of your posts or PM's, here is how to do that:
First, you need to have a picture that is small enough to qualify as an avatar. The maximum width should not exceed 140 pixels wide. The height of the pic is not an issue … just the width. The one I have been using for a while now is only 100 pixels wide by 139 pixels high.
Speaking of size, if you would like to see what the sizes are of those avatars that others are using, here is how: Right-click on someone's avatar picture … select Properties from the menu … The dimensions are shown in pixels.
To make your own favorite picture the right size (140 pixels wide max), size it in a photo editing program. I use PhotoShop 7. Or, if you like, feel free to e-mail your picture to me as an attachment or attach it in a PM to me and I will gladly size it and send it back to you ready to use.
If you would rather not modify a picture, you can always go out on the Internet and “steal” a ready-made one. Just bring up your favorite search engine, like Google, and search for “avatar”. Once you have located one that you want, simply right-click on it and “Save Picture As”.
Keep track of where on your PC you are storing the picture (what folder and file name). You will need to know that soon.
Now that you have your mini pic ready to display as an avatar:
Login to BFT.
Click on Edit Profile (near the top of the BFT Web page).
Click on User Profile
Now, down near the middle of your profile page, there is an area titled "Icon" (just above where your “Real Name” field is). You will notice that the “None” button is currently selected.
Click on the Browse button and drill down to where you have your avatar picture stored. Click on your picture file and then click Open. This brings you back to your profiles page.
Now, down near the bottom of the profile page, click the Make Profile Changes button.
That’s it! Now, go look at any of your posts and you should see the new avatar displayed under your screen name.[/size][/font]
[signature]
The small little iconic pictures located under our screen names on the left side of our posts or PMs are called "avatars". (I am not referring to the fish icons that the BFT Web site automatically assigns you according to the number of posts you make.) Avatars are quite small pictures. If you would like to have an avatar display in all of your posts or PM's, here is how to do that:
First, you need to have a picture that is small enough to qualify as an avatar. The maximum width should not exceed 140 pixels wide. The height of the pic is not an issue … just the width. The one I have been using for a while now is only 100 pixels wide by 139 pixels high.
Speaking of size, if you would like to see what the sizes are of those avatars that others are using, here is how: Right-click on someone's avatar picture … select Properties from the menu … The dimensions are shown in pixels.
To make your own favorite picture the right size (140 pixels wide max), size it in a photo editing program. I use PhotoShop 7. Or, if you like, feel free to e-mail your picture to me as an attachment or attach it in a PM to me and I will gladly size it and send it back to you ready to use.
If you would rather not modify a picture, you can always go out on the Internet and “steal” a ready-made one. Just bring up your favorite search engine, like Google, and search for “avatar”. Once you have located one that you want, simply right-click on it and “Save Picture As”.
Keep track of where on your PC you are storing the picture (what folder and file name). You will need to know that soon.
Now that you have your mini pic ready to display as an avatar:
Login to BFT.
Click on Edit Profile (near the top of the BFT Web page).
Click on User Profile
Now, down near the middle of your profile page, there is an area titled "Icon" (just above where your “Real Name” field is). You will notice that the “None” button is currently selected.
Click on the Browse button and drill down to where you have your avatar picture stored. Click on your picture file and then click Open. This brings you back to your profiles page.
Now, down near the bottom of the profile page, click the Make Profile Changes button.
That’s it! Now, go look at any of your posts and you should see the new avatar displayed under your screen name.[/size][/font]
[signature]
] [font "Arial Black"][red][size 3]Awwwww Shucks[/size][/red][/font] 